ADscience, a UK-based computer company, launched new software today called ADfilter: a new internet facility that the group claims removes advertising from web pages and so speeds up internet browsing.
When installed, ADfilter removes advertising banners, pop-up ads and other promotional material on the internet, and the company claims that tests show that download speeds increase hugely with use of the application.
A spokesperson for the group outlined the two main advantages of using ADfilter. The first is the time the filter saves on web-browsing, which when taken to a corporate level amounts to hours saved for employers whose workers spend precious time browsing ad-laden websites. By extension, it should also reduce the amount of money spent whilst being online.
Secondly, it gives web browsers more control over what they do and do not see whilst surfing the internet. This is becoming more significant given the increase in concern over the exposure of children to certain forms of advertising, with children being encouraged to respond to adverts (proving troublesome for parents) as well as being vulnerable to ‘adult’ banners which proliferate on the web.
The general idea is that ADfilter enhances the web-browsing experience. Of course, making a business out of blocking adverts is going to invite some formidable backlash from the advertising industry, which ADfilter is apparently ‘anticipating and looking forward to’.
As for the popularity of ADfilter, a spokesperson at the group said: “Within 24 hours of its release, www.adfilter.com had over 20,000 hits from users looking for an effective advertising banner filter. Already sales of ADfilter have exceeded our most optimistic forecasts.”
“We will not let ADfilter’s overnight success go to our heads,” said Graham Morgan, co-founder and director at ADscience. “We must never lose sight of the fact that this product is really about giving every user personal control over what he or she sees on a PC screen. You are not obliged to watch the advertising on television – now you you don’t have to watch it on the internet either. Web users now have that choice in their own hands.”
ADscience: 01491 412079
