Google Chrome Now Blocks Irksome Ads. That's a Good Thing, Right?
The brower's latest update filters out pop-up ads and other annoyances. It also strengthens Google's grip on the web.
As advertising has become more intrusive in recent years, hundreds of millions of web users have installed ad-blocking software to ward off full-page pop-ups, blaring video pitches that start automatically and large ads with unstoppable countdown clocks that obscure the content you actually want to see.
On Thursday, Google did something about the problem: The company updated its browser, Google Chrome, so that it bans such ads by default on mobile devices and desktop computers.