wait! i have forefox. do i have to download something else to get the adblocking option? where do i get it?
If you know how to use the extensions box, it's pretty easy to track down. If you don't know how to use it, get to know it! There are some kick-ass extensions that make Firefox a really awesome browser, and you can always uninstall an extension if it doesn't work the way you hoped. Here's the shorcut for adblocking:
Click
HERE to get Adblock, which is the extension that gives you all the cool blocking functionality. You can click to see a list of all "blockable" elements in a page, then select to block them or use wildcards to block entire ad-serving domains.
Better still is to click
HERE to get the Filterset.G Updater. This automatically downloads updated lists of blocked ads and domains. Use this, and you will almost never have to adblock anything on your own. The only exceptions are blocking things like avatars you hate, or the occasional ad within a site (i.e., an ad a The New Republic for an upcoming TNR conference or something). This works with Adblock, you need both extensions.
I've used these two extensions for months, and I've gotten to the point that seeing an ad is a shock to the system.
Don't forget to get CustomizeGoogle
HERE to filter out the context-sensitive ads they put into every search and email, plus tons of other cool Google-related stuff.
When you get to each extension page, you just click the Install Now button and it takes about 5 seconds or less. You have to restart the browser to get the extensions to work, so add as many as you want at once rather than restart multiple times.