How do I Block Flash Ads in my Browser?

What is the most likely cause of sudden bad performance on your computer? Generally, poorly written Flash ads. No other tool seems to max out my CPU and cause my poor little laptop to turn on its fans. So the question is how do I block these ads?



FlashBlock

The easiest solution is to simply block Flash in your browser. Firefox and Chrome share a common plug-in named FlashBlock. (FlashBlock for Firefox, FlashBlock for Chrome). Basically the plugin prevents Flash from running on a page. Instead, an icon is shown where the Flash would have run. Clicking the Flash icon allows you to run that Flash element on your page. In addition, you can choose whether to run all the Flash on a page and/or allow that page to permanently remember this decision.



For Chrome, a FlashBlock icon appears in the address bar. Click on it to set up a page to run Flash all the time, or temporarily disable FlashBlock.



For Firefox, the same capability is there. However, you must customize your toolbar and add the FlashBlock button to your toolbar.



What about Safari?

On Safari you can use ClickToFlash which provides the same functionality. However, Apples plug-in support is not as smooth as Firefox and Chrome. So setting up exception pages and disabling the plugin temporarily is much more clunky.





And Internet Explorer?

LifeHacker explains the options. Kind of clunky, but better than nothing I suppose.