

If something pings on the “block list,” that traffic doesn’t get through.

The basic strokes are this: You’ll have a device somewhere on your network, and all traffic requests go through that. It’s not as simple an endeavor, but it doesn’t require a degree in computer science, either. If you’re really serious about blocking ads, though, you want to do it at the network level. (We’ll also ignore for the moment the fact that the website you’re currently reading is funded by ads.) They’re easy enough to implement at the browser level with an extension. There’s a good chance that if you’re reading this, you’re familiar with ad-blockers. There’s another route - one that really should be taught in schools. (You’re not.) Or that you have to be an elitist to wash your hands of all those dirty ads. That’s more expensive, for sure, and can make you feel like you’re being punished. You can choose to buy a product that doesn’t inject advertising on top of content. Advertising is the price you pay when you don’t pay the price at the register.

Still, we buy the $25 sticks en masse and the inexpensive televisions in droves. And ignore for the moment the fact that Roku basically is now an advertising company that also sells hardware and licenses out its operating system to other manufacturers.
#Add blocker google full
Phil Nickinson/Digital Trends Ads on ads on adsįorget for the moment that an NFL broadcast is, itself, full of advertisements in the stadium, on the field, on the screen, and from the broadcasters’ mouths. Roku tells Digital Trends that whatever caused the ad to appear - whether it was an OS-level thing or a device-specific thing - has “been resolved.” Running an ad-blocker at the network level can block ads in all sorts of places, like on the Roku Home Screen. It’s a bit amusing to see folks all up in arms over an ad for Sleep Number beds appearing on a Roku TV manufactured by Sharp, which made the rounds on the /r/cordcutters subreddit during a recent NFL playoff game.
