Shadowing Practice: How Ad Blockers Work - Learn English Speaking with Video

Ads have plagued the internet for pretty much as long as online businesses have been around, and if you want to use it without being bombarded by ads and trackers,

you're going to need some kind of ad block solution.

There's a few ways to tackle the problem.

One of the more well-known solutions is to use a browser extension, most notably uBlock Origin.

This browser extension is so powerful

that Google tried to put it out of business by deprecating the manifest v2 APIs in the Chromium project

that the advanced features of this ad blocker depend on.

Well, officially Google deprecated the APIs to improve browser security, but personally I think the bottom line was the real security goal with that particular update.

So in Chrome, Edge, and pretty much every other Chromium-based browser, which is most browser these days, you'll have to settle for something like uBlock Origin Lite,

which as the name implies is a lighter weight version of the original extension.

It's still pretty good, but it's missing a lot of those power user features that make uBlock Origin so powerful.

Luckily, full power uBlock Origin is still available on Firefox-based browsers since it uses a different browser engine and different extension API.

This extension is so good that the privacy-hardened browser LibreWolf actually ships with it pre-installed.

Out of the box, uBlock enables a pretty solid collection of blocking lists, including easy lists for ads, easy privacy for tracking, uBlock's own filters,

and a malicious URL block list.

Now these block lists are the secret sauce that most all ad blocking software have in common.

These lists contain tens of thousands of rules

that can be separated into filters that define what should be blocked and exceptions that define what content should be displayed.

A pretty common pattern you'll see in these lists is forward slash images forward slash ads

which simply targets the images directory and its ad subdirectory which of of course, contains images that are used by the ads.

So the filter rule simply tells the ad blocker to not display any content from this images ads directory

when the webpage loads.

Filters can be more specific like these ones with the double pound sign

that tell the ad blocker to remove a specific element from a webpage.

EasyList is the most popular blocking list used by most ad blockers, but if you go into the filter list section of uBlock Origin,

you'll find a bunch of extra lists that aren't enabled by default, and this is where you can start tuning the extension for exactly what you want to get rid of.

For example, you can enable extra annoyance lists to start getting rid of things that aren't technically ads, but are almost as annoying as ads popping up, blocking your content.

Cookie notices, newsletters, pop-ups, social media widgets,

and the seemingly mandatory box asking you to download the web page's mobile app can all be targeted through these additional filters.

You can also add regional lists for websites outside of the normal English language easy list covers, or import your own third-party filter list

if there is something specific you want to block uBlock will periodically update subscribe lists for you, so this isn't something that you should have to maintain by hand every morning.

Now, you might think that more filters means better ad blocking, but enabling too many filters can cause some of them to interfere with each other and break certain websites,

making it harder to view the content that you want without ads.

So start with the default list and add annoyance or privacy list

that you actually want and only start piling on random third-party lists when you have a reason to.

Otherwise, eventually some login form is going to disappear and you're gonna spend 20 minutes blaming the website for not loading correctly.

And when a filter list doesn't catch something, uBlock also gives you an element picker.

You can click the eyedropper tool, select some obnoxious banner or floating box on the page,

and then create a cosmetic filter that hides that element whenever you visit the site.

This is one of the important differences between an actual browser content blocker

and some of the network level solutions

that we'll get into later uBlock doesn't just block connections from

an advertising server it can actually look at the structure of the web page

and remove individual DOM elements from what the browser renders.

If you want to go further down the rabbit hole uBlock also has a logger

that lets you watch requests being made by a page to see what rules are blocking them.

From there you can write your own filters in the my filter section.

There can be simple rules that are blocking a URL all the way up to cosmetic filters,

scriptlets, redirects, and other rules designed to deal with websites that try to work around conventional ad blocking. At that point,

uBlock starts to go from being a simple browser extension to more like a tiny firewall that's bolted directly onto your browser.

There's also an advanced dynamic filtering mode where you can create rules based on things like first-party and third-party requests, scripts, or frames.

This gives you a ridiculous amount of control, but it's also the point where you can break half of the internet

if you start clicking buttons without really understanding what they do.

Dynamic rules can override static filter rules, so this is probably something that most people should just leave alone unless they actually want

that level of control and to go through the process of understanding that level of control.

The nice part though is that none of this is required to just get good ad blocking.

Simply installing the extension or downloading a browser like Librewolf

that pre-bundles uBlock Origin is going to get you 90% of the way there.

But the complicated stuff is there for

when you need it instead of it just being forced on everybody and forcing everybody to learn it.

Now, if all of that still sounds like too much screwing around with browser extensions, Brave takes a different approach.

Instead of installing uBlock Origin into the browser, Brave builds its own content blocker directly into the browser with Brave Shield,

so there's not something separate that you have to install.

When you install Brave, the ad and tracker blocker is already sitting there in the address bar waiting to ruin some marketing company's quarterly analytics report.

Under the hood, Brave's ad blocker is powered by a native Rust engine called Adblock Rust.

It uses a lot of the same block list as uBlock Origin and also supports network blocking, cosmetic filtering, resource replacement, host style rules,

and even a number of uBlock Origin syntax extension and scriptlet resources.

Because this is native functionality built into Brave, rather than an extension running through Chromium's extension API,

Brave can do this kind of filtering without depending on Manifest V2 being available in the browser.

Brave also gives you a simple slider to change the levels of blocking, similar to what you get with uBlock Lite.

Standard mode focuses on third-party advertising and tracking while trying to avoid breaking websites.

If you change the tracker and ad blocking setting to aggressive, then Brave is also gonna start blocking first-party ads,

which is an ad being served directly from the same website that you're visiting to view content, which gets a little bit more complicated.

So just like with using overly aggressive settings in uBlock Origin,

the more aggressive settings for Brave Shields have a greater chance of making some badly designed websites, throw a tantrum, and not display the content that you want to see.

And Brave actually exposes quite a bit of the machinery behind Shields, so if you want to dig deeper than just the simple slider you can go to

Brave double forward slash settings forward slash shields forward slash filters

and from here you can enable additional filter lists you can force an update and create your own custom filters.

Brave also supports subscribing to compatible third-party lists so you're not completely stuck with just whatever Brave decides to ship.

You can even block specific elements on a web page

and have those rules stored with your custom filters

which gets you surprisingly close to some of the everyday functionality that a lot of people use uBlock Origin for.

Now that doesn't mean that Brave Shields

and uBlock Origin are exactly the same thing uBlock gives power users a much deeper set of tools for inspecting requests,

creating filtering rules, and controlling exactly how the browser communicates with different resources.

For most normal users that trade-off is probably pretty reasonable.

Without ticking the advanced user feature in uBlock Origin you actually do get fairly similar experience to using Brave,

but for the person who has 17 custom rules blocking JavaScript from a toaster company's website,

uBlock Origin with advanced user features is going to be the best browser-based ad blocker.

But now if we zoom out from your computer's web browser into the full spectrum of digital device ads, you quickly realize

that these browser-based blockers are missing a lot uBlock Origin protects the browser where you installed the uBlock Origin extension.

Brave Shields protects traffic going through the Brave browser, but neither one is going to reach out of your browser on

that specific device and then stop the weather app on your phone

or some free-to-play game or your smart tv

or the sketchy piece of software that came pre-installed with your printer from phoning home to an advertising server.

This is where ad blocking starts to get more advanced

because instead of trying to block the advertisement inside of a

specific application on a specific device you can move the filter

further down the network stack one of the most common ways

100

people do this is with something like a pie hole

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so piehole describes itself as a dns sinkhole

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and unlike a browser extension it doesn't need to be installed

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on every device you're trying to protect it only needs to be installed on one network

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so So you run it on a Linux machine somewhere on your network.

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Usually people run it on a Raspberry Pi, which is where it gets the name Pi-hole from.

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But really any always on Linux box will do.

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And then you point your devices at that device that you're running the Pi-hole software on for your DNS server.

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The easiest way to make that network wide is usually through your router.

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Normally your router's DHCP server gives every static device an IP address along with the address of a DNS server

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that it should use.

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So instead of sending those devices straight to your ISP, Google DNS, Cloudflare, or whatever resolver you normally use in your router,

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you hand them the address of your piehole.

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So then your laptop, your phone, smart TV, literally every device that you have can send their DNS requests through

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that same filtering server to avoid displaying ads on them.

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When one of those devices asks for the IP address of a domain, the PyHole checks the domain against its blocking rules, and then if that domain is blocked, PyHole stops the request there.

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And of course, this can be used for filtering all kinds of other content besides just advertisements.

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And if the content isn't blocked, PyHole will forward the request to an upstream DNS resolver and return the answer to the client,

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thus giving you the content on that web page.

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This is a much more blunt instrument though than browser-based blockers, but it's also why it works with so many different things.

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The piehole doesn't care whether the request is coming from Firefox, whether it's coming from a mobile game,

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Windows telemetry, or a smart TV that apparently needs to tell six different companies every single time you open up Netflix.

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It just sends a DNS query and decides whether that domain can be resolved or not.

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AdGuard is another piehole-like device that supports native encryption and easy-to-configure parental controls.

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Both AdGuard and the piehole support per-client device settings, which means that you can apply different filtering behavior to different devices.

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So maybe your desktop can get really aggressive filtering

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while some IoT device gets its own rules

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because blocking one analytics domain somehow causes a light bulb to forget what the color blue is.

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AdGuard Home also supports encrypted DNS protocols for clients that you configure to use them.

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Now, the downside to DNS filtering is

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that it has no idea what is actually happening inside of the webpage

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or inside of the application that you're trying to block ads or block certain types of content in.

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So if ads.example.com is only used for serving advertising, then you can just block that entire domain,

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but if example.com serves both the content you want and the advertisement that you don't want,

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aka a first-party ad, then sadly DNS can't tell the difference and do element-based blocking like the browser-based ad blockers can.

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As far as the DNS server is concerned, both requests are asking for how to reach example.com,

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and so that's why the DNS blockers have trouble with things like Facebook

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or Twitch ads or sponsored posts that come from the same domain as the real content.

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DNS filtering also can't clean up the web page if removing an ad breaks the user interface.

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So if a pie hole blocks an ad, which leaves a giant empty rectangle in the middle of the article,

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it can't modify the DOM to remove that gap to give you a better viewing experience,

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which is one of the big advantages that uBlock Origin and Brave have over the basic DNS blockers,

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which is why the best solution for ad blocking is a layered approach.

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Of course, the browser-based content filters are the easiest to set up.

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Sometimes it's as easy as just installing a new browser while using PyHole,

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AdGuard, or any other DNS-based network-wide solution literally gets you into the world of self-hosting

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and setting up an always-on device to run on your network.

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But if you consume content outside of your desktop browser, it's definitely worth taking that plunge if you want to enjoy an ad-free internet experience.

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If you enjoyed this video, please like and share to hack the algorithm, and check out my online store, Base.Win, where you can buy my awesome merch or accessories for your phone or laptop.

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10% store-wide discount when you pay with Monero XMR at checkout.

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Have a great rest of your day.

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Thank you.

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47 sentences

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 151 sentences and 2497 words to shadow. The speech runs for 14:02. The speaker talks at a natural 178 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 76% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
filter noun	/ˈfɪltɚ/	A device which separates a suspended, dissolved, or particulate matter from a fluid, solution, or other substance; any device that separates one substance from…
browser noun	/ˈbɹaʊ.zəɹ/	One who or which browses.
extension noun	/ɪkˈstɛnʃən/	The act of extending; a stretching out; enlargement in length, breadth, or time; an increase.
server noun	/ˈsɝvɚ/	A program that provides services to other programs or devices, either in the same computer or over a computer network.
domain noun	/ˌdəʊˈmeɪ̯n/	A geographic area owned or controlled by a single person or organization.
installed verb	/ɪnˈstɔːld/	readied for use
enable verb	/ɪˈneɪ.bəl/	To make somebody able (to do, or to be, something); to give sufficient ability or power to do or to be; to give strength or ability to.
shield noun	/ˈʃild/	A broad piece of defensive armor, held in hand, formerly in general use in war, for the protection of the body.
install verb	/ɪnˈstɔl/	To connect, set up or prepare something for use
element noun	/ˈɛləmənt/	One of the simplest or essential parts or principles of which anything consists, or upon which the constitution or fundamental powers of anything are based.
aggressive adjective	/əˈɡɹɛs.ɪv/	Characterized by aggression; highly combative; prone to behave in a way that involves attacking (especially if unjustly) or arguing.
custom noun	/ˈkʌstəm/	Frequent repetition of the same behavior; way of behavior common to many; ordinary manner; habitual practice; method of doing, living or behaving.
privacy noun	/ˈpɹaɪ.və.si/	The state of being secluded from the presence, sight, or knowledge of others.
advertisement noun	/ˈædvɚˌtaɪzmənt/	A commercial solicitation designed to sell some commodity, service or similar.
cosmetic noun	/kɒzˈmɛtɪk/	Any substances applied to enhance the external color or texture of the skin, e.g. lipstick, eyeshadow, eyeliner.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
go through verb		To travel from one end of something to the other.
set up verb	/ˌsɛt ˈʌp/	To make ready for use.
check out verb		To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.).
clean up verb		To make an area or a thing clean; to pick up a mess; to tidy.
have over verb		To host (a visiting guest) at one's house.
open up verb		To open.
pop up verb		To come up with a "pop" sound.
run through verb		To summarise briefly.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	being bombarded · can be separated · aren't enabled
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	browser, which is · person who has · settings, which means

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 26 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, doesn't, can't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: extension /ɪkˈstɛnʃən/, shield /ˈʃild/, exception /əkˈsɛpʃən/, conventional /kənˈvɛnʃənl̩/, machinery /məˈʃiːnəɹi/
Long words — get the stress right: advertisement /ˈædvɚˌtaɪzmənt/, complicated /ˈkɑm.plɪˌkeɪ.tɪd/, directory /dɪˈɹɛktəɹi/, analytics /ˌæn.əˈlɪt.ɪks/, ridiculous /ɹɪˈdɪk.jə.ləs/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like filter, browser, extension.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

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