Are you tired of watching a few minutes of video only to watch a one-minute ad first? For people who are not paying members, this experience is almost routine. Right now, there is a way to help you get rid of it.
Basics of ad blocking
The interception of network requests is the core of ad blocking. If an application presents an ad loading request, it will tend to send the request to a specific ad server. Blocking tools identify and block these requests, causing the advertising content to be unable to be loaded and displayed, thereby achieving the effect of removing ads. This method is not complicated, and the focus is to accurately identify which requests belong to the advertising service.
In actual operation, you need to use network debugging tools. Such tools can monitor the network activities of all applications on the device, allowing you to see every incoming and outgoing data request. By analyzing the addresses and content of these requests, you can find out the parts related to advertising, and then carry out targeted blocking.
Functional positioning of the Surge tool
Surge is a network debugging tool with powerful functions. It is developed based on the network expansion features of the iOS system. Its main user groups are developers and advanced users. It is used to analyze application behavior, test network interfaces, and troubleshoot connection problems. It's not a simple ad blocking app.
Having said that, ad blocking is just a derivative function of it. However, with its fine-grained rule configuration capabilities, users can define their own blocking strategies, which provides a new direction of use for those who already have this tool but want to tap more practical value.
Rule configuration steps
First, you have to create or edit the configuration file in Surge. In the rules section of the configuration file, you can add new interception rules. The format of the rules generally covers matching patterns and operation types, such as denying requests that point to specific domain names or contain specific keywords.
The process operation must be meticulous. Generally, you must first enable Surge's HTTP proxy, then open the target application to trigger an ad request, and then return to Surge's request log to view the record. Based on the URL characteristics of the request in the log, you can then determine and add accurate interception rules.
How to identify ad requests
The determination of ad requests is mainly based on the URL address. The domain names of many ad requests will include prominent words such as "ad", "ads", "adx" or "doubleclick". In addition, some advertising platforms have fixed domain names, and these domain names can be included in the blacklist.
Another way is to pay attention to the request frequency and response content. Advertising requests usually burst out before the start of the video or when the application is started. In the logs, the response time and data size of these requests are also very likely to be different from normal content requests. Users must observe and compare them repeatedly to deduce the rules.
Possible problems and risks
The core functions of some applications will call domain names that are the same as advertising services. Excessive interception is likely to cause the application to function abnormally. Rough interception may prevent the application from loading content normally, or directly cause a crash. Therefore, you must test carefully when adding rules.
Frequent modifications and the addition of a large number of rules may affect the efficiency of Surge itself, thereby increasing network latency. Improperly configured rules can also lead to the risk of privacy leaks because they require in-depth analysis of your network traffic data.
Looking for better solutions
For most users, it may be easier and more reliable to use specialized ad blocking applications. These applications maintain an updated ad rule library, eliminating the complexity of manual analysis. At the same time, in view of the consideration of supporting genuine content, purchasing membership services is a legal way to eliminate advertising from the source.
Although technical means can temporarily solve the current problem, it is also accompanied by the situation where the rules become invalid after the application is updated, and the existence of system compatibility is unknown. Users need to make trade-offs for themselves based on convenience, stability, etc., as well as cost of use.
Do you tend to spend time delving into complex network tool configurations in order to eliminate ads, or do you think it would be more worry-free to purchase membership directly? Just share your views and experiences in the comment area? This is an invitation.
