The ads they run on Facebook are getting downright annoying. I’m confident I’m not alone in this feeling. Here’s a beginner’s tutorial describing how you can prevent Facebook ads from being displayed. You also pick up a few other nice features in the process.
1. Download and install Firefox
If you’re already using Firefox, you can skip this step. If you’re not, consider this your wake-up call. Internet Explorer just doesn’t cut it anymore. Aside from being completely open source, Firefox allows installation of scripts that enhance your browsing experience. You won’t be able to block Facebook ads without using Firefox.
Visit this page, click on the big green download link, save the installer to your hard drive, and run it. Proceed through the installation…
2. Install Greasemonkey
Greasemonkey is an add-on for Firefox that allows for customization of the way a web page is displayed. It relies on JavaScript, but that’s not important to know for what we’re doing (unless you’re a geek).
First, bookmark this post. You’re going to restart Firefox after this step. You’ll want to get back to this post so you can pick up where you left off.
Next, visit this page and click the green “Add to Firefox” button. A dialog will pop up. Wait for the countdown to finish, then click the “Install” button. A new dialog will ask if you want to restart Firefox. Yes, you want to, so do it.
3. Install Facebook Companion
This is a Greasemonkey script that does three nice things to Facebook:
- Removes ads
- Adds an “Ignore All Requests” button (useful if you don’t want to see new app requests)
- Adds a plus over all thumbnails that, when clicked, pops up a large version of the image
To install, visit this page and click on the small, gray button on the right side titled “Install this script” (it’s just below the search box). Again, you will be presented with a dialog and an “Install” button. Click it…
4. Visit Facebook and enjoy
Now it’s time to visit Facebook and do some ad-free social networking. Enjoy!
Extra credit: if you’re interested in browsing for Greasemonkey scripts that do other cool things, check out Userscripts.org