Stay safe online with ad-block

An ad-block browser extension is one of the first things I install on a new computer and browser. As the name suggests, the main use of an ad-blocker is to block ads on websites and Youtube videos. But what you might not notice or know is that having an ad-block on your browser makes your internet experience safer for you.

One way many people get scammed online is because a popup tells them they have a virus, they call that number, and get scammed. But, if you have ad-block on your browser, you will never see those scam popups. Another, less scammy, but similarly disingenuous thing ad-block blocks are “sponsored results” on Google search and other pages. When you used to search google, all results below would be organic search results, but now, Google sells ad space in place of the first few results. With an ad-block browser extension these sponsored results will be blocked.

The ad-block extension I and many others use for Chrome and Firefox is u-block origin.

Chrome extension link

Firefox extension link

Take a picture on your phone with the volume button

On both Apple and Android phones, you can take a photo by pressing either volume button along the side of your phone. This is like a physical button on an old camera.

For people who have trouble holding their phone steady or mistakenly take multiple photos at once, using the physical button instead of the touch screen can help you hold the phone steadier and only take one photo at a time.

To use this feature, open your camera like normal, then click either the up volume or down volume button and your camera will take a picture.