What is a system-wide ad blocker?
A system-wide ad blocker runs as its own program on your PC and filters web traffic before it reaches your applications — instead of living inside one browser as an extension. One install covers Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera and other supported browsers on your computer, plus other desktop programs you choose to filter.
How is AdFender different from a browser extension?
An extension protects only the browser it’s installed in, under rules that browser sets — Chrome’s Manifest V3, for example, restricts what ad-blocking extensions are allowed to do. AdFender filters outside the browser, so it covers your supported browsers at once, keeps working when you switch browsers, and isn’t subject to extension limits.
Does AdFender work with Chrome, Edge, and Firefox?
Yes. Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera and other supported browsers are detected and covered from the start — there’s nothing to add inside each browser. If a browser you use is missing from the Apps page, you can add it there.
Does AdFender work on Windows 7 or Windows 8?
No. AdFender 3.0 needs Windows 10 or Windows 11, and runs on both 32-bit and 64-bit editions. Setup will not install on Windows 7, 8 or 8.1.
Does AdFender work on non-English websites?
Yes. The built-in lists cover English-language sites out of the box, and when Windows is set to another language that AdFender has a list for, setup suggests that list and switches it on. There are lists for German, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Turkish, Arabic, Hebrew, Chinese, Japanese and Korean, plus one that covers Russian and Ukrainian sites and one that covers Indian-language sites. You can add or change regional lists anytime from the Filters page.
Is my browsing data private?
Yes. All the filtering happens on your PC: AdFender checks the sites you visit against your filter lists locally and never sends us your browsing history. It does check in with our servers, for licensing and to tell you about updated filter lists or a new version, and that check-in carries limited information about the app — including your license status and a device identifier — and two running totals of ads and trackers blocked. They are only counts: nothing about which ads or trackers were blocked, or on which sites. There is no account to create and no profile of you.
Every field a check-in carries is listed in our privacy policy.
Is HTTPS filtering safe?
Yes, with the safeguards AdFender builds in. To block ads inside secure pages, AdFender installs a root certificate that is generated on your PC and unique to your installation — we never see it and do not hold a copy of its key. Pages are filtered on your PC, and AdFender does not send us what you browse. Banks, payment services, password managers and government and tax sites are on AdFender’s exclusion list from the start, several hundred of them, and pass through without AdFender decrypting their traffic. You can see the list, add your own sites to it, or turn HTTPS filtering off at any time from the dashboard.
What the certificate is, and how to manage the exclusion list: HTTPS filtering and the certificate.
Does AdFender slow down my PC?
AdFender is designed to stay light in the background. Blocking ads means less for your browser to download and display, which can make ad-heavy pages load faster; how much difference you notice varies by page and by PC.
Is there a free trial?
Yes — 14 days with every feature available, no account and no card needed. When the trial ends, filtering stops until you activate a license, and nothing is charged. AdFender has plans from $24.99/year for 3 PCs, plus tax, and one code covers 3, 5 or 10 PCs at once, depending on the plan. It is a yearly price that never renews on its own, with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
What happens when my license year ends?
Nothing is charged: AdFender never renews on its own. When the year ends, AdFender stops blocking ads and trackers until you enter a renewal code. Renewing before the end adds the new year on top of your current end date, so renewing early costs you nothing.
What each license message means, and how to renew: license messages.
Does AdFender work with a VPN or antivirus?
Usually, yes. In AdFender’s default app-level mode, filtering happens on your PC before a VPN carries the traffic, so VPNs and security software normally work as usual alongside it. If another program changes your connection settings, or security software shows a certificate warning, there are simple fixes.
The fixes, step by step: using AdFender with a VPN or security software.
I bought AdFender but didn’t get my activation code. Where is it?
Your code is in the order-confirmation email from orders@adfender.com. If it is not in your inbox, check your spam or junk folder and search your mail for that address. Still nothing? Use the order look-up on our website and we will send the code again to the email address you bought with.
Get your code sent again: look up your order.