When browsing online, you encounter a website that claims adblockers, such as Browser Guard, are causing the site to crash or not load properly.
How this issue affects you
When using Browser Guard to protect your device and block ads, you encounter a website that claims there was an issue loading the site. These claims may appear as a pop up on the site and prompt you to allow the website in your ad blocker to "fix the issue." If you choose not to add the site to the allow list or turn off Browser Guard, the site may appear broken or have a jumbled layout.
Here are a few examples of what these pop ups could look like:
What caused this issue
While these websites claim that ad blockers are the source of the issue, the actual cause of the website malfunction are the ad recovery tools these websites use. Websites that want to show you ads implement ad recovery tools that detect when an ad blocker is in use and purposefully alter the website to make it appear broken.
These tactics that use ad recovery tools are deceitful and blame the ad blocker for issues when in reality it is an attempt to trick you into allowing ads or discontinuing the use of an adblocker.
How to resolve this issue
If a website claims Browser Guard or an ad blocker is breaking the site, check to see if the website asks you to add the site to the allow list or to turn off Browser Guard. If the site asks you to do either, it is likely using an ad recovery tool.
We recommend using caution when visiting websites that ask you to turn off protection. However, if you still want to visit the website, you can turn off Browser Guard's ad/tracker protection:
- Click the Malwarebytes icon
in your browser's header.
- On the main dashboard, toggle off Ads/Tracker.