Adguard for Mac 1.0

[avatar-adg]

Hi!

My name is Andrey and I am Adguard team lead.
I'd like to present you our new app for OS X which we've released recently.

What is Adguard?
Adguard is the world’s first standalone ad blocker for Mac. Unlike other ad blockers AG does not depend on the browser you use. Thus it filters all browsers and it can even block ads in the apps (like Mail or uTorrent).

Features:
1. Blocks ads in all browsers.
2. Blocks video ads in Safari (other blockers may block Youtube ads, but that's done with an ugly javascript hack and only for Youtube).
3. Blocking ads in apps. You can add any app in AG settings and it will filter ads there.
4. More control. As a standalone app, Adguard filters all requests sent by the browser including different API and tracking requests which are invisible to browser extensions.
5. Web page code filtering. Adguard modifies page code before browser receives it. Thus lots of ad and tracking requests aren't sent at all.

Screenshots (clickable):



Reviews:
We've just released Adguard for Mac so there're not many of them.

• Softpedia.com (4.5/5)

How to get it?
You can download it from our website:
http://adguard.com/en/adguard-mac/overview.html

Latest version is 1.0.63
Adguard is a shareware ($19.95/yr), trial period is 14 days.

Beta testing
This is the very first version and it does not yet have all features we want. We continue development and we will be glad to accept new beta testers.

 

[miknos]

I'm a big fan of proxy blockers.
-Being able to block ads in apps.
-Less resources in browser. And it works with any. No compatibility problem.

I'm a big fan of Glimmerblocker. Unfortunately it doesn't work in https. Tried Adguard and it is now one of my favourite apps.


Not a fan of yearly subscriptions though.

 

[avatar-adg]

Not a fan of yearly subscriptions though.

Yeah, there're lots of users who hate subscriptions, that's why we have a "lifetime license" option.

 

[miknos]

^^ Nice.

I know the app and specially the filters have maintenance. But subscriptions is something most people are not used though.

Adguard is great.
Best Regards

 

[phrehdd]

I put Adguard on my system and seems to work reasonably well. My purpose was to deal with sites that are over populated with the type of ads that are animated or cause other intensive use of my system that resulted in fans flaring and temps rising. - So far, so good.

 

[maflynn]

But subscriptions is something most people are not used though.

Agreed, I have too many subscriptions as it stands. I'll look into the lifetime license option

 

[mic j]

Just downloaded and looks like it does a nice job. I have an app that has a browser built into it that does not accept extensions so I could not add an ad blocking extension to it. Drove me nuts. Adguard cleaned it up very nicely, videos and all. After the trial period, I'll have to decide. $20 is not inexpensive.

 

[steve62388]

Way too expensive when there are loads of perfectly adequate free solutions.

And why would anyone risk paying the even more extortionate price of a lifetime license for a product that has been around for a couple of months?

 

[miknos]

Way too expensive when there are loads of perfectly adequate free solutions.

And why would anyone risk paying the even more extortionate price of a lifetime license for a product that has been around for a couple of months?

Couple of months? Are you mistaking ad blockers for iOS?

The closest solution I know is Glimmerblocker but it does not work with https.

A proxy blocker is better compared to a browser extension. It uses less resources, block ads/trackers for your all connections, it's more stable...

$50 for the lifetime license is not cheap imo but calling it extortionate is a little too much.

They offer a free extension for both OS X and iOS.

 

[maflynn]

And why would anyone risk paying the even more extortionate price of a lifetime license for a product that has been around for a couple of months?

How is 49.99 dollars considered extortionate price?

I understand that people's mentality of wanting all apps to be $1.99 but 50 dollars for a lifetime license is very cheap.

At some point developers need to make enough money to justify their existence, pay the bills and feed their families. I'd rather pay 50 dollars and not be inundated by ads, or whitelists that allow ads.

 

[steve62388]

How is 49.99 dollars considered extortionate price?

I understand that people's mentality of wanting all apps to be $1.99 but 50 dollars for a lifetime license is very cheap.

At some point developers need to make enough money to justify their existence, pay the bills and feed their families. I'd rather pay 50 dollars and not be inundated by ads, or whitelists that allow ads.

I'm so glad you asked.

A lot of people have two devices, laptop and desktop so lifetime licenses are USD 89.90. And that lifetime license is only as good as the company that honours it and stays in business. I don't think Adguard has an adequate history yet to take that risk.

I compare that to Viscosity, which manipulates your networks settings too and that costs USD 9 for two computers. Sparklabs charge for major updates (eg 1.x - 2.x), all point upgrades are free. They have been on v1.x for six years.

And not forgetting there are adequate free alternative ad blockers (I concede Adguard's method is superior).

So if we are talking ten times the price for Adguard compared to Viscosity and free alternatives, yes extortionate price.

 

[maflynn]

So if we are talking ten times the price for Adguard compared to Viscosity and free alternatives, yes extortionate price.

You can make that case for any application. Gimp vs. Photoshop, MS Office vs. Libre Office. Why not compare commercial paid apps, that's a more accurate comparison.

The Viscosity app you reference appears to be a VPN client, which is a little different then Adguard. I'll say while there may be some overlap in features, you're comparing apples and oranges.

Yes, you will always find a cheaper alternative, but those have their own downsides. Your statement that the cost is extortionate is hyperbole and really doesn't make sense given the features that this provides. You're free to disagree and not purchase the app, that's your right, but I disagree with your assessment.

You can compare free with something, but my point is that we have a robust application with a complete lifetime license.

As for the 89.90 price. I think you purpose selected an option that illustrates a higher cost but may not be applicable to most OS X users. You select two desktop and two android phones, where as the standard protections for two computers is only 69.90.

 

[steve62388]

You can make that case for any application. Gimp vs. Photoshop, MS Office vs. Libre Office. Why not compare commercial paid apps, that's a more accurate comparison.

The Viscosity app you reference appears to be a VPN client, which is a little different then Adguard. I'll say while there may be some overlap in features, you're comparing apples and oranges.

Yes, you will always find a cheaper alternative, but those have their own downsides. Your statement that the cost is extortionate is hyperbole and really doesn't make sense given the features that this provides. You're free to disagree and not purchase the app, that's your right, but I disagree with your assessment.

You can compare free with something, but my point is that we have a robust application with a complete lifetime license.

As for the 89.90 price. I think you purpose selected an option that illustrates a higher cost but may not be applicable to most OS X users. You select two desktop and two android phones, where as the standard protections for two computers is only 69.90.
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I just selected the default option on their purchase page, but chose two computers. To say 'I think you purpose selected an option that illustrates a higher cost' [sic] is just calling me a liar so I don't think much of your assessment. Perhaps they should change the default selection on their page so they don't confuse anybody into buying licenses they don't need? It's okay, I don't expect an apology.

At USD 69.90 it's still eight times the price of Viscosity with a lifetime license from a company that hasn't been around very long. I'm not going to spend more than a couple of minutes looking for alternative paid ad blocking software, does it even exist?

 

[jlevy73]

I just selected the default option on their purchase page, but chose two computers. To say 'I think you purpose selected an option that illustrates a higher cost' [sic] is just calling me a liar so I don't think much of your assessment. Perhaps they should change the default selection on their page so they don't confuse anybody into buying licenses they don't need? It's okay, I don't expect an apology.

At USD 69.90 it's still eight times the price of Viscosity with a lifetime license from a company that hasn't been around very long. I'm not going to spend more than a couple of minutes looking for alternative paid ad blocking software, does it even exist?

I agree, it is expensive all things being considered equal. But your example of Viscosity I'm not sure is a fair example since they do two different things. If you are looking for something less expensive that also does a good job, Ghostery and uBlock are very good. 1Blocker now has a Mac app but it's still feels beta to me. One of the things that I really like about Adguard is the customer service you get. Is it a better ad-blocker than the ones mentioned above, hard to say, they all do a pretty good job.

 

[spitf1r3]

A proxy blocker is better compared to a browser extension.

Except for privacy - I'd suggest to use LittleSnitch/HandsOff with it to see what servers it's contacting..

 

[MacUserUK]

One of the things that I really like about Adguard is the customer service you get.

I disagree. I was literally about to sign up for an account for 3 computers, I asked a very very simple question to support via email and the reply I got back didn't answer my question, I received a very generic non-specific reply

I have replied to their response, lets wait and see what comes back

 

[miknos]

At USD 69.90 it's still eight times the price of Viscosity with a lifetime license from a company that hasn't been around very long. I'm not going to spend more than a couple of minutes looking for alternative paid ad blocking software, does it even exist?

You shouldn't compare Viscosity to Adguard since they serve different purpose.
Nobody is forcing you to buy Adguard. If you don't like the price, don't buy it. If you don't want to spend anything at all, you can use the extension which is free. There is many options for extensions. uBlock was my favorite. I used with Glimmerblocker for extra protection.
GlimmerBlocker is the closest you'll get to Adguard (app). Unfortunately it does not work in https.

Except for privacy - I'd suggest to use LittleSnitch/HandsOff with it to see what servers it's contacting..

All ad blockers intercept traffic so using AdGuard is not more dangerous. Little Snitch is the first app I install in OS X. Adguard is the second.

 

[avatar-adg]

Except for privacy - I'd suggest to use LittleSnitch/HandsOff with it to see what servers it's contacting..

Just in case, here is our privacy policy:
https://adguard.com/en/privacy.html#mac

We take this very seriously, so I am perfectly fine with somebody checking what is being sent (LittleSnitch or tcpdump). Unfortunately, we cannot make our paid software open source. At least we are doing it for all our free software (AG for iOS, browser extensions).
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And that lifetime license is only as good as the company that honours it and stays in business. I don't think Adguard has an adequate history yet to take that risk.

I guess it is ok that you know nothing about our history. First of all, we are pretty new here (by here I mean Apple platform). Second is that we are the worst marketers in the world and prefer to spend more time on development instead of promoting Adguard.

Anyway, we are in business since 2009 and we plan to stay as long as ad blocking is possible.

 

[mic j]

Trial period coming to an end and I have decided that Adguard for Mac just does not provide me with enough value to spend $20 on it. It does a fine job but, as far as I could tell, no better than my Adblocker Safari extension. I did like that it blocked ads from an app that I have that has an embedded browser, but for $20/yr I think I can put up with ads in that app as I only occasionally use it.

I think Adguard is a good product and might be a good value for someone with different needs than mine.