Do you find it annoying to run out of mobile data or get charged an outrageous amount for exceeding your monthly allowance? You may not realize it, but an ad blocker could prevent this from happening on your smartphone.

Most people are unaware of the impact of ads on the performance of their devices. Ads, especially pop-ups containing various types of multimedia content, use your mobile data to load. We are seeing an increasing number of ads on webpages and apps when using our mobile devices, so this problem is becoming more alarming. Every time one of these ads loads, it uses our mobile data, and the amount of data drained is dependent on the length of the ad and the size of the file. For example, a video ad would use more of your data.

These advertisements can have a substantial cumulative impact over time and hasten the rate at which we use up our mobile data quota. This can become a problem if you have limited data on your mobile plan and are billed absurd amounts for extra data.

Many of us now consider mobile data to be necessary to stay connected and informed, so it is important to protect our allowance and not be charged excessive amounts. An ad blocker may be a solution, which works by either removing ad containers or preventing them from loading completely. This could effectively reduce the amount of data you consume in a month and, more importantly, reduce unnecessary overcharges.

Are you having a hard time waiting for your smartphone to catch up? We’ve all experienced the gradual slowing down of our phones. Have you tried any of these top 10 tips to make your phone faster?

• Digital Declutter: Use software to tune up your system, which can find and remove duplicate files and photos to clear up space.
• Uninstall Applications: Remove apps that you don’t use anymore or that are unwanted.
• Update Your Phone: Ensure you are using the latest operating system version.
• Clear Browser Data: Doing this regularly will ensure your phone works smoother.
• Remove Unwanted Music, Films, and TV Shows: These take up a large portion of your storage and aren’t worth keeping if they are no longer required.
• Consider Battery Replacement: If you want to keep your smartphone going for longer, ensure you have an efficient battery.
• Ad Blockers: Use one to disable unwanted, annoying ads which drain battery from loading multimedia content.
• Clear Cache: Of individual apps, as over time your device stores data (cache) which is normally unnecessary to keep.
• Delete Text Messages: These clog up your device’s storage and drain data.
• Have a Clean Home Screen: When your phone has a small RAM, loading various live photos and widgets on your home screen, and updates in the background are probably having an effect on your battery life.

Malicious links continue to pose a serious danger to online security despite advancements in cybersecurity technology. Cybercriminals use these links to fool users into clicking on them and redirect them to harmful websites, steal sensitive information, install malware, and conduct other forms of attacks.

Your most effective way to tackle malicious links and the various problems they cause is to download antivirus software. An effective antivirus will perform more than just virus removal; it will also operate automated URL checks and immediately block any links that could be detrimental to your device. There are settings as part of popular antivirus software, such as TotalAV, that enable blocking “Low Trust” websites, such as those with poor reputation, using unethical and deceptive methods to coerce you into giving up money or personal information. There’s also a special feature that allows you to block “Cryptomining URLs,” which can use your device to mine cryptographic coins, utilizing more of your device’s energy and diminishing its resources.

You can further avoid malicious links by following a few easy steps:

• Check Site Security: Make sure the website you’re visiting has an “https” and a little padlock icon in the search bar. For extra protection, check the provided SSL certificate by clicking on the padlock and ensuring it states “extended validation” – this ensures the website is legitimate.
• Be Vigilant with Emails: Hackers frequently email false URLs. Simply don’t click on the link. Hacking emails are becoming increasingly sophisticated and are beginning to look more and more realistic, taking you to a site that can look nearly identical to the one they are replicating; whether it be your bank, social networking sites or a random person pretending to be your friend. Simply enter the relevant web address into your browser to securely access your account, and check for contact.
• Avoid Pop-Ups: Perhaps install an ad blocker to eliminate pop-ups which pose as components of a website that could potentially be legitimate. Clicking on these pop-ups can redirect you to unsafe websites or download malware to your device.

If you want to avoid becoming a victim of malicious attacks, you should invest in cutting-edge antivirus software and stay informed about phishing attempts.