FAQ about extensions and Antishock

Extensions

Tip

For more information, see Extensions.

An extension stopped working

Try reinstalling it:

  1. Go to browser://extensions in Yandex Browser.

  2. Find the necessary extension and click Remove.

  3. Reinstall the extension from the browser://tune page or via the source you originally installed it from.

The Yandex Mail, Yandex Disk, Yandex Weather, or Yandex Traffic extension isn't working

The Yandex Elements extensions (Yandex Mail, Weather, Traffic, and Disk) are no longer supported and can't be installed. They may not work as expected if you've installed them earlier. Install web apps of these services.

Error in the extension, it shuts down

Try reinstalling it:

  1. Go to browser://extensions in Yandex Browser.

  2. Find the necessary extension and click Remove.

  3. Reinstall the extension from the browser://tune page or via the source you originally installed it from.

The extension doesn't change the appearance of the new tab

Yandex Browser ignores extensions that change the appearance or functionality of a new tab so that useful information isn't removed from it. You can disable the elements you don't need, such as sites pinned to the Tableau, news, weather, and other widgets. You can also add your own Yandex Browser background and customize the theme.

Antishock

Tip

To learn more about Antishock, see Filter out inappropriate ads.

Antishock is an extension for Yandex Browser that blocks banners containing unpleasant images, porn, or ads for websites that may offer fraudulent services.

Why does Yandex block “bad” ads?

While some ads are helpful, others can be intrusive, offensive, or even dangerous. They may contain pornographic images, lead to fraudulent sites, or suggest that users download software that is infected with viruses. These type of ads cheapen the internet services they are displayed on in the eyes of users and breed distrust toward online ads as a whole.

Yandex is constantly developing tools to improve the internet environment and protect users from malicious and/or useless content such as spam, viruses, doorway sites, fraudulent pages, and "adult" content on sites serving a general audience. For example, Yandex's search engine uses a ranking mechanism that gives preference to pages that don't contain harmful or unpleasant ads. Sites containing these types of negative banners are found in lower positions within the search results.

Antishock is another Yandex feature designed to protect you from inappropriate ads.

Which banners does Antishock consider harmful or shocking?

Antishock considers the following types of banners to be harmful or shocking:

  • Erotic and pornographic ads
    Banners with erotic or pornographic images or ads for adult sites. These ads are blocked on all sites except those where they match the site topic.

  • Aggressive and shocking ads
    Banners with graphic images of disasters, survivors of violence, creepy characters from horror movies, worms and parasites, diseases and deformities, infected organs and ulcers, and extremely obese people. Close-up drawings and photos of private parts and childbirth. Ads with messages about the death of celebrities or predicting the end of the world.

  • Intrusive and annoying ads
    Animated flashing banners. Windows and tabs with ads that appear when clicking a video or an empty space on the page, or when trying to close ads.

  • SMS fraud advertising
    Banners that advertise sites related to SMS fraud. Banners faking messages from social media. Banners promising to award you lottery winnings, prizes for being the Nth visitor to a website, access to a declassified database of personal information (or the ability to delete your information from it), fortune telling, etc.

  • Dubious banners
    Banners with bogus messages about malware threats or available updates, or banners that mimic windows and other interface elements of the browser. Banners that promise money-making opportunities without explaining how. Suspicious ads offering treatment for diseases, rejuvenation and weight loss without indicating the medications, treatment method or clinic. Banners advertising celebrity diets, especially if they contain compromising images.

If a banner ad does not appear shocking but leads to a page with shocking content, Antishock considers it harmful and blocks the ad source.

How does Antishock differ from other ad-blocking extensions?
  • Ad-blocking extensions may block other elements of the website layout in addition to ads. This may ruin the site's appearance or functionality. Antishock doesn't affect a site's functionality.
  • Other extensions may block all banner ads with no exception. Because of this, sites that depend on normal ads to keep working are losing revenue. That is why web resources request that users not use ad-blocking extensions. Antishock only blocks banners that its algorithm identifies as harmful or shocking and does not prevent display of other ads.
Antishock has mistakenly blocked ads on my site. What do I do?

Write to us using the form. Include a link to your site and the blocked banners in your message. Please also explain why you think the blocked ads are not malicious or shocking.

Antishock allowed a shocking banner to display on a webpage. How can I prevent it from being displayed in Yandex Browser?

To prevent a shocking banner from displaying:

  1. Right-click the ad.
  2. Select Complain about ad in the context menu.

After that, the banner will disappear and no longer display in Yandex Browser. A message about the shocking banner will be sent to Yandex, and if there are a lot of these messages, the ad source may be blocked for all users.

My site's content is not appealing to advertisers. "White" ad networks don't want to work with me and "gray" and "black" ones are blocked by Antishock. What networks can I use?

Antishock was not designed to target specific advertisers or networks; its purpose is to protect users from malicious and shocking ads. If you care about your users and offer quality content, look for an ad network that serves appropriate ads without shocking banners.

I got rid of my ad network's shocking banners, but am still blocked. What do I do?

If you altered your ad network's content but still see its name in the blocked list, please write to us.

My ad network is “white”, but the moderators sometimes allow shocking banners. Will my network be blocked?

The Antishock algorithm takes many different factors into account. Your network won't be blocked based on a few shocking banners.

If you think your network was blocked by mistake, write to us.

My ad network is gray; both shocking and regular banners are served on sites. What should I do to prevent my network from being blocked?

We recommend putting the shocking advertising in a separate independent section. Then Antishock will not block normal ad sources.

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