AdGuard 6 official release

Jokes aside, it was the most anticipated Adguard update ever!

We have received so many comments/emails and such asking about Adguard 6 release.

Somewhat a month ago we have introduced the RC of new Adguard 6 and it was a success. Not only our users liked it, they actively helped us improve all defects to prepare a flawless (well, more or less :)) version for the official release.

Today is the day – we are releasing Adguard 6. Yes, finally !:)

Adguard 6.0: your favorite program like you’ve never seen it before

Let us go through the program and tell you about all the changes on the way.

New UI design

And the first thing that you notice is that Adguard user interface is completely redesigned. As you know, Adguard 6 meant to fulfill the main task: to refresh Windows version completely. And such renovation began exactly with totally new UI, which now has metro-like tile design. Remember the old version, which structure wasn’t really convenient. Now you see all the modules right away, and can easily manage protection.

Another thing which we would like to mention is that new interface is much more friendly to people with visual impairment. We have improved Adguard support from the keyboard: now Windows screen reader sees almost all the elements of the program – tips, tuning, and more.

Better performance

Not only interface changes, Adguard has changed internally as well. Look at the comparison of Adguard 6 and Adguard 5.10:

As you see memory consumption is greatly reduced, page load is speeded up and program launches much faster. New Adguard is more lightweight and works much faster.

Extensions module

Another thing which you see straight away is the new module “Extensions”. We have put all useful extensions together in a separate module, which can be enabled/disabled as a whole.

If you click on Settings inside the module you will see which of extensions became a part of the new section:

Our tips (question marks on the right) will tell you what they are and why they are needed.

Stealth Mode

As you remember, there were 3 main ‘pillars’ of protection in previous Adguard versions: Ad Blocker, Browsing Security and Parental Control. Well, good news, there are 4 of them now. Welcome Stealth Mode!

Stealth Mode is the module for privacy protection. And it is something really different from what we had in previous Adguard. Back then we only had a filter against spyware, counters and trackers. But it’s a brand new story in Adguard 6.

In May 2015 we held a little experiment. We made an extension for Yandex.Browser which purpose was privacy protection. This project took a completely different approach to achieving online privacy and that is why was very interesting for us. Simultaneously we worked on Adguard 6, and at some point we thought that we can actually continue with this protection of personal data topic (as many users requested) in our program! As we said we have previously called our spyware filter a ‘privacy protection’ tool, which was actually a part of Ad blocker module. Now we have a separate module “Stealth mode” with many new useful features which grew from that small privacy protection project.

Some of the features Stealth mode has:

• Blocking of third-party cookies (to prevent websites from tracking you while surfing).
• Disabling cache for third-party requests (Otherwise browser will mark you with an e-tag to always recognize you).
• Hiding of search queries (from the website where this result led you).
• Blocking of WebRTC (protocol that can leak your IP).
• Hiding your user-Agent, your referrer, and your IP address and thus protection your info from thousands of online trackers.

This is the first release of this module, but we definitely will continue our work on data protection features. We believe this module need a proper place in our protection system.

Ad Blocker

The essence of Adguard, the one it all started with.

What’s new here? Now, you can add filters by URL. In fact, for convenience, we have expanded the number of supported sources: the network address and the local. However, this innovation is more likely to be interesting to more advanced users. Like the fact that we have completely redesigned the Filtering log and Filter editor:

These two features give an opportunity to customize the filtering by yourself. In the Filter editor, you can see the rules created by the Adguard Assistant, that is, all the rules that you added manually. Filtering Log displays all the requests sent, meaning all the processes of blocking that occur.

Filtered apps

As you remember, one of the Adguard advantages is that it can work in any browser. And not only browsers, but programs as well! The most popular ones are already included in our list. Others can be easily added. Since version 6 there is a new convenient tool just for that:

Previously you had to setup blocking of programs manually, and now Adguard automatically finds all apps and programs on your computer and offers to filter its traffic. In general, the mechanism for adding new applications to Adguard is completely redesigned, and now it is easy for absolutely any user to cope with it.

What’s even more cool is that now Adguard supports filtering in modern Windows UI applications (apps from Windows Store).

Search feature

We have added Search feature. Now it’s easy to find something in all program sections. This is in fact one of the most useful innovations. We did our best to improve the ergonomics. Now you do not have to go through the entire section of the program in search for the information you need, simply enter a ‘keyword’ in the field above:

It is also very convenient to look for a separate program in the list of filtered applications or for a rule in Filter Editor.

Other changes

• Now with the first launch of Adguard a tutorial will be shown, familiarizing user with Adguard and quickly introducing its capabilities:

• Plentiful additions and improvements to filtering process were made, notably introducing support for new rules modifiers and improving filtering speed.

• UI performance and boot speed were optimized.

• Window positions are now memorized and restored after program restart.

• Adguard was translated into many new languages. That includes UI, Adguard Assistant and filter descriptions etc:!

• Userscripts security was significantly improved.

• New possibility to change update channel to ‘Beta’ and receive all beta updates.

• Tray menu is reworked, improved accessibility of different options through tray.

• Updating to new version from Adguard 5 is now possible and will not lose any settings.

Adguard 6.0 is new, just brand new. It looks better, it works better (and faster), it is more useful and it has many new features. There is so much to tell you about!

But you’d better see it yourself. !:) Adguard 6 is officially available for update!**

Just recalling: All updates of Adguard software are and always will be free for our users.

We have already thanked you when we released the RC. But it’s never enough !:) So, thank you, dear friends, for your support. For all your constant precious feedback. You are the stimulus for Adguard evolution. And look how we’ve changed the program together!
It’s been such a huge work, really. But we hope you like the new version !:)

Waiting for your comments, as usual. And congratulations! Adguard 6 is finally released!

Celebrating with you,
Adguard team