Kaspersky patents new method for blocking ads on mobile devices

The US Patent and Trademark Office has issued a patent for Kaspersky’s “System and method of blocking advertising on computing devices”. In contrast to some previously used methods, this technology does not reduce the battery life of the device or increase traffic consumption.

Selling ad space within mobile applications is one of the most popular methods for developers to monetize their products. However, too many advertisements can quickly spoil the user experience. On top of this, some ad modules pose a threat to users, by displaying links to malicious or fraudulent sites.

Commonly used blocking technology implies that all traffic has to be filtered through remote servers before returning to the device. However, the method described in the US 20200259790 A1 patent proposes a solution that works locally on the gadget. This will result in the elimination of any speed reductions in the application, additional costs for data transmission, and associated battery drain, which are the main disadvantages of ad-blocking services using Virtual Private Networks (VPN).

Through DNS (Domain Name System) requests of IP addresses, the new technology detects requests to advertising providers from the entire traffic flow on the device. If the DNS request from the application is related to an ad provider, it is blocked, and the advertisement won’t be shown to the user.

“The latency caused by sending traffic to the blocker’s server is often just as irritating as the advertisement. This new blocking method will potentially allow for an improved experience when using mobile apps. Currently, we are exploring the application of this technology and testing what new features it can bring to Kaspersky solutions.” - says Alexey Komissarov, inventor of the technology and Head of IOS Development at Kaspersky.

Dipesh Kaura, General Manager, Kaspersky South Asia, said, "Internet users now seem unable to take a step without coming across an advertisement, which has only been made worse by improvements in smartphone technology. Ads not only have the potential to disrupt your browsing experience, but they can also use up more of your resources, muddle your understanding of what you are trying to learn online, and drain your mobile data. Through this patent, Kaspersky is committed to preventing advertisements on computing devices. Both the device's battery life and traffic usage are unaffected by this technique. We are currently exploring this technology and are examining what additional capabilities it might add to Kaspersky solutions."