Every web browser says I have adblocker installed but I do not

If you or anyone else hasn't solved this, my wife and I ran into this same issue. It was completely device, browser, etc independent. We changed the DNS that our modem was connecting to just 1:1:1:1 which worked. It's likely a problem with the ISP assigning the DNS. Another fix for each device is going into the control panel, selecting Network and Internet, then Network and Sharing Center. After that, click the wifi you're connected to, then properties, double click the Internet Protocol Version (ours is 4, but not sure if this would vary), then click on use the following DNS server address and enter 1 : 1 : 1 : 1 for the values (this at least worked for us, someone more versed on DNS servers could probably direct you to an alternative).

I'm far from a computer expert, my wife is the one that fixed it, but it was quite an annoying issue and this fixed it for us.

Ad blocking has nothing to do with security, it's a privacy function of both browsers and to some extent Windows itself.

Some websites with draconian advertising policies will refuse to show you certain (or all) articles or pages, or certain functions of those sites might break when various settings that to them appear to operate like an ad blocker extension are enabled.

I see this often on certain websites, but typically they occur because I have certain settings in the Microsoft Edge web browser like Tracking protection set to 'Strict' rather than Balanced or Basic, one of which is the default.

There's a setting in Windows that also affect advertising, again under the Windows Settings, Privacy section titled 'Let apps show me personalized ads by using my advertising ID'. IF this were turned to off, it might have a similar effect on all apps including browser, so I'd first go look there and make sure that's turned On as the following page covers.

11 Windows 11 Privacy Settings to Change

Regardless of whether or not this setting fixes your problem, it's the browsers that are communicating with the websites and not allowing them to display the ads which is causing this error message. They simply display that it's an ad blocker because they aren't getting the response from the browsers that they expect, but they have no idea why, they just indicate it's an ad blocker because the browser is refusing to display them.

Rob

Please note that my post explicitly says it is NOT the browser, because it is independent of browser, and I've already tried all that numerous times.

Again, I'm looking for solutions NOT tied to my browser, because it is a issue linked to my computer (and seems mostly likely to me, Windows 11).

Note that it is also not the router, as I do not have this problem on other devices.

Hi, How are you? I am Alan, Microsoft Expert, an Independent Advisor. I will be happy to assist you today. I appreciate your contact!

Elysia, I'm going to give you some ways to resolve this issue, I hope it helps you.

I want you to check your browser extensions. Make sure any extensions that may be blocking ads are disabled or removed.

You can also clear your cache and cookies, this can help remove any browsing data that may be causing the problem.

You can also restore your browser settings to default. This can be done in the browser settings, usually "Settings > Advanced > Restore settings".

I hope this information helps. If you have any questions, please let me know and I'll be glad to assist you further.

Best,

Alan

Thank you for your response. Unfortunately this is one of the settings I had indeed already checked, and it is on. If you have any other ideas, they are appreciated.