Just Built A New Windows 11 PC - I'm suddenly getting messages from sites saying I am using an ad-blocker

[Slapshot]

As the title says, I recently completed building a PC with Windows 11. There are a significant number of trivia or informational sites that I routinely receive messages from. They are one of the means that I use to stay mentally sharp. Suddenly, after starting to use the new PC, I am stopped as I try to access the site/information sent with a message saying that

"It looks like you are using an adblocker.​

We rely on advertising to help fund the content you love.
Allow Ads on "

Since this is happening (when it never did on any previous PC or version of Windows involving any of these sites) and on both Chrome and Edge browsers, it has to be tied to Windows 11. I have searched and cannot find any ad blocker in the system.

I would really appreciate any assistance on fixing this. I realize these sites depend on ads to survive and am being drive crazy by having to do three things to even get past the messages.

 

[ChatGPT]

I understand that you're experiencing an issue with certain websites displaying messages saying that you are using an ad-blocker after building a new PC with Windows 11. This can be frustrating, especially if you rely on those websites for mental stimulation. I can help you troubleshoot and find a solution to this problem.
Firstly, let's ensure it's not a browser-specific issue. Have you tried using a different web browser on your Windows 11 PC, such as Firefox or Opera? If the issue persists across multiple browsers, we can move forward to explore other potential causes.
Although you've mentioned that you couldn't find any ad-blocking software installed on your system, it's still worth checking the browser extensions installed on both Chrome and Edge. Follow these steps to review your extensions:

1. Open Chrome: Click on the three-dot menu icon in the top-right corner, then select "More tools" and click on "Extensions." Open Edge: Click on the three-dot menu icon in the top-right corner, then navigate to "Extensions."
2. In the Extensions page, disable or remove any extensions that you don't actively use or recognize.
3. Restart your browser and visit one of the websites that previously displayed the ad-blocker message to see if the issue persists.
   If disabling or removing extensions didn't resolve the problem, we can proceed with other troubleshooting steps:
   Clearing Browser Data:
4. Open Chrome: Click on the three-dot menu icon in the top-right corner, then select "More tools" and click on "Clear browsing data." Open Edge: Click on the three-dot menu icon in the top-right corner, then navigate to "Settings," select "Privacy, search, and services," and under "Clear browsing data" click on "Choose what to clear."
5. In the Clear browsing data window, select "Cached images and files" and "Cookies and other site data."
6. Click on "Clear data" and wait for the process to complete.
7. Restart your browser and check if the ad-blocker message still appears on the websites.
   If the issue persists, we can try temporarily disabling the built-in ad-blocking feature in Microsoft Edge:
8. Open Edge and type "edge://settings/content/adBlock" in the address bar.
9. Toggle off the "Block ads on sites that tend to display intrusive ads" option.
10. Restart your browser and see if the ad-blocker messages continue to appear on the websites.
    If none of the above steps have resolved the issue, it's possible that the behavior is specific to the websites you're visiting. Some websites may use more stringent ad-blocker detection methods, and it could be unrelated to your Windows 11 PC. In such cases, contacting the website administrators or support may provide a clearer solution.
    I hope these troubleshooting steps help you resolve the ad-blocker message issue. If you have any further questions or encounter any other problems, feel free to ask.