M.G.
I switched to Google Chrome (as a browser, instead of Internet Explorer) and I started out using Adblock Plus - but switched to Adblock. It's free. You just download it. I no longer see the ads.
I get why they need ads, but it was making this site next to impossible for me to use. None of the problems I was encountering happen now.
It's not a browser. It just works with your browser. I don't even know it's there. There's a little hand icon that shows up at the top of my screen to show how many ads it is blocking. I would never notice it unless I looked.
Very simple to install and quick. Other than running it, I don't think I had to do anything special.