Quote Originally Posted by JBryant View Post
I use Firefox exclusively, so the only ad-blocker is the built in one. I'm still not sure why I couldn't ping the site though, if it's the ad blocker. Also, it's not an all-the-time thing. Sometimes, it works as fast as any other page and the ad appears at the top. Sometimes, it hangs, then eventually loads and no ad will appear at the top. I don't know, just seems to me more like a problem with their servers than my browser due to the inconsistency.
I'd say your Adblock is either not installed, or mis-configured. Otherwise, your browser wouldn't be trying to hit those sites in the first place. And those ads timing out is almost certainly the source of the slowness you're seeing. You said: "the only ad-blocker is the built in one." Firefox doesn't come with AdBlock built in, it's an add-on. Click on "Tools" then "Add-ons." Does it show up there? I'm guessing either it won't show up, or it's disabled. If it's not there, click on "get extensions" to download it.