How do I remove ads from Outlook.com

If you use Firefox as your browser, then you can install a free add-on and remove ads from outlook.

Here's the details ....

A. Download and install the free Firefox add-on called Greasemonkey. This allows Firefox to run user developed scripts. Here's a link...

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/greasemonkey/

... When the page opens, click the "Download Now" button.

B. Download and install the free script that will remove ads.

Here's the link ...

http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/140133

The name of this script (which works for outlook.com) is:

Outlook.com - Hide right hand side vertical pane

When the page with the script opens, click the "Install" button (upper right).

Please note that this script has code in it to remove a "white header". If you find that this causes you to loose some information in the header, then remove the following code from the bottom of the script:

// Remove the top white header var headerPane = document.getElementById('c_header'); var divToRemove = headerPane.childNodes[0];headerPane.removeChild(divToRemove*);*

Here's how to do that:

1. Open Firefox's Add-On page (either click Tools menu, and select Add-Ons or if you don't see the Firefox menu bar, click the orange Firefox button at top left and click add-ons)
2. Select User Scripts (in list at left).
3. Select the script you want to modify (from list of scripts on right side of page) and then click the Options button for that script.
4. When the page for that script opens, click the button (at bottom) that says "Edit this user script"
5. The script should open in Notepad. Edit the script (remove the code mentioned above), and then save it.

Note, that if this is the first time you edit a script with Greasemonkey, then Greasemonkey will ask you to select the editor you want to use .

You can select Notepad as your editor by navigating to C:\Windows\System32\notepad.exe and selecting it.

Once you have enabled the script, restart your browser, sign on to Outlook.com, and the ads on the right will be gone.

If you ever want to remove or disable a script, just follow steps 1 to 3 above, and click the Remove or the Disable button (for given script).

If for any reason you want to disable a script, then follow these directions:

1. Open Firefox's Add-On page (either click Tools menu, and select Add-Ons or if you don't see the Firefox menu bar, click the orange Firefox button at top left and click add-ons)
2. Select User Scripts (in list at left).
3. For the script you wish to disable, click the button labeled "disable". The name of the script will then be shown with "(disabled)" at the end, and the text in the button will change to "enable".

EDIT (4/9/2014): The above technique will not work with the new Inbox format in outlook.com. Instead, use this Firefox add-on (it will remove the ads and reuse the space making your inbox bigger) ...

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/webmail-ad-blocker/

The ads make it impossible to print an email.  I accept them because they make the product free.  But the product is useless if I cannot remove them for printing.  Isn't there any way to remove them from the printed page only.

There is absolutely no reason for a multi-kajillion-dollar business to foist ads on its one free service.  

I considered Outlook a good alternative to Gmail after I learned that Google (illegally) reads our e-mail to target ads, whereas I'd heard that Microsoft didn't.  "Don't get Scroogled," right?

I'm far from an anti-government conspiracy nut, but I read Glenn Greenwald's book about the Snowden documents.  He cites how Microsoft cooperates with the NSA so much as to build them a special portal for direct access to their servers.  

MS hearts NSA, so just beware that everything you write to/from any MS account/product goes straight to watchful eyes.