(MONEY Magazine) – Talk about kicking 'em when they're down. A German company is giving away software called Web Washer, which rids your browser of banner ads, one of the primary--albeit meager--sources of revenue for many websites. Available free at www.webwasher.com, the software strips ads from browsers with Teutonic efficiency--and even includes a "statistics window" that lets you gloat over how many ads it's erased and how much bandwidth it's saved.

Some worry that tools like Web Washer could stifle the Web's growth. "I don't know if broadcast television would have grown the way it has if it wasn't for advertising," says Jeff Connaughton of Network Advertising Initiative, a Washington, D.C. industry group. Web Washer CEO Horst Joepen, however, isn't apologizing. "Who has ever guaranteed that banner ads would be a valid revenue source?" he asks. As for content sites, he's dismissive: "They're not sustainable business models, anyway."

--BORZOU DARAGAHI