The scourge of the internet was once popup ads. But now, many websites have let go of flashing popups in favor of something worse: autoplaying videos with sound.

How many times have you been surfing the web with a ton of tabs open, when all of a sudden noise comes blaring out from one of them? Not only is it annoying, but if you're in public, it could draw embarrassing attention to you.

Auto-Mute Tabs in Chrome

Google Chrome is working on a feature that will permanently let you mute domains. But until then, you can mute websites individually using an extension like MuteTab.

Install this extension, then you can manage it using its icon in the upper-right corner of your browser. If you're sick of all audio, enable the Privacy Mode option to automatically mute all tabs no matter what.

But you can fine-tune the muting too. Select Mute background tabs to mute everything except your current tab. Open the Options and you can specify sites to always mute and never mute. MuteTab even lets you even specify music sites that are immune from the "mute all tabs" button. It's pretty handy.

Auto-Mute Tabs in Firefox

For Firefox users, an equivalent addon is Mute Tab, which isn't related to the above. Click the three-bar Menu button followed by Add-ons, then select the Extensions tab on the left to view your installed add-ons and manage their options. Select the Options button for Mute Tab to configure it.

Here, just check the Auto-mute new tabs box to apply its functionality. You can also use the Mute Tab while holding a certain key option to enable a quick shortcut. Specify a key here, like ALT, and hold it while clicking a tab to instantly mute it.

Note that this Firefox extension only mutes new tabs. The first tab you open will still have sound, so keep that in mind.

Do you hate auto-playing videos on websites? Is this feature useful or do you just keep your PC sound muted? Tell us in the comments!

Image Credit: ryanking999/Depositphotos