181–190 of 320 posts
This is really neat! I'm wondering why the name is so Raspberry Pi-specific ;) Is there a docker container for it already, by any chance?
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How about if they load them through *.google.com? Sure, you could whitelist www.google.com, mail.google.com, etc, but couldn't they keep ahead of you if they were ok with using their main domain? They could even start using www.google.com/ad-id
Then you whitelist individual pages and assets.
What if the New York Times decided to host all ads themselves? nytimes.com/ad-42.jpg couldn't be distinguished from nytimes.com/todays-front-page-image.jpg
Obviously it's more likely for ad ad-provider like Google to do this, but even then, if there's new content from Google (say a blog post) I expect to be able to see it.
For those of us - myself included - who run a hosts file list (either using dnsmasq like Pi-hole or directly), here are the sources that Pi-hole use so you can add to your own solution: https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole/blob/master/adlists.defau... There's a few on there I don't use and will look to implement. There's also a few they seem to have missed (perhaps intentionally?) so below I have included the lists I u…
Someone should whip up a little community-driven service that would serve all known ad network hosts.
Default settings use remote, shared DNS caches run by an advertising company. Regardless, this is a step in the right direction. DNS is highly effective for this filtering out advertising. Personally I just run my own authoritative nameserver(s) with all the IP addresses I need. No recursive cache. When I browse to websites where I have never been and may not return, I am never using graphical browser that loads "res…
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Not really the same. One of the main issues with curl pipes is that the server (or MITM) can detect that the request goes into a pipe. This allows an attacker to display one (safe) source when you view it in your browser on your workstation, or wget it, and serve a different (nefarious) source when you curl/pipe it. So, a more complete analogy would be: a bottle that gives you a safe chemical compound when you extrac…
How can you detect if the output is curl/piped?
That said, the ad networks out there seem pretty awful in terms of privacy, slow-running javascript code mess, huge images or videos adding megabytes to the size of what should be a simple text page, etc. So if it's not doing it already perhaps this project can filter and put some pressure on the ad networks to clean up their mess a bit and not harm the user experience so much, and if an ad network is playing nicely, allow it through as a way to support free projects and their creators.
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> - Android doesn't provide fine-grained permissions control or root access, so users can't block ads. One caveat here - Google devices are probably some of the most allowing of root access and full device ownership - easily unlocked bootloaders basically allow it to be a one button process. Some manufacturers make you put your device on a shitlist with them before they'll give you a key to unlock the bootloader and…
And yet Apple introduced a first-class ad blocking mechanism into iOS that even works in 3rd party apps (using SFSafariViewController). There are dozens of ad blocking apps available on the App Store, which are much more accessible to the average user than having to root your device and install apps that have full root privileges.
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Or they'll stop visiting the site.
Does it matter if they stop visiting the site? Considering that they are using resources without giving something back in return? I guess it could be argued that they might be promoting the site to other users. Other than that, they are essentially freeloaders and if a website has too many freeloaders it has to either get rid of them or convert them to something else. Or, I guess, the website could shut down complete…
Buzz. I block ads but I also post links to articles on social media that are then followed by people who do not block ads.
I have a couple of areas of focus where I am exceptionally knowledgeable and people who have anything more than a passing interest in those subjects check out links I post.
Or, I guess, the website could shut down completely.
The tragedy of the commons.
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> people behind those ad blockers make clumsy mistakes What "mistake?" That the developers couldn't foresee and block the exact elements against ad-blockers before they became real? Reading the parent comment, it seems users are not opposed to reporting specific instances for the greater good. This is obviously more energy consuming than uninstalling, so where do you get the idea people will all of a sudden stop usin…
It sounds like the people behind the ad blocker broke Ajax for that website while trying to block the ads - that's the mistake I am referring to. You mention that native ads are gradually replacing direct ads as if it's a good thing. The good guys in the publishing industry go out of their way to prevents ads affecting content, they don't allow their writers/presenters etc to touch advertising and everything is clear…
> The business I work for tried blocking adblockers and after a bit of back and forth they trumped us by blocking all AJAX requests on our site. We gave in after that.
I took this to mean that adblockers had to evolve and block AJAX on the website to make it accessible. Not, that they were hasty and disabled all functionality.
> You mention that native ads are gradually replacing direct ads as if it's a good thing.
On the contrary: "The most successful ads these days are the ones you can't tell are ads. They're also the stronger poison of the two."
> The good guys in the publishing industry go out of their way to prevents ads affecting content, they don't allow their writers/presenters etc to touch advertising and everything is clearly separate.
I didn't know this. However, I think it's a losing game. Consumers don't seem to care too much about the "good guys," unless a moral campaign is spear-headed (a la Tesla by The Oatmeal), only not seeing ads at all.
It's ironic really. We block ads so we're not influenced by them, but then we lower our guards and become susceptible to the indirect kind.
It's the natural order anyway. There will be those in the coming generations that will be like just like us. Except where we fought against direct ads, they will fight against the indirect. There've always been those unorganized who value critical analysis in all contexts, but their findings and ways never reach the public and make any impact.
Or maybe we've just made ourselves out to be sheep. As long as the coyotes aren't around, out of sight out of mind.
> In the long term, ad blockers will just push out those people who are driven by ethics and you'll be left with the sleazy publications that are driven by PR. This is coming from someone who has dealt with PR agencies and constantly turned down proposals.
As is with all things. You do not survive by being ethical, but by being the most adaptable, and sociopathy happens to be a great adaptation for sales.
I'm more interested in what happens next after the sleaze epoch. Will ads continue to become more and more manipulative then, finally after reaching too far, begin to wither and fade into the anals of history (albeit likely not as known as it should be, because of "out of sight out of mind."). Or will someone finally shake up this industry?
For those of us - myself included - who run a hosts file list (either using dnsmasq like Pi-hole or directly), here are the sources that Pi-hole use so you can add to your own solution: https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole/blob/master/adlists.defau... There's a few on there I don't use and will look to implement. There's also a few they seem to have missed (perhaps intentionally?) so below I have included the lists I u…
Sound like an amazing setup, what about sharing all these scripts? How and why you build your browser?
I did think about writing something to share but projects like Pi-hole have done a better job serving the community than i could have. So i just share the sources i use instead incase any like-minded sysadmins find it useful.