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uBlock Origin becomes top addon on Firefox

addons.mozilla.org

271–280 of 416 posts

Re: uBlock Origin becomes top addon on Firefox

#271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pihole is contributes to a defense in depth strategy. Lots of android games are unplayable when I'm connected to the internet unless I'm on a network protected by pihole. Yes, I can run a firewall on my phone, but maintaining firewalls on every device that my family uses?

Solution: don’t play games or use any app where the business model isn’t “I give you money and you give me goods and services”. I have one ad supported app on my phone - the Overcast podcast player. That’s only because the author created his own non scummy ad network and I find ads on the podcast player that advertise other podcasts useful. If I didn’t, I would pay him too to get rid of ads.

That only works when they're willing to take your money and willing to then not show you ads or track you. Lots of places won't take your money and only do ads, and an upsetting number are happy to take your money and then track you and/or show you ads anyways. (My "favorite" so far is Hulu, who has the audacity to call their paid plan "no ads" and then include ads.)

Re: uBlock Origin becomes top addon on Firefox

#272
post #226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Appreciate marketing. It seems like bullshit, but it’s bullshit I don’t want to have to do. Bullshit? To me it seems more like mind rape when a bunch of corporate ideas and brands are suddenly and forcibly injected into my mind. I didn't ask for it, I didn't consent to it. We don't tolerate it when people violate our bodies, so why is it okay to violate our minds? They "need" it to make money, so it's okay? If I wa…

Aren't you consenting to it when you are browsing the web? If it bothers me so much ("mind rape") and I know a website has ads, why would I go there?

It's the other way around: when advertisers and website owners decide to leverage the internet, the largest distribution channel in the world at no expense to them, agree to the "public square" terms. If they dont like the terms, they can always build their own distribution channel and set whatever rules they like. Advertisers are the real freeloaders here.

Re: uBlock Origin becomes top addon on Firefox

#273

It's simply the best there is. I had used various of the adblock** plugins until I came across uBlock Origin. Whatever it is you want to block, Javascript, fonts, ads, etc, it's just works, with global defaults and per-page exceptions.

I've just removed adblock and installed ublock origin.

Having tested a few sites on my favourites bar the difference is night and day.

Where has this been all my life....

Re: uBlock Origin becomes top addon on Firefox

#274
post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The internet with no adblock is a little like driving through Breezewood, Pennsylvania https://imgur.com/a/qmAxHfk

A little. On the internet, the ads actively jump in front of our faces while we're trying to read something. Imagine driving under such conditions.

Be more like this virtual barrier in Sydney:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2325904/Water-stop-...

Re: uBlock Origin becomes top addon on Firefox

#275

My biggest issue with web advertising is placing video ads on a text website. Your eye is constantly flicking over to the flashing lights making the ability to focus impossible. Ad blockers are the only thing that makes most ad supported sites usable.

The most irritating thing about that for me is that my device thinks I want to hear the audio so it will stop my music to play the ad audio.

Re: uBlock Origin becomes top addon on Firefox

#276
post #52

What do people use to block garbage domains from their Google results? Google results, especially for developer stuff, is so awful -- cluttered with junk sites ripping off content from blogs and Stack Overflow, etc. I've been trying to figure out some rules for uBlock Origin, but haven't gotten there, yet. Edit: Multiple fantastic options in the replies, below. Thanks, people!

There are other search engines out there you might want to try. I've been using Kagi and am happy with it. Even though Google is one of their sources (probably the main one), they do things like omit sites that scrape Stack Overflow. They also re-order results assuming their user is tech savvy.

Re: uBlock Origin becomes top addon on Firefox

#277

I instantly install this extension whenever I work on a new machine as I could not imagine browsing the web without it. For that reason I just went looking for a donate button to help fund the project and it turns out they don't even accept donations https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/wiki/Why-don't-you-accept-...

I can definitely understand his point. Some guy donates a dollar to your project and suddenly they act like you owe them the 80 hours required to implement their stupid enhancement request.

Just block them then ;)

Re: uBlock Origin becomes top addon on Firefox

#278
post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They probably don't have the data. Unless they started monitoring people for jaywalking, driving through crosswalks, smoking on trains, not cleaning up after dogs, buying junk food at 711, etc.

An efficient government could figure it out from proxy data, I’m sure I could do it. A corrupt and inefficient government wouldn’t care so much about getting it wrong. I suspect it’ll be the inefficient one. I can’t convince Google ads that I’m not 60 and not single and absolutely not into mature age dating. My non-ad blocked internet browsing experience is marred by pictures of leering grandmas. I expect my future i…

If you enable ad personalization then they have an ad settings panel where they let you know what they think you're interested in. For instance, Google Ads thinks I'm a married disk jockey living in Orange County who listens to pop and hip hop and loves bread making, aviation, and environmentalism. They let us turn some of it off, but there's no option to tell them what we like.

Re: uBlock Origin becomes top addon on Firefox

#279
post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I sometimes wonder if adtech devs also use adblockers.

I have worked in the ad industry for 10+ years. Firefox, strict mode but no ad blocker for web. What I would not do though, is using an android or ios phone (or anykind of smartphone where I don't know what the system nor the application do). I am not sure that people realize how many power and data are used on these phones, for things totally unrelated to their personal usage

Why not just use an Android phone with Firefox and the same exact settings that you use on desktop?

Re: uBlock Origin becomes top addon on Firefox

#280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How old is your immediate circle? The truly internet first generation is only like 15-20 at this point.

Are we sure this "truly internet first generation" is primarily using laptops? If they grew up with an iPhone/iPad, there's no guarantee that they even have adblocking as an option.

That's a good point. I do think the push to get users on mobile has a good deal to do with the difficulty of blocking ads on mobile. Maybe that's where we're headed. Instead of making adblockers illegal users will be herded into locked down platforms that don't allow adblockers.
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