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The FBI now recommends using an ad blocker when searching the web

standard.co.uk

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Re: The FBI now recommends using an ad blocker when searching the web

#141
post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While these are all good practices, killing DoH conclusively on your home network is more difficult than you've made it seem, as ultimately all you can really do is use domain blacklists at your firewall. It's no longer as straight forward as just control port 53 traffic, not like you can realistically shut down 443... Blocking DoH is largely whack-a-mole and I think is only going to get worse as this and similar tec…

This is exactly why DoH is a trojan horse. You can't control it as a network administrator, all it takes is a piece of software to simply remove the controls for users to configure their own DoH and bam, end user has little to no control over how their applications perform name resolution. Little pro-tip for anyone who tries to run their own private DoH infrastructure too, Firefox doesn't like RFC1918 addresses for t…

> You can't control it as a network administrator

That’s the design intent. Because not all network administration is benign.

DoH is a tool like any other. Good or bad entirely on why and how it’s used. And your own perspective on that use case.

Re: The FBI now recommends using an ad blocker when searching the web

#142
post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do all the people who use computers to browse the internet (the majority of people on the internet) suddenly no longer exist?

I don't have the data to back this up, but I've been operating under the assumption that the majority of people access the internet through their smart phones more than any other devices. Maybe it's my age, but a lot of people I know don't own traditional computers and if they do it's a single laptop they occasionally use for office tasks.

I’m sometimes shocked at how much my wife relies on and accomplishes through her Pixel 3. She uses a computer only when she wants a bigger screen - photo editing or watching a show. Everything else she uses her phone. Is very surprising to me. I feel like I can barely do anything on my phone.

Re: The FBI now recommends using an ad blocker when searching the web

#143
post #48

Make ad brokers share responsibility for losses due to scam ads. If the ad broker is unable to clearly identify the advertiser for lawsuit purposes, the ad broker should face consequences. They're assisting the criminal by helping them hide.

Maybe I’m naive here, but aren’t the vast majority of ads brokered by Meta and Google these days? Am I thinking too high level?

Re: The FBI now recommends using an ad blocker when searching the web

#144
post #71

Or, in other words, FBI now recommends using Android :-) It's baffling how much better uBlock Origin + Firefox experience on Android is compared to any iOS ad blocker I have tried. They kind-of work but let half of the ads through.

I develop a popular iOS and macOS ad blocker that block almost all ads[1] including all YouTube ads. Will be interested to hear if you've tried it out and what may have been missing? The only things we don't block at the moment is some non-English content and Adult sites. With a small team these haven't been the primary focus for the time being. Other than those though we should stop pretty much everything else. [1]…

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Re: The FBI now recommends using an ad blocker when searching the web

#145
post #13
post #3

Any recommendations for a good ad blocker and other precautions to take?

I use noscript https://noscript.net/ But I sort of think this may be more of an issue with Cell Phones.

Noscript requires too much effort. Ublock origin hits that sweet spot of install, configure, forget.

Re: The FBI now recommends using an ad blocker when searching the web

#146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I see this advice a lot but I can't imagine it working better than using a system level adblocker like AdAway on my phone. (Smart TVs I understand, though mine seem to be unusually ad-less compared to what I've heard Samsung does). What if you're out and about disconnected from WiFi? What if you need to turn the thing off for a sec to click on a sale/promotion in an email?

Out and about: yeah install something on your phone (or use a self hosted vpn that plugs into pihole? never tried it) Need to click on sale: You can easily temporarily disable it in the web interface in 1 click It's a nice way to block ads for any wifi connected device in your house without additional setup. There are probably 10+ ad-serving devices in my house between the TV's, laptops, tablets, and phones.

> use a self hosted vpn that plugs into pihole? never tried it

Not that it plugs _into_ PiHole per se, but rather that the Self Hosted VPN makes your phone use your home DNS server (including the PiHole itself). It works! I use https://www.pivpn.io/ but there are many others.

Re: The FBI now recommends using an ad blocker when searching the web

#147
post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do all the people who use computers to browse the internet (the majority of people on the internet) suddenly no longer exist?

I don't have the data to back this up, but I've been operating under the assumption that the majority of people access the internet through their smart phones more than any other devices. Maybe it's my age, but a lot of people I know don't own traditional computers and if they do it's a single laptop they occasionally use for office tasks.

I honestly don't understand how people can stand to browse the web on their phones. I almost never do, because it's such a pain in the butt. But c'est la vie!

Re: The FBI now recommends using an ad blocker when searching the web

#148
post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do all the people who use computers to browse the internet (the majority of people on the internet) suddenly no longer exist?

Mobile internet usage overtook desktop towards the end of 2016. Currently mobile usage sits at about 65% worldwide (slightly below 60% in the US).

Sure, but I assumed that was because of FB, Instagram, etc. Not browsing the web.

Re: The FBI now recommends using an ad blocker when searching the web

#149
post #120
post #71

Or, in other words, FBI now recommends using Android :-) It's baffling how much better uBlock Origin + Firefox experience on Android is compared to any iOS ad blocker I have tried. They kind-of work but let half of the ads through.

I haven’t used the iOS version of Orion myself (only the macOS version), but uBlock Origin + Orion would be the equivalent for iOS: https://browser.kagi.com/faq.html#iosext https://browser.kagi.com/

Did apple allow 3rd parties using WKWebView to get access their JS engine? Orion really seems fast.

Re: The FBI now recommends using an ad blocker when searching the web

#150
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel like, for those asking for cursory information about setting up an ad blocker, ublock origin should be recommended, and not pi-hole. Ublock Origin is a one click solution that works great for everyone, while pi-hole requires setup and does quite a lot. For instance, when I was using pi-hole, Windows Update and Epic Games Launcher simply stopped working for me. I'm not sure what was going on, it could have been…

I respect your feelings, but Ublock Origin is not available on my Android phone or on my iPad. It's also not available for all browsers. It may not work for you, but for me Pi-hole is a wonderful solution for my whole family, and they don't ever need me to touch their devices in order for it to work for them.

I use ublock origin on my web browser in Android (firefox).
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