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PSA: uBlock/AdBlocks on Chrome to lose function thanks to Manifestv3

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Re: PSA: uBlock/AdBlocks on Chrome to lose function thanks to Manifestv3

#211

Post by staticassertion »

ComodoHacker wrote: post #88
miralize wrote: post #56

Time and time again I try to switch to Firefox. But it always seems to fall short (for me at least). I rely too much on separate profiles to disconnect work-related browsing from personal browsing. Separate bookmarks, sessions, browser plugins, sync preferences etc... A UI that's as powerful is literally all that is needed for me anyway. Its such a shame they've neglected the Profile Manager.

What exactly prevents you from using Firefox profiles? They are working fine, for me at least. I can't see a reason for Firefox devs to be ashamed.

Personally it's the integrations. I have a Chromebook, which integrates with GSuite, and integrates with Android. I can manage extensions, permissions, etc, all from there. This is important since I use this Chromebook for work, but it would be cumbersome to run Firefox and Chrome simultaneously.

With Firefox I get just-a-browser, and I need more than that. If Firefox had a way for me to manage the browser across devices it would be more viable for me.

Re: PSA: uBlock/AdBlocks on Chrome to lose function thanks to Manifestv3

#212

Post by Wowfunhappy »

simion314 wrote: post #167
Wowfunhappy wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm going to back up the GP on this! HN users tend to get annoyed by (1) ads, (2) paywalls, and (3) articles without enough research (aka time aka money). I'm cognizant of the fact that HN isn't a hive mind, and so these complaints aren't necessarily coming from the same people—but some certainly are. Well, which is it? Or do we expect content creators to work for free? If we have to pick a poison—and, well, I think…

> If we want to make information available to as many people as possible, an ad-supported model is the way to do it There are alternatives, a good one I see used in Ptreon, the supporters get early access to content, the rest will get it a month later. Let me try find the pros and cons Cons: - you need first to find supporters, so for a while you need to work hard to get them - some supporters might feel entitled to…

I think Patreon is great for individual creators and other small scale operations, but I'm skeptical that it can generate enough revenue to sustain larger scale journalistic operations.

Organizations like NPR have been attempting a user-contribution model since before the internet, and it works to an extent, but they still have to rely partially on (minimalistic) ads as well as government funding.

Re: PSA: uBlock/AdBlocks on Chrome to lose function thanks to Manifestv3

#213

Post by jsmith99 »

bloopernova wrote: post #194
jsmith99 wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can save some vertical space by moving the window buttons (minimise/close) into the same row as the omnibox, while also hiding the window title bar like https://imgur.com/a/YbgVgwF

Oh that's slick. Was that all through the customize screen, or was any of it via CSS? Edited to add: I had to add the following to move the system UI buttons to the same "bar" as the rest of the UI in Firefox: /* Adding empty space for buttons */ #nav-bar { margin-right:80px; } /* For dragging whole window by mouse*/ #titlebar { appearance: none !important; height: 7px; } /* Fix for main menu calling by Alt button TH…

I adapted a theme I think but I can't find the name now. Here is my userchrome https://pastebin.com/8FLgyX1y

The title bar can be hidden through the customise screen. The gaps on the toolbar by the omnibox are important as they give you something to drag the window by.

Re: PSA: uBlock/AdBlocks on Chrome to lose function thanks to Manifestv3

#214

Post by tyingq »

symlinkk wrote: post #125
tyingq wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's an extension api called onBeforeRequest() that lets Chrome extensions see urls that are about to be requested by the browser. It allows you to examine the url and do whatever code heuristics you want to decide whether you want to block it. Google is removing that dynamic blocking ability and providing you with a way to supply a static list of blocked urls instead. No ability to use code to implement a dynamic…

Why does uBlock Origin need to be able to block things dynamically?

Heuristics can use information like parts of the url, context of the request (origin domain for example, or "request is coming from an iframe"), existence of third-party cookies, already detected page behavior, and so on. It also allows for updating the rules on the fly. Like if I allowed something, but it turned out to be a bad idea.

Re: PSA: uBlock/AdBlocks on Chrome to lose function thanks to Manifestv3

#215

Post by bloopernova »

sdfgsdf wrote: post #206
bloopernova wrote: post #126

*Off-topic:* I've experimented with a new layout in Firefox, and now I can't think of going back. I first installed Tree Style Tab. I then removed the tabs at the top of the window and added a permanent status bar to the bottom of the window using userChrome.css: https://i.imgur.com/PIONywj.png (edited to add, my userChrome.css: https://gist.github.com/anthonyclarka2/155c038de96e91894cbd4... ) (EDIT: I added some ext…

Hey, I have my own workflow around tree style tabs + bookmarks (I think several people are re-inventing the same setup independently), but I guess I don't know browsers/css well enough to understand what you described. Explain it like I'm 5: A) to get rid of the top tabs I copy-paste your userChrome.css and put it where?, and B) will that have any other effects?

A) https://www.userchrome.org/how-create-userchrome-css.html is one tutorial on userchrome.

B) I don't know! :) It's easy to revert though.

Re: PSA: uBlock/AdBlocks on Chrome to lose function thanks to Manifestv3

#216

Post by tyingq »

mortehu wrote: post #193
tyingq wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's an extension api called onBeforeRequest() that lets Chrome extensions see urls that are about to be requested by the browser. It allows you to examine the url and do whatever code heuristics you want to decide whether you want to block it. Google is removing that dynamic blocking ability and providing you with a way to supply a static list of blocked urls instead. No ability to use code to implement a dynamic…

> You can still see every request I pointed this out in a thread yesterday too, but the whole point is that you will no longer need to grant "see all my requests" permissions to ad blockers. In fact, due to the removal of the old blocking API, if an ad blocker asks for such permissions it's highly suspicious.

I imagine ad blockers also use content scripts for things like blocking ads based on images that are known IAB sizes. In that case, they have another avenue to watch requests.

I'd give the privacy angle more credence if they were really locking down everything. They aren't, because extensions would then be of very limited use.

Re: PSA: uBlock/AdBlocks on Chrome to lose function thanks to Manifestv3

#217

Post by staunch »

tyingq wrote: post #214
symlinkk wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why does uBlock Origin need to be able to block things dynamically?

Heuristics can use information like parts of the url, context of the request (origin domain for example, or "request is coming from an iframe"), existence of third-party cookies, already detected page behavior, and so on. It also allows for updating the rules on the fly. Like if I allowed something, but it turned out to be a bad idea.

And Chrome won't allow the extension block lists to include regexps/wildcards, they all have to be FQDNs?

It seems reasonable to require a static list for privacy reasons. But not supporting pattern matching rules would seem to be an explicit attempt to stop ad blockers.

Re: PSA: uBlock/AdBlocks on Chrome to lose function thanks to Manifestv3

#218

Post by erulabs »

ATsch wrote: post #210
tus666 wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't it called Brave?

Preferrably one that is not involved in some kind of cryptocurrency scammery scheme.

Right so must exactly clone a very very large code base, for free, with no attempt to monetize (must compete with one of the worlds largest corporations with zero inbound resources whatsoever). Must also not attempt to add any features that users want, which may also help generate revenue. How do you expect anyone to take on Google, if when they make a single penny, they're called scammers?

Don't let blind hatred of a particular technology bias you. You can think cryptocurrency is stupid, but it's not inherently a scam. Unless you have some proof that Brave is participating in scamming its users, which I would love to see proof of. Anyways I really don't think this kind of mudslinging is appropriate, particularly against a small company which appears to be working to prevent an advertising takeover of the internet.

Edit: I posted this in an extremely sarcastic tone, which I apologize for, but this refrain "oh it has a crypto part, COMPANY IS SCAM" is getting extremely tiring and is, dare I say it, a stupid thing to say.

Re: PSA: uBlock/AdBlocks on Chrome to lose function thanks to Manifestv3

#219

Post by bloopernova »

keyb0ardninja wrote: post #182
bloopernova wrote: post #126

*Off-topic:* I've experimented with a new layout in Firefox, and now I can't think of going back. I first installed Tree Style Tab. I then removed the tabs at the top of the window and added a permanent status bar to the bottom of the window using userChrome.css: https://i.imgur.com/PIONywj.png (edited to add, my userChrome.css: https://gist.github.com/anthonyclarka2/155c038de96e91894cbd4... ) (EDIT: I added some ext…

I've a similar setup as yours ( https://i.imgur.com/D3McL6m.png ). You're wasting a bit of vertical space though with that empty titlebar. I turn off the titlebar for all windows in KDE Plasma and add this ( https://github.com/psifidotos/applet-window-buttons ) applet to the panel.

Yup, I found some css to merge the system UI buttons into the main UI bar. Thanks for pointing out that was possible!

Re: PSA: uBlock/AdBlocks on Chrome to lose function thanks to Manifestv3

#220

Post by 1vuio0pswjnm7 »

One of the interesing things about this story is that there appears to be no consideration of not "updating" to a new Chrome version. The idea of user choice in "updating" is completely absent. Why cannot a user say, "V3 sounds wonderful but I will stick with V2, thank you." A user has a version of a program that works for that user (e.g., with uBlock Origin), and Google can apparently forcibly stop that user from using that working version, through a process of "automatic updates". Users must "accept" updates which makes one wonder Google can pull this off. Does it not rely on user behaviour. By accepting every "update" without question, the user is effectively consenting to being controlled.

Perhaps users will someday "wake up" to realise that so-called updates are not necessarily being remotely installed for their benefit, but for the benefit of someone else. No doubt Google has some parallel construction type explanation why users need V3, but how many folks cannot see that they are letting the fox guard the henhouse.

Perhaps if ads can be blocked, so too can updates. (IME, it's possible.)

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