uBlock Origin 1.20 • Hacker News Board

Re: uBlock Origin 1.20

#61

Post by sjwright » Mon, Jun 17, 2019, 5:52 AM UTC

Endy wrote: post #35

Cool. Is there a non-WebExtensions XUL version for us Pale Moon users?

I would strongly advise not using Pale Moon—for numerous reasons specific to that particular distribution (which aren't interesting enough to repeat here) but mostly for reasons that apply to all minor web browser projects; particularly ones based off old code:

— How quickly will serious vulnerabilities be patched?

Given the project is so small, I wouldn't trust their future response to be rapid even if they have been in the past. Right now most security fixes come in the form of merging upstream security fixes from Mozilla. As their code base becomes increasingly divergent to the Firefox head, merging in upstream security fixes will become increasingly difficult and increasingly cumbersome.

— How much do you really trust these developers?

I don't think many people realise just how important your browser is when it comes to trust. When you access online banking, your browser is in ultimate control of the entire trust chain. Your browser validates the security certificates. Your browser decides what to do with the passwords you enter. Your browser decides what to show you in the address bar.

— What's wrong with Firefox 67+ anyway?

The one thing everyone seems to cite when they say they use Pale Moon or Waterfox is that they still support the older extension system. The reality is all important extensions were unaffected. And while some genuinely useful extensions were lost in the transition (e.g. DownThemAll) most should be standalone applications anyway.

Re: uBlock Origin 1.20

#62

Post by Rychard » Mon, Jun 17, 2019, 5:52 AM UTC

pmoriarty wrote: post #31

paul7986 wrote: post #6

Just read Microsoft will allow ad blocker extensions (May build one in) in their new Chromium browser. Looks like I’m going to rewind 13 years and use IE again(IE of today). Such a stupid move by the do no evil company! Now they do no stupid too. EDIT: Here is link... https://www.forbes.com/sites/kateoflahertyuk/2019/06/16/micr...

The bright side of Google's anti-ad-blocking efforts is that ad-blocking is clearly no longer just an insignificant blip on their radar. There must be enough users of ad-blockers now to start to significantly affect their bottom line. There might even be a critical mass of people who are against advertising to attempt to make some legal headway on this issue in Washington. Just as there has been legal action against…

> The bright side of Google's anti-ad-blocking efforts is that ad-blocking is clearly no longer just an insignificant blip on their radar. There must be enough users of ad-blockers now to start to significantly affect their bottom line.

I think the issue is that shareholders want to see significant year-over-year growth, something that isn't sustainable in the long-term. We're merely being seen as an untapped market than can keep the needle moving for a few more years.

I like capitalism, but I think it's entirely unreasonable for shareholders to expect such gains in perpetuity. After all, there's a finite amount of money that can be extracted from any user. The trendline will inevitably start to level off after a period of time, and I'm frustrated by the fact that this eventuality has negative connotations associated with it.

Re: uBlock Origin 1.20

#63

Post by foepys » Mon, Jun 17, 2019, 5:55 AM UTC

aluren wrote: post #54

I am dumbfounded that uBlock Origin, arguably the single most important extension in modern web browsing, and one that makes millions of lives easier by making their web experience bearable at all, all of this depends on one single person, working for free. Now there's also the list maintainers, who also work for free. Still makes you wonder about how the world works. There's probably many other similar instances. In…

The biggest and most important lists (Easylist and its localizations) are heavily maintained by eyeo GmbH, the company behind AdBlock Plus. It might be a community project but in reality it's more like Chromium or Go.

Re: uBlock Origin 1.20

#64

Post by nvrspyx » Mon, Jun 17, 2019, 5:55 AM UTC

jccalhoun wrote: post #14

joenathanone wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Link?

there was a reddit ama where someone asked about adblockers and they said: "we occasionally hear requests for a built in ad blocking experiences in Edge. For most users, we find that extensions (combined with strong defaults around tracking prevention) are the best option here because you can choose from a variety of experiences and defaults, but we absolutely want to hear from you if you think this should be built i…

The quoted bit was about a built-in ad blocker specifically. I think the real major point is:

“There are a couple components I want to touch on here - As mentioned elsewhere, we're still evaluating the adblock Manifest V3 changes, so we're not quite ready to commit to a statement one way or another on that issue.”

And:

“Second, we're committed to a strong extension ecosystem, including ad blocking. We're still evaluating some of the latest changes here in Chromium, but we're committed to the customer scenario as a principle. To be clear, we will not artificially restrict ad blocking for business reasons related to advertising.”

Re: uBlock Origin 1.20

#65

Post by stevekemp » Mon, Jun 17, 2019, 6:04 AM UTC

pmoriarty wrote: post #31

paul7986 wrote: post #6

Just read Microsoft will allow ad blocker extensions (May build one in) in their new Chromium browser. Looks like I’m going to rewind 13 years and use IE again(IE of today). Such a stupid move by the do no evil company! Now they do no stupid too. EDIT: Here is link... https://www.forbes.com/sites/kateoflahertyuk/2019/06/16/micr...

The bright side of Google's anti-ad-blocking efforts is that ad-blocking is clearly no longer just an insignificant blip on their radar. There must be enough users of ad-blockers now to start to significantly affect their bottom line. There might even be a critical mass of people who are against advertising to attempt to make some legal headway on this issue in Washington. Just as there has been legal action against…

> There must be enough users of ad-blockers now to start to significantly affect their bottom line.

I host a bunch of websites, and about five years ago I stuck adsense adverts on them. Due to the decent traffic I was earning about £80/month and that was stable for 3-4 years.

This year, and last year, I instead earned about £100/year, despite having much more traffic/visitors, and more "aged content". When I get a chance I'll rebuild all the sites and drop the adverts. Adblockers - which I use myself - have rendered them almost pointless.

Re: uBlock Origin 1.20

#66

Post by ehsankia » Mon, Jun 17, 2019, 6:06 AM UTC

aluren wrote: post #54

I am dumbfounded that uBlock Origin, arguably the single most important extension in modern web browsing, and one that makes millions of lives easier by making their web experience bearable at all, all of this depends on one single person, working for free. Now there's also the list maintainers, who also work for free. Still makes you wonder about how the world works. There's probably many other similar instances. In…

There are definitely a few OSS that don't get anymore as much love as they deserve. VLC and OBS are two example of programs that are so damn good, even paid alternatives hardly can compete.

Re: uBlock Origin 1.20

#67

Post by ec109685 » Mon, Jun 17, 2019, 6:08 AM UTC

It's crazy how good uBlock is and everything it blocks.

What happens if more of the Internet learns about this extension? Subscriptions for all sites? Some other business model?

Re: uBlock Origin 1.20

#68

Post by scardine » Mon, Jun 17, 2019, 6:09 AM UTC

bdcravens wrote: post #22

paul7986 wrote: post #6

Just read Microsoft will allow ad blocker extensions (May build one in) in their new Chromium browser. Looks like I’m going to rewind 13 years and use IE again(IE of today). Such a stupid move by the do no evil company! Now they do no stupid too. EDIT: Here is link... https://www.forbes.com/sites/kateoflahertyuk/2019/06/16/micr...

> Looks like I’m going to rewind 13 years Well if you had asked your typical HN developer a few years ago whether they'd be using a Microsoft code editor ...

Lets not forget WSL. I just got the WSL2 upgrade - it turns a Windows 10 desktop into a quite decent software developer workstation.

Seriously guys, if the last time you used Windows was a few years ago it is time to give it a another shot.

Re: uBlock Origin 1.20

#69

Post by mrsmee89 » Mon, Jun 17, 2019, 6:11 AM UTC

Marsymars wrote: post #32

mrsmee89 wrote: post #16

This is great! Any plans for Safari support?

The lack of support is in the other direction - Safari doesn't support uBlock Origin anymore. The only way to block ads is with Apple's Content Blocking API, which is fundamentally not how uBlock Origin works.

Interesting. How do they differ fundamentally?

Re: uBlock Origin 1.20

#70

Post by de_watcher » Mon, Jun 17, 2019, 6:12 AM UTC

aluren wrote: post #54

I am dumbfounded that uBlock Origin, arguably the single most important extension in modern web browsing, and one that makes millions of lives easier by making their web experience bearable at all, all of this depends on one single person, working for free. Now there's also the list maintainers, who also work for free. Still makes you wonder about how the world works. There's probably many other similar instances. In…

Well, if something is distributed for free but developed by someone who doesn't work for free then it serves the interests of the one who is paying.