Google proposes changes to Chromium which would disable uBlock Origin • Hacker News Board

Re: Google proposes changes to Chromium which would disable uBlock Origin

#681

Post by tyingq » Wed, Jan 23, 2019, 2:16 PM UTC

magicalist wrote: post #677

tyingq wrote: post #648

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It also spells out that the new API can consist solely of static, known ahead-of-time rules[1]. The rules are json, so that kills any logic beyond pattern matching. We already know that approach severely limits the effectiveness and usability of an ad blocker. It's pretty much the same as ad blocking with a hosts file, other than being able to also statically provide path info. Imagine a list of "bad sites" and/or "b…

> It also spells out that the new API can consist solely of static, known ahead-of-time rules If it ends up as effective as Safari/iOS's content blocking, I don't see the problem. > The fact that the plan ends with extensions still able to see all web requests, record all web requests, forward a log of all web requests to any arbitrary endpoint, etc...means the "privacy" angle is pure bullshit. Yes, if you grant perm…

Safari/iOS's content blocking has a 50k limit, not a 30k limit. I don't own anything that can run Safari. Is there a credible comparison of how well it works versus Ublock Origin on Chrome? I'm skeptical that a static list would match up to the ability to dynamically make decisions. If I were in the ad business, I'd immediately make use of ads from the same root domain as the content, or subdomains mixed in with lots of random/changing subdomains for content like images, etc. Voila, static ad blockers thwarted.

Edit: I assume "right click -> hide and don't ever load again" becomes "right click -> load but hide" ? Also, related: https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/337094/safari-12-c...

Re: Google proposes changes to Chromium which would disable uBlock Origin

#682

Post by darkpuma » Wed, Jan 23, 2019, 2:18 PM UTC

AznHisoka wrote: post #487

angott wrote: post #454

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, only the blocking API is concerned. Observational capacity will remain.

Damn, that's like tossing out the baby, with the bathwater still in the tub. Throw out the good. Keep the bad..

In this case it's clear google doesn't give a damn about the bathwater, it just wants that baby dead. Anybody claiming that google is doing this to protect privacy is either uninformed or deluded.

Re: Google proposes changes to Chromium which would disable uBlock Origin

#683

Post by MarsAscendant » Wed, Jan 23, 2019, 2:19 PM UTC

onlydeadheroes wrote: post #680

MarsAscendant wrote: post #656

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1. I never asked for any of that response, nor did the situation imply that I needed to learn about the points stated to make a better decision. 2. There's a general passive-combative conversation about browsers going on ("I like Firefox, I don't get why people like Chrome" and vice versa) that I never wanted to be a part of, mostly because of how disrespectful and counterproductive it is. 3. In a thread about ad-blo…

Nobody here is nearly as combative as you. Look up projection. You'd like your choices to be respected, but you are incapable of offering civility. Is that also a choice we should respect, or is it beyond your control?

Like I said: you get what you give.

Re: Google proposes changes to Chromium which would disable uBlock Origin

#684

Post by feanaro » Wed, Jan 23, 2019, 2:23 PM UTC

criddell wrote: post #189

QML wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Firefox just doesn’t have enough advantages yet that would convince someone comfortable with Chrome to switch over. While privacy is an ever growing concern, it isn’t a strong enough feature for most people.

Plus Chrome just works better for a lot of sites. That might be because the site isn't properly coded, but users don't care. They just want something that works and more often than not, that's Chrome. My main browser is Firefox, but I have to switch over to Chrome more often than I would like. Electron is also based on Chromium, isn't it? IMHO, the rise of Electron just reinforces Chromium's status and I think Micros…

Interestingly, this is the opposite of my experience. I browse solely on Firefox and don't encounter sites which only work on Chrome at all (at least as far as I can remember right now). I wonder what's different between our browsing habits that's causing this.

Re: Google proposes changes to Chromium which would disable uBlock Origin

#685

Post by erk__ » Wed, Jan 23, 2019, 2:24 PM UTC

mikro2nd wrote: post #603

dTal wrote: post #589

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find it rather odd that Googling "uBlock Origin" from Firefox does not return links to addons.mozilla.org - at all. The top result is of course the Chrome addon. The third result is the website for "uBlock" which is the unmaintained fork. Three pages in and you're getting dubious-looking repackaging sites, but no official addon. How on Earth does "Comorbidities Associated with Plaque Psoriasis | Dermatology Times"…

That's sort of weird. Searching DDG for "ublock origin" gives me: 1. Chrome web store 2. ublock.org 3. Microsoft store 4. Wikipedia 5. Mozilla addon, and finally 6. Gorhill's github for ublock origin. Can we finally say that DDG is better for some searches than Google?

Bing pretty much returns the same as the above

Re: Google proposes changes to Chromium which would disable uBlock Origin

#686

Post by feanaro » Wed, Jan 23, 2019, 2:26 PM UTC

Guest10928391 wrote: post #360

raptorfactor wrote: post #351

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have examples which aren't Google sites?

I get issues almost daily with well respected sites not working in Firefox. Today I'm browsing the Adidas website, and the images don't load for any of the products in Firefox. https://www.adidas.com/us/ultraboost-all-terrain-ltd-shoes/B... Apparently they're WEBP images and my version of Firefox (version 64) doesn't support them, but searching online I read that the upcoming Firefox version 65 is suppose to fix that…

I'm on Firefox 64 and all the images load for me.

Re: Google proposes changes to Chromium which would disable uBlock Origin

#687

Post by mountainofdeath » Wed, Jan 23, 2019, 2:26 PM UTC

Embrace, Extend, Extinguish. Where have I heard that before?

Re: Google proposes changes to Chromium which would disable uBlock Origin

#688

Post by endorphone » Wed, Jan 23, 2019, 2:30 PM UTC

pleasecalllater wrote: post #596

Google is an advertisement publishing company. All the things they do, they do to earn money, not to give people anything. When Chrome first appeared, I was wondering about the extremely huge cost of building the browser and how Google wants to earn from that. Then it started to be obvious: it's all to spy on people. Not from the beginning, but slowly... the google account integration... the forced logging into the a…

Recall that Chrome was made when IE still had a dominant marketshare.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usage_share_of_web_browsers#/m...

IE was stagnating, slow, and extremely vulnerable to malicious behaviors. The net result was that the web became a very hostile place, while Microsoft was pitching various "post web" strategies like WPF. Google had been a big financial supporter of Firefox but not to a degree where they could direct the project or push their own agenda. At the time many viewed Firefox as slow and bloated.

So Google made their own thing, and it worked admirably and we might be in a very different world if they didn't. They dramatically improved the state of the art for JavaScript, added intrinsic hostile activity and site blocking, started dramatically accelerating the adoption of technology improvements (by implementing very early proposals, often to much consternation), etc.

The web was less dangerous. Google's cash cow was protected because there was less of a draw to go to alternative platforms.

That, I think, was their primary intention and it was aligned interests with users. Everyone is happy with the web.

And honestly I do think this ad blocking thing is a bit of "fake news" (e.g. it is being grossly misreported). Google is proposing a solution that offers more privacy from the extension, and it seems very similar to what Safari has done (and which is very widely viewed as a great design).

Re: Google proposes changes to Chromium which would disable uBlock Origin

#689

Post by feanaro » Wed, Jan 23, 2019, 2:30 PM UTC

beezischillin wrote: post #111

devoply wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It fast. That most important thing.

Yeah, even with all the speed increases from the rewrite, Firefox still feels awkward and slow at times when compared to Safari and Chrome. Every time I decide to try and switch over from Safari, I get pages where scroll performance is a lot slower than what I'm used to and then I get bothered by it and switch back. It annoys me because I really want to use it. I'm very happy that we have it and I hope that the wider…

> I'm very happy that we have it and I hope that the wider community will hold Mozilla to account every time they try something shady to protect the best free and open browser we have. If we lose Firefox, we lose the Internet to corporations.

Yet how long will we have it if everyone keeps using excuses to continue using Chrome?

Re: Google proposes changes to Chromium which would disable uBlock Origin

#690

Post by reacweb » Wed, Jan 23, 2019, 2:31 PM UTC

pleasecalllater wrote: post #596

Google is an advertisement publishing company. All the things they do, they do to earn money, not to give people anything. When Chrome first appeared, I was wondering about the extremely huge cost of building the browser and how Google wants to earn from that. Then it started to be obvious: it's all to spy on people. Not from the beginning, but slowly... the google account integration... the forced logging into the a…

IMNSHO, Google's obsession is artificial intelligence. They have build a search engine to prove they were better at understandanding content of web pages. To improve their AI, they need to spy on every aspects of our life. They spy on all our web activity, on our phone contacts, on our mails, on our documents and on our deplacements (waze). The fact that this search engine has generated so much money was an accident. Now, Google fights are: political lobbying to avoid being destroyed for monopolistic behaviour, protect and increase their spying means, improving their AI.