Reply to: AdBlock

[xoggoth]

The frustrating thing is that I don't really mind adverts. Banner ads, side panel ads and so on that don't thrust themselves all over the content I'm trying to read would be fine for me, I'm not one of these no-advert puritans. I've even clicked on an advert or two in the past. As soon as the advert goes over the content though, or tries to launch pop-ups then the ad provider joins my noscript blacklist.

Totally agree. No reason why stuff should be provided for free and, if there's no charge for viewing, getting money through ads is fine with me, it just should not be totally obtrusive or verging on malware.

[contractorinatractor]

NoScript works a treat for me on Firefox. I allow the sites I like and if others don't want me to play then I won't. So far, absolutely nothing that I would miss gets huffy with me for hard-line NoScript. I was sent a link to BoredPanda last week and they block me, my life won't end for not being able to see a website of clickbait.

The frustrating thing is that I don't really mind adverts. Banner ads, side panel ads and so on that don't thrust themselves all over the content I'm trying to read would be fine for me, I'm not one of these no-advert puritans. I've even clicked on an advert or two in the past. As soon as the advert goes over the content though, or tries to launch pop-ups then the ad provider joins my noscript blacklist.

I go with jettison7's idea.

Don't use Adblock plus because they partner with certain paying companies to allow some adverts to be shown to you. If you install ublock for Firefox you can easily add the "Adblock warning removal" filter list. For most websites you won't be blocked and won't see any mention that they are aware you are using an ad blocker. UBlock will do what you are asking for.

AdGuard is free on IOS is also very good and works well for mobile safari.

[craig1]

NoScript works a treat for me on Firefox. I allow the sites I like and if others don't want me to play then I won't. So far, absolutely nothing that I would miss gets huffy with me for hard-line NoScript. I was sent a link to BoredPanda last week and they block me, my life won't end for not being able to see a website of clickbait.

The frustrating thing is that I don't really mind adverts. Banner ads, side panel ads and so on that don't thrust themselves all over the content I'm trying to read would be fine for me, I'm not one of these no-advert puritans. I've even clicked on an advert or two in the past. As soon as the advert goes over the content though, or tries to launch pop-ups then the ad provider joins my noscript blacklist.

[unixman]

Noticed this week that Sky News (UK front page) won't load due to default firefox settings identifying embedded trackers.

[stek]

I had a humongous hosts file with all known ad site ips pointed at loopback. Worked a treat

[Lance]

Thanks for replying, but in truth I wasn't concerned about privacy, I was asking about being able to see content on websites that say "i notice you're using an ad-blocker, please whitelist us to view content". I find this very irritating! I was looking for an ad-blocker that fools the ad-blocker detectors.

What you need is a browser that still downloads the ads but doesn’t render them visible.

Have a look at Lynx browser. One of the best IMO

[Platypus]

A lot of what I am reading here is incorrect advice. I am a programmer and the Safari ecosystem for Add-Ons and privacy is rubbish. Do not use Safari if you value your privacy.

Thanks for replying, but in truth I wasn't concerned about privacy, I was asking about being able to see content on websites that say "i notice you're using an ad-blocker, please whitelist us to view content". I find this very irritating! I was looking for an ad-blocker that fools the ad-blocker detectors.

[WTFH]

A lot of what I am reading here is incorrect advice. I am a programmer and the Safari ecosystem for Add-Ons and privacy is rubbish. Do not use Safari if you value your privacy.

To test how identifiable your web-browser is, prior to my below instructions, run the test on the Electronic Frontier Foundation's website:

https:// pan optic lick.eff.org

Your link is rather hilariously coming back with results, obviously aimed at US business support.

Safari fails on one of the tests because it continues to block 3rd parties that promise to honor(sp) Do Not Track.

So, it's a failure for actually ad-blocking. How about finding a less biased one, maybe one that isn't paid off by businesses and is actually interested in protecting individuals.

[cojak]

So something that you can download the source code and see what it actually does to something proprietary or do you disassemble the Safari binaries?

I rely on others who I know and trust. And I don’tknow or trust him.

[darmstadt]

Sorry, not convinced by Firefox - Mozilla has taken over 1 billion dollars from Google.

So something that you can download the source code and see what it actually does to something proprietary or do you disassemble the Safari binaries?

[cojak]

Sorry, not convinced by Firefox - Mozilla has taken over 1 billion dollars from Google.

[jettison7]

A lot of what I am reading here is incorrect advice. I am a programmer and the Safari ecosystem for Add-Ons and privacy is rubbish. Do not use Safari if you value your privacy.

To test how identifiable your web-browser is, prior to my below instructions, run the test on the Electronic Frontier Foundation's website:

https:// pan optic lick.eff.org

You will likely be 1 in 1.5 to 3 million, meaning you are unique, due to fingerprinting from ad-trackers, google, everything.

Open source software results in no hidden nastiness and very quick fixes for any bugs found.

Your browser should look something like this:

Browser: Firefox (open source, fully audited, updated regularly)
Add-ons:

UBlock - OpenSource.
Select additional blocking resources, such as opensource lists, including 'Adblocking Warning Removal List' (which will remove those adblock warnings you see for websites which are aware you are blocking adverts), with 'I am an advanced user' ticked, third party scripts and references blocked (in red) by default, make settings permanent. You can add 'social-media tracking' blockers, to ensure google/facebook/twitter are not able to track you the websites you are visiting.

HTTPS Everywhere -
attempts to ensure HTTPS, well, everywhere! Every website you visit may have HTTPS available but it isn't always used in link referrals and when browsing the website

NoScript - OpenSource.
you can selectively block scripts on websites, enabling temporarily/permanently the domains you trust.

With this combination you are blocking everything and allowing only what you wish. After visiting your favorite websites and setting this up you will find you are not as easily trackable. NoScript and UBlock can both be configured to be give a more user friendly browsing experience if you wish to sacrifice some privacy.

Better still, use TorBrowser, which includes most of these plugins and is hardened by default, for your daily browsing for reading without personal accounts linked directly to your name.

For better anonymity, particularly if you are traveling abroad, use Tails, currently on version 3.5

[cojak]

If you are concerned for privacy as well as ad blocking safari is better than Firefox.

[Platypus]

Thanks all !

@betterblocker for iStuff and Macs.

That does look good. It means I will have to start using Safari, which on a Mac I suppose I should

[NotAllThere]

Run a browser with javascript switched off. Most newsy type websites still work.