Hot Take Google Chrome warns uBlock Origin may soon be disabled

[mlnevese]

It's the end of Manifest v2 era. At least for Chrome. Other browsers won't adopt Manifest v 3.

Google Chrome warns uBlock Origin may soon be disabled

Google Chrome is now encouraging uBlock Origin users who have updated to the latest version to switch to other ad blockers before Manifest v2 extensions are disabled

www.bleepingcomputer.com

 

[Marko :)]

It's the end of Manifest v2 era. At least for Chrome. Other browsers won't adopt Manifest v 3.

Actually, all browsers have MV3 support. But Chromium is the only one dropping support for MV2 while Mozilla will keep using both.

 

[mlnevese]

Actually, all browsers have MV3 support. But Chromium is the only one dropping support for MV2 while Mozilla will keep using both.

Yeap. That's why I said it's the end of an era for Chrome

 

[Jan Willy]

Let's not be sad too much. uBO Lite will do the job. The biggest disadvantage (in my eyes) is that it isn't tweakable. However, this will benefit people who think they're experienced but in reality mess up the settings. Who wants tweaking, adding user rules and custom filterlists is possible in Adguard MV3 beta (bonus: it offers an element picker for cosmetic filtering). And of course you can choose a desktop alternative, such as Adguard for Windows or BlackFog. Even on DNS level much remains possible (NextDNS, ControlD). Also there will be browsers that keep supporting MV2.

Edit: AG MV3 version 5.0.33 now with filtering log.

 

[nickstar1]

Unlock lite is awful for me YouTube videos that won’t load or advertisements that bypass it. No problems with the old version of ublock.

 

[Jan Willy]

Unlock lite is awful for me YouTube videos that won’t load or advertisements that bypass it. No problems with the old version of ublock.

uBO Lite offers three filtering modes. Which one(s) did you choose?

Edit: In the meantime I found time to install uBO Lite (Complete filtering mode) in MS Edge and to try on YouTube. I didn't see any problem. BTW, I will not use uBO Lite (or another MV3 adblocker) as long as MS Edge supports MV2. Only for some testing I use now and then a MV3 adblocker. Based on that, as I said before, my opinion is that uBO Lite will do the job.

 

[Jan Willy]

I'm curious how much longer suppliers of browserextensions will simultaneoesly offer a MV2 and a MV3 version. A sign in the direction that MV2 will not survive, is the new Malwarebytes Browser Guard MV3. They say: "A similar change in Firefox is coming soon".
View Google Manifest V3 and Malwarebytes Browser Guard | Malwarebytes

 

[SeriousHoax]

I'm curious how much longer suppliers of browserextensions will simultaneoesly offer a MV2 and a MV3 version. A sign in the direction that MV2 will not survive, is the new Malwarebytes Browser Guard MV3. They say: "A similar change in Firefox is coming soon".
View Google Manifest V3 and Malwarebytes Browser Guard | Malwarebytes

Barely any, I think as you are already guessing. Mostly extensions that are mainly a one-man project where the developers themselves are avid Firefox users like uBlock Origin and a few others.

 

[Captain Holly]

I still have the MV2 version of Ublock in Edge and FF. Back when I still had Chrome installed I tried Ublock Lite and it really was not very good, especially on YouTube, but I think that may have just been the way Google wants it. I suppose Google will stop at nothing to keep showing us ads. I removed Chrome some time ago, won't use it again. Edge is my default browser now and the MV2 version of Ublock still works fine in Edge and FF for the time being. If/when the MV2 Ublock goes away I will try Ublock Lite in both browsers. If Ublock Lite does not work out I will look at Adguard or some other alternative. For now I will just leave well enough alone.

C.H.

 

[oldschool]

Barely any, I think as you are already guessing. Mostly extensions that are mainly a one-man project where the developers themselves are avid Firefox users like uBlock Origin and a few others.

This has been my view for quite some time. Over time, even Brave and Firefox will end support when they see the data to confirm such a decision makes sense. MV2 will slowly recede into the sunset, like cowboys of the Old West.

 

[Sandbox Breaker]

Tamper money for those things you really want!

 

[BSONE]

I think we need to raise awareness of this issue.

 

[silversurfer]

If you want to stick to Chromium, an official Registry hack exists that allows extending the support for MV2 add-ons with the help of the "ExtensionManifestV2Availability" policy that is designed for enterprises. Enabling the policy allows an extended year of support for MV2 add-ons till June 2025. The policy works on Windows, as well as macOS, and Linux. Chrome version 110 or newer is needed, while for Edge, it is version 123 or later.

Reddit user TeamDJ brought attention to the policy that can be added inside the Windows Registry using the Registry Editor app (Regedit) as a DWORD. They wrote:

1. Open up the “Registry Editor” Program
2. Navigate to: Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome
3. With the Chrome folder on the left highlighted, select Edit/New/DWORD (32-Bit Value)
   or, if you prefer, on the right side of the screen in a BLANK SPOT, you can RIGHT CLICK New/DWORD (32-Bit Value).
4. Name it ExtensionManifestV2Availability and hit enter.
5. Right click what you just created (ExtensionManifestV2Availability) and click Modify. Set the Hexadecimal value to 2, and click OK.
6. You’re done, but check your work by opening Chrome, and pasting chrome://policy in the URL Address bar and hit enter. You should see the ExtensionManifestV2Availability policy, and the value should be set to 2. If you don’t see it, click “Reload Policies” and/or review your work.

Official Windows Registry hack extends uBlock Origin support on Google Chrome, Edge

An official Windows Registry hack exists that allows users to keep using uBlock Origin as well as other similar Manifest V2 extensions that are no longer supported on Google Chrome.

www.neowin.net