Poll What kind of ad/tracker blocking do you use?

[Parkinsond]

The downside is that they only work within the browser they're installed on as well as requiring some processing power and impacting battery life on mobile as you stated.

The best solution is to use both methods in combination. Using a DNS blocker like Pi-hole, AdGuard DNS, or NextDNS provides a broad, system-wide defense for all devices and applications, while a browser extension like uBlock Origin handles the more nuanced, in-browser cosmetic filtering and specific ad types that DNS can't catch.

DNS adblocking is satisfactory for me; it just gives you empty spaces of removed elements (no cosmetic fix), YT ads, cookie notices, and few paywalls; I can live with.

 

[Trident]

DNS adblocking is satisfactory for me; it just gives you empty spaces of removed elements (no cosmetic fix), YT ads, cookie notices, and few paywalls; I can live with.

I can deal with these few elements, which I can also remove with the Safari built in function.

In terms of performance, a lot is gained, as nothing happens on device. It’s all on the cloud. And instead of being loaded and then removed, it doesn’t load at all, which is additional performance boost.

So yeah, we can live with that.

On my iPhone and mac I don’t use additional adblockers (cosmetic).

 

[Parkinsond]

I can deal with these few elements, which I can also remove with the Safari built in function.

In terms of performance, a lot is gained, as nothing happens on device. It’s all on the cloud. And instead of being loaded and then removed, it doesn’t load at all, which is additional performance boost.

So yeah, we can live with that.

On my iPhone and mac I don’t use additional adblockers (cosmetic).

I resort to dns adblocking when using phone, as I have only Chrome which does not support extensions; just for reading news on a single website, with no further cyber activity.
For PC, in addition to NextDNS, uBlock origin lite fix the gaps and make webpages look better.

 

[ForgottenSeer 123960]

I resort to dns adblocking when using phone, as I have only Chrome which does not support extensions; just for reading news on a single website, with no further cyber activity.
For PC, in addition to NextDNS, uBlock origin lite fix the gaps and make webpages look better.

I also use NextDNS on my phone for the same reason.

While it may not be for everyone, I've found a great setup for my laptop by combining two tools. I use NextDNS for system-wide threat and ad blocking and the browser extension NoScript to control what scripts are allowed to run. It's a powerful combination for advanced users who want more control over their security and privacy.

 

[simmerskool]

I can deal with these few elements, which I can also remove with the Safari built in function.

In terms of performance, a lot is gained, as nothing happens on device. It’s all on the cloud. And instead of being loaded and then removed, it doesn’t load at all, which is additional performance boost.

So yeah, we can live with that.

On my iPhone and mac I don’t use additional adblockers (cosmetic).

I am trying wipr on my M4_mini. Any thoughts about wipr? I am slowly trying to get deeper into my macOS (and linux too) as the win10 EoL approaches

 

[Parkinsond]

win10 EoL approaches

Why not upgrading to W11?

 

[Trident]

I am trying wipr on my M4_mini. Any thoughts about wipr? I am slowly trying to get deeper into my macOS (and linux too) as the win10 EoL approaches

Not sure if you know, but Safari has its own Content Blocking API. WIPR2 uses this api, just providing the lists in JSON format.
The Safari Content Blocking API is very efficient (at the very least it is pre-compiled and not interpreted code like extensions). It is very efficient and I love efficiency.

Downside: will not work outside of Safari. Ideally, still combine with DNS adblocking so ads can be blocked in apps as well.

 

[Parkinsond]

just providing the lists in JSON format

Is there a way to convert the conventional MV2 txt lists into the new MV3 json one?

 

[Trident]

Is there a way to convert the conventional MV2 txt lists into the new MV3 json one?

There is no extension here or manifest, the browser provides something like a “slot” and wipr2 sort of snaps in place, into the slot. Like a seatbelt. It’s not the typical process where some extension is added to the browser. That’s why it’s more efficient.

You can use Adguard tsurlfilter for conversion.
It’s on github.

 

[Parkinsond]

There is no extension here or manifest, the browser provides something like a “slot” and wipr2 sort of snaps in place, into the slot. Like a seatbelt. It’s not the typical process where some extension is added to the browser. That’s why it’s more efficient.

You can use Adguard tsurlfilter for conversion.
It’s on github.

Can saving txt filter list as json in notepad work, as saving txt as cmd for example?

 

[Trident]

Can saving txt filter list as json in notepad work, as saving txt as cmd for example?

Erm as long as you have it converted to the necessary declarative language and also mind the rules limit which is 300K static rules, it will work. You can change the extension to .json. More important will be to convert MV2 lists to MV3, you will need to look at this and the instructions how to do it.

GitHub - AdguardTeam/tsurlfilter: AdGuard content blocking library

AdGuard content blocking library. Contribute to AdguardTeam/tsurlfilter development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

But why you need these conversions anyway?

 

[Parkinsond]

But why you need these conversions anyway?

I am trying to find a way to add custom filter lists to uBlock origin lite, but I am not tech saavy enough to get the task accomplished.

 

[piquiteco]

@Trident @Parkinsond Some of you know, what are the main filters and URLs to block YT ads without using an adblock extension in Vivaldi? I found the filter lists, but there are so many, I don't know exactly which specific filter blocks ads on YT.

 

[Trident]

I am trying to find a way to add custom filter lists to uBlock origin lite, but I am not tech saavy enough to get the task accomplished.

Aaaah… this is a little bit more involved, Gorhill will need to release an update to the extension.
For now the best and quickest way to do that is to use non-Chromium browser (which we all know the name of).
Anything else likely won’t work.

@Trident @Parkinsond Some of you know, what are the main filters and URLs to block YT ads without using an adblock extension in Vivaldi? I found the filter lists, but there are so many, I don't know exactly which specific filter blocks ads on YT.

Unfortunately, these ads are the so-called First Party Ads — the same address used to buffer the video is also used to load the add. Only cosmetic blocking can remove YT ads.

 

[Parkinsond]

@Trident @Parkinsond Some of you know, what are the main filters and URLs to block YT ads without using an adblock extension in Vivaldi? I found the filter lists, but there are so many, I don't know exactly which specific filter blocks ads on YT.

I have tried the dns filter lists such as HaGeZi and OISD, but with no luck; looks I misselected the lists.
I gave up and returned back to Edge after reinstalling Windows; currently I have only five 3rd party programs on my PC; the rest are MS preinstalled ones.

 

[Trident]

I have tried the dns filter lists such as HaGeZi and OISD, but with no luck; looks I misselected the lists.

HaGeZi which one, there is a new Threat Intelligence (only) feed, which I enabled. The rest is a bit too aggressive for my liking, blocking affiliate links and all that, I am missing out on promotional purchases.
No need for that aggressive blocking.

So I use ads blocking in relaxed mode (ControlD) and on top of that OISD full and HaGeZi Threat Intelligence feed. Malware blocking set to strict with AI blocking set to the lowest level.
Also blocked are newly registered domains, phishing and clickbait.

In general the most reliable list is OISD.

 

[Parkinsond]

HaGeZi which one

Hagezi ultimate.

So I use ads blocking in relaxed mode (ControlD) and on top of that OISD full and HaGeZi Threat Intelligence feed

They are all very good for adblocking, but all fail for blocking YT ads; for YT, uBlock origin lite is indispensible.

 

[Trident]

Hagezi ultimate.

They are all very good for adblocking, but all fail for blocking YT ads; for YT, uBlock origin lite is indispensible.

Oh, the Ultimate list for Hagezi, at that point you might as well stop paying for your broadband and just disconnect lol
Unless you whitelist quite a lot of domains, CDNs and APIs.

Against first-party ads, DNS filtering cannot help. That’s one limitation.

 

[Parkinsond]

Oh, the Ultimate list for Hagezi, at that point you might as well stop paying for your broadband and just disconnect lol

Not that much; ultimate throws to me false positive blocks no more than pro++; most of the FP blocks are by NRD.

 

[piquiteco]

Unfortunately, these ads are the so-called First Party Ads — the same address used to buffer the video is also used to load the add. Only cosmetic blocking can remove YT ads.

I believe it worked. I just tested it on YouTube without uBO, using only the filter lists I added in Vivaldi. No ads appeared. Just one caveat: I added a bunch of URLs, in addition to 20 filter lists, which I got from the filter website used by Adguard, uBlock, and Adblock Plus for trackers and ads. I'm taking a risk because I don't know if all these filter URLs are from reliable sources. All the ads were blocked, much like Brave. I think so, but it's complicated to know if the URLs are safe or not, so it's kind of risky. If something malicious is injected into the URL, I could have problems. I think it's better to use uBock lite, which is still more reliable.