12 ms·

Any recommendations for a good ad blocker and other precautions to take?

by westcort 4y ago

Zetice 4y ago
On MacOS I like Little Snitch for OS level stuff, with some rule groups like ads_stevenblack and malwares_prigent.
sys42590 4y ago
I recommend uBlock Origin and the anti-malware DNS from Cloudflare
bogwog 4y ago
I use adnauseam (https://adnauseam.io/ https://adnauseam.io/), which is built on top of ublock origin, and it works pretty well. The generic nuclear option to hide terrible web design, bypass (some) paywalls, and improve performance 1000x is to disable javascript. ublock and adnauseam both have a button to disable all javascript on a page, which is handy when reading articles on sites filled with garbage.
- krackers 4y ago
  >both have a button to disable all javascript on a page Be slightly careful, there's a known issue (limitation of Chrome really) where requests and javascript are not blocked in the first few seconds of launching a browser or an incognito window (you can test this yourself). And this is true even with "Suspend network activity until all filter lists are loaded" enabled, because I think it's some limitation on Chrome as to when exactly extensions get loaded. So if you do rely on javascript being disabled for safety, after a fresh launch or new incognito window, you should visit a safe webpage first before going to the risky one.
  - fl0ps 4y ago
    I'm going to just read "limitation on Chrome" as "purposely defective by design" as there's sufficient incentive to delay disabling to let a few telemetric squeaks escape.
  - kevin_thibedeau 4y ago
    Just switch to a browser that respects user privacy. With NoScript you can fine tune which domains you'll accept scripts from when the zero-JS experience isn't usable.
- autoexec 4y ago
  adnauseam is seriously a terrible idea. It's actually dangerous. The idea that you can somehow trick advertisers by polluting your dossier and making it useless to them after filling it with random data is fundamentally flawed. Every scrap of data collected about you will be used against you. It doesn't matter if it's accurate or not, nobody cares if they data they have about you is accurate, data brokers will happily sell your personal info to anyone even knowing full well that it's got inaccurate and conflicting info in it. Many won't even know because the process is entirely automated. By automatically clicking on ads and "expressing interest" in random things you're just filling your dossier with ammo which gets handed to others to fire at you. Every random thing you add to your permanent record is one more thing that can only hurt you. You cannot know what will prejudice someone against you. Maybe one day adnauseam decides to click on something that gets you flagged as having a certain political view, or having a certain sexual orientation, or being an alcoholic, or having a mental illness, or being at a certain income level, or belonging to a certain religion, etc. One day that exact data can cause you to get turned down for a job, or for housing. It can mean that a website charges you more than what your neighbor pays for the same product. It can mean your insurance rates go up next year. You will never be told when it happens or why. Your health insurance company isn't going to tell you that they raised your rates because you (adnauseam) clicked on too many fast food ads last quarter. You're just suddenly getting a higher bill. Your auto insurance company won't tell you that they raised your rates after you were clicking ads for DUI lawyers, but suddenly they and every other insurance provider you try are quoting you higher monthly prices. If your browser extension decides to go click on ads about abortions you could even end up being hauled into a texas courtroom and having to defend against charges. Sure, you'd get them thrown out eventually. Probably. But it would still cost you a ton of time and money and stress. The information in your dossier can get you targeted, harassed, or attacked by extremists. It can get be used against you in court rooms. It can get you investigated by three letter agencies. It can be used to impact your 'secret consumer score' or consumer trustworthiness rating. The information being collected about you is sold to companies, employers, activists, extremists, and law enforcement. That data never goes away. It follows you for the rest of your life and will be used against you in ways you'll never be aware of and cannot today imagine. Filling your dossier with huge amounts of content (random or not) is dangerous and only increases your risk for zero benefit.
- dngray 4y ago
  adnauseam makes your browser easier to fingerprint because it drastically changes the browser's behaviour. Do not recommend.
  - geraldhh 4y ago
    your browser is easy to fingerprint no matter what. but yea, i don't think this is a good idea. just blocklist known garbage
  - devnullbrain 4y ago
    Should we also not use uncommon resolutions, uncommon browsers, uncommon OSes? The personal and societal effect of ads are more tangible than the personal effect of tracking. Even if networks are truly able to use this data, it doesn't matter how precisely you can be served with ads if you don't see them.
_rs 4y ago
On Mac and iOS I use and recommend AdGuard which has native content blocker extensions and lets you use Easylist block lists (as well as their own). On Chrome/Firefox I use uBlock Origin which works well. I’m not sure if the community recommends something else at this point. I also use various other extensions like StopTheMadness to disable right click hijacking and other bad behavior and Banish on iOS to prevent certain banners from appearing.
jjkmk 4y ago
UBlock Orgin works for most browsers, and has been the industry standard for some time. You can even deploy it as part of group policy in an organization: https://deployhappiness.com/deploying-ublock-origin-for-chrome-and-configuring-a-whitelist/ https://deployhappiness.com/deploying-ublock-origin-for-chro...
nathanaldensr 4y ago
uBlock Origin, Privacy Badger, Pi-hole, and a mobile browser like Firefox that allows for extensions for those times when one is not browsing on the same network that the Pi-hole runs on. One may also use a VPN on all devices that connect to a network with DNS-level ad-blocking.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
ezfe 4y ago
I use Wipr on Safari for Mac & iPhone
- pch00 4y ago
  Another very satisfied Wipr user here - it just works.
behnamoh 4y ago
I know most people trash on Brave, but honestly, if you disable its crypto features (which is just a click away), it's actually a decent browser that blocks almost all ads I see, even on iOS! For example, YouTube has no ads in iOS Brave. Since iOS doesn't allow real browsers and extensions, Brave has been a sanity-saver for me. Pair that with uBlock on desktop and you're golden. 98% of the sites don't break at all either.
- frizlab 4y ago
  Safari on iOS does allow extensions. It also is a “real” browser, whatever that means. iOS does not, however, allow _alternate rendering engines_, which is different.
  - behnamoh 4y ago
    I find Safari extensions inferior than Chrome/Firefox extensions. Who thought it's a good idea to show extensions as apps on the springboard/launchpad?? I now have 68 extensions on my Brave (desktop). Imagine seeing 68 additional icons on my macOS launchpad!
  - kadoban 4y ago
    It allows one real browser. The rest might as well just be reskins for how little it matters.
  - Zurrrrr 4y ago
    Acting like you don't know what a real browser means in this context just so you can be mock offended. Oh you Apple users.
    - bee_rider 4y ago
      Safari is clearly a real web browser, you can use it to browse the web. It is a weird comment, the more straightforward and honest way of putting it would be “alternative browsers.”
      - 4y ago
anonymousiam 4y ago
Pi-hole (https://pi-hole.net/ https://pi-hole.net/) is a great ad blocker that requires no changes to your clients.
- mouse_ 4y ago
  I feel like, for those asking for cursory information about setting up an ad blocker, ublock origin should be recommended, and not pi-hole. Ublock Origin is a one click solution that works great for everyone, while pi-hole requires setup and does quite a lot. For instance, when I was using pi-hole, Windows Update and Epic Games Launcher simply stopped working for me. I'm not sure what was going on, it could have been something wrong on my end, but nonetheless, I'd hate having to help a user with issues like this after recommending pi-hole when all they wanted in the first place was a simple ad blocker. In my opinion, pi-hole is great, but it should only be brought up in cases where the user has already communicated they want something more than UBO.
  - anonymousiam 4y ago
    I respect your feelings, but Ublock Origin is not available on my Android phone or on my iPad. It's also not available for all browsers. It may not work for you, but for me Pi-hole is a wonderful solution for my whole family, and they don't ever need me to touch their devices in order for it to work for them.
    - Zizizizz 4y ago
      It's on Firefox
      - mackrevinack 4y ago
        also kiwi browser, which is chrome based
    - adgjlsfhk1 4y ago
      it works on android (as long as you use firefox)
jmclnx 4y ago
I use noscript https://noscript.net/ https://noscript.net/ But I sort of think this may be more of an issue with Cell Phones.
- Workaccount2 4y ago
  No script is excellent, but it is certainly not for the faint of heart. It basically breaks the (modern) internet and then you have to go in yourself an unfuck each website. The upside though is big, stops all the insane bloat that runs on most pages. Many websites run fine with all their scripts blocked too.
- stjohnswarts 4y ago
  Noscript requires too much effort. Ublock origin hits that sweet spot of install, configure, forget.
markx2 4y ago
https://nextdns.io https://nextdns.io and then UBlock Origin, uMatrix, Noscript at least.
- blakesterz 4y ago
  I think I found NextDNS here on HN and I've been really happy with it.
- SparkyMcUnicorn 4y ago
  NextDNS + Ublock Origin (or Brave Browser, since it uses the UBO lists by default) is a really good combo on its own, and easy enough for my self-proclaimed "tech illiterate" friends to set up and use. Also, it's pretty cool that NextDNS has this: https://github.com/nextdns/nextdns/wiki https://github.com/nextdns/nextdns/wiki
- newaccount2021 4y ago
  [dead]
- CatWChainsaw 4y ago
  gorhill isn't updating uMatrix anymore. That said, I still use it in addition to uBO because I find it very intuitive to use.
haunter 4y ago
I use uBlock Origin on PC and Adguard Pro on iOS (with the uBlock Origin filters 1:1)
pmontra 4y ago
If you're on Android also use Blockada to block ads in app. It's a local VPN server that filters out requests to ad servers. I think there are other apps like that but I never used anything else.
- rrrrrrrrrrrryan 4y ago
  Blokada started sputtering out on me so I switched to AdAway on F-Droid.
dooglius 4y ago
It ultimately depends on what your threat model is, what are you trying to defend against? I use Qubes dispvms (whonix if possible) for personal browsing, but that's pretty far toward the extreme end of the scale.
Scoundreller 4y ago
On iOS (but also for mac and tvOS), I took my pick of dns based systems here: https://encrypted-dns.party/ https://encrypted-dns.party/ https://gitlab.com/nitrohorse/ios14-encrypted-dns-mobileconfigs https://gitlab.com/nitrohorse/ios14-encrypted-dns-mobileconf... No idea if I should really trust them, or if there’s a better way to install profiles directly from CIRA or Mullvad like I use. Nice thing is that it’s device wide and all free (hopefully not for malicious intents).
lemoncookiechip 4y ago
A combination of uBlock Origin + NoScript + Bypass Paywalls Clean + FastForward + ClearURLs as well as a pop-up blocker of your choice, will make your web browsing experience a bit cleaner. Not all of these might available for Chromium, I personally use Firefox for my daily use, with some Chromium browsers as backup. NoScript will break pretty much 50% of the web. It'll take you about a day to whitelist all the sites you use daily and then it's smooth sailing. I would also highly recommend this privacy focused list. https://www.privacytools.io/ https://www.privacytools.io/
- dngray 4y ago
  The correct site is https://privacyguides.org https://privacyguides.org The former team left Privacy Tools and that is now just arbitrary recommendations by one guy who mostly spruiks cryptocurrency bullshit. He also has no experience when it comes to auditing, verifying any of what is recommended, not a sysop, not a programmer either. If you want to know specifics about that see https://www.privacyguides.org/about/privacytools https://www.privacyguides.org/about/privacytools Also see https://github.com/arkenfox/user.js/wiki/4.1-Extensions https://github.com/arkenfox/user.js/wiki/4.1-Extensions
  - lemoncookiechip 4y ago
    Thank you.
wrycoder 4y ago
I use AdBlock+, never had a reason to switch.
wardedVibe 4y ago
to add one that hasn't been mentioned in this thread, a good hostfile can both block ads and speed up your internet. https://github.com/StevenBlack/hosts https://github.com/StevenBlack/hosts

Any recommendations for a good ad blocker and other precautions to take?

Zetice 4y ago

On MacOS I like Little Snitch for OS level stuff, with some rule groups like ads_stevenblack and malwares_prigent.

sys42590 4y ago

I recommend uBlock Origin and the anti-malware DNS from Cloudflare

bogwog 4y ago

I use adnauseam (https://adnauseam.io/ https://adnauseam.io/), which is built on top of ublock origin, and it works pretty well. The generic nuclear option to hide terrible web design, bypass (some) paywalls, and improve performance 1000x is to disable javascript. ublock and adnauseam both have a button to disable all javascript on a page, which is handy when reading articles on sites filled with garbage.

krackers 4y ago
>both have a button to disable all javascript on a page Be slightly careful, there's a known issue (limitation of Chrome really) where requests and javascript are not blocked in the first few seconds of launching a browser or an incognito window (you can test this yourself). And this is true even with "Suspend network activity until all filter lists are loaded" enabled, because I think it's some limitation on Chrome as to when exactly extensions get loaded. So if you do rely on javascript being disabled for safety, after a fresh launch or new incognito window, you should visit a safe webpage first before going to the risky one.
- fl0ps 4y ago
  I'm going to just read "limitation on Chrome" as "purposely defective by design" as there's sufficient incentive to delay disabling to let a few telemetric squeaks escape.
- kevin_thibedeau 4y ago
  Just switch to a browser that respects user privacy. With NoScript you can fine tune which domains you'll accept scripts from when the zero-JS experience isn't usable.
autoexec 4y ago
adnauseam is seriously a terrible idea. It's actually dangerous. The idea that you can somehow trick advertisers by polluting your dossier and making it useless to them after filling it with random data is fundamentally flawed. Every scrap of data collected about you will be used against you. It doesn't matter if it's accurate or not, nobody cares if they data they have about you is accurate, data brokers will happily sell your personal info to anyone even knowing full well that it's got inaccurate and conflicting info in it. Many won't even know because the process is entirely automated. By automatically clicking on ads and "expressing interest" in random things you're just filling your dossier with ammo which gets handed to others to fire at you. Every random thing you add to your permanent record is one more thing that can only hurt you. You cannot know what will prejudice someone against you. Maybe one day adnauseam decides to click on something that gets you flagged as having a certain political view, or having a certain sexual orientation, or being an alcoholic, or having a mental illness, or being at a certain income level, or belonging to a certain religion, etc. One day that exact data can cause you to get turned down for a job, or for housing. It can mean that a website charges you more than what your neighbor pays for the same product. It can mean your insurance rates go up next year. You will never be told when it happens or why. Your health insurance company isn't going to tell you that they raised your rates because you (adnauseam) clicked on too many fast food ads last quarter. You're just suddenly getting a higher bill. Your auto insurance company won't tell you that they raised your rates after you were clicking ads for DUI lawyers, but suddenly they and every other insurance provider you try are quoting you higher monthly prices. If your browser extension decides to go click on ads about abortions you could even end up being hauled into a texas courtroom and having to defend against charges. Sure, you'd get them thrown out eventually. Probably. But it would still cost you a ton of time and money and stress. The information in your dossier can get you targeted, harassed, or attacked by extremists. It can get be used against you in court rooms. It can get you investigated by three letter agencies. It can be used to impact your 'secret consumer score' or consumer trustworthiness rating. The information being collected about you is sold to companies, employers, activists, extremists, and law enforcement. That data never goes away. It follows you for the rest of your life and will be used against you in ways you'll never be aware of and cannot today imagine. Filling your dossier with huge amounts of content (random or not) is dangerous and only increases your risk for zero benefit.
dngray 4y ago
adnauseam makes your browser easier to fingerprint because it drastically changes the browser's behaviour. Do not recommend.
- geraldhh 4y ago
  your browser is easy to fingerprint no matter what. but yea, i don't think this is a good idea. just blocklist known garbage
- devnullbrain 4y ago
  Should we also not use uncommon resolutions, uncommon browsers, uncommon OSes? The personal and societal effect of ads are more tangible than the personal effect of tracking. Even if networks are truly able to use this data, it doesn't matter how precisely you can be served with ads if you don't see them.

_rs 4y ago

On Mac and iOS I use and recommend AdGuard which has native content blocker extensions and lets you use Easylist block lists (as well as their own). On Chrome/Firefox I use uBlock Origin which works well. I’m not sure if the community recommends something else at this point. I also use various other extensions like StopTheMadness to disable right click hijacking and other bad behavior and Banish on iOS to prevent certain banners from appearing.

jjkmk 4y ago

UBlock Orgin works for most browsers, and has been the industry standard for some time. You can even deploy it as part of group policy in an organization: https://deployhappiness.com/deploying-ublock-origin-for-chrome-and-configuring-a-whitelist/ https://deployhappiness.com/deploying-ublock-origin-for-chro...

nathanaldensr 4y ago

uBlock Origin, Privacy Badger, Pi-hole, and a mobile browser like Firefox that allows for extensions for those times when one is not browsing on the same network that the Pi-hole runs on. One may also use a VPN on all devices that connect to a network with DNS-level ad-blocking.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

ezfe 4y ago

I use Wipr on Safari for Mac & iPhone

pch00 4y ago
Another very satisfied Wipr user here - it just works.

behnamoh 4y ago

I know most people trash on Brave, but honestly, if you disable its crypto features (which is just a click away), it's actually a decent browser that blocks almost all ads I see, even on iOS! For example, YouTube has no ads in iOS Brave. Since iOS doesn't allow real browsers and extensions, Brave has been a sanity-saver for me. Pair that with uBlock on desktop and you're golden. 98% of the sites don't break at all either.

frizlab 4y ago
Safari on iOS does allow extensions. It also is a “real” browser, whatever that means. iOS does not, however, allow _alternate rendering engines_, which is different.
- behnamoh 4y ago
  I find Safari extensions inferior than Chrome/Firefox extensions. Who thought it's a good idea to show extensions as apps on the springboard/launchpad?? I now have 68 extensions on my Brave (desktop). Imagine seeing 68 additional icons on my macOS launchpad!
- kadoban 4y ago
  It allows one real browser. The rest might as well just be reskins for how little it matters.
- Zurrrrr 4y ago
  Acting like you don't know what a real browser means in this context just so you can be mock offended. Oh you Apple users.
  - bee_rider 4y ago
    Safari is clearly a real web browser, you can use it to browse the web. It is a weird comment, the more straightforward and honest way of putting it would be “alternative browsers.”
    - 4y ago

anonymousiam 4y ago

Pi-hole (https://pi-hole.net/ https://pi-hole.net/) is a great ad blocker that requires no changes to your clients.

mouse_ 4y ago
I feel like, for those asking for cursory information about setting up an ad blocker, ublock origin should be recommended, and not pi-hole. Ublock Origin is a one click solution that works great for everyone, while pi-hole requires setup and does quite a lot. For instance, when I was using pi-hole, Windows Update and Epic Games Launcher simply stopped working for me. I'm not sure what was going on, it could have been something wrong on my end, but nonetheless, I'd hate having to help a user with issues like this after recommending pi-hole when all they wanted in the first place was a simple ad blocker. In my opinion, pi-hole is great, but it should only be brought up in cases where the user has already communicated they want something more than UBO.
- anonymousiam 4y ago
  I respect your feelings, but Ublock Origin is not available on my Android phone or on my iPad. It's also not available for all browsers. It may not work for you, but for me Pi-hole is a wonderful solution for my whole family, and they don't ever need me to touch their devices in order for it to work for them.
  - Zizizizz 4y ago
    It's on Firefox
    - mackrevinack 4y ago
      also kiwi browser, which is chrome based
  - adgjlsfhk1 4y ago
    it works on android (as long as you use firefox)

jmclnx 4y ago

I use noscript https://noscript.net/ https://noscript.net/ But I sort of think this may be more of an issue with Cell Phones.

Workaccount2 4y ago
No script is excellent, but it is certainly not for the faint of heart. It basically breaks the (modern) internet and then you have to go in yourself an unfuck each website. The upside though is big, stops all the insane bloat that runs on most pages. Many websites run fine with all their scripts blocked too.
stjohnswarts 4y ago
Noscript requires too much effort. Ublock origin hits that sweet spot of install, configure, forget.

markx2 4y ago

https://nextdns.io https://nextdns.io and then UBlock Origin, uMatrix, Noscript at least.

blakesterz 4y ago
I think I found NextDNS here on HN and I've been really happy with it.
SparkyMcUnicorn 4y ago
NextDNS + Ublock Origin (or Brave Browser, since it uses the UBO lists by default) is a really good combo on its own, and easy enough for my self-proclaimed "tech illiterate" friends to set up and use. Also, it's pretty cool that NextDNS has this: https://github.com/nextdns/nextdns/wiki https://github.com/nextdns/nextdns/wiki
newaccount2021 4y ago
[dead]
CatWChainsaw 4y ago
gorhill isn't updating uMatrix anymore. That said, I still use it in addition to uBO because I find it very intuitive to use.

haunter 4y ago

I use uBlock Origin on PC and Adguard Pro on iOS (with the uBlock Origin filters 1:1)

pmontra 4y ago

If you're on Android also use Blockada to block ads in app. It's a local VPN server that filters out requests to ad servers. I think there are other apps like that but I never used anything else.

rrrrrrrrrrrryan 4y ago
Blokada started sputtering out on me so I switched to AdAway on F-Droid.

dooglius 4y ago

It ultimately depends on what your threat model is, what are you trying to defend against? I use Qubes dispvms (whonix if possible) for personal browsing, but that's pretty far toward the extreme end of the scale.

Scoundreller 4y ago

On iOS (but also for mac and tvOS), I took my pick of dns based systems here: https://encrypted-dns.party/ https://encrypted-dns.party/ https://gitlab.com/nitrohorse/ios14-encrypted-dns-mobileconfigs https://gitlab.com/nitrohorse/ios14-encrypted-dns-mobileconf... No idea if I should really trust them, or if there’s a better way to install profiles directly from CIRA or Mullvad like I use. Nice thing is that it’s device wide and all free (hopefully not for malicious intents).

lemoncookiechip 4y ago

A combination of uBlock Origin + NoScript + Bypass Paywalls Clean + FastForward + ClearURLs as well as a pop-up blocker of your choice, will make your web browsing experience a bit cleaner. Not all of these might available for Chromium, I personally use Firefox for my daily use, with some Chromium browsers as backup. NoScript will break pretty much 50% of the web. It'll take you about a day to whitelist all the sites you use daily and then it's smooth sailing. I would also highly recommend this privacy focused list. https://www.privacytools.io/ https://www.privacytools.io/

dngray 4y ago
The correct site is https://privacyguides.org https://privacyguides.org The former team left Privacy Tools and that is now just arbitrary recommendations by one guy who mostly spruiks cryptocurrency bullshit. He also has no experience when it comes to auditing, verifying any of what is recommended, not a sysop, not a programmer either. If you want to know specifics about that see https://www.privacyguides.org/about/privacytools https://www.privacyguides.org/about/privacytools Also see https://github.com/arkenfox/user.js/wiki/4.1-Extensions https://github.com/arkenfox/user.js/wiki/4.1-Extensions
- lemoncookiechip 4y ago
  Thank you.

wrycoder 4y ago

I use AdBlock+, never had a reason to switch.

wardedVibe 4y ago

to add one that hasn't been mentioned in this thread, a good hostfile can both block ads and speed up your internet. https://github.com/StevenBlack/hosts https://github.com/StevenBlack/hosts