Ad blocker

[Pelican]

Is there an extension that blocks ads that are not in popup windows, such as the ads provided by Google, etc?

For example, when visiting news.com.au I don't want to see any ads. That particular site use WordPress and they have ads jammed into every possible crevice.

[Moonchild]

Welcome to the wonderful world of our add-ons site

https://addons.palemoon.org/extensions/ ... -security/

[Pelican]

Yes, seen those, but the adblockers mention a lot about their pedigree (related add-ons) but nothing about what they actually do or don't do.

[Isengrim]

Yes, seen those, but the adblockers mention a lot about their pedigree (related add-ons) but nothing about what they actually do or don't do.

Like most adblockers, they block ads. Why not try one and see?

[Nigaikaze]

Yes, seen those, but the adblockers mention a lot about their pedigree (related add-ons) but nothing about what they actually do or don't do.

You could also take the time to research the mentioned related add-ons to understand what they actually do or don't do.

[Moonchild]

Yes, seen those, but the adblockers mention a lot about their pedigree (related add-ons) but nothing about what they actually do or don't do.

'Ad-block-er noun -- Extension with the purpose to block elements on web pages that display advertisements or otherwise contain undesired content.

[Pallid Planetoid]

Yes, seen those, but the adblockers mention a lot about their pedigree (related add-ons) but nothing about what they actually do or don't do.

You could also take the time to research the mentioned related add-ons to understand what they actually do or don't do.

As Nigaikaze has suggested -- doing some research on the add-ons that you will find in the link posted by Moonchild will help address any questions you might have.... Looking up some ad-blockers in that link previously posted (Pale Moon Privacy & Security extensions) you will find the following relevant add-ons ABPrime and Adblock Latitude and doing additional research you will also find that uBlock Origin works well with Pale Moon as well as many other ad-blocker extensions.

What you decide to use is up to you as far as what you are personally looking for....

Below is some additional information regarding the three mentioned above (in no particular order):

1) Information on uBock Origin: µBlock aims to block ads without draining system resources. Note: uBlock Origin needs to be installed via Github - refer to this forum topic on that: How to install uBlock Origin in Pale Moon 27 and it is recommended that you also install this add-on as well uBlock Origin Updater to better facilitate uBlock Origin updates.

2) Forum Topic on ABL.

3) Forum Topic on ABPrime.

Additional research can provide you with more information as well....

Any of these 3 ad-blockers referenced above will do an excellent job, providing many options and are fully compatible with Pale Moon.

FWIW, I can tell you what I personally use, which happens to be ABPrime for just the two 3rd-party filters "Disable Malware" and "Easy Privacy" and use uBlock Origin for all my other filters with the intention of limiting whatever page load delay there may be (to the extent that there is a delay with ABPrime which is not that appreciable). I do this because of the perceived advantage regarding ABPrime as referenced below (excerpt from the ABPrime link above):

ABPrime being a normal Toolkit/Overlay extensions means that unlike many Bootstrapped extensions it will load everything, including the filters, at application startup. This will have the cost of increased startup time depending on your selected filter lists. Though, this has the added benefit of ensuring that blocking is complete ready to go and active before the initial window spawns or any pages are loaded.

So based on this -- I use what I consider the more critical filters in ABPrime "security" wise.... but that's me -- others will have their own well thought-out opinion --- you have to make your own choice on what you want from an ad-blocker extension.

To be sure, everybody has their own opinion on what to use as far as their own preferences regarding the ad-blocker they are looking for --- do some research, take a look, compare and make your own personal decision.

[Pelican]

Yes, I tried 2 of them and without any custom settings/filters they seem to do the job.

But I would still like to know how they work, for example: what processes are used to differentiate between Google ads and a catalogue like one might see in an online book store where each book is displayed as an advertisement with similar properties to the ads we want to avoid, because simply being offsite as an ad service usually is would not be satisfactory because as many sites do and as Google recommends, using a separate site for images, media and common scripts increases page load speed which supposedly boosts ratings.

[coffeebreak]

But I would still like to know how they work, for example: what processes are used to differentiate between Google ads and a catalogue...

This is not a quick answer, but I think reading (and understanding) the documentation for writing filters will help:
https://adblockplus.org/en/filters

https://adblockplus.org/en/filter-cheatsheet

uBO's wiki (multiple entries)

...to differentiate between Google ads and a catalogue like one might see in an online book store where each book is displayed as an advertisement with similar properties to the ads we want to avoid...

Try going to a site where you have this concern and see what happens.

Edit:
P.S. EasyList's general policy is to not block "self-promotion" content: EasyList policy
It doesn't mean false positives never happen, but they can be reported and fixed.

---

---

@WilliamK, I had written what follows and was about to post it just after your own last post. You may or may not still find it useful, but I am posting it in case you do:

Yes, seen those, but the adblockers mention a lot about their pedigree (related add-ons) but nothing about what they actually do or don't do.

• Yes you do know their pedigree - Adblock Latitude and ABPrime are both part of the Adblock Plus family.
  To learn about how they work, what they do or don't do, the place to start (IMO) is ABP's web site, adblockplus.org.
  
  In particular there's a Documentation section, with a subsection for Advanced Documentation, that are very useful.
  The link to the main documentation isn't that obvious to find. It's in the site's footer, left side, in the "Resources" column.
• A couple of forum posts on differences between ABL and ABPrime: 1, 2.
  (In the first post the description of ABL 3.5, ABPrime's immediate ancestor, applies to ABPrime.)
• Adblock Latitude Release announcements
  ABPrime Release announcements
• Page elements can be hidden with help from a companion extension: Element Hiding Helper v1.3.2.1-signed.
  (It's an authoring aid.) Documentation here and here.

For uBlock Origin:

• The very best place to learn more is uBO's Github site starting with the front page (essentially, the README).
  Plus its very excellent wiki.
• If you wish to install it, get it directly from the Github Releases section.
  The xul version of the install file (what you need for Pale Moon) looks like this: uBlock0.firefox.xpi
• uBO has a built-in function to help the user hide page elements. In uBO this function is called "cosmetic filtering".
  Some documentation: Element picker and Static filter syntax > Cosmetic filters.

[Pelican]

@coffeebreak, thanks for your most informative reply.

So in short, it works much like a spam filter in that it uses a list of known taboo keywords commonly used in rotating ads. If a match is found, the ad's container is removed from the HTML.

And like most spam filters, it can kill innocent content. For example on one site that I tested a script named pop.js is used that creates a layer for an order form. Unfortunately anyone wanting to purchase who may be using an Adblocker will not be able to purchase because they will no longer get the order form. Renaming pop.js will fix the problem but it makes one wonder how many sites may be similarly affected.

[coffeebreak]

And like most spam filters, it can kill innocent content.

EasyList's general policy is to not block "self-promotion" content: EasyList policy
It doesn't mean false positives never happen, but they can be reported and fixed.

If you encounter a false positive, hop on over to EasyList or uAssets as relevant and report it so the maintainers can fix it.

Adblock users have options when a site breaks:

• Easiest is to whitelist the site.
  (All major adblockers provide easy means to whitelist a site, temporarily or permanently.)
• Or be more surgical: identify the script(s)/request(s)/content at issue, and and the filter(s) involved, and
  1. disable the subscription list that contains the problematic filter(s); or
• 2. disable just the problem filter(s); or
• 3. block/whitelist the script etc. itself (as appropriate).

[Pelican]

It should not be up to the end user to fix abnomalies like pop.js which is actually a good candidate to enforce because its name usually means that it is most likely a script for pop up windows. Typical users will not be tech savvy. On this forum, as with my own user-guides and user support, I often see complaints about instructions and guidance being either too technical or not technical enough.

[coffeebreak]

...abnomalies like pop.js which is actually a good candidate to enforce because its name usually means that it is most likely a script for pop up windows.

If you were to report the "pop.js issue" to the list maintainers to be fixed...

I'm pretty sure that fixing it would not mean that the underlying rule stops being generally enforced.
There would just be an exception made for the specific site that uses pop.js for order forms.

[tenseys]

For example on one site that I tested a script named pop.js is used that creates a layer for an order form. Unfortunately anyone wanting to purchase who may be using an Adblocker will not be able to purchase because they will no longer get the order form.

Well if anyone is experiencing a problem with a website whether its with accessing various forms, making a purchase or payment, or with other parts of the sites function, the person can simply disable the adblockers functioning on that given site or domain usually with one or two mouse clicks. This disabling function or whitelisting is usually featured prominently on most adblockers and is usually the first thing people, even nontechnical people, learn about when they install an adblocker.

If you install an adblocker, whether you are a technical person or not, it is still on you to troubleshoot or whitelist a site that is having an issue since adblockers can sometimes cause problems with sites and you accept that when you install it. If you can't do that, then don't use an adblocker. That said, adblockers have been around for over 10 years now and people have been using them on sites just fine. The lists they use are maintained and constantly updated and have been for a long while.

In my own case, it is pretty rare when I've had a problem on a given site due to using an adblocker whether its with making a purchase, viewing content etc. I think this has happened maybe a few times out of thousands of sites over 10 years or so? All fixable with a click or two. Meanwhile the benefits are staggering.

They do more that just block annoying obtusive and thought affecting ads.. they block malvertising, bad domains, they protect privacy, they decrease page load time, save power and energy etc https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_blocking

[Pelican]

If you install an adblocker, where you are a technical person or not, it is on you to troubleshoot or whitelist a site that is having an issue since adblockers can sometimes cause problems with sites. If you can't do that, then don't use an adblocker.

Most users do not know that the tool that they use to view web pages is called a "web browser" or that Internet Explorer which has been installed with Windows since the year dot is known as a "web browser". Similarly ask which mail client they use and you will mostly get a blank stare. But they will find ways to install an add-on... "get more add-ons" is a common feature.

[tenseys]

If you install an adblocker, where you are a technical person or not, it is on you to troubleshoot or whitelist a site that is having an issue since adblockers can sometimes cause problems with sites. If you can't do that, then don't use an adblocker.

Most users do not know that the tool that they use to view web pages is called a "web browser" or that Internet Explorer which has been installed with Windows since the year dot is known as a "web browser". Similarly ask which mail client they use and you will mostly get a blank stare. But they will find ways to install an add-on... "get more add-ons" is a common feature.

I think oftentimes it is the terminology they have problems with. They know what these things are just not what they are called especially generically. And ignorance in any case doesn't excuse it. If you use certain software or even computers at all there are risks. Know them or don't, consequences don't care.

Besides, if they can't make a purchase on one site, or use some function of it, and give up on it (as opposed to contacting the site about it) which I don't believe will necessarily follow their lack of knowledge about add-ons, web browsers, the internet, etc, they can make a purchase on or use another site. And maybe even save more on Amazon for example if applicable. If a developer/affiliate markerter/website owner is running a website that is not working properly with adblockers or browsers etc and is losing sales and doesn't like this, then it is up to him in my opinion to address it and these issues can be reported as mentioned above or dealt with this way he can remain in business.

That said, I've never had problems making a purchase online on any site that I have used with my adblocker enabled as far as I can recall and I am pretty active. Serious issues in general have been relatively rare at least in my experience.

I imagine if there were real widespread problems with important innocent code I would have seen it many years ago or heard about it but the reality is sites and the internet work wonderfully with my adblocker. It was how they were before that was the nightmare.

[Moonchild]

You can't fix people's choice to not educate themselves. To try so is folly en is the very root cause of all this dumbed-down software you see around that, in turn, reinforces the "I don't need to learn anything" attitude.

[coffeebreak]

Update to my earlier post:

• If you wish to install it, get it directly from the Github Releases section.
  The xul version of the installer (needed for Pale Moon) looks like this: uBlock0.firefox.xpi

The installation file for the xul version of uBO has changed to uBlock0.firefox-legacy.xpi.
For details see this post.

[New Tobin Paradigm]

Alright this is the fifth or sixth copypasta ive seen from you.. Stop.. Just link your post instead of spamming the board.. MODERATORS.. Please clean up his mess.

[coffeebreak]

MODERATORS.. Please clean up his mess.

I hope moderators will not consider those posts to be a "mess."
And not "clean them up".

For anyone who doesn't know what this is about, it's been announced that Gorhill changed his decision to end support for xul (legacy)-uBO. It will be maintained it in a separate branch for "fixes". This entails a change to the name of the installation file. And the old name of the file we used will now belong to the installer for uBO Firefox webextension - so we don't want to use it anymore.

I posted in each thread where I myself had posted the now-outdated information, to amend my own posts - to limit the possibility that someone might read any one of those old posts (in any one of those threads) and try to install the webextension by mistake.

It's not possible to edit the older posts, so I made new ones.

That's not making a "mess" - that's being responsible.