AB-Solution 2.0 is out! (v2.0.1)

[rotorbudd]

I'll be inviting you as soon as they are ready. You'll be an early tester of the next version...

I'll be glad to. It's the least I can do to repay for all the help.
And I've always got my 66u to fall back to.

 

[thelonelycoder]

I'll be glad to. It's the least I can do to repay for all the help.

Just don't expect to get a link in the next five minutes. Might be days until they are ready to get tested outside my home turf.

When I released version 2.0 not that long ago, I swore to myself:
All next releases are incremental and only include fixes and maybe a new feature or two.
Well, I must have forgotten that after the 2.0.1 release.

 

[GDT]

If you need I'll be glad to become a tester too. I also have xvortex r7000.

 

[thelonelycoder]

@GDT @rotorbudd and those who want to try out something:
Sep 28: Testing is over, update-hosts.sh v1.3 released. See post #1.
I have uploaded update-hosts.sh v1.2 into the 'for_testing' folder in the
Downloads section on www.ab-solution.info. Here's the curl link:

How to participate:
- Download the file
- open the existing file /adblocking/scripts/update-hosts.sh
- copy the complete line starting with 'source /tmp/mnt/' near the top of the file
- paste the line into the new update-hosts.sh, replacing the placeholder 'source'*.
- make sure the file is in unix format (the line endings).
- replace the old update-hosts.sh with the new one
- Run (u)

I would like to know:
- if you use adaway.org/hosts.txt does it work now? (it will!)
- how it works on systems with a custom wget binary (e.g. from Entware)
- there's more details now during download, does it make sense?
- Look closely, there's a counter output**, how accurate is it? (you can scroll up the terminal once AB is back in the Menu)
- suggestions and errors

*) If you don't do that and simply replace the old update-hosts.sh with the new one,
AB-Solution will detect that it misses a valid 'source' part and auto-downloads a new copy from ab-solution.info, thus getting again the current v1.1.

**) Counter looks like so:

sorting, removing whitelist entries
this will take about 17 seconds...

...it actually took 14 seconds.

 

[visortgw]

@GDT @rotorbudd and those who want to try out something:

I would like to know:
- if you use adaway.org/hosts.txt does it work now? (it will!) Yes
- how it works on systems with a custom wget binary (e.g. from Entware) N/A
- there's more details now during download, does it make sense? Absolutely!
- Look closely, there's a counter output**, how accurate is it? (you can scroll up the terminal once AB is back in the Menu) Estimate 13 seconds, actual 9 seconds.
- suggestions and errors Suggestion: Please put sample curl command string to download file on webpage in order to same time and increase accuracy.

EXCELLENT! Detailed responses embedded above.

 

[thelonelycoder]

Suggestion: Please put sample curl command string to download file on webpage in order to same time and increase accuracy.

It's a click away on the download page, just click on the file, it'll ask you where to save it.

Edit: Do you mean instead of the installation link there should be a curl download link for the file?
Edit two: Link is in post above.

 

[visortgw]

It's a click away on the download page, just click on the file, it'll ask you where to save it.

Edit: Do you mean instead of the installation link there should be a curl download link for the file?

It's:

curl -O www.ab-solution.info/releases/for_testing/update-hosts.sh

Yes! Or, both... My preference is to download directly from a UNIX shell (ssh to router via macOS Terminal session) in order to guarantee UNIX file formatting. I edited the curl download link for the entire package to reference the updated script.

 

[zekesdad]

So, I installed this, everything went easily, can't manage to get an ad on any webpage. However, none of the xboxs in the house now work. I don't know whats going on when you try to run a game or an app on the stupid things, but with this ad blocking absolutely everything refuses to start on either one.

Is there someway to "whitelist" the machines so that they don't go through the filter, or is there some other way to tackle this problem?

 

[GDT]

I use shooter40sw host file.
It downloaded adaway.org/host.txt
and I liked the new download details.

My counter details:

sorting, removing whitelist entries
this will take about 45 seconds...

...it actually took 5 seconds.

I've got a R7000 @1200MHz

 

[elorimer]

So, I installed this, everything went easily, can't manage to get an ad on any webpage. However, none of the xboxs in the house now work. I don't know whats going on when you try to run a game or an app on the stupid things, but with this ad blocking absolutely everything refuses to start on either one.

Is there someway to "whitelist" the machines so that they don't go through the filter, or is there some other way to tackle this problem?

My xbox360 seems OK. Just using it as an extender though.

 

[thelonelycoder]

My counter details:

sorting, removing whitelist entries
this will take about 45 seconds...

...it actually took 5 seconds.

I've got a R7000 @1200MHz

Yeah, I'm not surprised. And by the way I calculate the estimate, it can be far off.

I had the counter in just to time the downloads and see how much the IPv6 entries would affect the preprocessing.
The hosts files download counter is real however. It times the download, the stripping and replacing of the IP in one stream.
So, since I had some numbers to play with, I thought I might estimate the time it takes for duplicates removal, sorting and whitelist stripping.

It was reasonably accurate for the AC66U but the time for the AC87U was widely different. So I built in an mips/arm switch and played a bit more.
I probably leave it in for the final version, it's a nice gimmick. Maybe I do a little tweaking to it to make it more accurate.
Suggestions welcome, as always.

 

[thelonelycoder]

So, I installed this, everything went easily, can't manage to get an ad on any webpage. However, none of the xboxs in the house now work. I don't know whats going on when you try to run a game or an app on the stupid things, but with this ad blocking absolutely everything refuses to start on either one.

Is there someway to "whitelist" the machines so that they don't go through the filter, or is there some other way to tackle this problem?

I would start with using the Standard hosts list. Then look at the logfile (f) and filter by (2). Then start the xboxen's and look at what gets blocked.
Add whatever you thinks blocks them from accessing to the whitelist.txt in the /adblocking/ directory. Then run (p) to process the new entries in the whitelist. Good luck!

 

[thelonelycoder]

Is there someway to "whitelist" the machines so that they don't go through the filter, or is there some other way to tackle this problem?

I only just realized you meant to exclude your xboxes from it. This is done in Parental Control. See this post:
http://www.snbforums.com/threads/ab-solution-2-0-is-out-v2-0-1.34530/page-6#post-280485

 

[elorimer]

I only just realized you meant to exclude your xboxes from it. This is done in Parental Control. See this post:
http://www.snbforums.com/threads/ab-solution-2-0-is-out-v2-0-1.34530/page-6#post-280485

This is really, really helpful. I had been wondering if there was a way to have particular IPs go outside the adblocking without doing custom DNS IPs in the clients, and this would be a way. I'm sure I read it and didn't commit it to permanent memory. Thanks.

I immediately thought that this could be built in to your script, but I worry that this would be simple code (a file with the excluded IPs and a menu option to set the nvram variables) but a huge complication. You've done so much more useful work.

Perhaps, though, on your site, or maybe in a readme file the script could call up, this would be an item.

 

[thelonelycoder]

This is really, really helpful. I had been wondering if there was a way to have particular IPs go outside the adblocking without doing custom DNS IPs in the clients, and this would be a way. I'm sure I read it and didn't commit it to permanent memory. Thanks.

I immediately thought that this could be built in to your script, but I worry that this would be simple code (a file with the excluded IPs and a menu option to set the nvram variables) but a huge complication. You've done so much more useful work.

Perhaps, though, on your site, or maybe in a readme file the script could call up, this would be an item.

No, no, no. Don't even think about it. I have enough ideas to fill my time allotment for AB-Solution.
Besides, it's already built into the system, comfortably configurable through a UI. What more do you want?

 

[rotorbudd]

How to participate:
- Download the file
- open the existing file /adblocking/scripts/update-hosts.sh
- copy the complete line starting with 'source /tmp/mnt/' near the top of the file
- paste the line into the new update-hosts.sh, replacing the placeholder 'source'*.
- make sure the file is in unix format (the line endings).
- replace the old update-hosts.sh with the new one
- Run (u)

@ thelonelycoder,
A storm/power surge took out my cable modem and R7000 during the day Friday. Got new components (thanks Amazon!) and I'm installing from scratch.
Do I just run the run the new file without any editing?

 

[thelonelycoder]

@rotorbudd did you read the annotation?
*) If you don't do that and simply replace the old update-hosts.sh with the new one,
AB-Solution will detect that it misses a valid 'source' part and auto-downloads a new copy from ab-solution.info, thus getting again the current v1.1.

 

[rotorbudd]

I don't have an existing install (no /adblocking/scripts/update-hosts.sh)
Starting with a new router and external HD.

 

[thelonelycoder]

I don't have an existing install (no /adblocking/scripts/update-hosts.sh)
Starting with a new router and external HD.

I can feel for you, I used to live in Australia and the US (and about a handful other places too).
I had a fatal power outage in the Houston area back then that killed my precious Dial-up modem.

Anyway, you install from scratch, then replace as instructed.
Since the file is not in the /latest/ folder it will not auto-install. I'm waiting a couple of days until I release it if no complaints are voiced.
Thanks for testing!

 

[rotorbudd]

It wasn't too bad. Amazon replaced the router for free with next day delivery, and I had an older cable modem that works until I get google fiber (soon I hope)
I'll bet it wasn't a power surge in Houston that killed the modem. Just the heat and humidity would do it.