AB-Solution - The Ad Blocking Solution

[thelonelycoder]

Guys, you know the rule. No mention of illegal forks around here.

 

[thelonelycoder]

I think a lot of people run AdBlock+ or similar on their browsers. Clearly AB-Solution handles a lot of this load. Confusingly (for me) AB+ still shows 18 ads blocked on this page... I assume that means that the plugin sees calls for them in the HTML, but the content is already being blocked by the router. Is that accurate? To some extent I can verify this by disabling AB+ on any particular page and seeing that no ads load where I once would have expected them.

The goal of AB-Solution is to have ad-blocking done on the router, thus eliminating the need to install and maintain and learn to handle various other blockers in browsers or devices within your LAN.
Despite the crude method AB does the blocking, it works surprisingly well. Ever since I use it I ditched all other browser based solutions.
But you may use them additionally. These blockers can block in a much more refined way.
As you noticed, the 18 additionally blocked ads on this very site were not or only partially blocked by AB.
One of the reasons is that some sites are whitelisted for the SNB websites to support them. You acknowledged this during install of AB.

 

[JaimeZX]

The goal of AB-Solution is to have ad-blocking done on the router, thus eliminating the need to install and maintain and learn to handle various other blockers in browsers or devices within your LAN.

Absolutely! Love it.

Despite the crude method AB does the blocking, it works surprisingly well. Ever since I use it I ditched all other browser based solutions.

Which was one of my goals. You obviously made the decision that you didn't want the browser to spend cycles on rewriting any particular page's code; which makes perfect sense to me.

One of the reasons is that some sites are whitelisted for the SNB websites to support them. You acknowledged this during install of AB.

Yup! Certainly.

As you indicated, the browser plugins might be a bit more sophisticated insofar as they actually seem to remove the ad-related code from the page source before it's loaded, but the router solution provides an excellent backup, I think. Or rather, "first line of defense." Thanks!!

 

[Makaveli]

The only issue that I've come across now that i've disabled Ad block is you tube ads get in.

Using the medium blocking file.

So if I'm playing music and ad will slip in before the next song plays.
Other than that everything else has been fine, so I will have to try and find a work around of some kind.

 

[bayern1975]

using ad-block file, about 430 000 blocked entries but still get some ads...is possible to block somehow?

Sent from my Huawei-P10 using Tapatalk

 

[Xentrk]

Absolutely! Love it.
Which was one of my goals. You obviously made the decision that you didn't want the browser to spend cycles on rewriting any particular page's code; which makes perfect sense to me.

Yup! Certainly.

As you indicated, the browser plugins might be a bit more sophisticated insofar as they actually seem to remove the ad-related code from the page source before it's loaded, but the router solution provides an excellent backup, I think. Or rather, "first line of defense." Thanks!!

I have been thinking about this topic recently. Last year, I made a presentation at my computer club about ad blocking at the router level. One guy looked at me like I was crazy for doing this rather than using a browser ad blocking plug-in. The benefits of router based ad blocking that I explained to him (from the pi-hole github page) are:

1. Block Advertisements on Any Device - Network-level blocking allows any device to block ads, regardless of hardware or OS.
2. Improve Overall Network Performance - Since ads are blocked before they are downloaded, your network will perform better.

By having ad blocking on the router, I could also prevent ads from appearing on some streaming media channels such as CNET, CBS and PBS.

A few months ago, I installed uBlocker and other privacy browser extension on Firefox. The primary reason was to block ads and trackers when I was not on my home network. I also saw some Adchoices ads on some sites getting thru. Using the browser extension seems to have helped. I now use them concurrently.

Are there other reasons to block at the router level that I did not list?

 

[lukaszzsch]

using ad-block file, about 430 000 blocked entries but still get some ads...is possible to block somehow?
View attachment 12266

Sent from my Huawei-P10 using Tapatalk

I’ve been using large blockfile + skynet + dnscrypt (adguard server) and do not have adrertisements in Speedtest, flaskcore and many other free applications.

 

[Xentrk]

using ad-block file, about 430 000 blocked entries but still get some ads...is possible to block somehow?
View attachment 12266

Sent from my Huawei-P10 using Tapatalk

Speedtest.net is one of the worst sites for ads. Even with AB-Solution, some still get thru. I use uBlocker to eliminate those on Firefox. I also use some other security and browser plug ins. They prevent this site from working. So, I use chrome with no additional plug-ins when using speedtest.net.

 

[Asad Ali]

using ad-block file, about 430 000 blocked entries but still get some ads...is possible to block somehow?
View attachment 12266

Sent from my Huawei-P10 using Tapatalk

Try deleting the app and reinstalling it again. I had the same issue yesterday and @thelonelycoder's this suggestion worked.

 

[bayern1975]

Try deleting the app and reinstalling it again. I had the same issue yesterday and @thelonelycoder's this suggestion worked.

I try that as you wrote....nothing better...

Sent from my Huawei-P10 using Tapatalk

 

[Asad Ali]

I try that as you wrote....nothing better...

Sent from my Huawei-P10 using Tapatalk

It worked for me but I'm on iPhone and have pixelserv-tls installed too.

 

[JaimeZX]

Are there other reasons to block at the router level that I did not list?

I think you're right; keeping ads outside the LAN should speed internal traffic.

At the browser level, with the right blocklists the plugins will provide additional protection against malware and ads. Then the plugins also seem to remove even the calls for ads from some web pages... which makes them display more nicely.

On the other hand, frequently I'll be waiting for a page to load and see in the Status Bar "Waiting for plugin Adblock Plus........." which makes me grumpy. But not too grumpy. So. Pros and cons I suppose.

 

[Flipmode11]

How much memory is required and used by simply having the same protection as Easy List English subscription (for example)? The middle "Block Ad's" level probably covers that from the list of options? (1,2,3,4...)

Thinking out loud... Given this is on the router, it cannot block specific elements (Easy List). So may only use a Simplified Domain Name list or similar block list.
Limitations:
* Cannot filter requests for clients who are Tunneling.
* Can or Cannot filter HTTPS resources? Maybe it can? Client installs new certificate in browser?

So it would only be an initial line of defence against malicious and advertising servers (approx. ~40% ~70% coverage, depending on aggressiveness of list)...


So... I have the RT-AC86U - it has ample RAM and CPU. Why would I need external storage connected when there is so much free space left after a 66MB firmware image?

What features would you need to lose to be able to run it without USB storage? Has anyone tested this? Or is it "not negotiable"

Thank you! Keep up the excellent work.
Will definitely donate once I'm up and running. So should everyone!!

 

[Flipmode11]

BENEFIT OF ROUTER-BASED:
- cannot be detected by websites with anti-adblock scripts.
- lower memory consumption of web browser.
- fewer web browser plug-ins running.
- lower device CPU utilisation from AdGuard PC/Android apps, uBlock extensions, and other third party software...
- protects all network devices without requiring extra s/w.
- browser, software and OS independent (regardless of new s/w installed after configuration)
- device and PC independent.
- implement redundancy should users remove/disable browser plug-ins due to site not working for them.
-
-

BENEFITS OF DEVICE / BROWSER-BASED:
- no indiscriminate blocking of entire domains, paths and files.
- finite control over blocking elements on page-level.
- device/browser customisation of lists and subscriptions (higher/lower protection)
- cheaper network hardware and equipment.
- easy management of blocking exceptions.
- easy management of new/custom element blocking (not already blocked).
-
-
-

Ummm... What else...? Why don't we have a complete list of this on page 1 for everyone?

 

[Raphie]

After testing with several device based blockings, (adblock, Ghostery etc) my conclusion is that device based blocking slows down performance significantly, while router based, the data just isn’t there anymore at device level. I will never go back to device based blocking. The cure is often worse than the disease.

 

[Raphie]

I need to exchange my USB stick, what's the easiest way to secure my whitelist for AB and Skynet?
is there an easy way to backup/restore or copy?

 

[Asad Ali]

I need to exchange my USB stick, what's the easiest way to secure my whitelist for AB and Skynet?
is there an easy way to backup/restore or copy?

AB-Solution does have a backup facility which you can use to backup and restore, I'm not sure about Skynet as I don't use it.

 

[shooter40sw]

@thelonelycoder hi !Once upon a time, I could install the very old legacy ab solution, think the prior 1 version on a linux ubuntu virtual machine to poison the dnsmasq and obtain the same results as if it was on the router, could this be achieved with the recent versions? I ask because at this moment I cant use my router, and I would really like to use your script again... I know I could just poison the windows hosts files... but anyway, is it posible?
Thanks..

 

[thelonelycoder]

using ad-block file, about 430 000 blocked entries but still get some ads...is possible to block somehow?
View attachment 12266

Sent from my Huawei-P10 using Tapatalk

I see no ad in your picture, just the remnant of a blocked ad. So I consider this a success and the advertisment being blocked.
AB-Solution and pixelserv-tls blocked the ad but not the rest of the code, which cannot be suppressed for some content.

 

[elorimer]

BENEFIT OF ROUTER-BASED:
- cannot be detected by websites with anti-adblock scripts.

I don't think this is true. I think some of these scripts, as one example, serve up a particular element, sometimes a transparent element, and then test to see if it loaded. If it hasn't loaded, then they take one of several paths. They could load a static ad, which can't be blocked. Or they toss up a message to please disable adblocking, Or they deny access to the rest of the page.

Somewhere here there is a link to a paper describing these anti-adblock scripts.