AB-Solution - The Ad Blocking Solution

[RMerlin]

Seems Domain registrars are right when they say it could take up to 48 hours for changed DNS server settings to propagate.

If it's a record change, it depends on the TTL of that record. Before a server migration, I typically reduce the TTL to something like 5 minutes - makes migrating much easier. I bump it back to 4 or 24 hours afterward (depending on what it uses).

If it's the DNS servers themselves that got changed, that will vary based on the registrar. .com can be as fast as a few hours, rule of the thumb is however 24-hours.

 

[shooter40sw]

Hi @thelonelycoder I have been testing ab-solution with pixelserv, and everything OK, but I need SSH on port 443, if I enable SSH on 443 after pixelserv installation, I cant connect to the SSH server anymore and if I uninstall pixelserver, change the ssh port to 443 and install pixelserv again it fails installation because the port is occupied , is there a way to tweak the ports on ab-solution, or point me to the file where I can manually change this? I know pixelserve has the ability to change the default ports, but I dont want to mess with it before consulting it with you.
Thanks.

 

[MacG32]

When I try to install pixelserv-tls, the IP address selection fails. It says to choose one higher than the router's IP but lower than the lowest set in IP Pool Starting Address. No matter which valid unused IP address I choose, the selection fails. I can't go any further with the install. Edit: The IP Pool Starting Address is very low, The IP Pool Ending Address is very high, and the router's IP address is somewhere in the middle.

 

[an303042]

Hello everybody,
Forgive my absolute noob question - this is the first time I try to run this wonderful solution, and its the first time I try to run anything on my router, but I'm stuck already at the installation

- Got my USB drive - formatted to ext2 in an ubuntu vm - stuck it in router (asus rt-ac68u with rmerlin's latest)
- enabled JFFS custom scripts and SSH on router
- SSHed to router, and ran the "curl -O ab-solution.info/releases/latest/ab-solution.sh" command
- I get the following:

% Total % Received % Xferd Average Speed Time Time Time Current
Dload Upload Total Spent Left Speed
100 140k 100 140k 0 0 223k 0 --:--:-- --:--:-- --:--:-- 329k

and nothing else happens.

I tried searching but couldnt find anything.
Again, I'm sure the solution is very simple, i just dont know what it is...

Thanks

 

[thelonelycoder]

When I try to install pixelserv-tls, the IP address selection fails. It says to choose one higher than the router's IP but lower than the lowest set in IP Pool Starting Address. No matter which valid unused IP address I choose, the selection fails. I can't go any further with the install. Edit: The IP Pool Starting Address is very low, The IP Pool Ending Address is very high, and the router's IP address is somewhere in the middle.

I just tested this to make sure my coding has no glitch for your use case.
For this test, I used these LAN settings, all set in the router Web UI:
- The router IP address is set to 172.20.0.80
- The IP Pool Starting Address is 172.20.0.2
- The IP Pool Ending Address is 172.20.0.253

This would mean the routers IP is within the address pool. But it is accepted when setting it, so it seems OK from the routers perspective.

IP addresses outside the DHCP pool are therefore .1 and .254
During ps install I get presented this handy guide:

 This is where you enter the
 IP address you reserved earlier.

 It must be:
 higher than    172.20.0.80
 and lower than 172.20.0.2

 OR higher than 172.20.0.253
 and lower than 172.20.0.255

I selected 172.20.0.1 as the pixelserv IP and it finished the install without a glitch.

Could you elaborate on your IP pool ranges, with specific numbers and which ones are outside the pool.

 

[thelonelycoder]

Hi @thelonelycoder I have been testing ab-solution with pixelserv, and everything OK, but I need SSH on port 443, if I enable SSH on 443 after pixelserv installation, I cant connect to the SSH server anymore and if I uninstall pixelserver, change the ssh port to 443 and install pixelserv again it fails installation because the port is occupied , is there a way to tweak the ports on ab-solution, or point me to the file where I can manually change this? I know pixelserve has the ability to change the default ports, but I dont want to mess with it before consulting it with you.
Thanks.

Since AB-Solution rewrites the pixelserv-tls start script /opt/etc/init.d/S80pixelserv-tls whenever a change is made through the AB UI, I suggest the following order to make it work for you:
- Have SSH initially listen on any other port than 443, e.g. 2222
- Install AB-Solution and pixelserv with pixelserv-tls listening on port 443 (the standard)
- Add an iptables rule to /jffs/scripts/firewall-start, here's an example to use port 8088 if the pixelserv IP were 172.20.0.1:

iptables -t nat -I PREROUTING -d 172.20.0.1 -p tcp --dport 443 -j DNAT --to 172.20.0.1:8088

Restart the firewall to read in the iptables rule:

service restart_firewall

- In the AB UI add the switch to the ps start script, select -k and then 8088 (it's a two step entry in AB).
It would then look like so in ps:

 These switches are in use (none if none listed):
 1: -k 8088

- Then run "3. Commit and restart pixelserv-tls"
- Now you can change your SSH listening port to 443

 

[thelonelycoder]

Hello everybody,
Forgive my absolute noob question - this is the first time I try to run this wonderful solution, and its the first time I try to run anything on my router, but I'm stuck already at the installation

- Got my USB drive - formatted to ext2 in an ubuntu vm - stuck it in router (asus rt-ac68u with rmerlin's latest)
- enabled JFFS custom scripts and SSH on router
- SSHed to router, and ran the "curl -O ab-solution.info/releases/latest/ab-solution.sh" command
- I get the following:

% Total % Received % Xferd Average Speed Time Time Time Current
Dload Upload Total Spent Left Speed
100 140k 100 140k 0 0 223k 0 --:--:-- --:--:-- --:--:-- 329k

and nothing else happens.

I tried searching but couldnt find anything.
Again, I'm sure the solution is very simple, i just dont know what it is...

Thanks

You only copy/pasted the first part of the install command from the website, copy the complete line:
https://www.ab-solution.info/install/install.html

 

[an303042]

You only copy/pasted the first part of the install command from the website, copy the complete line:
https://www.ab-solution.info/install/install.html

:facepalm:
Thank you. I feel pretty embarrassed.

 

[shooter40sw]

Since AB-Solution rewrites the pixelserv-tls start script /opt/etc/init.d/S80pixelserv-tls whenever a change is made through the AB UI, I suggest the following order to make it work for you:
- Have SSH initially listen on any other port than 443, e.g. 2222
- Install AB-Solution and pixelserv with pixelserv-tls listening on port 443 (the standard)
- Add an iptables rule to /jffs/scripts/firewall-start, here's an example to use port 8088 if the pixelserv IP were 172.20.0.1:

iptables -t nat -I PREROUTING -d 172.20.0.1 -p tcp --dport 443 -j DNAT --to 172.20.0.1:8088

Restart the firewall to read in the iptables rule:

service restart_firewall

- In the AB UI add the switch to the ps start script, select -k and then 8088 (it's a two step entry in AB).
It would then look like so in ps:

 These switches are in use (none if none listed):
 1: -k 8088

- Then run "3. Commit and restart pixelserv-tls"
- Now you can change your SSH listening port to 443

Thanks for the help, wont the iptables part make the router inaccessible from the LAN?, I did a workaround, but I dont really know if its working for https, Im testing through a ssh tunnel in this moment and its really slow, I forced the installation and changed the switch to -k 8080 like you suggested and pixelserv started, so I have 443 free for SSH and pixelserv stats are working

 

[thelonelycoder]

Thanks for the help, wont the iptables part make the router inaccessible from the LAN?, I did a workaround, but I dont really know if its working for https, Im testing through a ssh tunnel in this moment and its really slow, I forced the installation and changed the switch to -k 8080 like you suggested and pixelserv started, so I have 443 free for SSH and pixelserv stats are working

The web UI over https has always been slow on Asus routers. This has nothing to do with moving other ports around afaik.

 

[MacG32]

 This is where you enter the
 IP address you reserved earlier.

 It must be:
 higher than    172.20.0.80
 and lower than 172.20.0.2

 OR higher than 172.20.0.253
 and lower than 172.20.0.255

When I install pixelserv-tls, I'm not presented with all of the above options. All that is shown is
It must be:
higher than 172.20.0.80
and lower than 172.20.0.2

I got it to install now. Thank you for explaining the missing options.

 

[willwhitworth]

I installed AB-Solution 3.9.2 and pixelserv-tls on my ASUS RT-AC68U (using AdsBeGone! blocking file). It is blocking ads successfully when I visit websites, but it does not appear to be removing some of the spaces where an ad would normally display. I thought that is what pixelserv-tls was supposed to do, by replacing that space with a pixel-sized gif. Is there something I can check to make sure pixelserv-tls is working properly? Am I misunderstanding what pixelserv-tls is supposed to do?

 

[thelonelycoder]

I installed AB-Solution 3.9.2 and pixelserv-tls on my ASUS RT-AC68U (using AdsBeGone! blocking file). It is blocking ads successfully when I visit websites, but it does not appear to be removing some of the spaces where an ad would normally display. I thought that is what pixelserv-tls was supposed to do, by replacing that space with a pixel-sized gif. Is there something I can check to make sure pixelserv-tls is working properly? Am I misunderstanding what pixelserv-tls is supposed to do?

Pixelserv can only remove the gaps if the container holding it has no fixed size.
Most of the ad content is served in a preset sized container.
And the pixel in the name would replace an image if it were one. These days ads are served through javascript and they may not be an image.
So, all is working well for you.

 

[willwhitworth]

Pixelserv can only remove the gaps if the container holding it has no fixed size.
Most of the ad content is served in a preset sized container.
And the pixel in the name would replace an image if it were one. These days ads are served through javascript and they may not be an image.
So, all is working well for you.

Got it! Thanks for the explanation, and thank you for the script that made it so easy to install.

 

[thelonelycoder]

This is a helpful comment on @kvic s https://kazoo.ga/pixelserv-tls/ page:

Supported browsers for HTTPS connections

• Android >= 4.4.2; Chrome >= 51; Firefox >= 49
• IE 11 Win 10; Edge >= 13; Safari >= 9; Apple ATS 9 iOS 9
• IE 11 Win 7,8.1; IE 11 Winphone 8.1; Opera >= 17; Safar 7 iOS 7.1

 

[boog]

Could the new 9.9.9.9 dns service be used with AB-Solutions? Or added?

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/11/20/quad9_secure_private_dns_resolver/

 

[thelonelycoder]

Could the new 9.9.9.9 dns service be used with AB-Solutions? Or added?

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/11/20/quad9_secure_private_dns_resolver/

In German, I would answer with a definite Jein:

„Jein” is a portmanteau of „Ja“ and „Nein“ (“Yes” and “No”, respectively), and it is strictly a colloquialism.

I don't think there is a single equivalent word in English – “yes and no” would be a relatively common phrase expressing the same sentiment. In some instances, „Jein” could best be translated as “not really” or even “yes/no, but…”.

Now, AB-Solution does its ad-blocking by hijacking the DNS, in a good way and 100% locally on your router through the built in Dnsmasq. No one else can record or trace this, only the dnsmasq log file can if logging is enabled.

The new Quad9 service offered in your link is nothing else but a new public DNS resolver. Basically the same as your ISP offers or Google with their 8.8.8.8/8.8.4.4 or OpenDNS. There are also managed DNS resolvers where you can fine tune your DNS needs, OpenDNS offers this as well.
My definite "Jein" is because AB-Solution has no setting to set this. This is done in the router Web UI WAN settings. You either use your ISPs DNS, generally the fastest and best, and the default when set to "Connect to DNS Server automatically". Or you set Googles, OpenDNS or the new 9.9.9.9.

It's all up to you and whom you trust.

 

[steelskinz]

Could the new 9.9.9.9 dns service be used with AB-Solutions? Or added?

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/11/20/quad9_secure_private_dns_resolver/

You shoud ask dnscrypt github not absolution nor ppl whom made the script for merlinwrt which is based on dnscrypt. We don't fill the .csv file.

 

[thelonelycoder]

You shoud ask dnscrypt github not absolution nor ppl whom made the script for merlinwrt which is based on dnscrypt. We don't fill the .csv file.

Come again?

 

[boog]

In German, I would answer with a definite Jein:


Now, AB-Solution does its ad-blocking by hijacking the DNS, in a good way and 100% locally on your router through the built in Dnsmasq. No one else can record or trace this, only the dnsmasq log file can if logging is enabled.

The new Quad9 service offered in your link is nothing else but a new public DNS resolver. Basically the same as your ISP offers or Google with their 8.8.8.8/8.8.4.4 or OpenDNS. There are also managed DNS resolvers where you can fine tune your DNS needs, OpenDNS offers this as well.
My definite "Jein" is because AB-Solution has no setting to set this. This is done in the router Web UI WAN settings. You either use your ISPs DNS, generally the fastest and best, and the default when set to "Connect to DNS Server automatically". Or you set Googles, OpenDNS or the new 9.9.9.9.

It's all up to you and whom you trust.

Thanks for the reply!

The reason I asked was that changing dns in the settings on the router breaks the AB-Solutions, by changing the dhcp server to point away from the router, then your script will fix it before continuing. Am I missing where else to change it while still using AB-Solutions?