Adblocking on Asus Merlin using Pixelserv?

[starbux]

So I've really tried my best to read every single post and I have never used linux before, so I am completely lost now. Can someone explain to me in simple instructions what I am doing wrong/need to do?

So I was originally following this thread:
http://www.snbforums.com/threads/how-to-adblock-plus-filters-right-on-router.9449/
And went through the trouble of setting it up. It works perfectly in terms of blocking simple graphical ads like those on NYTimes.com

However, I realized that it does NOT block ads like those on Youtube (the video ads) or music ads on Spotify unlike if I had a browser extension like ublock or adblockplus which does block those. After some reading through threads, I THINK this is because they serve ads using https, not http. Is this premise correct?

So thinking https is the issue, I found this thread:
http://www.snbforums.com/threads/pixelserv-a-better-one-pixel-webserver-for-adblock.26114/

The description by OP suggests that this blocks https ads. Am I right in saying that? Does that mean it will block youtube and spotify ads?

I followed the instructions to install it (have entware and did the instructions as listed in the OP), but I'm not sure it does anything. I just load any website and it has ads.

It seems like I need to pair pixelserv with something like this:
http://www.snbforums.com/threads/ublockr-a-minimalists-approach-to-adblocking.31683/page-3

I just installed the script, but I'm not sure what to do next. It's not blocking any ads whatsoever.

How do I integrate those to together? How do I even know if pixelserv is working? How do I limit pixelserv to only a few static IP addresses (i.e. for my smart TV and phone) so it doesn't use router resources to block ads my computer can just block through browser extensions?

I'm completely lost and I could really use some help. Does pixelserv even block youtube ads and spotify ads at all?

 

[mstombs]

Pixelserv doesn't block anything itself, it just provides a diversion target that helps to tidy up web pages broken by other things, and hopefully handshake quickly to avoid retries and timeouts. The diversion is usually done by dns poisoning, using a script to configure the router dnsmasq. I suggest you try a well packaged adblocking solution http://www.snbforums.com/threads/ab-solution-2-0-is-out-v2-0-1.34530/

There is a battle out there, I have recently noticed ads on youtube. they used to be blocked, but also note that if your machines support it a browser based blocker such as "ublock origin" will always do a better job!

 

[thelonelycoder]

And if you want to spare yourself the hassle of installing and configuring entware and pixelserv-tls:
Wait until AB-Solution 3 is out. Sometime next week is my goal for the release.

 

[swetoast]

So I've really tried my best to read every single post and I have never used linux before, so I am completely lost now. Can someone explain to me in simple instructions what I am doing wrong/need to do?

It seems like I need to pair pixelserv with something like this:
http://www.snbforums.com/threads/ublockr-a-minimalists-approach-to-adblocking.31683/page-3

I just installed the script, but I'm not sure what to do next. It's not blocking any ads whatsoever.

did you run ublockr ? kinda hard to give support when you didnt report anything in the thread so lets start here
mind logging on to ssh and type ublockr and then print the output


ps. it can be hard to block the ads on spotify without ruining the spotify experiance itself but i might try and make a list for ads on spotify if there is a huge demand.

think ublockr and ab-solutions uses mostly the same lists to block ads just uses different approaches to do so i like my stuff minimal
.

I suggest you try a well packaged adblocking solution

tnx @mstombs for the endorsement btw ill keep supporting my non well packaged adblocking solution

 

[thelonelycoder]

@swetoast and @mstombs, no need for a war when the two ad-blocking solutions serve their respective purpose and user preferences well. One is the more hands-on traditional way, the other takes care of everything for you.

 

[swetoast]

I agree, just thought it funny that the thread was about ublockr and ab-solutions was pulled into the thread for no apparent reason.

 

[starbux]

@swetoast and @mstombs, no need for a war when the two ad-blocking solutions serve their respective purpose and user preferences well. One is the more hands-on traditional way, the other takes care of everything for you.

Yep I'm not interested in a flame war here. So is ublockr and/or AB-Solution able to block youtube and spotify ads at all? I'm talking primarily for mobile/smart tv/chromecast (i.e. non computer solutions where I can't use browser-extension adblocking). Ublock and ABP on my desktop computer block spotify and youtube ads just fine, but obviously mobile and smart tv/chromecast can't handle browser extensions (this are all their own apps).

Do I need to use those in conjunction with pixelserv, or can i just get rid of pixelserv? It seems both absolution and ublockr use hosts file based blocking, does that mean it will block spotify and youtube ads that are run on mobile apps?

 

[swetoast]

well i think @thelonelycoder would agree that those could be tricky to tackle but not completely impossible

just for a simple check

127.0.0.1 media-match.com
127.0.0.1 adclick.g.doublecklick.net
127.0.0.1 www.googleadservices.com
127.0.0.1 pagead2.googlesyndication.com
127.0.0.1 googleads.g.doubleclick.net
127.0.0.1 pubads.g.doubleclick.net
127.0.0.1 audio2.spotify.com
127.0.0.1 www.omaze.com
127.0.0.1 omaze.com
127.0.0.1 bounceexchange.com

These could be outright banned in hosts

but yet again its tricky cause if you take too much you impact playing capabilites for spotify or youtube.

btw @starbux you didnt print the output of the console so its pretty hard to give support

 

[thelonelycoder]

but yet again its tricky cause if you take too much you impact playing capabilites for spotify or youtube.

Well said, and that applies to every hosts based ad-blocking.
It can never be as granular as a browser based solution such as ABP or uBlock (not swetoast's uBlockr).

 

[elorimer]

It works perfectly in terms of blocking simple graphical ads like those on NYTimes.com

Not so simple. nytimes.com serves up both stories and ads from its graphics8 domain--so if you put that in a blacklist, you will lose ads, but also some stories, also pix and videos.

 

[starbux]

And if you want to spare yourself the hassle of installing and configuring entware and pixelserv-tls:
Wait until AB-Solution 3 is out. Sometime next week is my goal for the release.

Also, is there a way to only apply AB Solution adblocking to particular static IPs vs all devices? I just want to apply adblocking to phone/tablet IP static addresses. Is it configurable that way or do you have instructions somewhere on how to do this?

 

[starbux]

well i think @thelonelycoder would agree that those could be tricky to tackle but not completely impossible

just for a simple check

127.0.0.1 media-match.com
127.0.0.1 adclick.g.doublecklick.net
127.0.0.1 www.googleadservices.com
127.0.0.1 pagead2.googlesyndication.com
127.0.0.1 googleads.g.doubleclick.net
127.0.0.1 pubads.g.doubleclick.net
127.0.0.1 audio2.spotify.com
127.0.0.1 www.omaze.com
127.0.0.1 omaze.com
127.0.0.1 bounceexchange.com

These could be outright banned in hosts

but yet again its tricky cause if you take too much you impact playing capabilites for spotify or youtube.

btw @starbux you didnt print the output of the console so its pretty hard to give support

Yep sorry -- I'll print the output once I get access to my home router, currently away from home at the moment. I was wondering, is there a way to configure ublockr to only apply for particular static ip addresses instead of all devices using the router?

 

[swetoast]

I was wondering, is there a way to configure ublockr to only apply for particular static ip addresses instead of all devices using the router?

No not as of this moment since most people want to block ads across their network

 

[Veldkornet]

Also, is there a way to only apply AB Solution adblocking to particular static IPs vs all devices? I just want to apply adblocking to phone/tablet IP static addresses. Is it configurable that way or do you have instructions somewhere on how to do this?

For the devices where you don't want the blocking, you could just define a DNS address manually (like 8.8.8.8) instead of the router's IP.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[thelonelycoder]

Yep sorry -- I'll print the output once I get access to my home router, currently away from home at the moment. I was wondering, is there a way to configure ublockr to only apply for particular static ip addresses instead of all devices using the router?

No not as of this moment since most people want to block ads across their network

For the devices where you don't want the blocking, you could just define a DNS address manually (like 8.8.8.8) instead of the router's IP.

All built into your router, no need to configure individual devices. Works with uBlockr and AB-Solution, who would have thought.
My impatient reply to a query:
http://www.snbforums.com/threads/ab-solution-2-0-is-out-v2-0-1.34530/page-6#post-280485