pixelserv Looks like it is back into action!

[SomeWhereOverTheRainBow]

Added initial support for OpenSSL 3.0 · kvic-z/pixelserv-tls@7e0513b

Build and run successfully with both OpenSSL 1.1.x and 3.0.0-beta1. Still require more stability tests. From next release of pixelserv-tls (v2.4), OpenSSL 1.0.x support will be dropped. The code m...

github.com

I wonder what the future holds for Pixelserv-tls now. I hope @kvic gets a chance to fill us in

 

[SomeWhereOverTheRainBow]

This is a legit topic that has been posed as pixelserv-tls just recieved its first update in almost 2 years( more like a year and a half).
https://kazoo.ga/pixelserv-tls/
It shows initial support for openssl 3.0. This continuation marks the position that @kvic may be on the road to new advances with Pixelserv-tls. I am quite interested in what the future road map looks like.

 

[Wallace_n_Gromit]

Added initial support for OpenSSL 3.0 · kvic-z/pixelserv-tls@7e0513b

Build and run successfully with both OpenSSL 1.1.x and 3.0.0-beta1. Still require more stability tests. From next release of pixelserv-tls (v2.4), OpenSSL 1.0.x support will be dropped. The code m...

github.com

I wonder what the future holds for Pixelserv-tls now. I hope @kvic gets a chance to fill us in

kvic was last seen here Mar 24, 2019. hummmm... Even if Pixelserv-tls is updating does that automatically mean that our routers can get those updates still?

 

[SomeWhereOverTheRainBow]

kvic was last seen here Mar 24, 2019. hummmm...

He also pushed a commit on his github for pixelserv-tls 5 days ago including a new release version, So he may be back on the seen.

 

[SomeWhereOverTheRainBow]

kvic was last seen here Mar 24, 2019. hummmm... Even if Pixelserv-tls is updating does that automatically mean that our routers can get those updates still?

Once Entware updates their repos. Or if you compile the new version yourself..

 

[SomeWhereOverTheRainBow]

kvic was last seen here Mar 24, 2019. hummmm... Even if Pixelserv-tls is updating does that automatically mean that our routers can get those updates still?

If you have linux environment or if you want to set one up, you can follow some of the steps in guides like this https://www.snbforums.com/threads/s...ks-entware-package-via-debian-live-dvd.73260/ . You can build the packages for pixelserv-tls under debian platform, then compile it using entware package manager.

 

[CriticJay]

Is it needed though? My mobile devices have been perfectly ad-free with only Diversion and no pixelserv-TLS.

 

[SomeWhereOverTheRainBow]

Is it needed though? My mobile devices have been perfectly ad-free with only Diversion and no pixelserv-TLS.

Hey to each their own. Pixelserv-TLS serves as a solution for a select crowd. If you are running it locally on your router, you are really limited when it comes to how much you can block before your router CPU or dnsmasq starts to go haywire, but if you are satisfied with a reasonable size list (slightly less than 1mil domains), then it does not cause any issues.

 

[Jack Yaz]

Is it needed though? My mobile devices have been perfectly ad-free with only Diversion and no pixelserv-TLS.

Same, I ditched it over a year ago with no ill effect

 

[SomeWhereOverTheRainBow]

For those wanting to compile that entware package here are instructions specific to pixelserv-tls https://www.snbforums.com/threads/s...-4-entware-package-via-debian-live-dvd.73542/

 

[elorimer]

Is it needed though? My mobile devices have been perfectly ad-free with only Diversion and no pixelserv-TLS.

Let's review what is going on.

Diversion redirects blocked site requests to null, and the request times out or reaches the maximum number of retries. If pixelserv-tls is installed, the redirection is to pixelserv. Pixelserv responds immediately with a single pixel for http requests. Right now after 20 hours of uptime I have around 200 http requests out of 425,000, so that isn't a big deal.

@kvic's fork added the ability to respond to https requests. It responds immediately with a single pixel to those requests with a faked certificate. At one time, that worked well, but web pages now have ways of detecting these fakes and rejecting them (I think, overall, that is a good thing for people without Diversion). At the moment only around 1,000 of my 425,000 requests are successful, so that too isn't all that significant.

In both cases the ads will be blocked. With pixelserv, the blocking is immediate. @kvic did tests early on that showed two things. The first was that ad-heavy pages would load faster: a cnn.com page would load in 2.3 seconds rather than 4.6 seconds. The second was that some pages, on some browser/hardware combos would never finish loading. I don't know whether that snappiness continues to be the case.

PS: Will adding openssl 3.0 support change anything for our routers? I suspect this is for @kvic's other use cases.

PPS: Delighted @kvic has surfaced.

 

[JGrana]

PPS: Delighted @kvic has surfaced.

Yes, good to see @kvic resurface.
In some ways, he was the first "Add-ons" developer

 

[nikr]

don’t you need to add certificate for pixelserv-tls to work?

 

[elorimer]

don’t you need to add certificate for pixelserv-tls to work?

Yes. Diversion generates it for you, and then it needs to be imported into your browsers.

 

[Martin_D]

I have also removed this a couple of months ago

 

[bluepoint]

Same, I ditched it over a year ago with no ill effect

+1 Rmoved it for a long time now and never missed a thing.

 

[SomeWhereOverTheRainBow]

+1 Rmoved it for a long time now and never missed a thing.

okay, that is nice and all, but what would you do to improve pixelserv-tls. I am sure devs would like to improve and you mention that you gave up does not actually help the dev. it is really you personally furthering your own cause. I would like to start a topic for improvements/ not banishment. Inspiration is better than obscurity. Imagine if everyone started saying they gave up on @Jack Yaz projects, instead of offering possible solutions. We don't do that to Jack do we? No we continue to inspire him even when things get tough.

 

[elorimer]

okay, that is nice and all, but what would you do to improve pixelserv-tls.

Yes, you've sharpened the focus nicely.

I just looked, and at 30 hours current uptime I'm at 2,700 successful responses out of 566,000. Still a negligible amount (although I will admit 90% of that 566,000 represents calls to permutive.com).

I've been using pixelserv for almost 7 years now, so I don't remember the old days when the single pixel was a big deal. Pages seem to display perfectly acceptably with large white space--they are even improved design-wise.

If the principle benefit of pixelserv-tls then is snappy loading, what more do we need?

 

[bluepoint]

okay, that is nice and all, but what would you do to improve pixelserv-tls. I am sure devs would like to improve and you mention that you gave up does not actually help the dev. it is really you personally furthering your own cause. I would like to start a topic for improvements/ not banishment. Inspiration is better than obscurity. Imagine if everyone started saying they gave up on @Jack Yaz projects, instead of offering possible solutions. We don't do that to Jack do we? No we continue to inspire him even when things get tough.

Don't need to put anything into it, improvement is good I'm just posting as to agree with Jack that in my case it's better not using pixelserv. When I had it, it's causing me unexplained inconsistent problems to some websites. There is no bad intention on my part to discourage you from using it.

 

[Kingp1n]

Don't need to put anything into it, improvement is good I'm just posting as to agree with Jack that in my case it's better not using pixelserv. When I had it, it's causing me unexplained inconsistent problems to some websites. There is no bad intention on my part to discourage you from using it.

I agree...my main thing was complaints from my significant other on issues accessing the amazon shopping app. (Remember the image of the sad dog? )

I tried whitelisting all the amazon sites that someone posted here without any luck so I stopped using pixelserv.

Maybe a future update will improve some of these things. I guess time will tell....