Camino and Adblock Plus...who wants it?

[buldir]

I know that Camino already blocks many ads using built-in CSS and end-users have the wonderful option of blocking ads with a userContent.css file in the chrome directory, but there are limitations using CSS when it comes to blocking ads. Adblock Plus is (1) much easier to use, (2) more powerful, and (3) allows you to add and automatically update subscriptions to a number of blocking filters. With Camino, one must view the page's source code, find the ad or element, open up your userContent.css file, and write the CSS to block the ad/element in question. Since Camino can deal with <a href="http://pimpmycamino.com/">ad-ons</a> (i.e. CamiTools, Quicksilver plug-in, CamiScript, etc.), porting Adblock Plus to OSX seems possible. Have any of the Camino developers discussed the possibility of working with Wladimir Palant, developer of Adblock Plus, to port the extension to the OSX environment?

[Old 8bit]

I have had really good success with Camino's current implementation, although I pretty much surf 90%+ with JavaScript turned off and that kills *a ton* of that stuff as well. An Adblock Plus feature would be cool, but I would in *no way* want to sacrifice speed in the name of features. Camino's devs really seem to be concerned with that balance, and I am seriously grateful for that approach. I suppose the devs will have to chime in on this, as I don't really know what is in the pipeline for future releases other than 1.1.

[cflawson]

We're planning a more interactive ad-blocker for a future release, but a third-party add-on would be a welcome addition if anyone is interested in working with Wladimir to implement it.

cl

[buldir]

<a href="http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?t=494234">I totally agree</a>, 8-bit. Chris, that is good news. I'm afraid my OSX programming skills are not even close to being helpful with such a task. In the mean time, Camino users will simply get really good at writing CSS.

[SpaceCat85]

We're planning a more interactive ad-blocker for a future release, but a third-party add-on would be a welcome addition if anyone is interested in working with Wladimir to implement it.

I'm sure that will sway a lot of people who are using Firefox on OS X right now. One of the most common complaints that I've seen, at least, is that there's no equivalent interactive adblocker to AdBlock. I've got Privoxy on my system, which I've been using to block specific ad servers, but having AdBlock or a similar ad blocker that can easily filter expressions like */ads/* would make things much nicer.

[randyharris]

I use Ad Muncher on my Windows Machine, I've never seen anything that comes close. Camino does a pretty good job for ad blocking though.

The Ad Muncher Devs have said they will work on an OS X version of it in the future, but don't hold your breath.


Ad Muncher: http://www.admuncher.com/

[mtbgtr]

Someone correct me if I am wrong but doesn't css adblocking only block the ad from posting but not actually being downloaded? I suspect some speed gains will be had by using the FireFox adblock method of blocking the download before the posting?

[randyharris]

That's correct, and why solutions like Ad Muncher and Privoxy are so nice, you don't download them in the first place.

[krmathis]

I would really appreciate a more interactive ad-blocker!
Were you ctrl-click a picture/frame etc. to add it to the a filter rule. The filter should not only block the picture, but block it from being downloaded in the first place.

Obviously I prefer this ad-blocker to be built in. But its also fine if it comes as an add-on...

[randyharris]

I would really appreciate a more interactive ad-blocker!
Were you ctrl-click a picture/frame etc. to add it to the a filter rule. The filter should not only block the picture, but block it from being downloaded in the first place.

Obviously I want like this ad-blocker to be built in. But its also fine if it comes as an add-on...

Ad Muncher does this (currently PC only) but yes it's a great feature.

[Old 8bit]

I just re-stumbled onto this thread and figured I'd add something for those who are interested:

Editing your Hosts file is also a very effective way to block adverts/advert servers and the like.

How to Edit the Hosts file:
-------------------------------
1. Open the /etc folder in the Finder (Choose 'Go' from Finder, then 'Go to Folder', and type in '/etc').

2. Copy (don't remove) the original 'hosts' file onto your desktop (this is for backup purposes incase you have problems), then rename it 'hosts.original' and place it back into the /etc folder (you will be asked for your password when you do this).

3. Next, login using an admin account and (if you are already in an admin account you can -) launch Terminal.

4. Type (or copy/paste from below) the following:

sudo pico /etc/hosts

and this will open the hosts file in pico (the text editor in Terminal)

5. Press the down arrow key till you get to the bottom of the text already in the file (do not, under any circumstances alter or delete the text already there).

6. Copy ALL the text from this link

http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.txt (This is a list of known ad/cookie/tracking servers and is updated periodically)

and then paste it beneath the last line in the hosts file (Note: pasting the information will take a while, be patient)

7. Press 'CTRL-X' to exit pico, and press y followed by Enter to save changes to the hosts file you have just edited.

8. Next, update Netinfo Database by typing the following into Terminal:

sudo niload -v -m hosts . < /etc/hosts

9. Restart your Mac, and you will see a massive reduction in adverts when you browse the web.

Summary Of What You Have Just Done
--------------------------------------------
Basically, you are telling your Mac that all the advert servers in the world (eg: ad.adserver.com) are on your Mac (127.0.0.1 is a local address), so it will attempt to look for them locally and fail. Because this is all done on your machine it happens instantly and the image of the advert is not downloaded. You may notice a small speed improvement as well, because your Mac is not constantly contacting the (slow) ad servers all the time.


Reversing The Process If You Encounter Problems:
-----------------------------------------------------------
You can always revert back to your original hosts file by copying /etc 'hosts.original' to your Desktop, rename it back to 'hosts' and replacing the hosts file in /etc.

After reverting your hosts file to the original, update your NetInfo Database by typing the following into Terminal (whilst logged in as an admin user):

sudo niload -v -d hosts . < /etc/hosts

Note that the only change in the command from before is '-m' (merge) has been replaced with '-d' (delete), so it will delete all the entries of ad servers from NetInfo, and you will be back to normal, adverts and all.

[Lost User 273062]

I just wanted to chime in and say for me, Camino does a *very* nice job of killing 90% of the ads I notice.

[SickSadWorld]

I prefer blocking servers through the hostperm.1 file instead of the system-wide hosts file.

Though instances may be rare, I've found that some sites may not function properly if a particular server is mistakenly blocked.

It's also easier to troubleshoot if blocking is restricted to one browser, as with hostperm.1, as opposed to the system-wide hosts file approach.

And there could be a specific instance where one would want to see the ads from a particular site. In such a case, it's easier to just fire up another browser rather than diving into hosts to r&r a particular entry.

[Old 8bit]

I just wanted to chime in and say for me, Camino does a *very* nice job of killing 90% of the ads I notice.

or don't notice

[Old 8bit]

It's also easier to troubleshoot if blocking is restricted to one browser, as with hostperm.1, as opposed to the system-wide hosts file approach.

While this is true, editing of this file is a bit more tedious than having a MASSIVE prepared list of known 'offenders' ready to be imported into your Hosts file.

My instructions above are for those who want to experiment a little and can be reversed easily.