Google is purging ad-blocking extension uBlock Origin from the Chrome Web Store

Many years ago due to some weird bug my adblocker stopped working for half an hour or so.
On that day I decided to QUIT the Internet should ads become mandatory.

We're not there yet though. Quitting Chrome is not exactly a Giant Leap ha ha.
 
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Not a problem for me. Like everyone else I've switched to another browser for home usage (mostly to block YouTube ads).

I currently use Edge with uBlock installed. If that becomes compromised I'll switch to Firefox or another.
 
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Few key things that you can do,

- Setup a Adguard DNS: https://adguard-dns.io/en/public-dns.html

Advantage: pretty much everything is blocked, except for apps (IG for example) that use the same ad source as obtaining the content.

Disadvantage: I'm not sure about privacy.

You can also setup a VPN that does the same, I.e ProtonVPN is in my experience the strongest.

You can install a Pihole, run a local ad blocking DNS and forward all your DNS traffic through that device.

You can still continue to use chrome, up to 6 months under developer mode. Alternatively you can install Firefox, still use Ublock and import everything from Chrome.

 
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Vanderlinde said:
Few key things that you can do,

- Setup a Adguard DNS: https://adguard-dns.io/en/public-dns.html

Advantage: pretty much everything is blocked, except for apps (IG for example) that use the same ad source as obtaining the content.

Disadvantage: I'm not sure about privacy.

You can also setup a VPN that does the same, I.e ProtonVPN is in my experience the strongest.

You can install a Pihole, run a local ad blocking DNS and forward all your DNS traffic through that device.

You can still continue to use chrome, up to 6 months under developer mode. Alternatively you can install Firefox, still use Ublock and import everything from Chrome.
Click to expand...
Or better yet, get AdGuard itself if you're running Windows. AdGuard filters ads at the network layer meaning it filters and removes ads before even one byte of data hits your browser. It acts as a sort of proxy server that sits between your browser and the rest of the Internet and is therefore not affected by this crap.

And AdGuard does so much more. It has a DNS proxy for blocking domains, support for user scripts, blocks ads in Windows, blocks Windows telemetry, and best of all, it supports all the favorite adblocking lists like Easy List, Easy Privacy, Peter Lowe's Blocklist, Fanboy's Anti-Facebook List, and a whole lot more.

OK sure, you have to pay for it but every so often there are drastically discounted lifetime licenses that one can buy. I've been using it for years. All this talk about the death of adblockers has no effect on me, I'm set guys!
 
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dangh said:
I use brave and ff, so I'm not really affected.. yet. I do get the ads helps some sites, but I dont want to scrolling a dozen of them trying to read an article in between.
Click to expand...
Brave is chromium based and from what I read, it seems it won't be immune to the change. Hope it will. Sticking to Firefox as much as possible.
 
Felusy said:
Time to leave Chrome if they ban ad blockers. Plenty of other options these days.

Google shot themself in the foot I think. Even less tech friends of mine rely on adblockers and they will change browser if they are forced.

Ads = Ruined overview on web pages, massive cpu and gpu load at times = battery drain and/or higher power usage.

I hate ads.
Click to expand...
Not so many options, Firefox, Firefox-based browsers and safari. The rest is chromium based.
 
yannus said:
Brave is chromium based and from what I read, it seems it won't be immune to the change. Hope it will. Sticking to Firefox as much as possible.
Click to expand...
Doesn't matter, first of all chromium is open source so you can freely modify it and second brave devs created it's own mechanism of adds blocking, they do not depend on ublock plugin.
 
dangh said:
Doesn't matter, first of all chromium is open source so you can freely modify it and second brave devs created it's own mechanism of adds blocking, they do not depend on ublock plugin.
Click to expand...
True but it needs more investment and it's all about compatibility. For example I usually use Firefox but I sometimes have to use a chromium based because a web page is just not compatible with the browser. The same can happen with a chromium fork.
According to brave : "For as long as we’re able (and assuming the cooperation of the extension authors), Brave will continue to support some privacy-relevant MV2 extensions—specifically AdGuard, NoScript, uBlock Origin, and uMatrix"
 
dangh said:
Doesn't matter, first of all chromium is open source so you can freely modify it and second brave devs created it's own mechanism of adds blocking, they do not depend on ublock plugin.
Click to expand...
Chromium is opensource like Android is opensource.
There is no major fork afaik and Google decides the course of the main branch.

It's clear where Google's priorities lie, if
Brave gets enough traction Google might start undermining whatever Brave hooks into forcing them to maintain a separate fork. Imo as long as Google's in charge of the main development using Firefox is the closest one can get to giving Google a virtual middle finger. Firefox has a long track record of putting the user and not advertisers first and is ran by the non profit Mozilla. Imo a much better bet for keeping the internet pleasant to use.
 
Last edited:
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antiproduct said:
"Google introduced Manifest V3 in 2018, claiming it would replace Manifest V2 in the Chromium project due to its supposedly enhanced financial security features."

There, I fixed it for you.
Click to expand...

Things like this is why Google should be broken into 5 or 6 separate businesses. They think they continue to own the software on your computer after its installed.

The experience should be similar to homeownership or owning a car. But it doesn't ask me for permission. Once I have it, Google should see its interested exhausted to exercising control over it.
 
trparky said:
Or better yet, get AdGuard itself if you're running Windows. AdGuard filters ads at the network layer meaning it filters and removes ads before even one byte of data hits your browser. It acts as a sort of proxy server that sits between your browser and the rest of the Internet and is therefore not affected by this crap.

And AdGuard does so much more. It has a DNS proxy for blocking domains, support for user scripts, blocks ads in Windows, blocks Windows telemetry, and best of all, it supports all the favorite adblocking lists like Easy List, Easy Privacy, Peter Lowe's Blocklist, Fanboy's Anti-Facebook List, and a whole lot more.

OK sure, you have to pay for it but every so often there are drastically discounted lifetime licenses that one can buy. I've been using it for years. All this talk about the death of adblockers has no effect on me, I'm set guys!
Click to expand...

Free version of the app (Adguard) works like a charm. Even on IOS. You can fine-tune it to your wishes. And experience a ad-free or malware free internet.
 
I've been using Firefox since last summer. It's fine and I have no reason to use Chrome. Let Google do what they wish. I'm stuck with them on my phone and TV's OS, don't have to browse with their products.
 
Axeia said:
Chromium is opensource like Android is opensource.
There is no major fork afaik and Google decides the course of the main branch.

It's clear where Google's priorities lie, if
Brave gets enough traction Google might start undermining whatever Brave hooks into forcing them to maintain a separate fork. Imo as long as Google's in charge of the main development using Firefox is the closest one can give to giving Google a virtual middle finger. Firefox has a long track record of putting the user and not advertisers first and is ran by the non profit Mozilla. Imo a much better bet for keeping the internet pleasant to use.
Click to expand...
Android was actually forked by huawei so that can work well.
Brave is already on a separate branch, same as google chrome. Simply downstream. As long as chromium won't change its bsd licence google can't do much. And doesn't have to, chromium doesn't even have the drm module. I do not know if the limitation of the adblock are on chromium branch or chrome branch.
Anyway, I hope brave will keep its own rules, or we will get even less choice on the market. Ff already implemented manifest v3 and who knows what's next... We definitely need more competition on the market.
 
Many years ago I had a Netscape account Firefox was developed from Netscape, so I switched to Firefox for all my browsing on Windows, about 22 yrs ago I got rid of everything windows on my own computers switching totally to Linux and continued to this day using Firefox and its approved add on's, I dont even use Google Search, I have tried almost all other browsers over the years and none have met the standards I look for, except possibly Tor so to my mind Google can take their chrome and put it in a furnace and make something useful from it
 
I switched to Firefox a few years ago, and don't regret it at all. It's been working fine for me, and uBlock works fantastic! Ad Free experience for years now. That said, uBlock does break some functions on some sites, particularly with bank and insurance type sites. I often have to turn it off for these types of sites.
 
MakeMSGreatAgain said:
uBlock does break some functions on some sites, particularly with bank and insurance type sites
Click to expand...
yep seen that many times, I usually get a message to the effect, "you are trying to connect to an insecure site", that's because banks, local authorities and government departments around the world , work to the lowest common denominator.
 
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Who in their right mind still uses chrome in 2024?

I wish them luck with that as their developers don't have a clue LMAO.

Besides the best blocker of them all although a paid subscription or you can purchase a lifetime subscription like I did when it was first released is without a doubt AdGuard AdBlocker as it blocks everything! Even on those pesky sites that say to disable your ad blocker when using those free ad blockers.

https://adguard.com/

One day greedy google and their insane wealth will learn that real developers will always have it over the kiddies they employ.
 
I run Firefox myself, and I'm now glad I do!

But as much as Manifest V3 will cripple the capabilities of something like uBlock, I don't think Google should be yanking it from the store; but it will become FAR less useful once they go to V3.
 
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