Ad blocking

HendriXXX

Hi!

I'm very annoyed about website ads. All kind of flashing and flickering ads make me angry and slows down my phone when browsing internet. I didn't find a thread about this..

It is possible to get simple adblocking to Ubuntu Touch.
I have a android phone with AdAway installed. So I updated hosts-file first (with adaway app) and then I just opened android phone hosts-file and UT hosts-file in my desktop computer and merged all "127.0.0.1" starting lines to UT hosts file. Then copied modified UT hosts-file back to where it belongs. And no more ads..

AdAway uses these lists, so you can also use these directly.
https://github.com/AdAway/AdAway/wiki/hostssources

Is it possible to make simple GUI for that. I don't know anything about coding, but I think it could be useful to everyone. It isn't too hard to do way like I did, but it may be too difficult for beginners and it is also possible to broke the system.

Maybe app could fetch these lists automagically and make system writable and then add those lists to the UT hosts-file. Then switch back to readonly system or reboot.

bq4.5

Great idea.

uzanto

That's a great idea I'll try to add this list this evening.

WLBI

Ad blocking is nice, but you always have to remember, that most developer don't have any income, with the exception of ads.
Instead of removing all ads, you should support the developers by clicking on the ads.
Yes I agree with you, that some websites are really overloaded with ads. But for example on YouTube, most creators investing a huge time for each video and there is no other income than the ads and when you click on it.
The other side is, that nobody likes to pay for the information, so the only possibility for most of them is to create a small income by ads.

advocatux

@WLBI, ad blocking it isn't only nice, is a must have security measure.

Besides you can always white list whatever you want.

WLBI

@advocatux
What kind of security measure with ads?
Ads are just regular websites shown in a browser. It can only contain the same "malicious" code, that every other website can have too. So if this is a security risk, you should block all websites.
Ads are annoying, but block them all is not a fair use...
But yes you are right, a ad blocker on a touch device would be nice.

Stefano

@HendriXXX That would be sweet. I'll try to do what you did in a meantime. Where to find host-files on UT?

advocatux

So if this is a security risk, you should block all websites.

@WLBI, yes of course, that's why I use NoScript among other things whenever I can.

Ads are annoying, but block them all is not a fair use...

I didn't say block all ads, if yo re-read my comment you'll see I said you can white list whatever you want.

But yes you are right, a ad blocker on a touch device would be nice.

or close button, or waste an incredible amount of mobile data, or make you squander your time waiting for a video ad to stop, etc.

HendriXXX

@Stefano file is located at /etc/hosts

You have to mount your system writable first. "sudo mount -o remount,rw /", then do your modifications and reboot. System should be back to read only after reboot.

WLBI

@advocatux said in Ad blocking:

or make you squander your time waiting for a video ad to stop, etc.

Come on, just be fair. The video creator is investing many hours and days, sometimes weeks to create a video.
And you like to tell me, that you will losing 10 Seconds of your lifetime for a commercial with that you will support the video creator, to make them pay the bills?
Without commercial YouTube will not be for free. Thinḱ about, the servers alone costs thousands of dollars every day for Google and this is 99% paid by Ads only.
In USA you can already pay for YouTube, to have it without ads. It's called YouTube Red: https://www.youtube.com/red
Are you willing to pay for it?

vandys

@WLBI said in Ad blocking:

In USA you can already pay for YouTube, to have it without ads. It's called YouTube Red: https://www.youtube.com/red
Are you willing to pay for it?

Can and do; it's bundled with my family Google Play Music subscription.

I'm one of those who will pay for content, but won't have my life wasted with ads.
Sorry, just won't. Will do without, will pay, will not get bludgeoned. And you will always
end up being bludgeoned; ads by their nature are a toxic race to the bottom.

WLBI

@vandys
wow, perfect!!
Because with YouTube Red, the creators will also have a small income. That's cool what you are doing! Way better than blocking ads and not giving anything back.
The thing is, in Germany/Europe and many other other places, YouTube Red is not available by law.
So the only thing you can do, to support the video creators is to watch or click the ads.

Stefano

@HendriXXX I'll try that , thank you

advocatux

@WLBI, it's really difficult to keep a sane conversation if you make up words I didn't say or you nitpick to put on track the conclusion you've prefabricated already.

I'm talking about ads in the web, you talk about ads only in videos... because you have a copypasta sermon at hand?

This is the third time I tell you "I didn't say block all ads [...] you can white list whatever you want".

But it really doesn't matter what I write, does it?

Are you willing to pay for it?

This is fantastic. LOL. Now you're presuming I am not paying for many services already.

Man using your own words "just be fair". Please.

Stefano

@HendriXXX working like a charm, thank you for a great tip!!!

magdesign

Any chance to block movie apps on youtube ?
(no, youtube red is not working here...)

stropbu

On a mobile phone using mobile data represents an extra expense for ads, web pages that are reloaded, especially, online newspapers ... The best thing to do is, edit the "hosts" file and add, as the previous partner the web address to the resolution of domain name 127.0.0.1 which is the internal network card and will not load anything at all, and who wants to support a web page because it is hard for the creator of it to do what he does, you can click and put it on the white list as advocatux says, but you don't bother to read, you don't pay attention, people just want to be heard but they don't listen, anyway. HAPPY YEAR 2020. (Google Traslator, Hello of Spain) ;).