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    Is it possible to block ads via hosts file on UT?

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Solved Support
    hostsadsblock
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      • OpolorkO Offline
        Opolork
        last edited by Opolork

        Hi.

        I notice a lot of ads showing in my UT web browser.

        In Debian, I've a long list of entries in the /etc/hosts (ref: https://vitux.com/linux-hosts-file).

        Would doing the same in UT be ok? Or is there a better way?

        Thanks.

        How can you trust that an app really won't send some company your location data, when you tell it not to? The only way you can trust a program not to do something it isn't supposed to do is if it is free software. ~ RMS

        AppLeeA N 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 1
        • Pulsar33P Offline
          Pulsar33
          last edited by Pulsar33

          Yes, you can. You need to remount / as RW so be careful

          sudo mount -o remount,rw /
          cd /etc
          sudo mv hosts hosts_org
          sudo cp your_hosts_file .
          

          Then reboot

          As you surely know, your new hosts file must begin with the content of the original one

          BR
          Pulsar33

          Aquaris BQ E5 HD UBports OTA-25 (currently testing features)
          Aquaris BQ E5 HD Ubuntu Edition Canonical OTA-15 (last Canonical version, daily use)
          Raspberry Pi 4 B - 4 GB & 8 GB with various OS and Desktops (UBports not OK)

          KenedaK 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
          • AppLeeA Offline
            AppLee @Opolork
            last edited by

            @opolork
            In addition the Pulsar33's answer you can use uAdBlock (from the Open Store) it does the same IIRC.
            Also when you'll update the OS you might lose your hosts file and have to redo the procedure.

            The easy way if good enough for you is tu use uAdBlock.

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 3
            • KenedaK Offline
              Keneda @Pulsar33
              last edited by

              @pulsar33 said in Is it possible to block ads via hosts file on UT?:

              sudo mount -o remount,rw /

              sudo mount -o remount,ro / in the end also

              2015-2023 : Meizu MX4 ☠️⚰️✝️
              2023-2024 : Nexus 5 ☠️⚰️✝️
              2024-***** : FPOS Fairphone 5 waiting UT for freedom 😉
              🇲🇫🇬🇧

              Pulsar33P 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
              • Pulsar33P Offline
                Pulsar33 @Keneda
                last edited by Pulsar33

                @keneda I prefer rebooting (as said) which remounts ro and starts properly
                BR
                Pulsar33

                Aquaris BQ E5 HD UBports OTA-25 (currently testing features)
                Aquaris BQ E5 HD Ubuntu Edition Canonical OTA-15 (last Canonical version, daily use)
                Raspberry Pi 4 B - 4 GB & 8 GB with various OS and Desktops (UBports not OK)

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                • N Offline
                  nero355 @Opolork
                  last edited by

                  @opolork

                  • Run Pi-Hole on your home network.
                  • When not at home connect via PiVPN (which supports both OpenVPN and WireGuard and is Pi-Hole aware during the installation!) to your home network in order to have adblocking on your phone 🙂

                  My phones :

                  • BQ Aquaris E5 HD Ubuntu Phone Edition - Ubuntu Touch 16.04 LTS
                  • ZUK Z2 Pro - ZUI Android 8.x
                  • Xiaomi Mi 9T - Jolla SailFish 3.4.x Community Build

                  P.S. : I am NOT a developer! ;)

                  OpolorkO 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                  • OpolorkO Offline
                    Opolork @nero355
                    last edited by

                    @nero355 said in Is it possible to block ads via hosts file on UT?:

                    Pi-Hole

                    Hi. That seems a bit too complex and involved for my liking.

                    How can you trust that an app really won't send some company your location data, when you tell it not to? The only way you can trust a program not to do something it isn't supposed to do is if it is free software. ~ RMS

                    N 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • OpolorkO Offline
                      Opolork
                      last edited by Opolork

                      @applee said in Is it possible to block ads via hosts file on UT?:

                      uAdBlock

                      Hi AL.

                      I just check and uAdBlock was already installed. I opened it and a popup window said no update available. I went past than and say "Last updated: 7 Apr 2020".

                      I'm on v2.6.2 and the settings have 'Check for updates on app start' enabled.

                      Does the settings 'remain in r/w status' need to be on?

                      Thanks.

                      How can you trust that an app really won't send some company your location data, when you tell it not to? The only way you can trust a program not to do something it isn't supposed to do is if it is free software. ~ RMS

                      AppLeeA 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • AppLeeA Offline
                        AppLee @Opolork
                        last edited by

                        @opolork I don't remember,
                        But I think it can be turned off.
                        What is important is to select the proper blacklist(s) and to update them once in a while.
                        Also I noticed a couple of time the app crashed silently, but a reboot fixed it for months.

                        OpolorkO 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • OpolorkO Offline
                          Opolork @AppLee
                          last edited by

                          @applee said in Is it possible to block ads via hosts file on UT?:

                          @opolork I don't remember,
                          But I think it can be turned off.
                          What is important is to select the proper blacklist(s) and to update them once in a while.
                          Also I noticed a couple of time the app crashed silently, but a reboot fixed it for months.

                          I checked all the blocked lists, it's now updated to today. 🙂

                          How can you trust that an app really won't send some company your location data, when you tell it not to? The only way you can trust a program not to do something it isn't supposed to do is if it is free software. ~ RMS

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                          • OpolorkO Offline
                            Opolork
                            last edited by

                            Does uAdBlock rewrite the whole /etc/hosts file everytime it updates it or does it only change it's own entries? In other words - do custom entries someone would make in /etc/hosts be overwritten every time uAdBlock does its stuff?

                            How can you trust that an app really won't send some company your location data, when you tell it not to? The only way you can trust a program not to do something it isn't supposed to do is if it is free software. ~ RMS

                            AppLeeA 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • AppLeeA Offline
                              AppLee @Opolork
                              last edited by

                              @opolork
                              I don't know about that.
                              Maybe you can make some tests if nobody knows...

                              Good question though

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                              • OpolorkO Offline
                                Opolork
                                last edited by

                                Is it possible to access the /etc/hosts from my PC? I find editing on a smartphone to be too cumbersome. I'd like to open them the hosts file on a text editor on my PC (Debian 11) and do a few edits.

                                How can you trust that an app really won't send some company your location data, when you tell it not to? The only way you can trust a program not to do something it isn't supposed to do is if it is free software. ~ RMS

                                AppLeeA 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • AppLeeA Offline
                                  AppLee @Opolork
                                  last edited by

                                  @opolork
                                  You can do it using ADB or SSH...

                                  OpolorkO 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • OpolorkO Offline
                                    Opolork @AppLee
                                    last edited by

                                    @applee Which is easier? Do you know a basic/quick method?

                                    How can you trust that an app really won't send some company your location data, when you tell it not to? The only way you can trust a program not to do something it isn't supposed to do is if it is free software. ~ RMS

                                    FuseteamF AppLeeA 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • FuseteamF Offline
                                      Fuseteam @Opolork
                                      last edited by

                                      @opolork do keep in mind that the hosts file is readonly for a reason. any changes will be lost after an ota update, uAdBlock know how to restore it changes, but it might become tedious for you to restore your changes

                                      OpolorkO 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                      • OpolorkO Offline
                                        Opolork @Fuseteam
                                        last edited by

                                        @fuseteam Ok, it'd be best to let uAdBlock maange it so. Thank you. 🙂

                                        How can you trust that an app really won't send some company your location data, when you tell it not to? The only way you can trust a program not to do something it isn't supposed to do is if it is free software. ~ RMS

                                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                        • AppLeeA Offline
                                          AppLee @Opolork
                                          last edited by

                                          @opolork

                                          Both are really simple.
                                          For ADB (which I do not use) you can type a single command like this adb shell sh after connecting your device with USB cable.

                                          SSH allows you to avoid the cable and use the wifi instead.
                                          But you need to configure it first using UT Tweak Tool.
                                          I don't remember if it's required, but I will advise to push a public key to your device so you won't have to enter a passphrase.
                                          To connect with SSH you just type ssh phablet@<ip_address>...

                                          OpolorkO 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 3
                                          • D Offline
                                            domubpkm
                                            last edited by

                                            uAdBlock blocks at the DNS level and unfortunately some lists cannot act and be installed at this level. This means that uAdBlock, although useful, is becoming less and less effective as time goes by, unfortunately, given the evolution of technologies for installing crap on computers...

                                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                            • N Offline
                                              nero355 @Opolork
                                              last edited by nero355

                                              @opolork said in Is it possible to block ads via hosts file on UT? [Resolved]:

                                              That seems a bit too complex and involved for my liking.

                                              I am using it now for about 5 years or so and it's AWESOME!!! 😄

                                              I can recommend running Pi-Hole + Unbound to pretty much EVERYONE who has a spare Raspberry Pi laying around!

                                              @domubpkm said in Is it possible to block ads via hosts file on UT? [Resolved]:

                                              uAdBlock blocks at the DNS level and unfortunately some lists cannot act and be installed at this level. This means that uAdBlock, although useful, is becoming less and less effective as time goes by, unfortunately, given the evolution of technologies for installing crap on computers...

                                              Things like DNS over HTTPS and ads beeing hosted on the same server as the content (YouTube for example!) are becoming a much bigger issue IMHO :pouting_face:

                                              But fortunately you can still block a lot of stuff via DNS so I am very happy with that method on my home network! 🙂

                                              My phones :

                                              • BQ Aquaris E5 HD Ubuntu Phone Edition - Ubuntu Touch 16.04 LTS
                                              • ZUK Z2 Pro - ZUI Android 8.x
                                              • Xiaomi Mi 9T - Jolla SailFish 3.4.x Community Build

                                              P.S. : I am NOT a developer! ;)

                                              OpolorkO 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
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