DNS filtering is weak and there are numerous bypasses [0], including ones you can never fix at the DNS layer [1]
This is a new framing for me...I don't think of ublock as impersonating me, but rather representing me, like an agent in a transaction. While it's true that agents that represent you need to be trusted, there is also a huge upside: ublock origin can do things that DNS blocking cannot. Given ublock's (gorhill's) track record, I think this is an excellent deal.
Can you imagine what a user agent to interact with Facebook would look like? Or Instagram? Or TikTok?
It shows how far we slid backwards for large, popular areas of user functionality, post-90s.
But browsers in 2022 are second class citizens, for business models that can generate positive ROI from developer time. They are at best dissuaded (e.g. Reddit, TikTok), and at worse actively crippled or prohibited.
The majority of users are on apps, and more users are moving to devices (e.g. Chromebooks, Portal). All of which are explicitly not user agents.
Also, Mozilla has a vetting process it puts a popular subset of extensions through.
>Due to the curated nature of Recommended extensions, each extension undergoes a thorough technical security review to ensure it adheres to Mozilla’s add-on policies.
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/recommended-extensions-...
s/solve/transfer
I wouldn't trust Google to block its own ads, it is much harder for them to intentionally fuck up a generic API that can be used by others without raising suspicion. Hence why everyone calls them out on the manifest v3 changes.
I also wouldn't trust Mozilla to invest the manpower to keep the plugin running and with them already including ads in the browser itself I would see another acceptable aids policy on the horizon.
For a job like this in specific I would rather trust someone whose goal is to provide a great internet experience over making money, I couldn't name a single browser vendor who would qualify.
If you use Firefox, perhaps... They are becoming like the others in their quest to become a corporation. Driven by marketeers and telemetry, selling ads to get by, paying their C-suite millions of dollars...
So in effect, yes. Most people have already lost. The rest of us are on the way there.
This is why piholes are awful. I don't know why they get such high praise - it's just a crappy DNS filter that blocks like what 40% of the ads you see?
yes, it can block SOME ads in apps. it's also really good at breaking access to said apps too, then you must spend a great deal troublehsooting apps one at a time.
IMHO - ublock on the browser, pay for apps that have adfree versions, don't use apps that don't, and pirate the rest.
I have one ad supported app on my phone - the Overcast podcast player. That’s only because the author created his own non scummy ad network and I find ads on the podcast player that advertise other podcasts useful.
If I didn’t, I would pay him too to get rid of ads.
When I did buy Windows PCs, I either bought from the business division of Dell or the Microsoft store specifically because they weren’t bundled with adware.
On my Android I have Netguard[0] configured with a hosts file, Firefox with uBlock Origin and NextDNS with comprehensive blocklists.
uBlock Origin protects only one app — the browser.
It's just so faulty and pointless.
Pihole is great, but you have to maintain a pi. It's not hard, but the other issue is also training and education when users/family is not on it.
In the end, subscription purchases for youtube, help because the ads are really horrible on mobile platform and not blockable easily on iphone.
I went all over the place with this comment, but I agree DNS level is better then browser level. The IP is still enumerated on a browser adblock level, but not on a DNS level.
The advantage of DNS is of course that it will generally also work on things other than your browser which is a pretty huge win.