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vasa1
June 29th, 2015, 02:07 PM
Anyone using the uBlock extension for Firefox? Which version do you use? There are (at least) two versions @ AMO:
https://addons.mozilla.org/En-us/firefox/addon/ublock/
and
https://addons.mozilla.org/En-us/firefox/addon/ublock-origin/

ajgreeny
June 29th, 2015, 04:08 PM
I have version 0.9.1.0.1 running on my machine; I was not even aware until your post that there was another version available, but now I am investigating what the differences might be.

vasa1
June 29th, 2015, 04:37 PM
I have version 0.9.1.0.1 running on my machine; I was not even aware until your post that there was another version available, but now I am investigating what the differences might be.
http://www.ghacks.net/2015/04/25/official-ublock-origin-add-on-lands-for-firefox/
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/threads/ublock-a-lean-and-fast-blocker.365273/

Based on my reading of both links (and the comments in the first link), I went for the second extension which I believe is the one maintained by the original developer, Raymond Hill, aka gorhill.

FWIW, the version of uBlock Origin I just installed is 0.9.8.2. I could install my custom filters from ABP without any problem.

night_sky2
June 29th, 2015, 09:23 PM
- ublock Origin is a fork of the main project maintained by Raymond Hill, the original founder of uBlock.

- uBlock is now considered the main project and is very similar to uBlock Origin but now maintained by other devs (such as chrisaljoudi)
when Raymond Hill leaved the project only to come back about a week later to relaunch his own version. (yeah complicated story)

I prefer uBlock (Origin or not) over Adblock Plus. It is easier on ressources. That's the addon I install on people's computers requiring a ''set and forget'' blocker.

As for myself, I have switched completely to NoScript and I don't really need to rely on blacklists anymore.

sammiev
June 29th, 2015, 09:31 PM
No issues with uBlock and I do like to add NoScript to the pie.

vasa1
July 1st, 2015, 07:00 AM
Where does ublock save its settings, filters, rules, etc?

I don't even see a ublock folder in my profile folder.

I would like to back up stuff in case I mess up.

When using ABP, I used to back up /home/vasa1/.mozilla/firefox/xxxxxxxx.Default User/adblockplus/patterns.ini.

Found one! /home/vasa1/.mozilla/firefox/xxxxxxxx.Default User/extension-data/ublock0.sqlite

I also saw this (http://www.wilderssecurity.com/threads/ublock-a-lean-and-fast-blocker.365273/page-12#post-2417031):
Re "it would seem to me that you must read some sort of settings file to guarantee that the update is populated correctly":

uBlock uses a DOM storage-like API to save user settings/data. When the extension update, that storage is not touched, hence uBlock should reload just like when you restart your browser. When you restore from file, I blank that storage and write over with the parsed content of the file.

ajgreeny
July 1st, 2015, 11:29 PM
There is a .mozilla/firefox/qn4bdmr0.default/extension-data/ublock.sqlite in my home which I presume is the database that contains all the data for the blocker.

You can also back up the settings as a plain text file by clicking the icon in the toolbar, then clicking on the titlebar of the dialogue box that appears you get to the ublock dashboard. In the settings tab there is a backup and restore option.

vasa1
July 2nd, 2015, 05:29 AM
There is a .mozilla/firefox/qn4bdmr0.default/extension-data/ublock.sqlite in my home which I presume is the database that contains all the data for the blocker.

You can also back up the settings as a plain text file by clicking the icon in the toolbar, then clicking on the titlebar of the dialogue box that appears you get to the ublock dashboard. In the settings tab there is a backup and restore option.Thanks for that. But I've snuck back to ABP. I feel more comfortable with it for my needs.

vasa1
July 6th, 2015, 02:15 AM
Thanks for that. But I've snuck back to ABP. I feel more comfortable with it for my needs.And now I'm back with ublock origin in advanced user mode. I even reported a (very minor) issue (https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/issues/448) with the wiki that's now fixed :)

vasa1
July 8th, 2015, 04:55 AM
With Firefox 39, it is still possible to have a custom newtab page but I read somewhere that that option may go away.

uBlock Origin is developing pretty fast and so is Firefox. The following may no longer be applicable.


When creating a new tab and clicking a tile, here is what is reported for the behind-the-scene scope:

09:36:36 xhr https://tiles.services.mozilla.com/v2/links/click
09:36:34 xhr https://tiles.services.mozilla.com/v2/links/view

So here is a dynamic filtering rule to foil this new Firefox data-mining behavior:

behind-the-scene tiles.services.mozilla.com * block

If you would rather not use dynamic filtering, the following custom static filter will also work:

||tiles.services.mozilla.com^$domain=behind-the-scene
Source: https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/wiki/Tips-and-tricks-waterfall