Why we introduced Ad blocker to Vivaldi browser
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@Agych https://www.av-test.org/en/antivirus/home-windows/windows-10/february-2020/microsoft-defender-4.18-200515/
Windows 10 updates are fully configurable, when and what
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@catweazle said:
@Agych https://www.av-test.org/en/antivirus/home-windows/windows-10/february-2020/microsoft-defender-4.18-200515/
Ok it might have been improved to some extend.
But:-
We should be (at least partly) skeptical about all these AV tests.
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Even if we go with this site, check this:
https://www.av-test.org/en/antivirus/home-windows/
I counted 5 AVs scoring at 6 in all three aspects. And 13 with Protection score at 6.
MS Defender is in neither of those, so still not "at the height of the best AV", right? -
(Plus again, the Privacy flows, and given that Privacy is a "subset" of Security, it brings MS Defender even lower!).
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@Catweazle said in Why we introduced Ad blocker to Vivaldi browser:
Wrong, Windows 7 is very good, true, Windows 10 by default has many functions that detract from privacy, it is also true. But, although it is not so easy to remove all these functions, it can and I have done it.
The thing is with W10 you can't be ever sure that you 've done enough so having to live with that thought alone makes it not worth using it. In other words I don't want my OS to oppress me if you get what I mean.
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Results vary from month to month, both in the Defender and in others. The new Defender from Windows 10 was always in the group of the best. Adding the Sandbox system that adds even more security. MS has undoubtedly learned from the past as the main target of viruses.
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@npro said:
The thing is with W10 you can't be ever sure that you 've done enough so living with that thought only makes it not worth using it.
Agree. One more point, to a whole collection of points heh.
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@zakius: Too difficult. Look at the enormous amount of work gorhill has put into developing uBO over a period of years, and there are still fixes and enhancements being made on a daily basis. That would be a "side project" for Vivaldi that approaches the amount of effort expended on the main project (Vivaldi).
What they've done (with modest improvements over time) is likely good enough for most normal people.
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@rseiler , Vivaldi adblocker is quite efficient at blocking advertings, where it still lacks is blocking trackers. At the moment I have parked uBO, but kept Privacy Badger for this reason
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@Catweazle Even with your choice of three privacy-oriented blocking lists?
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@rseiler at least with the Vivaldi adblocker I have not seen an ad until now, not even on YT and not on other sites either. The same at Vivaldi Mobile
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From previous statements I was under the impression that Vivaldi would try to keep the old API alive. From this blog post now I have to conclude that this is not the case any more. I am not opposed to Vivaldi offering a built-in solution, if it provides the full level of control that I get with uMatrix:
- discriminating by type of request e.g. cookies/css/media/script/etc
- discriminating by domains
- user defined global rules
- user defined per site rules (with intuitive interface)
- visual aid (e.g. red background) warning of known trackers when selecting sources
so that i can e.g.
- globally disable cookies and script and all non 1st party domains
- per site: add domains and content/type combinations to make the site work
I am afraid that when Vivaldi disables the old API and uMatrix stops working, the built-in solution will not offer that level of control. Sadly I will have to change to Firefox then.
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@CaptainD , I do not think it is necessary, it is true that the Vivaldi blocker is still in development and there are still extensions that you can use apart from the aforementioned Privacy Badger, Trace or ultimately CyDec, which turns Vivaldi into a Sherman tank. Blokada in Android also do a good work.
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My main browser on Android is Firefox Beta with new UI + Ublock Origin.
I have also two Vivaldi versions installed and I am waiting for the Ublock Origin support.
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@Stardust, even if Vivaldi Mobile in the future accepts uBO, I will continue to use Blokada as well, because the problem on Android is the same trackers at home from the installed apps (some of them - well, Google territory) and Blokada also cuts these, not only online .
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Enabled the "Block trackers" already for a few days, and this is what I notice:
- The tracker protection often (almost always?) seems to result in blocking ads as well
- dnes.bg (a local Bulgarian news site) has 6-8 trackers blocked
- bbc.com has 6-8 trackers blocked
- cnn.com has 33 (!!!) trackers blocked
- One site told me "it seems you have an ad blocker, consider donating to us"
Is this "ad-devastating" effect really the one expected for "Block trackers"?
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@vladimirg Yeah, it's expected. The ads being blocked are tracking ads, which come from blacklisted domains. In case of CNN it's likely that a single request is being blocked repeatedly over time and therefore the count goes up. You can see similar behaviour on many sites.
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Have someone of you tried built-in adblock on bing?
I think it doesn't work well.... -
@realsaaw , it is true that the Vivaldi blockers are still in 'beta' and it is still necessary to use apart some scriptblocker as an extension.
But who are you looking for with Bing? Just like Google and Yahoo, it is the first thing I usually delete from the search engine list.
It is a bit contradictory to want a browser that protects privacy and on the other hand use these search engines.
Neither TOR with a VPN can offer privacy, if you search with Bing or Google -
Hackers have breached 60 ad servers to load their own malicious ads:
https://www.zdnet.com/article/hackers-have-breached-60-ad-servers-to-load-their-own-malicious-ads/
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@petersaints
An open store, which not just links to the vendor specific stores like add0n.com is a must. Now that we have a more or less cross-platform extension API, we need a free and open source distribution platform as well. -
@Catweazle well, this is exactly it.
"Browser outdated" message is not a threat. It's another tool to scare user. The same with 80,000 new viruses and exploits. It sounds scary, but what that number really means? What is the scale? It just goes on and on ...
How long you can use not updated browser + OS before you get burned? (the answer is YEARS) ... ironically, pacman is updating everything in my laptop while I'm typing thisOf course this is not meant against Vivaldi. Vivaldi has at least the decency not to force me to update at the minute when the new version is available. (it's also reason why I hate FF)