IS there any point to ad blocker

[garethsnaim]

I guess 90% of traffic is https now.

Is it even worth untangle maintaining this app?

[f1assistance]

While it is a perimeter tool...yes, there are more effective powers available within your sentinel...

[jcoehoorn]

First of all, even with HTTPS, the Ad Blocker can still see the SNI (Server Name Indication) field and do a reverse-DNS lookup from the IP.

That said, I don't run Ad Blocker on the gateway for my work installation. It interferes with too many legitimate sites and causes too many support tickets. Additionally, at home where I only have a few stations to worry about, ad blockers built into your web browser are much better positioned than the gateway to evaluate content for ad-ishness. They can get additional information from the browser not only about more than just the request... not only the full URL, but things like it's position in the DOM, the javascript code responsible for the request, etc.

In other words, Untangle's Ad Blocker can still be useful... but other options are generally going to be better. The same applies to competing gateway products.

[Sam Graf]

Is it even worth untangle maintaining this app?

I agree with f1assistance that Ad Blocker isn't your best ad blocking solution, but as long as Untangle maintains SSL Inspector and it largely works for the Web, I think Ad Blocker has value. I'm showing 1234 (cool number) ads blocked, and no less important to me, 4996 cookies blocked so far in March. Ad Blocker provides me with that first line of defense, even if it's not a strong line. If it's just getting the low hanging fruit, I'm fine with that.

[sky-knight]

I find the Web Advertisements category in Web Filter more effective, but I don't block there... I generally rely on uBlock origin on the endpoint because there are too many systems that require ads or they break now.

[garethsnaim]

I looked at ssl inspector but could not get my head around the wiki instructions. Whilst the internet worked I could not do searches on google and apparently i have to install a certificate on every device using the network. Not ideal

My ad blocker has been running for months, its apparently found no ads to block, hence my question. I think i'll uninstall it.

[Sam Graf]

Ad Blocker has the advantage over Web Filter of being more granular when it comes to ad blocking. It's possible to define exceptions for ad/cookie blocking alone, whether out of necessity or by choice.

That said, I currently have no exceptions from necessity. Mileage varies.

[Martinvdm]

First of all, even with HTTPS, the Ad Blocker can still see the SNI (Server Name Indication) field and do a reverse-DNS lookup from the IP.

That said, I don't run Ad Blocker on the gateway for my work installation. It interferes with too many legitimate sites and causes too many support tickets. Additionally, at home where I only have a few stations to worry about, ad blockers built into your web browser are much better positioned than the gateway to evaluate content for ad-ishness. They can get additional information from the browser not only about more than just the request... not only the full URL, but things like it's position in the DOM, the javascript code responsible for the request, etc.

In other words, Untangle's Ad Blocker can still be useful... but other options are generally going to be better. The same applies to competing gateway products.

My AdBlocker is doing almost nothing. I'll get more blocks from the Web Advertisements from the Web Filter. Is it possible to do some way of DNS blocks?

And are there any (i think json?) lists available to get more out of Ad Blocker?

[Sam Graf]

My AdBlocker is doing almost nothing.

I'm not sure Ad Blocker can take advantage of SNI. SNI is an explicit feature of Web Filter but not Ad Blocker. If it isn't a feature of Ad Blocker, then your Ad Blocker installation may not be able to see much.

I have wondered if Untangle users with an operational Ad Blocker could simply pass along the list from Ad Blocker / Top Blocked Ad Sites, and those sites could be blocked (outside of Ad Blocker). But I have no idea what the unintended consequences might be.

[sky-knight]

That's because it can't, Ad Blocker is HTTP only. You need HTTPs Inspector to break into the session for it to work there, and that's more headache than it's worth honestly.

Also, the list is a freebie thing found on the interwebs...

So yeah paid feature works better than the freebie... who knew!

I ad block with browser plugins, far more reliable and easier to undo the damage when sites misbehave.

[Sam Graf]

I ad block with browser plugins, far more reliable and easier to undo the damage when sites misbehave.

Ad Blocker has a place. I realize that bashing Ad Blocker is a popular sport here, but it's a little old. My April summary is so far, "Ad Blocker detected 3049 ads and blocked 2580 ads and 9115 cookies." If that works for me as a baseline of filtering, and if my pass sites list is empty, then Ad Blocker is an asset. It's not complicated.

[sky-knight]

Ad Blocker has a place. I realize that bashing Ad Blocker is a popular sport here, but it's a little old. My April summary is so far, "Ad Blocker detected 3049 ads and blocked 2580 ads and 9115 cookies." If that works for me as a baseline of filtering, and if my pass sites list is empty, then Ad Blocker is an asset. It's not complicated.

It's not useless, it's just not useful either. In a properly configured network it's bored, because other things caught the ad first. But there's no reason to not have it there as a final check.

[Sam Graf]

In a properly configured network it's bored, because other things caught the ad first.

Such as?

[sky-knight]

Such as?

As has already been mentioned, use of Web Filter.

You simply will never get more content control than you do with the module designed for that purpose.

[Sam Graf]

As has already been mentioned, use of Web Filter.

You simply will never get more content control than you do with the module designed for that purpose.

Ad Blocker is content control with specific and customizable targets (ads and cookies) and detailed reporting on its outcomes. Its whitelisting feature (given that not all identified ads are blocked) provides the benefit of reducing the number of broken sites.

The approach comes down to preference and the desired granularity of control, not proper network configuration. A network that uses Ad Blocker over Web Filter isn't misconfigured.