Blocking services (VPN and otherwise)

[webfork]

[Moderator note: this thread was split from VPN experiences so far (seeking recommendations).]

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Thought this was interesting: a VPN provider is now offering blocking for a host of things you may not want to connect with: not just ads, malware, and trackers but adult content and gambling (and any variation on the above). These services can't possibly be comprehensive and block everything on the topic (and there's a disclaimer on the page to that effect), but I definitely like the idea of connecting to fewer tools and services I'm not directly interested in. That's just less bandwidth and electricity over time.

I'm currently using Mozilla VPN's adblock and anti-tracking DNS, which works fine but it's nice to see more moves in this space.

Aiding to break habits: Gambling and Adult content DNS blocking - Blog | Mullvad VPN
https://mullvad.net/en/blog/2022/7/11/a ... -blocking/

... I believe the DNS sites listed are exclusively for Mullvad users, I'm not sure. I do hope they make some of these tools (or lists of blocked addresses) publicly available. From: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32080486

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EDIT: Although I tend to prefer DNS blockers for performance reasons, one of the commenters form the ycombinator post above pointed out there's a blocker project with a convenient lists function - https://oisd.nl/downloads . There's also a ton of other blocklists for a dozen other topics beyond gambling and adult websites, including TikTok, Facebook, Crypto, and more: blocklistproject/Lists: Primary Block Lists - https://github.com/blocklistproject/Lists/

[freakazoid]

EDIT: Although I tend to prefer DNS blockers for performance reasons, one of the commenters form the ycombinator post above pointed out there's a blocker project with a convenient lists function - https://oisd.nl/downloads . There's also a ton of other blocklists for a dozen other topics beyond gambling and adult websites, including TikTok, Facebook, Crypto, and more: blocklistproject/Lists: Primary Block Lists - https://github.com/blocklistproject/Lists/

The BlockListProject link is interesting, although they do not mention which sources they use to generate their lists. Whereas the lists from OISD source which lists they use: https://oisd.nl/includedlists.

[webfork]

I gave this a separate thread as, ever since I first posted about it, I seem to keep seeing more blocking services/resources. The latest one made me not just appreciate uBlock Origin but kind of love it. Might need to become an ongoing supporter:

Change These uBlock Origin Settings for Even More Privacy: https://lifehacker.com/change-these-ubl ... 1848995058

More on tweaks for uBlock Origin.

[SYSTEM]

Change These uBlock Origin Settings for Even More Privacy: https://lifehacker.com/change-these-ubl ... 1848995058

Rather than those privacy changes, I have enabled blocking third-party frames (Enhanced Easy mode in uBO's documentation) to help protect myself from malware, which is often delivered through third-party frames. Worth noting that it does break some sites and require manually unlocking frames you need, though.

[webfork]

I have enabled blocking third-party frames

Great addition, thanks for that. I've been blocking Javascript on more and more sites lately, that seems a little more effective.

Also caught a breakdown on why uBlock Origin is best on Firefox (source: HN).