AdBlock Tracker & Usergroup Swap

AdBlock Tracker & Usergroup Swap [Paid] v2.4.2

No permission to buy ($45.00)
Overview FAQ Updates (49) Reviews (4) History Discussion
Stuart Wright said:
There will inevitably be members who have been detected blocking ads but insist that they are not using an ad blocker.
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Many VPN services now include ad-blocking, so they may not actively be using an ad-blocker but have it, perhaps unaware.
 
Wutime said:
Off the top of my head, for simple detection:
  • They're running an AdBlocker but don't see the extension because it's not pinned
  • They're not technical and their kids installed an AdBlocker
  • They're using a browser that natively does AdBlocking and they're unaware
  • They're using some other form of AdBlocking on their device and forgot it was installed, or didn't know it was installed
Click to expand...

Pretty much these reasons. We also found that some users were using extensions that blocked tracking. They're not labelled as "Ad block" so it didn't click with them. So far if anyone raises the issue, I'd point them towards the basic troubleshooting of disabling all extensions and seeing how it works. And if they're still insistent it's not an issue, I'd like to see a list of their extensions.

But so far, we haven't had anyone that was able to prove it was a false positive either. It was always something on their side.
 
Thanks for the replies and reassurance. I am using simple mode.
In the instance I was dealing with, the guys says he was using Edge on his iPad.
Before he went green, he said he was using Edge and he refreshed the forum page and he went clear. Although when I looked at one point, he had lots of swaps and a fair few page loads to go before getting there.
If there is any more information we can share with them to help them identify what in their system is ad blocking, I think it would be useful.
 
Dragonfruit said:
Pretty much these reasons. We also found that some users were using extensions that blocked tracking.
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Yeah, but just to be clear, "blocking 'trackers'" won't trigger any of the 3 detection methods. Only specifically blocking advertisements will trigger a detection. But, like alluded to, "blocking trackers" and "blocking advertisements" are often checkboxes in a lot of VPN's, with the options listed next to one another and likely selected in tandem.
 
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wmtech said:
This can be done by their company, by their provider or simply by the person who admins their internet router.
You cannot help those people, they have to find any unfiltered internet access by theirselves. In our case, they can update to an add-free paid account.

Suspected false positives are real positives. If the ad script cannot be loaded (no matter what reason) the ad block detection is triggered. Even if the person does not directly use an ad blocker with his browser.
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You're both correct and incorrect...

It's an incorrect and inaccurate statement when only using "Simple detection".

Simple detection injects an advertisement after page load, and if that advertisement is blocked, then they're deemed to be adBlocking. This is an extension-level and browser-level detection. It's nothing to do with their network, VPN or router.

You are correct if using one, or both, of the other two more intrusive detection methods being enabled.

The system will attempt to load an adblocking script, if that fails, they're deemed to be adBlocking. The script load will fail if the script is blocked for any reason; which could be a result of their VPN, DNS, router, or any other reason, that results in blocking the ad-script from reaching the browser.
 
How is the adblock tracking log sorted? Could we click the headings to sort by that column?
(Sorry, but this addon is getting seriously good and I'm reaching for perfection :))
 
Stuart Wright said:
How is the adblock tracking log sorted? Could we click the headings to sort by that column?
(Sorry, but this addon is getting seriously good and I'm reaching for perfection :))
Click to expand...
I think I'll add a requirement for Xon's standard library and implement that way. I think most people have it installed already anyways. It's got better features for sorting and such.
 
Someone brought it to my attention that AdBlock Plus on Safari, very specifically Safari and the AdBlock Plus extension on iPhone, does not detect.

To clarify, while true, it appears that AdBlock Plus on Safari uses a DNS-level AdBlocker. So while Safari on MacOS does not, and is easily detected with "Simple Detection", AdBlock Plus on iPhone does use a DNS-level AdBlocker and therefore requires more aggressive options be enabled in this add-on.

So, if you have a large demographic of Safari users from iPhone that use AdBlock Plus, which is unlikely, but if it's imperative they're detected you'll need to run with the following option enabled: "Remote Loading Detection (caution)".

"Remote Loading Detection (caution)" option specifically will detect iPhone Safari AdBlock Plus users. There's no need for "Network Request Detection (caution)", as this option does NOT detect this specific AdBlock extension.

Testing on iPhone is extremely difficult due to the requirement of not only having a physical device on hand, but also having XCODE installed, along with the appropriate cable to connect the iPhone to a Mac to run the "inspector messaging". It's a breathtakingly complicated setup to say the least.

I have tried to run the XCode emulator with the built-app for AdBlock Plus from GitHub; but with compiler errors I can't get the extension to run properly with Safari so using an emulator is a no-go. If someone has knowledge on an easy-to-use emulator I'm all ears.

With that said, I will try to find a way to detect the extension with Simple Detection, but I'm not sure it'll be possible given the iPhone Safari AdBlock Plus appears to implement DNS-level detection.
 
Could have an option to "Use DNS detection for iPhone Safari users only".

Meanwhile I'm going to check the Simple Detection isn't non-tripping just because of something specific they've done with AdBlock Plus.
 
Another outcome that might be useful would be to log how they were detected along with the device details, such as: "Simple", "DNS"

And then output this with the existing displays to users. Along with having a help page that outlines how to disable appropriately given the method used.

It could be anchor linked with #iPhoneSafariDNS and if any specific messaging exists it should theoretically bump them to the specific messaging on the page, or just the top of the help page for that method if not.
 
Wutime updated AdBlock Tracker & Usergroup Swap with a new update entry:

v2.2.6

  • NEW: Added Easy List selection (can select a list local to your country if needed)
  • ADDED: Bait classes are now selected from a live list
  • ADDED: Bait class creation is created hourly and cached
  • UPDATE: Changed default sort order to list AdBlock first in AdBlock Log
  • UPDATE: Remove excessive date information to keep columns thin (same as thread times)
  • UPDATE: Added break to list headers to save space
  • NOTE: Live bait classes are only available if a cache provider...
Click to expand...

Read the rest of this update entry...
 
Regarding the option (caution) for "Remote Loading Detection", this is the warning that's included in my other add-on for this option:

Required for detection of certain types of DNS level AdBlockers
Warning:
Some visitors may not realize they have DNS level AdBlocking enabled, if so, they're going to be very frustrated when they disable their AdBlock extension and the overlay continues to nag them. On a good note, this is a great opportunity to ask them to upgrade for an ad-free experience.
Both of the following can be triggered by DNS level AdBlockers:
  • Remote Loading Detection
  • Network Request Detection
An example of a VPN with DNS level ABlocking: Private Internet Access: MACE
Click to expand...
 
Wutime said:
You mean the logs? I'd have to check, but it should be the view statistics permission.
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There is no view statistics permission. Moderators need to see the /account/adblock-tracker data, but the only way to do that is to edit the user. Only admins can do this.
Could that data be available in the front end somewhere? Like in a tab in the user's profile page?
xenforo.com

Wutime

xenforo.com xenforo.com
 
Is there a variable where we can target users and guests who currently are using an adblock ie something like $xf.visitor.CurrentStateAdblockerEnabled etc?
 
tajhay said:
Is there a variable where we can target users and guests who currently are using an adblock ie something like $xf.visitor.CurrentStateAdblockerEnabled etc?
Click to expand...
Can you elaborate? Specifically, what you're aiming to do?

I'm not sure adding a global variable to the existing visitor state is the most efficient way to do things as most visitors (including guests), wouldn't need this to be set.
 
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