ADBLOCK and similar - blocking ads and popups on the internet in 2014

ADBLOCK and similar

blocking ads and popups on the internet in 2014

Some of us are old enough to remember an internet without adverts. I'm always shocked by the crap that people put up with all the time. 

 If you want to shop, go looking for stuff. Otherwise, ads can GTFO of my way. Popups too.

Adverts are bad for you and security. They can be used to track your movements around the internet by setting cookies - by seeing if you have been to a site before, tracking can also be used to increase the prices you pay (for example if you only visit expensive upmarket stores they gradually get to know that too *)

Ads are also bad for security for the following reason. Go to any site to download free software for MS Windows computers and you can be faced with 3 or more fake ads with "DOWNLOAD" buttons on them. Click the wrong one and you get conned, or worse, a virus or trojan. WTF?

 It doesn't have to be like this.

If you're a NON-technical user, install ADBLOCK for Chrome or Firefox. It will remove most ads on the internet without any messing around. It's a simple install, with no maintenance or complicated things to set.
To install ADBLOCK, open Chrome or Firefox and click on the link here
https://getadblock.com/


If you're a slightly technical user, install ADBLOCK PLUS for Chrome or Firefox. It's a bit more complicated though.  This will also remove most ads, with some simple setup required.
To install ADBLOCK PLUS, open Chrome or Firefox and click on the link here
https://adblockplus.org/

see https://easylist.adblockplus.org/en/  for setting advanced lists in Adblock Plus


Any problems, gimme a ring and I'll be happy to discuss it all.


Blocking adds takes memory, old or slow computers with low memory may struggle and slow down with both these adblocking extensions, though they probably struggle anyways with the amount of ads displayed and the trouble that popups cause. I prefer the to be adfree even if it slows me down. yourdownload speed will not be affected, only the load times of heavily ad-infested pages.


If you are a MS Windows user, I recommend you DO NOT use Internet Explorer to access the internet unless you have a high level of security training and know what you are doing. In my opinion, the risks of using IE are just too high. Modern versions are muchbetter than older ones, but the risk is still too high. Lower your risk footprint by diversifying to some other browser and keep it updated!

Chrome is what I personally use at the moment, the heavy integration with Google and Android systems is very convenient, though I find Firefox to be more ethically acceptable. I don't use MS-Windows, so IE is not an option for me anyways. 

ETHICAL WARNING: There have been some worrying development with the above tools, it seems that advertising conglomerates don't like the fact that people aren't getting hundreds of ads rammed down their throat ever few seconds so are looking to buy out the ad-blockers. Blocking ads is now becoming big business itself. Advertising companies are looking to buy out the adblock projects and the adblock project is becoming slowly evil in some people's eyes. It's still the best option for non-tehcnical users though, at least at the time of writing (May 2014) The vultures are definitely circling!

If you're a technical wizard (only if you are) you probably use already use Privoxy or Polipo some other filtering proxy somewhere on your network, regardless of your browser choice 
(watch out for the 2G or 4GB download filesize limit on 32bit OSs of Polipo)

You could also  Squidguard the f.kers with Shalla's list or use hosts file entries  for blocking the main adservers (but read the comments there too) either on your router (a real router, like something running pfSense or OpenWRT) or on your client machines. There are so many adservers nowadays that blocking using the client's host file is likely to end in tears if you aren't careful, so it's best done on the router that is also the DNS resolver for the whole network/subnet.

Blocking a couple of thousand adservers on the router/resolver also makes sense even if you use Adblock or Adblock+ on your browsers, because it can reduce memory usage by removing crap before it gets to you.

These technically complicated approaches are far too complicated for most Windows users, but have some very snazzy features.


* The truth is that cookies, while needed for most sites to function and innocent enough in many cases, are use by large advertising conglomerates for "market intelligence". By running many different tracking systems across thousands of websites and selling the intel of you movements to retail companies, companies can put 2 and 2 together and make 4, or 32, or 256. 
Cross-tracking is big business, once they have confirmed who you are (this is very easy, you only need to order something form a firm that uses a market intelligence company) they can then track you with confidence across all other websites and stores that subscribe to the same intel feed.

I like cinnamon cookies me, and Craster kippers.

LibreOffice - WTF is it? How do I get it? How do I use it?

LibreOffice

WTF is it? How do I get it? How do I use it? and does it smell of Craster Kippers?

I've put this together so a mate of mine can keep working after her Microsoft Office trial period had expired. I get asked this a lot, especially because Microsoft are moving to a continuous subscription basis, so it makes sense to document it as they lose more customers all the time. Linux users tend to have LibreOffice installed or available anyways.

Here's Nixie explaining LibreOffice better than I can in a quick video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sloEMUt7n5Q
she tends to play it down, it's better than the impresson she gives :) 

plus after only 2 seconds into the video she utters the word "span.king" fnarr-fnarr 

   /me rubs thighs and dribbles from several places

LibreOffice is a modern, continuously updated office suite, it's Free Open Source Software (FOSS) do doesn't cost you a penny, though the cost is not the main option people use it. It runs on many operating systems, from Microsoft Windows to Linux to Mac to BSDs . 

Most people will use LibreOffice it as a replacement for MS-Word, the LibreOffice equivalent of Word is caller Writer. The whole suite also includes a spreadsheet and other bits and bobs, but for reading and writing CVs, letters, general day-day correspondence, LibreOffice does everything I need. 

I don't use Microsoft Windows at all, so MS Office is not an option for me at any price, but I use LibreOffice almost every time I need to read or write any document other than a quick note. By default LibreOffice uses it's own file format. It's easily changed if you prefer to keep it in Microsoft formats.  It also writes to PDF formats

THE BIGGEST QUESTION most people have is

"can I view / receive / load Microsoft Office documents?"

YES 

of course you fug.in can  * 

I'm using BIG LETTERS because I'M SHOUTING - so listen up

To change it to a nice,  compatible - with - everyone - Microsoft-y - in - the - last - 10 - years  file format,  you need to tell LibreOffice to either save files in the -

2007 / 2010 XML format 

if you only have more modern versions of MS Office 

or

Office 98 / Office 2000 / Office 2003 format

if you are an old cheapskate with very old computers or you need to send documents in the "lowest common denominator" for maximum compatibility

 *  it's easy - watch this short vid

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBmW73fAHEk

here it is again by somebody else, in case you don't like Mackems

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbCA7gr9RrM

Occasionally, if you have a need to be compatible with more recent Microsoft versions (each new version of Office by Microsoft seems to have "extra added features" that aren't compatible with the previous versions, so you have to buy it again to upgrade), you can select and more recent version, like 2007-2010 XML for example, but for best compatibility with old computers, cheapskates and tight-arse computer geeks 97/2000/XP/2003 format is best as the lowest common denominator.

 This is only the SAVE format you are changing , LibreOffice will read most (if not all) of the versions off documents without too many problems.

Occasional formatting errors and differences are common with the more recent or latest file format versions, but over time all of the bugs tend to get worked out as the program is worked on each day, every day of the year, by the LibreOffice maintainers, a.k.a. "the programmers"

Personally, I just use the normal ODF format, it's well documented and is a fully open standard. But I'm strange.

Proprietary is bad m'kay? You're gonna have a hard time that way

INTRODUCTION BLURB TO LIBREOFFICE 

https://www.libreoffice.org/discover/libreoffice

GETTING LIBREOFFICE FOR WINDOWS - it's always free, forever

https://www.libreoffice.org/download/libreoffice-fresh

in most cases, if you need this help, you'll looking for Microsoft Windows version 

It's also available from Sourceforge, but the LibreOffice site may be easier to understand and has instructions there to help you. It's free, be careful what you click on - anyone selling it is conning you. Be careful to get it only from www.libreoffice.org or Sourceforge to make sure you don't get a virus. You're running Windows remember, you have to be careful.

Mac, Unix, BSD and other OS users should use their normal built-in method of installing software, but Microsoft users still need to do it the hard way by themselves. I'm bggered if I know why, ask MS?   

HELP / INSTRUCTIONS FOR USING LIBREOFFICE

https://help.libreoffice.org/Main_Page

The built-in help also has a search feature - use it to search for a word related to what you are trying to do



UPDATING LIBREOFFICE

https://help.libreoffice.org/Common/Check_for_Updates

Because Microsoft Windows does not use a centralised software package management and update system, Windows Update or Microsoft Update cannot update LibreOffice automatically, so you are responsible (as with most non-Microsoft programs) for keeping it up to date. Up to date software has less security problems, so this is very important, just like Windows Updates.

 In practice, this means checking for a new version every few months - at the most. It's free, and usually quite painless. You can also avoid drastic changes between one version and another by keeping up to date regularly, that way there's no 3-year culture-shock like there is on the Microsoft products where you have to learn everything again because they have to justify massive changes due to the price. Nobody would buy new versions of MS Office it if it was exactly the same as the older one would they? 

Step out of the gravy train, free yourself.  ;-)   

Anyways, enough of the bullsheet, I've found some YouTube tutorials to explain the basics of LibreOffice Writer. They are for a slightly older version of LibreOffice (it's updated constantly remember, free of charge) but most of the basics are the same from version to version

VIDEO TRAINING - free too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mc845_FuONY&index=1&list=PL94682FC0D2ADF410

I can't be rrrsed to embed the video here so the link will take you to YouTube to play the series.


Any problems, gimme a ring and I'll find some help on the Interthingy so you can help yourself.

 Teach a man to fish and he'll still want Craster Kippers for the rest of his life. 

Unfortunately, LibreOffice does not smell of Craster Kippers. 

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this post has been slightly sanit.ise*d so that people in the UK with restricted and censored internet connections (that's most of them) can hopefully read it.

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Historically, LibreOffice is a fork (fork means a divergent variant of) OpenOffice, which was previously a well-respected office suite. OpenOffice became very popular when the Ubuntu operating system was popular, 2006-2011 or so (that is to say, before the introduction of Unity interface). OpenOffice is still developed, but most people I know perceived the purchase of Sun Microsystems (a very cool company who developed the original OpenOffice system for many years) by Oracle (who are quite proprietary compared to Sun) to be a VeryBadThing. Because of that, LibreOffice developers forked off (yes, that's a real, valid term) and formed LibreOffice.
OpenOffice eventually was released by Oracle to the Apache Foundation, a altogether more respected outfit by many people interested in FOSS ethical standards, but the damage was already done, as most distributions of Linux and many other users had already jumped ship to avoid the Oracle taint.

All opinions here are my own perception, but Oracle will probably sue me - I have no money, so they are gonna have a hard time, m'kay?