[Announce] Give Mee No Ads! - script to easy up /etc/hosts adblocking
 

Give Mee No Ads! is a script to easy up installing and updating /etc/hosts-based adblocking.

How to use it?
Run `update-hosts-adblocking` as root

How to get it?
Fremantle: use extras-devel
Harmattan: use OpenRepos
The package name is
So is there a GUI version?
No.

How to back up /etc/hosts?
Give Mee No Ads! automatically backs it up and restores upon uninstall.

Will my personalized hosts entries be preserved?
No, but they'll remain in backup

Note for Fremantle users: Fremantle version is beta quality. I don't remember whether Harmattan version worked flawlessly on N900 or whether it needed some tweaking. Be careful while using it until the warning is dismissed :)

Thanks to vi_ for this useful one-liner!

Re: [Announce] Give Mee No Ads! - script to easy up /etc/hosts adblocking
 

does this need inception/developer mode on N9?

Re: [Announce] Give Mee No Ads! - script to easy up /etc/hosts adblocking
 

Inception - no
Devmode - yes (because it requires terminal and root access). I should add devmode to the depends, shouldn't I?

Re: [Announce] Give Mee No Ads! - script to easy up /etc/hosts adblocking
 

I personally do not think so.
Enabling dev mode should be user decision, single action.

You may throw a message that dev mode is needed.


I do use this (but you know this, too).
And - just to mention - there are also voices that the hosts file should not be (ab)used for ad blocking. (nevertheless: I do so, as adblock on N900 blocked my cups printer configuration [add printer])

Re: [Announce] Give Mee No Ads! - script to easy up /etc/hosts adblocking
 

@all,

I had a look at the script and I have the following warning:

Your /etc/hosts will only have the localhost entry and whatever list is downloaded from who knows where.

Any *actual* *useful* content you already may have in your /etc/hosts, i.e. the very purpose of this file, will be deleted.

If people REALLY want to *misuse* /etc/hosts for adblocking then I'd advise to make it very clear that any useful entries will not be there anymore.

Re: [Announce] Give Mee No Ads! - script to easy up /etc/hosts adblocking
 

OK, I'll add this in August to the package. Now only warning in the thread.

Well, I even forgot about the script and used the one-liner from the Harmattan thread. Worked fine.

The last fix for this month has been released. Added wget as dependency and information in control about terminal and root access.

In Fremantle I can use maemo-confirm-text (but I'd rather use something that doesn't require user activity while installing - is there any way I can push such notification as e-mail app does?), what would be the best option for Harmattan?

Re: [Announce] Give Mee No Ads! - script to easy up /etc/hosts adblocking
 

You don't need to modify the host file there is also a way to use dnsmasq which I am using in the genwall application.
It could be easily written a routine which imports some file with ad-hosts and writing to the file for dnsmasq.

Re: [Announce] Give Mee No Ads! - script to easy up /etc/hosts adblocking
 

The 'voice' is listening. ;)

Are we talking about the same python script? # Author: Jason Robinson (http://www.basshero.org), 2010-2011 #
As this one only appends the entries from
HOSTS_URL='http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/hosts.txt' (a trusted? source)
after a dedicated
SCRIPT_IDENTIFIER = '############# BELOW ADDED BY GETHOSTS.PY ################'

--edit
Or are you talking about marmistrz 'one-liner' script?
Then your warning is true. And I would like to second this! Even all changes done later will get nuked again on refreshing the list.
@marmistrz: would you mind to take over the python script advantages, please?
--


@halftux
I think this is a huge list, or?

Re: [Announce] Give Mee No Ads! - script to easy up /etc/hosts adblocking
 

I don't know about those notifications, but I did create a maemo-confirm-text clone for Harmattan a while back. Maybe it can be of use to you: sources / deb.

Re: [Announce] Give Mee No Ads! - script to easy up /etc/hosts adblocking
 

Btw. feel free to push gethosts to extras-devel. It's better to have more options than less.

Re: [Announce] Give Mee No Ads! - script to easy up /etc/hosts adblocking
 

I have just tried the dnsmasq way to add a custom hosts file without change /etc/hosts and it works fine. Probably this would be the best option to avoid configuration dialogs or changes to users previous customizations.

Re: [Announce] Give Mee No Ads! - script to easy up /etc/hosts adblocking
 

Well, /etc/hosts always worked just fine for me, so I always sticked with it.

Re: [Announce] Give Mee No Ads! - script to easy up /etc/hosts adblocking
 

Yes it is a huge list but it doesn't matter so much like the ip blacklist which is working with iptables rules instead to have a file for dnsmasq.

With too many iptable rules the speed and memory decrease.
A huge file for look up will also decrease the speed but noot so much.

And there is no big difference to save hosts in /etc/hosts or in a dnsmasq related file only that services who also look in /etc/hosts are faster and you can have a personal /etc/hosts file and the blocking in a different file. In my eyes it is more structured, clean and save that nothing get over written in /etc/hosts.:)