Adblock Plus and (a little) more
To anybody using Firefox 2.0 or Adblock Plus 1.0.2 - it is time to upgrade · 2009-08-27 22:05 by Wladimir Palant
According to AMO statistics, there is still a considerable number of people using Adblock Plus 1.0.2 or older (around 20% of the entire user base). While there might be different reasons for that (most important one probably being the fact that current Adblock Plus versions don’t support Firefox 2), if you are one of them then I have news for you: it is time to upgrade. Seriously. Go get Adblock Plus 1.1.1 now. If you are still using Firefox 2 — go get Firefox 3.5.
Please allow me to explain myself. While there is usually little wrong with using an older Adblock Plus version (other than missing out on some improvements), Adblock Plus 1.1 introduced some very considerable improvements to the filter syntax. You probably don’t care much about those improvements, but the guys who create filter subscriptions for you do. EasyList, the filter subscription that most people use (either directly or in combination with a supplemental filter subscription), started using the new filter syntax a short while ago. The filters are updated roughly once a week for EasyList, so if you are using EasyList then most likely you have the new filters already. Which is not a problem — unless you are using Adblock Plus 1.0.2 which doesn’t understand these new filters. With Adblock Plus 1.0.2 you will notice that many ads show up again because the filter responsible for them doesn’t do its job.
There should really be no good reason not to upgrade. You can replace EasyList by Fanboy’s List which didn’t start using the new filter syntax yet but that should be a temporary solution at best (Update: this “solution” ceased to exist, Fanboy’s List is using new syntax as well now, not quite unexpected). Adblock Plus 1.1.1 is an improvement in many aspects (particularly as performance and memory use go), the problems Adblock Plus 1.1 suffered under have all been solved (this includes some issues that can be found in Adblock Plus 1.0.2 as well). As to Firefox 2, continuing to use it given the long list of known vulnerabilities (everything starting with Firefox 3.0.6 hasn’t been fixed in Firefox 2 but likely affects it as well) is just irresponsible. If you are not allowed to update Firefox at your school/workplace — find somebody who is and show him the list of vulnerabilities. It is really time, support for Firefox 2 ended a long time ago. If you keep using Firefox 2 you risk joining the ranks of spam bots who send out tons of trash to everybody’s mailboxes. Not to mention having all your passwords and other confidential information stolen.
Comment [32]
Commenting is closed for this article.
Oodles of Noodles · 2009-08-28 07:42 · #
I have a friend stuck on Fx 2.0 because he’s on Windows 98 XD
I feel bad for him :<
ecjs · 2009-08-28 11:02 · #
As one can see on http://blog.mozilla.com/metrics/ , 13% of the users who did not update did so because of Speed/Memory Leak Concerns and 7% because of Crashes. And I must admit I have noticed that since I updated on my ten-year-old computer.
Reply from Wladimir Palant:
The fact that people are worried about that doesn’t mean that performance issues/memory leaks/crashes are there or (if they are) that Firefox is responsible for those. My experience with Firefox 3/3.5 was very positive, it is very fast and extremely stable. However, various plugins (particularly Java) can have a negative effect on performance and stability, same goes for some extensions. Unfortunately, sticking with Firefox 2 is not the solution, if you do that you will have much bigger problems.
ecjs · 2009-08-28 16:11 · #
Firefox 3 needs a little (more) time to shut down completely (than Firefox 2) before you can reopen it. I often get this annoying message: “Firefox is already running but is not responding “. Which is the reason why I use Firefox 2 (default browser) for local files, and Firefox3 for the Web, using: “C:\Program Files\yourfirefox3installpath\firefox.exe” -P yourfirefox3profilename -no-remote
CRS · 2009-08-28 21:42 · #
Regarding the win98 problem, I’m sitting here running happily the current Firefox 3.5.2 on my old windows98se system :-)
It’s not impossible! Just a bit tricky, and you certainly shouldn’t be a bloody beginner with computer stuff. The trick is to first download some stuff like unicode-support etc. from Microsoft (via “windows update”), and then have kernelex installed (not by MS, google for it). That’s a tiny 200 kB app that tries to modify the system exactly for that goal, to be able to run XP-only apps on old win98 machines. So far it works for a bunch, by far not all, and since this system stuff can sometimes cause problems for some old genuine win98 programs, there’s now an individual setting for each .exe: Kernelex adds a tab in the exe-properties, for choosing its “compatibility” mode: kernelex disabled, or compatible to XP, or to Vista, etc. For me it works, cool! :-))
BenoitRen · 2009-08-30 05:19 · #
I’d wager that some people haven’t upgraded from Firefox 2.0 because they don’t like the awfulbar.
Why not have a temporary copy of EasyList with the older syntax for people who still use Adblock Plus 1.0.2 with SeaMonkey 1.x? At least until SeaMonkey 2.0 is released.
ugg shoes · 2009-08-30 08:02 · #
That’s a good idea
Civi · 2009-08-30 13:49 · #
BenoitRen, you can adjust the behaviour of the awful bar, in Firefox 3.5, through Options -> Privacy, where you can choose to have no suggestion at all, from the history only (like in Firefox 2.0), from bookmarks only, or both (default).
BenoitRen · 2009-09-01 05:01 · #
@Civi: There is still no way, however, to get the old algorithm back entirely. That is, to have it ignore “www.”.
Reply from Wladimir Palant:
Why are you still typing in “www.”? It took me some adjusting but after a few days I stopped typing it in. Yes, the “www.” part is absolutely meaningless, you should start with the important part immediately. Once you get used to it you will find everything faster.
Greg · 2009-09-01 19:40 · #
What about those of us using SeaMonkey 1.1.x … there’s no
upgrade path for us yet … at least until after SeaMonkey 2
has been finalised. Considering how long it to reach Beta,
testing, that could be quite sometime yet.
Reply from Wladimir Palant:
SeaMonkey is a very sad story. SeaMonkey 2.0 isn’t expected before November (and experience shows that we shouldn’t count on it being released in November), that’s still quite a long wait. I can only recommend getting on a modern codebase already – install SeaMonkey 2.0 Beta 1 despite its beta status. It should be more reliable than SeaMonkey 1.1 already, especially when it comes to extensions. At least the numerous problems that people hit when installing Adblock Plus in SeaMonkey 1.1 and that I absolutely cannot help with will certainly be gone. I don’t like recommending a beta release but that seems to be the best available option.
BenoitRen · 2009-09-02 18:41 · #
I don’t type “www.”. The point is to get the algorithm to ignore it while looking for results.
In the old algorithm, if you want www.mozillazine.org, you can type “mo” and have it as part of the results instead of having to type “www.mo”.
Reply from Wladimir Palant:
Honestly, I have no idea what you are talking about. With Firefox 3.x you can type in any part of the URL or the title, it doesn’t have to be at the beginning. In particular, you don’t need to type in “www.”
ugg shoes · 2009-09-03 10:43 · #
i prefore fx2 to fx3, as when i use fx3 i will get more time and troubles
phil · 2009-09-04 22:01 · #
hi all.
i’ve recently installed ff 3.5.2 and abp 1.1.1 and all’s gone well.
having used easy list for a week i notice only about 20 of the 2700 filters are being used!
seems crazy to me.
so i installed adblock.free.fr, just TWENTY NINE filters, and it works better than ANY other list imho.
give it a try guys, you wont regret it.
all of a sudden and without me doing anything over the last couple of days the hit stats zero themselves every time i close ff (whatever filter set i use).
any ideas on a fix?
cheers,
phil.
Reply from Wladimir Palant:
But adblock.free.fr happens to be significantly slower than EasyList – and fixing issues is also harder because it throws lots of different things into one regular expression.
As to your question: https://adblockplus.org/en/preferences#clearStatsOnHistoryPurge
phil · 2009-09-05 01:08 · #
hi wladimir.
i haven’t noticed any speed differences between the two but i do appreciate maintenance issues may arise. (i’m no techie)
thanks for pointing me to the stat fix, now done.
thanks for a great product wladimir, nothing compares with ff/abp.
regards,
phil.
SeaMonkey User · 2009-09-08 08:26 · #
There is a reason why many people still use SeaMonkey 1.1.x
Flash performance is horrible with all builds of SM 2.0 (beta and nightly builds) :(
SM 1.1.x is at least 50% faster with flash videos.
Patrick · 2009-09-09 10:30 · #
I use SeaMonkey 1.1.18 (The current release as of this week) because the SeaMonkey Beta 2.0 does not handle several of the websites I visit daily well, including my home message board. Since I do not see 2.0 reaching out of beta for at least another three months, I will be using ABP 1.0.2 until such time. Yes, it is out of date, but I have added all the ads necessary.
Helene · 2009-09-12 21:13 · #
Like Patrick, I use Seamonkey 1.1.18, because beta version is not secure enough for me…. and, working on an Apple, I have to re-install Adblock plus every time I upgrade Seamonkey (don’t know why…)
This time, I simply could not, because your new version is incompatible with the freshly issued 1.1.18 version…. what can I do ? is it possible to get a link to an older (outdated) version of Adblock Plus, until the Beta version of Seamonkey is not beta anymore ?
Thank you
thankful · 2009-09-18 10:01 · #
Respectfully, from my point of view, no it’s NOT time. My “failure to upgrade” is not a matter of procrastination, nor of blind stubbornness, nor (I trust) of ignorance.
A few days ago, when I checked securityfocus.com and similar BugTraq archive sites, only 3 unpatched vulnerabilities are listed for Firefox 2.0.0.20
I had “tried” using FF3 after waiting 6 months following the version release — awaiting stability and, more importantly, awaiting the release of compatible versions of my installed FF addons. When I did install FF3, although I attempted to install to a different directory… it overwrote my FF2 preferences and “disabled” 40+ of 63 addons, marking them as “unsupported”. After tediously hand-editing several xpi packages (changing the indicated supported version data), I considered “Do I really need/use so many addons?”… and decided YES, I do use most of them on a semi-regular basis.
FWIW, while using FF 2.0.0.20 (heavily, my surfing habits usually include 14-20 concurrent tabs) I do not find memory leaks. (With earlier builds of FF2, yes, memory leaks were an issue.) Incidently, this is under WinXP SP3; I similarly refuse to buy into the “it’s time” argument regarding Vista (and now, Win7). I’ll move to a Unix -based O/S rather than learning the ins/outs/QUIRKS of another MS platform.
Java runtime remains disabled on my PC until/unless I absolutely need it (occasional OpenOffice use). Aside from a few interim quirky FlashPlayer builds, Java had been been the only (and nearly continually) browser-related “problem child”.
Ironically, upon checking, I see that I’m not even yet using the most recent “compatible” Adblock Plus version (1.0.2) …apparently due to it’s continued absence (I just rechecked) from the items reported in the “Addons}Check for updates” pane.
yvesson · 2009-09-19 13:49 · #
Hej, Never managed to make FF3.x work on my system, too slow starting etc, and I tryed and searched how to make it work faster…
What about K-meleon ? I think it supports only 1.0.2 ?
User · 2009-09-23 18:58 · #
It is fucking retarded. Sorry about my cursewords but it worked really good on 2.0 for long time. Then i tried newer versio 3.5.3 and it crashed after i tried to install it. Thanx for upgrading. It good to know that you have managed to improve =)
nonesuch · 2009-10-04 23:14 · #
Where does the usage data in those stats come from? That is, how is it collected?
Reply from Wladimir Palant:
https://addons.mozilla.org/statistics/addon/1865
http://blog.fligtar.com/2008/02/16/amo-statistics-dashboard/
EP · 2009-10-15 19:42 · #
well Wladimir will have to offer a newer version of the Adblock Plus addon because the upcoming Firefox 3.6 Beta 1 browser will be released next week and the latest version (1.1.1) is NOT compatible with the FF3.6b1 candidate build I have tested recently as it won’t install on it.
as for Seamonkey 2.0, the final release of SM 2.0 will also be released next week. See this MozillaWiki releases page
on the upcoming versions of Firefox and Seamonkey:
https://wiki.mozilla.org/Releases
The latest available version of ABP should work with SM 2.0 final.
and as for K-meleon, it’s sad to say that I have to part ways with it at the end of 2009 as the creators of K-meleon have not produced an official version of KM that uses the newer Mozilla/gecko 1.9.x engine. KM is slowly heading towards obsolesence and the unofficial K-meleonCCF 0.09x browsers that do have the gecko 1.9.x code are very buggy.
Reply from Wladimir Palant:
If you install from addons.mozilla.org it will work just fine.
EP · 2009-10-15 23:45 · #
ok Wladimir. got ABP 1.1.1 to install and work in FF3.6b1 candidate build 1 through addons.mozilla.org site. seems to work only through an “online” install and not an “offline” install with no internet connection.
Seamonkey 2.0 has recently reached RC1 phase and will soon reach RC2 stage by the end of this week. That would leave K-meleon the only mozilla based browser left with using the “outdated” gecko engine.
Chris Hansen · 2009-10-27 01:47 · #
Using Firefox 3.x is problematic for many video users, since Firefox 3 doesn’t support use of QT v7.1.6, which is the last version for Win 2000. When I raised this on Mozilla a few months back, I got the Microsoft answer—“Why are you still runnning Win 2000? Go buy a new machine.”
I donate my services to a couple of non-profits including an elementary school PC Lab, and there is NO MONEY to follow Microsoft over the cliff every third year! We don’t use SeaMonkey anywhere, so that isn’t a concern.Reply from Wladimir Palant:
You are mixing things up. It is Apple who isn’t supporting Windows 2000. If Apple doesn’t bring out their current plugin for that Windows version there is very little Mozilla can do about it. It’s not that Mozilla “doesn’t support” QuickTime 7 – they blocklisted it due to known security vulnerabilities (unfortunately, Firefox 2 doesn’t allow blocklisting of plugins). Maybe things are better with QuickTime Alternative, I don’t know. Otherwise you are clearly living dangerously (at the very least, your PC is likely to join the army of zombie PCs, spamming people and doing other nasty things).
EP · 2009-10-27 18:22 · #
I’m not sure what Chris Hansen’s problem is but he needs to take a vacation.
BTW, Wladimir, the final release of Seamonkey 2.0 is out now.
Get it here:
http://www.seamonkey-project.org/
For those who want to use the latest ABP addon under SM, upgrade to SM 2.0 final.
And Apple dropped Win2k support for Quicktime since QT version 7.2. I had no problems with Quicktime and Firefox 3.5 on my aunt’s Win2k computer.
Stefan · 2009-10-29 18:43 · #
About AdBlock Plus I just want to say that it is fantastic.
I never liked adds and they slow the page loading very much on the ISP I use. Since I installed it browsing the web never been better ! Thank you for this great app! It is very good , stable , easy to use , doesnt consumes memory and its free , thanks for the efourt and time you spend in developing it! Great job!
user10 · 2009-11-03 17:14 · #
Adblock Plus 1.1.1 unable to be installed on firefox relise 3.5.4.
Firefox just telling me, that adblock plus will be installed after restart. After restar i see this again…
Reply from Wladimir Palant:
This is a Firefox issue. See http://kb.mozillazine.org/Unable_to_install_themes_or_extensions_-_Firefox#Corrupt_extension_files, this should help.
user · 2009-11-04 01:32 · #
When I roll over a flash video with my mouse it would restart. I’ve try the latest version and the error it’s still happening. I’ll keep using 1.02 for now.
Anonymous · 2009-11-26 06:09 · #
Upon reading this article a few weeks ago, I decided to give Firefox 3.5 a try. I’d tried one of the first 3.0 releases, but it took so terribly long to load and exit, and half of the time I closed the browser, the program wouldn’t completely unload from RAM… which meant I had to terminate the old program manually before I could open a new browser window.
Thankfully, I didn’t see that problem with 3.5.4 or 3.5.5. Looks like all of the old memory-hog issues have been resolved, too. What I did see, however… the new Firefox browser would inexplicably drop connections. I’d go, try to browse to www.google.com or some other website… and the browser just wouldn’t connect. IE could connect (regrettably), Firefox couldn’t. After a few seconds, it wouldn’t even /attempt/ connections — it would just default to “server not found” right as soon as I pressed Enter, even if I spammed Enter. After about 15 seconds of insta-unable-to-connect, Firefox would then be able to connect normally. … For a while.
This happened about once every 5 minutes. Very frustrating. It wasn’t my connection, either — I always have a ping session open on my second monitor, and the ping logs would always show a rock-solid connection when Firefox couldn’t connect.
It seemed to be a problem specific to Firefox 3.5.x… even running the browser with no addons installed, on a fresh system, produced the same problems for me. Downgrading Firefox back to 2.0.0.20 solved the problem for me, so it looks like that’s what I’ll be sticking with. Sorry, man.
I run a bunch of security software on my systems, so I’m not too worried. ;)
EP · 2009-12-07 19:51 · #
lately, there is some talk in the K-meleon forums that the creators of K-meleon will be making an official KM browser with the newer gecko 1.9.x engine code sometime in 2010, Wladimir. the road to using the old and “outdated” mozilla gecko 1.8.x code is almost coming to and end for both K-meleon and Seamonkey 1.1.x. when the K-meleon creators do release a new version of their browser containing the new mozilla 1.9.x code, I will let you know so that you can offer a newer version of ABP for K-meleon.
Reply from Wladimir Palant:
Good to know. I checked the forums just recently but didn’t see any progress since the unusable K-Meleon 1.6 build posted in February.
EP · 2010-02-18 08:05 · #
Wladimir, check this page out:
http://kmeleon.sourceforge.net/wiki/kmeleon16
There are some recent K-meleon 1.6.0a development downloads available there.
Reply from Wladimir Palant:
Ah, looks like usable K-Meleon builds on Gecko 1.9.1 finally. I’ll adjust Adblock Plus code for it occasionally, when I have time.
EP · 2010-03-02 01:20 · #
thanks Wladimir. also, you may have to start revising your ABP addon to make it work under the upcoming Firefox 3.7 alpha 2 (aka. Mozilla Developer Preview 3.7 alpha 2) release. Beta builds of FF 3.7a2 have just been posted on the Mozilla FTP site and I’m beta testing one of them right now.
and alpha 3 of K-meleon 1.6.0 has just been released on that page in my earlier comment.
Reply from Wladimir Palant:
I updated the compatibility range on addons.mozilla.org, the development build tomorrow will be working with 3.7a3pre as well.
Dan · 2010-09-03 19:21 · #
> There should really be no good reason not to upgrade.
Web developers like myself frequently have multiple versions of a web browser installed. Having Firefox 3.5 on your system doesn’t mean you can’t also have Firefox 2. In fact, for developers, having multiple versions of each browser is essential for writing kosher, portable HTML.
It would be really nice to be able to install an older version of AdBlock on the older browsers, even if the older versions no longer filter perfectly.
Reply from Wladimir Palant:
The versions are all still there – https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1865/versions/
However, a web developer still testing with Firefox 2.0 must be crazy. Firefox rendering is very consistent, normally there is little point testing with multiple versions at all – not like Internet Explorer. And even if you want to check multiple versions choosing one that has been EOL’ed years ago is strange. Even Firefox 3.0 user numbers are getting very low these days, Firefox 2.0 is absolutely negligible.