NotHereToPlayGames

Here I am going to document the steps it takes to configure a web browser to use Proxomitron as a web filter. I will then use the MSFN reply-box "keylogger" as an example of how Proxomitron can prevent/break that "keylogger" (I figure that is an example all users here will be able to relate to.) Proxomitron is extremely powerful - I have used it since 2004 at least but have been away from it for a couple of years (still use it for my weekly Microsoft Excel Web Queries). I used it exclusively as a web browser filter before migrating to Mypal roughly 3 years ago and then to 360Chrome roughly 1.5 years ago. I have decided that it is officially time to bring it back into the fold and I am confident that several folks here at MSFN will find it extremely useful. Proxomitron really is extremely powerful and also can be a bit "intimidating" at first because of how powerful it is - I am hoping this guide will remove all intimidation. Config download links provided in Post #5 -- Jump to Post #5

And it will not launch on my x64 XP and I do not do &/or endorse/support "kernel updates". I may someday, in the distant future, but for now I want my XP to "be" XP (which also means no POSReady and no "certificate updates" either).

360 "hack adds" -- 27750.css (jquery 1.8.0), 27751.css (jquery templating), 27752.css (jquery easing), 27754.css (CETH), 27755.css (ChromeWebUIApis), 27756.css (ChromeWebUIApis)

IDR_EASY_UNLOCK_* == edit 11333.html

easyUnlockPrivate == edit 12850.js, 24516.js screenlockPrivate == edit 11334.js, 12850.js

v11 Deprecated API Notes (already removed in v12 and higher) -- PDF Compositor Service == remove 11041, 24701, 24703 edit 102, 106 Google Network Text-to-Speech Service == remove 179 Smart Lock (app detecting proximity of mobile phone) == remove 11385, 11386 to-find easyUnlockPrivate, screenlockPrivate, easy_unlock_background.js, icons/easyunlock_app_icon_*.png [32, 48, 64, 96, 128, 256]

Nope, not at this time. My focus remains on XP.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zfuU6uLwF8

I've been opening MSFN, logging in, opening the reply-box, then opening ten Dropbox tabs and ten YouTube tabs. Bounce around the YouTube tabs for 20 minutes or so. Then come back to MSFN because those fonts always disappeared first. I haven't been able to "force" text to disappear in over two weeks.

v13.5 has always been fine for me. v11 will vanish fonts every once in a while on this GeForce GT 635, on a different computers GeForce FX 5200, and on a third computer's GeForce2 MX/MX 400 (this computer also has an Intel G33/G31 Express Chipset display adapter). I've not been able to tie the root cause to display adapters on my computers, but every computer is different so I have no doubt that this fixed your issues on v13.5.

But that does have me wondering - I wonder if resizing the window has any effect on the text reappearing or not, will have to try that next time. But I've not actually had any issue in over two weeks. It was always slightly RARE for me, once every two weeks or so, very minor, very rare. I've always just resorted to closing 360Chrome and relaunching. Really hasn't been frequent enough to lose sleep over.

Are you referring to v13.5? Or to v11? I've never had disappearing text in anything but v11. The GTX980 SSC was released in September 2014. My GeForce GT 635 was released in October 2013. Not sure if that's relevant. But here's my thinking on that - my computer has five monitors, the disappearing fonts are not tied to any specific monitor or graphics card, and if they were I could just move the window to a different monitor and the fonts would reappear, but they do not.

I am assuming that you meant SourceForge. Technically, it is loading. But the .css coding isn't being done properly. The navigation links are being defined with a "color: inherit" and the parent has no color being assigned, so you go to the parent's parent [two] and that has no color being assigned, so you go to the parent's parent's parent [three] and that has no color being assigned, so then you go to the parent's parent's parent's parent [four] and that has no color being assigned, so then you go to the parent's parent's parent's parent's parent [five] (ie, the body element) and you finally have a color being assigned (and it matches the background color so you can't see the text because it's the same color as the background). Can't really fault any web browser for improper .css coding.

Does anyone know if a traditional HOSTS file blocks known CNAME addresses? ie, can we "merge" (once properly formatted) MVPS's HOSTS file and the AdguardTeam trackers list into one HOSTS file? I'd highly prefer that route as it is my preference to NOT have any uMatrix/UBO "lists" - I'd rather manually maintain my own HOSTS file.

I admit that I am still "undecided" on whether I need to start "worrying" about CNAME trackers. I did find an awesome read on the topic here (dated March 2021) -- https://www.grc.com/sn/sn-808-notes.pdf Of particular interest, uBlock Origin DOES NOT ALWAYS BLOCK THIS IF YOU DO NOT ALSO BLOCK THIRD-PARTY SCRIPTS! An excerpt - The #1 worst offender by far, which is infecting 5,993 detected websites is “Pardot”, a SalesForce company which bills itself as “Powerful B2B Marketing Automation” stating that “Pardot offers powerful marketing automation to help marketing and sales teams find and nurture the best leads, close more deals, and maximize ROI.” Number two on the hit list is Adobe Experience Cloud, and the good news is, uBlock Origin blocks them both. But in a note on this table the researchers observe that Pardot is being blocked because the 3rd-party script being sourced from pardot.com is blocked, and that if that script was not blocked then CNAME abuse would succeed.

Looks like CNAME Cloaking has been going on since at least November 2019. My sky isn't falling, lol. I guess I kind of view it this way, "Go ahead and track me, I got nothing to hide." OR this way, "Too late to stop it, they already know everything about me." During my college-days, I went to make an online purchase using my credit card and it was denied so I called up the credit card company to resolve the issue. They asked me a dozen or two different questions in order for me to PROVE that I was ME. One of the questions I was forced to answer was the biological name of my ADOPTED SISTER !!! A "closed" adoption !!! MY SISTER DIDN'T EVEN KNOW SHE WAS ADOPTED !!! It was a family decision she not know until her 12th brithday. But yet the credit card company knew and wouldn't "unlock" my credit card until I revealed the biological name of my ADOPTED SISTER !!! So "they know everything!"

I don't do "lists". Not my thing. I'm not really convinced that I really need to 'worry' about CNAME trackers, to be honest. I think that some of us make life more difficult than it needs to be. To each their own. Mileage may vary.

Same here. I only ran that list as a speed test. I've never been fond of performance claims without some sort of "measurement" to back it up. If that list fixes the vanishing text issue, then I'd say that the list is a keeper - though other users may opt to see it narrowed down.

I thought adding cname-reveal: * true as one of your uMatrix rules resolved this? Or so I thought but it appears the github for uMatrix states "This new feature is supported only in Firefox."

These are the only four flags that I move from their "defaults" --

I ran Speedometer 2.0 three times BEFORE making these changes and scored -- 74.48 73.88 73.82 avg = 74.06 Then I made ALL of the above changes and ran Speedometer 2.0 three more times -- 74.14 74.11 73.41 avg = 73.89 slower (but not enough to exceed margin-of-error)

Wow! Huge list. I guess I was hoping for a "few". For me, the vanishing text is rare enough (once only every two weeks or so), so I think I'll just stick with exiting-and-relaunching when I encounter the vanishing text.

TV commercial featuring (pos predatory misleading) Joe Namath. The commercial sounds like a hoax. Medicare coverage isn't tied to a "zip code", why is this TV commercial making it sound like a "lottery", that "you win if your zip code qualifies" ??? Then I found this -- https://justcareusa.org/the-medicare-advantage-scam-and-beyond/

Any luck with coming up with a combination where text doesn't vanish?

re: lawmakers who are more often than not poorly educated, technology-wise, and poorly aware of the consequences closed, proprietary systems have on the economy and society. No offense, but "closed, proprietary systems" are NEVER going to be made "illegal". And most forget, even monopolies are LEGAL (here in the US) - they are only illegal "if they are established or maintained through improper conduct". Not to be confused with "proprietary specifications", which are prohibited by most federal agencies (here in the US).