Extensions and custom buttons for UXP browsers - Corrections, modifications, adjustments, and special recommendations

[AstroSkipper]

And so that you don't get the impression that everything in the Pale Moon forum is hostile and unfair, here's a post from back2themoon, the creator of the thread "New uBlock Origin version released (Special mod by @AstroSkipper)", who has something positive and factual to say about my mod uBlock Origin Legacy: 

Quote

I'd agree there's a lot of unneeded discussion here. This thread was mostly meant as a heads-up but of course, everyone is free to voice their opinions.

I will disagree with the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" part. It was broke(n). The fixing of the Malware domains section alone is totally worth it. The rest of the improvements are always welcome. Not everyone will want to research into filterlists.com to locate proper, correct lists. Not as simple a task as it may look, especially with the marginalized uBO Legacy version.

So, this mod by AstroSkipper is currently the best "set-and-forget" option available to us. The previous version is not, and essential protection will be missing by default.

Source: https://forum.palemoon.org/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=30787&sid=feea3eb912a653ba49c1fb3c2bc447f3&start=60#p248386

Many thanks to back2themoon for this fair and factual contribution! 

Edited February 7 by AstroSkipper
Update of content

[AstroSkipper]

Restart & Purge - A custom button for restarting the browser and, if necessary, purging the startup cache, created by AstroSkipper

As I have already reported in @roytam1's browser thread, I have been investigating the restart behaviour of New Moon 28 and Serpent 52 (and also Mypal 68, but this is off-topic here) for some time with a focus on the startup cache. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find much useful information or documentation on this topic on the internet. Even my request in @roytam1's browser thread also went unanswered (addendum: in the meanwhile, @VistaLover has replied here. Thanks again for that! ). It seems that detailed information or knowledge about the startup cache and how the browser restart affects this cache is practically non-existent. The startup cache seems to be a replacement for the former Fastload. It resides in the profile directory to store continuous chunks of data in it. In my New Moon 28 installation, without using the custom folder chrome for scripts and CSS stylesheets, only one file resides there with the name startupCache.4.little. As both, the folder and file name, contain the string startupcache, one can conclude that data is stored inside this file to accelerate the startup of the browser. Which data exactly I really don't know.  I didn't find any meaningful documentation. I noticed that very often or in most cases the startup cache was cleared or reorganised automatically without any additional commands when restarting the browser. Sometimes, however, it remained unchanged after a restart. At least, I could find the code responsible for purging the startup cache.  Anyway! One thing is clear. If the data in the startup cache is corrupted, then starting problems can occur which only can be solved by deleting its content.
 
This can be done, for example, manually or by the commandline option -purgecaches. But there is no button or item to start this purge of the startup cache in a convenient way from within the UXP browsers. That's why I created a custom button for this purpose in JavaScript (rather a variant of JavaSript), the programming language used for creating new custom buttons by the extension Custom Buttons. I branded this custom button Restart & Purge. It performes a normal restart when left-clicked and additionally purges the startup cache when middle-clicked. After creation I have tested this custom button over a longer period of time, and it works for me as it should.
Here is a small screenshot of my custom button Restart & Purge and its tooltip taken from New Moon 28:



As the code of Restart & Purge has to be initialised, you won't find it in the tab "Code" but in the tab "Initialization code" of this custom button. Here is a screenshot of its code:



The former download links unfortunately contained an XML backup file of the Restart & Purge custom button which either couldn't be installed without additional editing or some characters were not transferred correctly. The problem has to do with the conversion of custom buttons into XML format, where the tool I had used did not work correctly. This time I therefore provide a custom button link for direct install (when the extension Custom Buttons is already installed, of course ). Copy the quoted link below and open it in a new browser tab:

I can't insert the code of the link in this post! The MSFN forum editor is totally broken and hasn't been working properly for months especially when it comes to inserting of links. This has already reported multiple times! Well done, who is responsible for it!

Due to the shortcomings of the MSFN forum editor, I uploaded the custom button link of Restart & Purge as an HTML file. Here is the download link: https://www.mediafire.com/file/nrqim7ek9s6gp07/CB_button_Restart_%26_Purge.html/file
Simply open this HTML file in a browser tab and click the embedded custom button link for Restart & Purge! For the installation of this button, the extension Custom Buttons is required which you can get from this post: https://msfn.org/board/topic/183923-extensions-and-custom-buttons-for-uxp-browsers-corrections-modifications-adjustments-and-special-recommendations/?do=findComment&comment=1226328
And since the legacy Custom Buttons extension runs in the UXP browsers, my custom button Restart & Purge can be used in New Moon 28, Serpent 52, Pale Moon and some other browsers.

Greetings, AstroSkipper

Edited March 11 by AstroSkipper
Update of content

[AstroSkipper]

Update of uBlock Origin Legacy to version 1.16.4.33

I have again updated my special mod uBlock Origin Legacy from version 1.16.4.32 to version 1.16.4.33. I fixed the loading errors of the filter list "Online Malicious URL Blocklist (AdGuard)" which only occur from time to time. Furthermore, I found some further strings which I edited according to the extension's name change performed in version 1.16.4.32. And I added new filter lists to different groups. The "StevenBlack/hosts" filter lists are very strong and restrictive. So in some cases, you have to set exclusions when using them. Here is a screenshot taken from the dashboard tab "Filter lists" of uBlock Origin 1.16.4.33 in New Moon 28:



The filter lists outlined in green are the ones I have added in this release.

A detailed changelog and the download link of uBlock Origin Legacy 1.16.4.33 can be found in my main article uBlock Origin Legacy - A special mod by @AstroSkipper.

Greetings from Germany, AstroSkipper

Edited February 24 by AstroSkipper
Update of content

[AstroSkipper]

I have again tested my new release uBlock Origin Legacy 1.16.4.33 regarding how effective the filter lists selected by me and some self-created filters are. Here are my results in New Moon 28 on two adblocker test sites without using any other content blockers:





The release uBlock Origin Legacy 1.16.4.33 is fully working, and its performance is great from what I could see so far.

Cheers, AstroSkipper

Edited February 24 by AstroSkipper
correction

[Amigafever]

Thank you for the new version, AstroSkipper!

I updated from 1.16.4.32 but the new lists did not appear. Full uninstall (deleting ublock0.sqlite) and reinstall made them appear. I guess this is expected?

[AstroSkipper]

4 hours ago, Amigafever said:

Thank you for the new version, AstroSkipper!

You're welcome! 

4 hours ago, Amigafever said:

I updated from 1.16.4.32 but the new lists did not appear. Full uninstall (deleting ublock0.sqlite) and reinstall made them appear. I guess this is expected?

That is of course to be expected. And I mentioned that several times.  Here is a quotation from my main article:

On 1/21/2024 at 5:51 PM, AstroSkipper said:

Finally, an important recommendation to get the new installation of uBlock Origin Legacy working properly and flawlessly. Do not update your existing installation of uBlock Origin by installing on top! This will not work correctly. After uninstalling the previous version (yes, the old version has to be uninstalled ), delete all remnants via about:config and in your profile folder! The remnants of previous versions of uBlock Origin can either be easily removed by the extension eCleaner or of course manually. And in your profile folder, there is a file in the subfolder extension-data called ublock0.sqlite which has to be removed manually in any case. Delete the browser cache, too!  If doing so, the updating of the filter lists will work like a charm after installing the new version. 
All users who have important, individual settings or rules should backup them before uninstalling the extension and cleaning their profile folder. On the dashboard page, there is an item called "Back up to file"" to save all user's settings via uBlock itself. If you only want to backup your custom filters, custom rules or trusted sites, go to the tabs "My filters", "My rules" or "Trusted sites" and export them respectively to a file!

BTW, I usually performed this kind of update process even with the old, original versions of uBlock Origin. For me, installing on top never worked really properly  and caused every now and then problems in the case of uBO in the past. 

Cheers, AstroSkipper 

Edited February 24 by AstroSkipper
Update of content

[Amigafever]

19 minutes ago, AstroSkipper said:

That is of course to be expected. And I mentioned that several times. 

Ok, thanks. I thought that was only to be done once, for upgrading from 1.16.4.30. Good to know.

[AstroSkipper]

FYI, I mentioned eCleaner, an extension for purging the browser's profile folder, in my main article about uBlock Origin Legacy. All about eCleaner and my corresponding, self-created eCleaner custom button can be found in my article eCleaner custom button created by AstroSkipper for the extension Preferences Monitor. BTW, a longer time ago, I also created a standalone version of eCleaner 2.5 which actually was only distributed embedded via the extension Preferences Monitor. The last original, standalone version was eCleaner 1.4 from 2011. And many thanks to back2themoon and Blacklab from the Pale Moon forum for the additional hints and information in their posts about my mod uBlock Origin Legacy and the eCleaner extension! 
Cave canem! Sed eCleaner cavendum non est! 

Cheers, AstroSkipper 

Edited February 27 by AstroSkipper
Update of content

[nicolaasjan]

On 2/23/2024 at 10:08 PM, AstroSkipper said:

I have again updated my special mod uBlock Origin Legacy from version 1.16.4.32 to version 1.16.4.33. I fixed the loading errors of the filter list

Thanks!

Quote

The "StevenBlack/hosts" filter lists are very strong and restrictive. So in some cases, you have to set exclusions when using them.

I had that list enabled in the distant past, but it is indeed very restrictive and will cause false positives.

(see e.g. this old issue in the uMatrix repo)

It currently has 161.498 entries! I don't think that's beneficial, especially on older hardware...

Also, the maintainer is known to block domains based on his personal opinion (mostly in his additional lists)...

[AstroSkipper]

2 hours ago, nicolaasjan said:

On 2/23/2024 at 10:08 PM, AstroSkipper said:

I have again updated my special mod uBlock Origin Legacy from version 1.16.4.32 to version 1.16.4.33. I fixed the loading errors of the filter list

Thanks!

You're welcome! 

2 hours ago, nicolaasjan said:

Quote

The "StevenBlack/hosts" filter lists are very strong and restrictive. So in some cases, you have to set exclusions when using them.

I had that list enabled in the distant past, but it is indeed very restrictive and will cause false positives.

(see e.g. this old issue in the uMatrix repo)

It currently has 161.498 entries! I don't think that's beneficial, especially on older hardware...

Also, the maintainer is known to block domains based on his personal opinion (mostly in his additional lists)...

I decided to add these two "StevenBlack/hosts" filter lists to cater for those who prefer a more restrictive and comprehensive approach to address blocking. In general, I agree with you. His filter lists sometimes overshoot the mark. 

[nicolaasjan]

Btw, have you seen that the update is also announced in the Pale Moon forum thread?

[AstroSkipper]

7 minutes ago, nicolaasjan said:

Btw, have you seen that the update is also announced in the Pale Moon forum thread?

Yes.  That's why I already wrote in a previous post:

11 hours ago, AstroSkipper said:

And many thanks to back2themoon and Blacklab from the Pale Moon forum for the additional hints and information in their posts about my mod uBlock Origin Legacy and the eCleaner extension! 
Cave canem! Sed eCleaner cavendum non est! 

[MilkChan]

On 2/24/2024 at 8:04 AM, AstroSkipper said:

I have again tested my new release uBlock Origin Legacy 1.16.4.33 regarding how effective the filter lists selected by me and some self-created filters are. Here are my results in New Moon 28 on two adblocker test sites without using any other content blockers:





The release uBlock Origin Legacy 1.16.4.33 is fully working, and its performance is great from what I could see so far.

Cheers, AstroSkipper

Thank you for your update.
I really like your UBO update.
Now I use Windows XP to mainly watch movies, listen to music and YouTube.
I immediately clicked to see. where you have updates

[AstroSkipper]

52 minutes ago, MilkChan said:

Thank you for your update.
I really like your UBO update.
Now I use Windows XP to mainly watch movies, listen to music and YouTube.
I immediately clicked to see. where you have updates

You're welcome! Glad to hear you like it. 

[nicolaasjan]

Have you read this?