Gregory's Server@halfbit_ @sponsorblock I think you're underestimating how asymmetric this fight is. They already obfuscate their JS, but it doesn't help. You can simply run their js, obfuscation and all, in a sandbox. Google has to spend weeks of engineering to design and test a change, while all uBO needs to do is to make it look to the javascript like the ad played, something they can do in minutes or hours thanks to the web being an open platform. This is the computer science equivalent of guerilla warfare.
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@jaseg @halfbit_ @sponsorblock they have web environment integrity, secure boot and widevine on their side
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15 Oct 2023 at 6:57 | Open on social.immibis.com
@jaseg @halfbit_ @sponsorblock it's absolutely internet guerilla warfare, and guerillas win because they are nimble, but we have to also remember that they have internet nukes and they will not hesitate to glass the whole region if it's advantageous to them, so it's not so easy to assume the guerillas will win.
@jaseg @sponsorblock I hope you are right. But... 1) Obfuscation works. Copy protection on computer games take weeks to crack (and those have a much smaller % of CPU to waste). Google can roll out new stuff faster than we can RE it. 2) Our timing is different from non-adblocking people. Sure, maybe the user skipped over a boring part etc. But aggregating all data, you can surely bin users into two camps. And then deny ad-supported YT to all accounts linked to your cellphone number.  @halfbit_ @sponsorblock I agree that statistical signals will clearly tell apart ad-blocking and ad-victim users. Tbh I never use Youtube logged in, and I think it would be a very bad thing for both sides of this if they ever required login. @halfbit_ @jaseg @sponsorblock There are advantages and disadvantages on both sides. It's a cat and mouse game that I suppose neither side can *reliably* win, but both sides can keep taking back from the other, if they keep trying. Google is better funded, but that cuts both ways - its employees are ONLY there to get a paycheck.
 @halfbit_ @jaseg @sponsorblock worst case adblocks will still always work if you're willing to accept a black box over the video with no sound when the ad would have been playing. The browser addon has control over rendering and can let the website do whatever it wants including loading the ad and let all it's scripts run, but this doesn't need to reach the user's display. |