1 recommendation |
what to unblock in noscriptApparently, noscript can make many sites mostly or completely dysfunctional, so I need to unblock lots of stuff.
What exactly is "google-analytics.com" doing? I see it in many places (many wa.gov sites, for one) and I'm not sure if it's for ads, for search functionality, or for something else.
Should I unblock it, or leave it blocked?
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BlitzenZeusBurnt Out Cynic Premium Member join:2000-01-13
1 recommendation |
It's one of the first sites I block, and it's merely for google's tracking purposes.
You can make it easier, have it allow by default, and block as you go, however I suggest you pair that with flashblock, otherwise certain addons set to ask. It's always going to be trial, and error with some sites. If you change to allow all in it's options under embeddings check forbid frame, and forbid iframe, if you're set to block by default those can be bad.
If you want an easier solution use another extension like ghostery, etc.. Noscript won't tell you want you need to allow, and I've seen sites with dozens of other sites running frames/scripts. Using more than one extension might cause annoyances, and having to permit something in both. |
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to aurgathor
I have it blocked for every website. I think I only ran into one site that didn't work with it blocked. |
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19579823 (banned)An Awesome Dude join:2003-08-04
1 recommendation |
to aurgathor
quote: Apparently, noscript can make many sites mostly or completely dysfunctional, so I need to unblock lots of stuff.
Yes which im thankfull all sites I goto regurally work 100% w/o scripts... (I have them disabled globally) When i goto sites like tinypic.com I have to enable them.. |
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to Ken1943
Re: what to unblock in noscriptsaid by Ken1943:I have it blocked for every website. I think I only ran into one site that didn't work with it blocked. There are a couple like that. Sites either belong to or are sponsored by Google or Android. Since I use an Android phone, I find them. Turn on Analytics, and revoke permissions, close browser (removes everything) when done. If I do allow, it's only temporary allow. Never permanent. |
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PrntRhd Premium Member join:2004-11-03 Fairfield, CA |
to 19579823
Re: said by 19579823:quote: Apparently, noscript can make many sites mostly or completely dysfunctional, so I need to unblock lots of stuff.
Yes which im thankfull all sites I goto regurally work 100% w/o scripts... (I have them disabled globally) When i goto sites like tinypic.com I have to enable them.. So when one of your trusted sites gets an SQL injection you won't know it is infected? Not great advice. |
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PrntRhd |
to aurgathor
Re: what to unblock in noscriptI block it, also doubleclick and its aliases. |
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to PrntRhd
Re: I use NoScript and Ghostery, I've never had the need to unblock Google Analytics on the sites I go to.
NoScript does make a lot of sites unfunctional. If I feel it is worth it (like when I want to see the video or the content on a particular site) I will unblock some of the site. Sometimes there are so many I have to just temporarily allow all. Often I decide I just don't really need to see that site. When I see a site with 10 scripts and 15 trackers (in Ghostery) I say WTF, and just move on. I've never had to unblock anything in Ghostery. |
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to aurgathor
Re: what to unblock in noscriptsaid by aurgathor:Apparently, noscript can make many sites mostly or completely dysfunctional, so I need to unblock lots of stuff. I distinguish between "temporary unblock" and "whitelist" (permanently unblock). I whitelist relatively few sites. I whitelist sites such as dslreports that I often use. I don't whitelist sites that I infrequently visit. For "temporary unblock" I recommend being fairly generous. If a site seems to need unblock to work, just give it a temporary unblock. Generally speaking, the really bad scripts are not at the sites I visit. Rather, they are in the advertisements loaded by those sites. So allowing the site itself is low risk. Allowing "everything on this page" may be a higher risk. I periodically revoke temporary permissions, usually when sitting on an empty tab. If I run into a site that totally doesn't work, then I first ask myself if I really want to use that site. If I still want to use it, then I'll "allow scripts globally". But then I must remember to turn that off when I'm finished at the site. I sometimes run into sites that won't work with "flashblock". For those, I open the add-ons page in a tab, click the "preferences" button for "flashblock" and uncheck the "enable flashblock" option. I recheck that box when I'm done with the site. |
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to aurgathor
what to unblock? if necessary, you "allow" scripting on the website that you are using.. it is pretty simple..
for example, if you are using the "youtube.com" webpage and you want to "allow" scripting on "youtube.com", you "allow" scripting on "youtube.com"..
one good thing about "noscript" is that it is very simple to use..
sometimes, you might need to "allow" more that one domain, for a webpage.. for example, at "youtube.com", you also need to allow scripting for "ytimg.com", which is associated with "youtube.com"..
another example would be "zdnet.com".. if you were wanting to allow scripting for "zdnet.com", you probably would also want to allow scripting for "zdnetstatic.com", which is associated with "zdnet.com"..
you don't really need to concern yourself with what to "allow" except when it is necessary in order to get something on the webpage to work, like if you are wanting to post comments at the webpage, or if you are wanting to watch videos at the webpage.. you don't have to "allow" everything, just "allow" what is necessary in order for the webpage to function as it should, for what you are wanting to do..
in most cases, allow-ing scripting is not needed-unless you are wanting to do something like posting comments, or watching videos.. |
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EUSKill cancer Premium Member join:2002-09-10 canada
1 recommendation |
to aurgathor
the worst is news sites that look like you need to enable the parent site, and after doing so, the site still won't work, but noscripts list has grown to 20+ domains that want to run scripts. I do not return to sites like that. BTW, a good hosts file takes care of many issues as well. |
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to redwolfe_98
Agree with redwolfe, I block everything and allow things temporarily as I need them. You get to know what to allow in order for pages to work as required. Works for me anyway! |
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to EUS
EUS, i agree.. some webpages seem like a pain to use, they have so many domains that are incorporated into them.. still, it usually isn't really an issue unless one is wanting to do something like post comments, or view videos, on those webpages..
one website that i am having an issue with is "infoworld.com", which really isn't an issue except when it comes to my wanting to post comments, there..
another website that i have issues with is "time.com".. |
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NetFixerFrom My Cold Dead Hands Premium Member join:2004-06-24 The Boro Netgear CM500 Pace 5268AC TRENDnet TEW-829DRU
1 edit |
to aurgathor
said by aurgathor:What exactly is "google-analytics.com" doing? I see it in many places (many wa.gov sites, for one) and I'm not sure if it's for ads, for search functionality, or for something else.
Should I unblock it, or leave it blocked? The screen shot below of the NoScript blocked sites for this site should suffice as my answer to that question.
The only purpose of any Google owned domain is to track you on the Internet, and the only Google owned domain I don't keep blocked (both in NoScript and in my DNS server) is google.com (and I very seldom use that). Speaking of DNS blocking, shown below is what happens if any device on my network attempts to access google-analytics.com (if they are not using a browser with NoScript): C:\>nslookup google-analytics.com
Server: 192.168.9.2
Address: 192.168.9.2#53
*** Can't find google-analytics.com: No answer
C:\>nslookup www.google-analytics.com
Server: 192.168.9.2
Address: 192.168.9.2#53
** server can't find www.google-analytics.com: NXDOMAIN
This is accomplished by taking ownership of google-analytics.com and simply not assigning any A records. This works for any dangerous or otherwise unwanted domain, and unlike using a hosts file, it covers all sub-domains (hostnames) for that primary domain:
; ; Database file google-analytics.com.dns for google-analytics.com zone. ; Zone version: 1 ;
@ IN SOA dcs-srv.dcs-net.lan. hostmaster.dcs-net.lan. ( 1 ; serial number 900 ; refresh 600 ; retry 86400 ; expire 3600 ) ; default TTL
; ; Zone NS records ;
@ NS dcs-srv.dcs-net.lan.
; ; Zone records ;
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to aurgathor
I always block Google Analytics unless I absolutely need it. The search function on some sites won't work unless it is allowed. I then decide how bad I want to search that site or sometimes find another way to do the search. If I do allow it, it's only temporary and I revoke temporary permissions as soon as I'm finished with that site. Unless you allow everything, NoScript is hands-on and is not for everybody. But if you do that, what's the point of using it in the first place? Some compromise by finding out what they need and trust for the sites they frequently use and allow only that. I block everything by default. You can learn a lot that way. I have rarely had to unblock lots of stuff, sometimes just the main script (the one at the bottom) and occasionally one or two others. redwolfe_98 gave you some pretty good examples of what you might need to unblock. Don't be initmidated by sites that list 15+ domains that want to run scripts. Often you only need to unblock one of them to do what you want. With experience, you will learn which one is the most likely candidate. But you asked about Google Analytics and what it does. Here is what Ghostery's What is Google Analytics page has to say about it. As you can see, it is used for far more than just searching and ads. About us: » www.google.com/intl/en/a ··· uct.htmlWebsite: » www.google.com/intl/en/a ··· dex.htmlPrivacy policy: » www.google.com/intl/en/p ··· privacy/Data Collected: Anonymous (Ad Views, Analytics, Browser Information, Cookie Data , Date/Time, Demographic Data, Hardware/Software Type, Interaction Data , Page Views , Serving Domains) Pseudonymous (IP Address (EU PII), Search History, Location Based Data, Device ID (EU PII)) PII (Phone Number) Data Sharing: Undisclosed Data Retention: Undisclosed |
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to aurgathor
BTW - Yahoo also has an analytics showing up on NoScript now. I've seen it on Groups at times. It's blocked. Just mentioning since Yahoo is now or soon will be default search engine in FX. Usually all you have to block is Yahoo, and yimg. |
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19579823 (banned)An Awesome Dude join:2003-08-04 1 edit |
19579823 (banned)
Member
2014-Dec-21 11:17 am
If I use IE directly I can see the cookie manager in action and I have 3rd party cookies blocked and I cant believe how much is blocked on every site I goto!!!! (Usually I use MyIE2 however and I cannot view the cookie manager thru MyIE2 but stuff is still blocked I just cant see the manager per site (With how good MyIE2 is,I cant believe that was left off)) |
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Re: what to unblock in noscriptWhat does "ajax.googleapis.com" do, or used for? |
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Kilroy MVM join:2002-11-21 Saint Paul, MN |
to aurgathor
Normally I block everything and then unblock sites I'm interested in, just the site, not the 100 off site scripts they are running. If a feature doesn't work I look at what is being blocked and temporarily unblock the most likely suspect. If the feature works and I'll be using it on a regular basis I make the unblock permanent. Some sites I'll temporarily allow all if it is just a one time thing and I trust the site. |
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DavesnothereChange is NOT Necessarily Progress Premium Member join:2009-06-15 Canada |
to aurgathor
said by aurgathor:What does "ajax.googleapis.com" do, or used for? Not sure, but in ABP, I make custom rules to block anything with Google in the name, including the one you named, except Google's primary domains, .com and .ca If you use any Google services, you may need to unblock some more, but that's as easy to do as to block them, in ABP. |
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Davesnothere |
to Kilroy
said by Kilroy:Normally I block everything and then unblock sites I'm interested in, just the site, not the 100 off site scripts they are running. If a feature doesn't work I look at what is being blocked and temporarily unblock the most likely suspect. If the feature works and I'll be using it on a regular basis I make the unblock permanent. Some sites I'll temporarily allow all if it is just a one time thing and I trust the site. I tend to do that too. |
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to aurgathor
said by aurgathor:What does "ajax.googleapis.com" do, or used for? I unblock that one. API=Application Program Interface. Apparently googleapis is a library of java scripts used by many sites |
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NetFixerFrom My Cold Dead Hands Premium Member join:2004-06-24 The Boro Netgear CM500 Pace 5268AC TRENDnet TEW-829DRU
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NetFixer
Premium Member
2014-Dec-22 5:20 pm
said by nwrickert:said by aurgathor:What does "ajax.googleapis.com" do, or used for? I unblock that one. API=Application Program Interface. Apparently googleapis is a library of java scripts used by many sites Your assessment of its functionality for web site operators is correct, and it can be a great convenience to web site operators; but it comes at a price to web site visitors in the form of cross site tracking by Google (if such things trouble you). The google-analytics site is also marketed to web site operators as strictly a tool for their own use, but it too is used for cross-site tracking by Google. Since there are functions on some sites that won't work without it, googleapis is one of the few Google domains that I don't block with my local DNS server or at the firewall level. However, I do leave it blocked in NoScript and don't do a temporary allow unless some specific web site function I need requires it. This site used to link to googleapis, but I never ran across any site function that did not work with it blocked (and I have noticed lately that this site no longer seem to link to googleapis ). |
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DavesnothereChange is NOT Necessarily Progress Premium Member join:2009-06-15 Canada |
said by NetFixer:said by nwrickert:said by aurgathor:What does "ajax.googleapis.com" do, or used for? I unblock that one. API=Application Program Interface. Apparently googleapis is a library of java scripts used by many sites Your assessment of its functionality for web site operators is correct, and it can be a great convenience to web site operators; but it comes at a price to web site visitors in the form of cross site tracking by Google (if such things trouble you). The google-analytics site is also marketed to web site operators as strictly a tool for their own use, but it too is used for cross-site tracking by Google. Since there are functions on some sites that won't work without it, googleapis is one of the few Google domains that I don't block with my local DNS server or at the firewall level. However, I do leave it blocked in NoScript and don't do a temporary allow unless some specific web site function I need requires it. This site used to link to googleapis, but I never ran across any site function that did not work with it blocked (and I have noticed lately that this site no longer seem to link to googleapis ). I have google-analytics.com blocked in ABP (and it does seem to show a lot of hits, if I'm reading my ABP Custom Filter list correctly). Also in there, I have googleapis.com/various-things blocked on several lines (and not NEAR as many apparent hits), but none blocked which also have 'ajax' in the title. Sites which malfunction with those things blocked are sites which are of little importance to me, so far, and I am only speaking in theory, as I have not found any yet - I don't THINK. |
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NetFixerFrom My Cold Dead Hands Premium Member join:2004-06-24 The Boro Netgear CM500 Pace 5268AC TRENDnet TEW-829DRU
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NetFixer
Premium Member
2014-Dec-22 9:05 pm
said by Davesnothere:Also in there, I have googleapis.com/various-things blocked on several lines (and not NEAR as many apparent hits), but none blocked which also have 'ajax' in the title.
Sites which malfunction with those things blocked are sites which are of little importance to me, so far, and I am only speaking in theory, as I have not found any yet - I don't THINK. One site that I use quite frequently that requires ajax.googleapis.com is my domain registrar and public DNS hosting service: namecheap.com. Some of their control panel type apps and their site navigation menus just don't work without ajax.googleapis.com enabled. I have run into a few other sites, but that one stands out because of how frequently I need to use it. |
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4 edits |
to aurgathor
said by aurgathor:What is "ajax.googleapis.com"? if you do a google-search for "googleapis.com": » developers.google.com/sp ··· devguideif you do a google-search for "ajax": » www.w3schools.com/ajax/said by nwrickert:API=Application Program Interface Apparently googleapis is a library of java scripts, used by many sites "ajax.googleapis.com" is something that i, too, whitelist.. actually, when you install "noscript", "ajax.googleapis.com" is already whitelisted, by default.. "noscript" has several "domains" that are already whitelisted, by default.. i remove all of those, except for "youtube.com", "ytimg.com", and "about:blank", and then add my own permanently whitelisted items, such as "http://ajax.googleapis.com".. here is a screenshot, showing some "domains" that i have permanently whitelisted.. usually, i would have a few more of them, but i recently had to reinstall "noscript" and i haven't yet added back all of the "domains" that i usually have permanently whitelisted.. you can permanently whitelist particular "domains" so that you don't have to "allow" them, over and over, again.. you can permanently whitelist whichever domains you want to, but i try to keep the list of permanently whitelisted "domains" to a minimum, to make it easier to manage, when i check to see if i inadvertently permanently whitelisted something that i didn't want to be permanently whitelisted.. notice that one of the items that is whitelisted is "hXXp://ajax.aspnetcdn.com".. it is used on some of microsoft's "support" webpages.. using "noscript" might seem like a pain, but, if you want your computer to be secure, it is important to restrict javascript, in your browser.. "noscript" makes it relatively easy to restrict javascript, in your browser, while allowing scripting for particular domains, as needed.. having a secure computer comes with some inconvenience, like having to click "allow", in "noscript"..
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