uBlock Origin will no longer let me change site permissions

[Diosoth]

Typically when opening the uBlock Origin window you get a list of all domains on the page. These can be manually adjusted to allow/deny domains. Usually. As of about 2 days ago this feature stopped working. I updated Waterfox Classic and uBlock today, the feature is still broken. If I can't fix this then I have to do without as it's impossible to use many websites if I can't manually allow domains to work.

Typically green, yellow & red icons show beside domains, as seen here those no longer show.

 

[file3456]

Question: Just prior to this happening, did you install another add-on?

Try manually deleting the uBlock Origin add-on and adding it back again. Remember to backup your settings via its backup feature.

If things with uBlock Origin are still a la BS, I suspect the prefs.js file to be messed up. If so, I can tell you how to restore it via a shadow copy (if shadow copies are actively being maintained). Or, if you have some other clone of the computer or what ever, that'd be a source. The prefs.js file are all your about:config settings. This file can be read and manipulated via Notepad ++. Just ensure there's a backup before monkeying with it.

Something else. In your browser's profile folder under AppData | Roaming you'll find a folder called extension-data. In there are files related to uBlock Origin. Backup those and delete them after removing uBlock Origin. You can view these sqlite files with the program DB Browser (SQLite).

 

[Diosoth]

Question: Just prior to this happening, did you install another add-on?

No.

Try manually deleting the uBlock Origin add-on and adding it back again. Remember to backup your settings via its backup feature.

I had to do that to update it, as trying when the old copy was installed did nothing

If things with uBlock Origin are still a la BS, I suspect the prefs.js file to be messed up. If so, I can tell you how to restore it via a shadow copy (if shadow copies are actively being maintained). Or, if you have some other clone of the computer or what ever, that'd be a source. The prefs.js file are all your about:config settings. This file can be read and manipulated via Notepad ++. Just ensure there's a backup before monkeying with it.

I have an SSD clone from last month I can grab it from. FWIW yesterday NoScript randomly chose to block ebay.com for no reason. Maybe a BTS update that randomly blacklisted the site by mistake? No idea. I wonder if Waterfox Classic is also the problem, maybe support is slowly being silently dropped by companies(if they ever officially supported it). It does seem to have more and more issues with random websites as time goes on.

 

[file3456]

I think I now know what the issue is. Waterfox classic uses the old tried and true XUL code for add-ons, much like what my browser uses called Pale Moon. While I'm not sure why a feature just stopped working in an old XUL coded version of uBlock Origin, if you want the latest uBlock Origin you may have to go here. Not sure why Justoff doesn't mention it at his Github page here. If Waterfox is anything like Seamonkey or Pale Moon, check out Justoff's Classic Add-ons Archive there in the link.

Note: a Quick Google search said Waterfox classic used XUL. I guess there's a new version of Waterfox like today's BS Firefox and Chromium derivatives that all use security plagued WebExtension code. You can read about what I had to say about that here at my website.

As far as NoScript, I'm afraid that isn't XUL coded. Why it's now acting up as well as uBlock Origin seems to me some kind of corruption in the browser. Could even go so far as memory corruption or hard drive corruption, but I have my doubts on that. What is a BTS update?

Alternatives to NoScript can be had at PaleMoon's website, but I don't know if they'll work in Waterfox classic due to the install file. I might be able to make it work by editing the extension though if it doesn't.

To be quite honest with you about NoScript, I used to use it back in my Firefox days and swore by it as a first layer of security before my anti-virus. But over time it became more and more cumbersome as webpages continued to use more and more third-party scripts and what not just for the basics of functionality. And that's despite me whitelisting 2nd level domains or what ever NoScript called it. I even donated to the project. Though, NoScript still offers certain things that are very useful. Especially helping protect one from a malicious JS file that grabs your password if that JS file was uploaded to a hacked server. Then there was ABE and Clickjacking protection. (And just going back at the documentation, it looks like yet again the "wonderful" WebExtension code messed things up. What's ABE?) ABE has been assassinated

Today I use something different in lieu of NoScript. I sandbox all my browsers using the now free and open source Sandboxie. Though, I configure things in Sandboxie in such a way that only certain files and directories that are needed for write permission by the browser are permitted. Anything else that tries to write or pull from the hard drive outside of the sandbox should be denied. I even run Keepass (a password manager) in Sandboxie so that I primarily can cut off all network activity should something try to grab the i/o of Keepass. I also use Bitwarden.

I find through my use of uBlock Origin (a wide spectrum blocker) with custom added blocks and Sandboxie, I have at least stepped up the game for privacy and security as best as I can (absent of the ol' Intel Management Engine BS).

You can download Firefox portable, Chrome Portable, or Pale Moon Portable and run each in Sandboxie and have several for certain purposes. There's even UnGoogled Chromium. I have that installed for a plain vanilla browser with no add-ons added for sites that refuse to work in Pale Moon or testing my website. I tested UnGoogled Chromium for any telemetry a year or two ago and didn't see anything calling home to the Google mother ship in a network packet sniffer. It is very plain vanilla, but it's Chromium none the less. But refrain from adding any add-ons to it. The moment you do the gig is up.

In addition to uBlock Origin, you might be interested in NextDNS. They offer lists that you might be familiar with in uBlock Origin as well as many other DNS filtering feathers such as security related filtering and DoH (DNS Over HTTPS). I am testing NextDNS right now and have since disabled certain Ad blocking lists in uBlock Origin since I don't need them enabled while using DNS level filtering unless I use a VPN. There's also Pi-hole for the Raspberry Pi SBC (Single Board Computer). While alright, again it'll probably fail on a VPN connection if the DNS quires are encapsulated over the VPN. That's where software Ad blocking comes in at lie the aforementioned uBlock Origin.

Going further, check out the very capable Pfsense. And you can interface a Pi-hole to Pfsense. Setup Pihole To Work With Pfsense (On Any Hardware) and To Redirect All DNS Traffic Back to Pihole | Coy Geek


Anyway... LOL Backup your Waterfox profile and try and copy/paste the cloned profile to it. Or at least start with just a backup of the prefs.js file. It seems like there's browser corruption somewhere. You should be able to invoke safe mode for the browser by pressing and holding the Shift key and launching the browser at the same time.

 

[Diosoth]

BTS = behind the scenes. They usually grab list updates & such on their own.

I've ruled out HDD errors & malware. No time yet to tinker with getting the backup out, though as Noscript usually updates itself but didn't, I suspect an issue with the current version somehow damaged the plugin during an attempted update. Either way, I've also noticed funny things such as random websites being whitelisted yet other major sites, such as Mayo Clinic, being blocked. I may just abandon it & stick with Noscript- as for that random eBay blocking, I've noticed it is very easy to click on & block a domain if you so much as hover the mouse over the icon, even by accident.

But I may also switch browser too, as I think anything based on Firefox 56 is going to have more & more troubles actually being online as time goes on. As it is I have to have User Agent Switcher running so a lot of websites will function at all, otherwise they detect it as Firefox 56 & won't work. My only real reason to stick with this has been the classic theme.

 

[Diosoth]

I ran sfc /scannow & got a few notes of corrupt files it couldn't repair. I can't really make sense of the report though. I wonder if some of this is due to recent power outages, which didn't damage the SSD but may have goofed some files(this happened early in the year with my Win 10 PC, a brief outage damaged startup files).

I think the easiest solution would be to switch over to the other SSD with the copy, then plug this SSD in as a tertiary drive to copy over the few files I need- browser history, passwords, cookies, bookmarks. Skyrim save folder. Update the MapleStory client to current. Not much, as 99% of my content goes on my HDD E: drive. Then wipe & use this drive to make an updated clone when I'm satisfied it's all working.

Though I really need to work on getting my Win10 PC going- copy all backup data I want to E:. install programs, try to find stable NVidia drivers, then use that as my main PC. Sad fact is, this hardware setup isn't going to be adequate for much longer.

 

[file3456]

Yeah... I've heard on many tech forums for years and years that an abrupt power outage hosed over one's computer or data. It's why I use a good, reputable UPS for my desktop. Laptops already use a battery so if power goes out it won't be a catastrophe.

A UPS is an Uninterruptible Power Supply. I have one made by Cyberpower. Depending on how much computer gear you have plugged into will determine how long the battery gives you so that you can safely power off the computer rather than an abrupt loss of power which could damage the computer. Mine gives me about nine minutes to safely turn off the computer. More than enough time. A UPS also has a USB connection so that it can send a signal to the computer to turn it off. But I don't use it and don't trust it. And I know for a fact ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface) can be problematic and not trustworthy.

Your hard drive might be the issue. SFC /scannow errors show up all the time so I don't consider it a strong indicator of that yet. You can try just reading the SMART data first with Crystal Disk Info. SMART isn't a reliable source of data, but it's a start. Then move on to something like HD Tune, Hard Disk Drive Sentinel, and the hard drive testing tools in the live bootable Hiren's Boot CD PE. Your best tool would be the hard drive manufacture's if they have one. If the drive checks out through multiple testing tools, then move on to testing the RAM. Bad RAM can write bad data to disk. I use the live bootable Memtest86. Windows has a built-in memory checker, I just roll Memetest. Not the Memtest 86+ version. The + version I think is outdated. Let Memtest run all the way though. Could take overnight. If Memtest finds any error, even one small error, then you'll want to test one memory stick at a time until you find the problematic stick. Just start with all of them first or you'll be at it till the end of time and space.

How I like to boot bootable OS's is with Ventoy. Just fire up Ventoy to format the USB stick of adequate size and then simply copy/paste the ISO files of Hiren's and Memtest to the USB stick. Ventoy takes care of executing them straight away upon booting from the BIOS/UEFI boot screen. If you have more than one ISO file on the USB stick, Ventoy's menu should provide a numbered options screen for what OS you'd like to boot.

Stuff like Rufus or Balena Etcher is all or nothing.

Side note: You can use WinToUSB to write your current installed OS to USB or another USB hard drive for booting. Now you have a testing environment...

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I rarely heard anyone use the word "tertiary." Very good choice of verbiage there. At one time I had remembered the primary and secondary colors, but tertiary? HA! Forgetaboutit. Just too many. HAHA