MadBlocker
Security and privacy
ad blocker
SHOW HN2015
How HN took it
4 positive, 14 neutral or asking, 0 mixed, 7 critical, out of 25 comments about the project. Thread score -0.14.
Idea: 2 for, 2 againstExecution: 0 for, 3 againstPerformance: 1 for, 0 againstPrivacy: 0 for, 1 againstPricing: 0 for, 1 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Clever approach and useful on mobile
From 2 comments
Really clever! Hope this sticks around.
archagon on HNThank you - this is a wonderful thing to have on mobile. I hate going from my home wifi, where I use squid guard + blacklists, onto LTE. This seems to catch most of the crud and…
phubbard on HN
Objections
Doesn't work in iOS 9 beta for one commenter
From 2 comments
Doesn't seem to work in iOS9 (at least for me). Enabled ad blocking - went to mashable.com got ads as per…
iwillreply on HNI hadn't, but just tried restarting safari, restarting device, and clearing safari history/data - and still having the same output. * I'm completely fine with this being the…
iwillreply on HN
Root certificate and VPN profile raise security concerns
From 2 comments
Why is your App trying to install a root certificate alongside the VPN settings? Is that certificate unique per device?
fkistner on HNAllright, makes sense. But does it not mean that you could basically spoof any secure connection (provided you could establish a man-in-the-middle)? Just wondering, since the VPN…
fkistner on HN
Closed source, so traffic routing cannot be verified
From 2 comments
How can a user confirm that their traffic isn't set to be sent over the vpn?
lawnchair_larry on HNThat's a valid question, and it is always the challenge of closed-source software; it's a black box. So you either have to trust me, or you could have your iPhone connect to a…
tomkinstinch on HN
Performance slowdown with large block lists
From 2 comments
Can you explain a little more how this works? Can specific requests be routed to a specific connection in iOS, at the device level? If it's a "hack", won't the possibility be…
bambax on HNMinimal with the regular block list, noticeable with the "mega" or Privacy Protection lists. See my comment here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10066131
tomkinstinch on HN
May be rejected by Apple or break against API terms
From 2 comments
I'm surprised Apple allowed this through the App Store. I suspect you'll get rejected later this year when iOS 9 is released for duplicating a system feature.
mikhailt on HNLooks interesting. I agree that I am concerned regarding the future of the app and how it affects Apple's API /ToS. To everyone wanting to check validity it should be pretty easy…
an4rchy on HN
Requests
Data showing page load and battery benefits
From 2 comments
I'd really need some data to be convinced. e.g. videos showing popular pages loading quicker, load times measured and compared, CPU etc. Like this one:…
jafitc on HNYou could quantitatively test battery then.
jafitc on HN
Support for Chrome and other apps with own networking
From 1 comment
It's only a hack in the sense that is using the VPN system in a way that it was not originally intended. It is only using documented public iOS APIs. To answer your request in…
tomkinstinch on HN
Free trial
From 1 comment
How come no free trial?
aakilfernandes on HN
Questions
How does VPN On Demand route requests locally?
From 1 comment
Can you explain a little more how this works? Can specific requests be routed to a specific connection in iOS, at the device level? If it's a "hack", won't the possibility be…
bambax on HN
Why a root certificate is installed
From 1 comment
Why is your App trying to install a root certificate alongside the VPN settings? Is that certificate unique per device?
fkistner on HN
Can both ad and privacy blocking be enabled?
From 1 comment
It seems to only let me enable either ad blocking or privacy blocking. How can I do both?
PatentTroll on HN
Alternatives named
Disconnect Kids
From 2 comments
I think there's been an App in the AppStore (since a long time) that uses the same technique: "Disconnect Kids By Disconnect"…
DavideNL on HNDisconnect Kids which uses the same technique has been in the App Store for a long time...: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/disconnect-kids/id671080655?mt=8
DavideNL on HN
Weblock
From 1 comment
using a dummy proxy is another approach to this problem. This is how Weblock works, which I'm pretty happy with. It seems to have almost no overhead on the device, though it only…
krrrh on HN
uBlock
From 1 comment
I'd really need some data to be convinced. e.g. videos showing popular pages loading quicker, load times measured and compared, CPU etc. Like this one:…
jafitc on HN