What tools and lists are you using to make the Internet more enjoyable and filter out the crap?

Mostly interested in non-standard ones, e.g. github.com/DandelionSprout/adfilt. Not necessarily just about ad-blocking but a clean online experience like SponsorBlock. Interested in non-standard uBO lists as well.

I will try to compile a list of what was said here:

TheAnonymouseJoker, (edited )
@TheAnonymouseJoker@lemmy.ml avatar

Everyone seems to be posting technical, but not philosophical methods.

Using:

  • Firefox addons like LibRedirect, Resurrect Pages, Unpaywall
  • uBlock Origin set to medium mode with extra filters enabled, to prevent brainrot from ads and manipulative sidebar content
  • generally FOSS ware, but also benevolent closed source software like WinRAR and R-Studio if they are not hostile to user or adware
  • Fediverse, non-mainstream forums or non-Western media for discussions and to gain legitimate information
  • Russian forums with translator, because these people are the most chill. civilised and smart ones on internet

Avoiding:

  • any Western social media, biggest source of brainrot
  • short form content platforms like YouTube Shorts, TikTok, Instagram Reels
  • elements like YouTube recommendation feed, instead curating own feed and channel list in NewPipe
  • any NATO aligned news media, biggest source of lies and propaganda, also encourage inhuman atrocities and fascism
    • to detect this easily, if any platform or person bashes or demonises China/Russia/North Korea/Middle East/Latin Americans/Asians/Africans, skip and dodge
  • any software or service that utilises psychologically manipulative colours or encourage capitalism/consumerism
  • any service that results in destruction of critical thinking, rationality and that encourages individualism/apathy
chevy9294,

What russian forums do you recommend?

TheAnonymouseJoker,
@TheAnonymouseJoker@lemmy.ml avatar

Ru-Board, Krinkels, 4PDA, Ru-Tor and many others. These are mostly academic, modding or torrent communities with very strict rules, so I do not recommend you try go and make account to talk. Getting kicked out is a matter of hours.

Zerush,
@Zerush@lemmy.ml avatar

The Vivaldi ad/trackerblocker with custom filters from ABP and uBO

Extensions (I’ve put the homepages with the links also to the Mozilla Store):

Glorious were the times, when none of this was necessary to defend yourself from all this shit that has accumulated on the network today. Free Internet getting further and further away, sad.

Linus_Torvalds,

While I’m at it, what is the community opinion on NoScript? The first few weeks were a bit of a pain, but now it is actually quite convenient.

rickdg,
@rickdg@lemmy.world avatar

I’m trying out nextdns.io and it’s working well on mobile.

lypticdna,
@lypticdna@feddit.uk avatar

I have a stack in place built around Tailscale. I mean, this may not be the best route but, hey, it works for me.

So I have Tailscale running across my devices. Within Tailscale, I have enabled Mullvad Exit Nodes for some privacy control. Then I have overridden the default DNS setting with NextDNS.

Within NextDNS I have a standard profile with some ad and telemetry blocking which is typically for the family devices and then I have a disgustingly pimped up profile for my main devices with a hell of a lot blocked, including domains that I do not care for (facebook for example).

The pros are that I can control all connections easier, even when out of my home network. That said, it takes some setting up to ensure I don’t bork connections. And, yes, I learnt that the hard way when I blocked all ‘meta’ tools across my whole network and the kids lost it!

BearOfaTime,

So all your devices access the internet through Tailscale to home, where you use NextDNS to filter, am I reading that right?

lypticdna,
@lypticdna@feddit.uk avatar

Not quite. They are network linked through Tailscale but typically running through a Mullvad VPN exit node. The NextDNS is baked into Tailscale too.

This gives me access to my home devices (including self hosted services, etc.) from out and about on the secure Tailscale network and connect to the Internet through a Mullvad VPN connection but that is further supported by the NextDNS which ensure devices are blocked from ads, trackers, telemetry, etc.

I only chose this route because I want an easy way to manage my whole network of connected devices without having to do a setup on each one individually.

Don’t get me wrong, there may be a better way but this has just worked well for me.

BearOfaTime, (edited )

Ah, ok, thanks for clarifying.

I was planning on Tailscaling to home so all my devices could benefit from PiHole, I didn’t realize TS had Mullvad and NextDNS baked in!

Thanks for the info, this is just what I was looking for.

I used Hamachi for years to have a mesh network. Talked with them probably 10 years ago looking for an Android and iOS client. Fortunately TS stepped up and it’s a much better product than Hamachi ever was. With it being Linux friendly, I can run it on Raspberry Pis that I give to my family for remote management.

Lol, someone downvoted this. Hahaha, guess someone’s stalking my comments now.

solarvector,

A uBO list that filters out all of the word salad generating click farms would be amazing. So many search results in general are ruined, but anything like “how to…” or “when is the next season of…” are always ridiculous.

Linus_Torvalds, (edited )

I read about one. Let me see if I can still find it…

Edit: I can’t.

GlitzyArmrest,
@GlitzyArmrest@lemmy.world avatar

With Kagi, you can kind of do this, either through lenses or by completely blocking website from your search results. Obviously not as good as a block list but still, something.

noodlejetski,

Consent-O-Matic for automatically rejecting tracking cookies instead of just hiding the banners addons.mozilla.org/en-US/…/consent-o-matic/

LibRedirect for opening big companies’ links in privacy-respecting front-ends addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/…/libredirect/

Buster for solving reCAPTCHA with a single click addons.mozilla.org/…/buster-captcha-solver/

Web Annoyances uBO list github.com/yourduskquibbles/webannoyances

and NextDNS on all my devices.

Linus_Torvalds,

Thanks for your reply! Is the web annoyances list better than the built-in one in uBO. Should I disable the standard one?

noodlejetski,

it catches more things. I’ve got both lists enabled.

Nunya,

I’m very leary about installing any extensions that use the permission “Access your data for all websites”. I get that they need to see the website so they can do their thing, but I just don’t trust that they are any better having my data than the site I just visited.

leraje,
@leraje@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

I’ve switched to Redirector from LibRedirect as I find it’s more customisable - for example, I can create rules that automatically go to a 12ft.io redirect version of a page if the site is behind a paywall and a rule to redirect Instagram profiles to picuki.com.

novawelle,

I recently set up a bunch of these in my adguard home filter list. They do not only block ads, but also Fake-Shops, Cryptomining, Gambling and more shady stuff.

p5f20w18k,
@p5f20w18k@lemmy.world avatar

I just self hosted everything I needed and dl my fav YouTube channels’ videos to my server

I use internet on my phone to look up something every now and then and I’ll browse lemmy for a bit if I get bored

Other than that I don’t really use the internet outside of essential stuff like banking and emailing

0bZ3n,
@0bZ3n@lemmy.ml avatar

How do you download to your server?

p5f20w18k,
@p5f20w18k@lemmy.world avatar

Starr apps for media or ytdl for YouTube

moody,

What’s your setup for Youtube videos? Is it automated? I’m curious about that.

Unforeseen,

Not OP but I use yt-dlp on a cron schedule to run once a day, and just have all the channels I want to follow in a text file that it processes. Been using this for years now (YouTubedl before this) with no issues.

I’ve recently gone a step further and have it post a discord message once it’s done with the download details for the day.

github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp

p5f20w18k,
@p5f20w18k@lemmy.world avatar

This is what I use, jellyfin or Plex to watch them

  • All
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  • random
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  • All magazines
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