========= SCRAPER REMOVED AN EMBEDDED LINK HERE ===========
url was:"https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/search/?q=requestpolicy"
linktext was:"https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefo ... uestpolicy"
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^--- Below, I'm describing the first listed extension"RequestPolicy".
FWIW, from that search results page, I am also using the"Google Privacy" extension.
Those other extensions shown in search results,"RPContinued" its code is way too conflated/convoluted IMO (ref: github)...
...and Policeman, although IMO it might be a superior solution, its configuration is more fiddly than RP.
Browser restart is required following installation of the RP extension.
You'll be presented with a one-time prefs dialog, with only the"International" whitelist ticked by default.
I tick 'em all; it's a comparatively short list (and you'll have opportunity to remove any individual rule(s) later)
A l'il"flag on a flagpole" RP icon is displayed to browser toolbar (and/or context menu).
While surfing, a click on the icon displays a menu, like so:
'scuse the ugly screencaps ~~ I'm posting from winXP at the moment.
That screenshot above is for this (current forum page) and
until/unless you click"cgstatic.com" and create a rule allowing freeforums.org --} cgstatic.com
the forum pages will be"broken", due to RP prohibiting requests for the"3rd party hosted" css stylesheets (hosted on cgstatic server)
You'll also notice (current forum page)"lotta other blocked requests". Wheeeee, newrelic, crowdreport, sharethis...
A"flyout" is displayed for each 3rd-party domain destination.
From the flyout you can choose to add a temporary, or permanent, permitting (or later revoking) rule.
After changing a rule, you must F5 refresh the page for changes to take effect.
* Also, when adding a prohibit rule, bear in mind RP doesn't deal with clearing cache nor cleaning previously-set cookies.
In this example (freeforums.org), click"cgstatic.com" and, from the flyout choose the Allow (permanent) option.
Done.
This particular one-time rulesetting operation yields perennial ad-free surfing of freeforums.org -hosted forums (not just antix. forum).
YMMV. With the blocking in effect, freeforums.org pages load noticeably faster for me.
===================
Chapter 2 (or something)
Clicking the"Show request Log" RP menu item will open a resizeable pane in the lower portion of the browser window
where you can inspect each asset, each request, attempted by the page you're currently surfing.
Painting"all that detail" is a bit of a chore for the browser (bogs page loading speed a bit), so I advise against keeping pane open.
After recommending use of RP to many folks, across a span of several years, I'm braced to hear
"yeah but allapages is broken" along with"WTF is 'infolinks'? I have no clue what to block, what to allow".
Common sense? Open a new browser tab. Type infolinks.com into addressbar. You decide (you get to decide, you're forced to decide).
Rule of thumb:
unless it's a fontfile or css stylesheet or js being retrieved from a CDN server... most 3rd party requests represent trackers/stats/ads
Although RP has ability to enforce stricter, more-granular"per full hostname" (vs per"base domain") rule setting,
I generally avoid (and don't recommend) that approach because, yes, it's"too damn fiddly".
Allow (or block) a7dfhane-west.cloudflare.com today ...and tomorrow, or later today due to load-balancing
you'll be dealing with requests to g46hlk-north.cloudflare.com instead.
The number of different sites we each visit is remarkably limited. One-time rules setup for a site you often visit is probably well worthwhile.
For a site you've never visited before, and you're too busy / don't care to setup rules, you're free to click the"Temporarily allow all from..." menu item.
I've known several people who are happy to"allow all" most of the time, and only bother to setup rules for sites
where pages are syrupy slow to load due to excessive ad injections.
Further flexibility is possible via custom rules creation. I might (and, vis this screencap, apparently have)
click"Preferences" in RP menu and tweak/add more rules, more granular rules, but I seldom need to (nor bother to) do so.
Geez! Above, I typed"seldom" ~~ looking at my own screencap and wondering"WTH is 163.com? How/why did I add that rule?"
I'm guessing it's an expired domain which has been re-registered ~~ AFAICT, not a site I'd care to ever visit.
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RP alone isn't a silver bullet. Its default-deny construct, along with an ability to only selectively
permanently whitelist (vs permanently blacklist) destination domains... falls short.
However, RP"plays well with" other browser extensions. In the past, I've run it flawlessly alongside
AdblockEdge (now defunct), Ghostery (now spyware, post v4.x), Policeman, uBlockOrigin, etc.