AB-Solution 2.0 is out! (v2.0.1)

[thelonelycoder]

Is the logstats email function included in the v2.1?

See the screenshot in post #308...

 

[thelonelycoder]

Different question: Does the adblock survive the installation of a newer firmware?

I always do a backup of the jffs partition through the WebUI to be on the safe side. But never in the life of my Dev RT-AC66U have I had problems. That router is rock solid and so is Merlins work. 35 Firmware versions in and no loss of data. That is impressive on its own.

 

[Bamsefar]

Is there any way to block a domain with this solution?

Example: we seem to have websites that has the first section as id of some kind:
b3245634.trackerdomain.com
b2317542.trackerdomain.com

What I would like to do is block:
*.trackerdomain.com

How do I do that?
trackerdomain.com
in the blacklist hostfile?

 

[visortgw]

Is there any way to block a domain with this solution?

Example: we seem to have websites that has the first section as id of some kind:
b3245634.trackerdomain.com
b2317542.trackerdomain.com

What I would like to do is block:
*.trackerdomain.com

How do I do that?
trackerdomain.com
in the blacklist hostfile?

Absolutely! Easy as pie...

 

[thelonelycoder]

Is there any way to block a domain with this solution?

That is all AB-Solution does, block Domains. No IP addresses, no Telephone numbers, just Domain names.
Add this to the blacklist.txt file after installation, then run (p) to process it.
I usually add the www. part as well to the blacklist as they likely have a website hosted there too.
0.0.0.0 trackerdomain.com
0.0.0.0 www.trackerdomain.com

 

[cybrnook]

Got my brother in law updated today onto 2.0.1. All went smooth after some fiddling (more self inflicted).

But maybe if you want to think on it, adding some resiliency.....

This was our situation, brother in law was running older merlin code base (after numerous in place upgrades), he was on the last release of 61_1, so I wanted to update him to 62_1 (with your 1.08 release). So, after the upgrades to 62_1, we upgraded ab-solution to the latest public of 2.0.1, went fine as well (in place upgrade).

This is where it gets fun.... since I was "ahead of schedule:, aka coffee was still brewing. I decided to have some fun with overclocking his router Found out that CPU scaling went fine, however memory scaling did not so I needed to issue an NVRAM reset from the router itself, to wipe non static NVRAM values to load from CFE on first boot.
Note: Keep in mind there is still a USB drive mounted and contains ab-solution,sh and the adblocker folder.....

So after first boot, I get the router all setup again in a few minutes. Then it's time to go back to AB-Solution to set it back up, since router was hard reset. I knew already I would have an issue since jffs was wiped during the factory reset, but the usb drive was still in tact, but I wanted to see what ab-solution would do (Since I think this would be a common scenario for users).

So first thing, on ab-solution.sh execution, it tries to set permissions onto a folder in jffs that does not exist.
Then I get to the main menu, where I proceed to hit "i" for install (knowing only the USB drive values are still in tact)
AB recommends me to do an "upgrade" instead of re-install, so I follow it's advice
It attempts to reinstall, however fails, since it's a halfway botched upgrade.
I then proceed to do a full uninstall "rm" and a fresh install "i" which completes successfully.

You think we should add some small logic to do a check on start up to see what state ab is in before we make a "suggestion" of how the user should proceed? Or is the manual option of forced re-install already the answer? Of course, if you are halfway competent in terminal, then this will be no big deal. But I am thinking for future users who install ab-solution, but then issue factory resets and want to install it again. Maybe we can make the health check prior to install/upgrade/re-install a little more thorough, and THEN issue a suggested option to the user when they hit "i" to install it again, instead of suggestion of "upgrade".

Only food for thought, and just suggestions to make life easier in the future to weed out static in the threads.

Again, great tool, I love it!

 

[RASG]

I'm using my AC66U in AP mode.

Can i still benefit from AB-Solution?

I tried making dnsmask resolve names, but only got timeouts.

 

[thelonelycoder]

I'm using my AC66U in AP mode.

Can i still benefit from AB-Solution?

I tried making dnsmask resolve names, but only got timeouts.

AFAIK AP mode does not allow the device to resolve it's own DNS.
It's an access point, not a router.

 

[thelonelycoder]

Got my brother in law updated today onto 2.0.1. All went smooth after some fiddling (more self inflicted).

I really wish there were more good stories like yours to read here.
But the nature of this forum is to (mostly) come here for help and guidance.

Still, I try to squeeze in an occasional (picture) story every now and then.
I know they are teasers mostly, and people are waiting for the next release and would prefer to have it running on their own devices.
But I need to show off at times to make the time I spend coding on it worthwhile.
And that I am really working hard on the next release, and it will be better and with more really good features.

You think we should add some small logic to do a check on start up to see what state ab is in before we make a "suggestion" of how the user should proceed? Or is the manual option of forced re-install already the answer? Of course, if you are halfway competent in terminal, then this will be no big deal. But I am thinking for future users who install ab-solution, but then issue factory resets and want to install it again. Maybe we can make the health check prior to install/upgrade/re-install a little more thorough, and THEN issue a suggested option to the user when they hit "i" to install it again, instead of suggestion of "upgrade".

You make a good point by saying AB-Solution should be smarter in it's decision making in a case like yours.
The recommended upgrade suggestion is based on two factors:
- The device AB was previously installed on is mounted
- There is a config file present in the correct location, pointing at the same device
It's safe to assume at this point that a 'upgrade' should work as intended.

Only food for thought, and just suggestions to make life easier in the future to weed out static in the threads.

Funny you mention that. A lot of the code that is in previous versions - and especially so in the upcoming v2.1 - are checks for pebcak errors.
But that's not the only thing that can go wrong.

You may have the notion to install some other unrelated software to AB on the router that uses jffs files.
Inadvertently, it will wipe entries for AB in it's install process. Bad luck for AB and the bewildered aforementioned user.

This is where a lot of the extra code in v2.1 comes in.
And I'm sorry to say it again to you @cybrnook , but v2.1 has exactly that feature built in.
Plug in a device into your router that has a previously working AB-Solution installation on it, fire up ab-solution.sh and things are fixed before you even see the UI.

That 'self healing' includes Entware and pixelserv-tls, when installed with AB-Solution.

Edit: And I might add the comment above the 'write_jffsfile()' function I put in the code:

# write the /jffs/scripts/ files
## THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE CHECK JFFS-FILES HAVE EVER SEEN! ##

 

[cybrnook]

Of course, as expected, you are already ahead of me

Excited for 2.1, and of course will provide feedback once it's out. If I see anything that we could improve on, maybe I will code it myself and pass it along to you for review. I am really looking forward to your pixel-serv round 2 implementation. Blocking on HTTPS is becoming a requirement if we effectively want to weed out all ad's in our browsing experiences.

Keep up the good work, you are amassing a good following.

P.S., I am already spoiled by ad blocking. The moment I leave the house and drop off the wifi and back onto 4G, the pain becomes real again

 

[thelonelycoder]

P.S., I am already spoiled by ad blocking. The moment I leave the house and drop off the wifi and back onto 4G, the pain becomes real again

My mobile devices are all on an unlimited plan.
They use a VPN connection to the Main router to enjoy the same experience when not at home.

 

[thelonelycoder]

A question for 'custom block IP' (cb) users: What services are you using to direct it to?
Only pixelserve-tls, or are others used?

I'm planning on leaving the (cb) option in, even with PS coming in that version.
Some may still want to use their own PS installation or use another service.

Using the built in PS and the (cb) option are mutually exclusive, but you may use one at a time.
The IP addresses are separately stored for the two, so you can even switch back and forth between them.

 

[tomsk]

A question for 'custom block IP' (cb) users: What services are you using to direct it to?
Only pixelserve-tls, or are others used?

I'm planning on leaving the (cb) option in, even with PS coming in that version.
Some may still want to use their own PS installation or use another service.

Using the built in PS and the (cb) option are mutually exclusive, but you may use one at a time.
The IP addresses are separately stored for the two, so you can even switch back and forth between them.

Only pixelserv-tls for me, but i like the idea of leaving the custom IP block to cater for possible alternate solutions. How will ab-solution handle the need to reserve an IP outside of the dhcp range for pixelserv to listen on?

 

[elorimer]

The only reason I use a custom IP for pixelserv-tls is so that I can still have http access to the web ui for the router. I found the https access somewhat iffy.

Are you planning something different, or do you move the webui to https?

 

[thelonelycoder]

How will ab-solution handle the need to reserve an IP outside of the dhcp range for pixelserv to listen on?

You will set the reservation during the install in the WebUI when prompted. Instructions are provided.
If you have already reserved ones, you can skip that step.
AB-Solution will, however, check that the IP address you enter is outside the DHCP Pool before it is accepted.
Unless you click the 'Confirm this is the reserved PS address' part.
It will also ping it during the check. It should not answer.

 

[thelonelycoder]

The only reason I use a custom IP for pixelserv-tls is so that I can still have http access to the web ui for the router. I found the https access somewhat iffy.

Are you planning something different, or do you move the webui to https?

I have no plan to do so, the 'ifconfig br0 pixelserv <pixelserv IP> up' in wan-start is used by AB-Solution. No other option is planned.
I'm thinking ahead here, just wondering what you guys use.

 

[nimkip]

Sort of new to all this so I'm waiting for version 2.1 for ease of use. I currently have dnscrypt-proxy (https://github.com/jedisct1/dnscrypt-proxy) installed. Will AB-Solution overwrite this, or might there be any other compatibility issues?

 

[thelonelycoder]

Sort of new to all this so I'm waiting for version 2.1 for ease of use. I currently have dnscrypt-proxy (https://github.com/jedisct1/dnscrypt-proxy) installed. Will AB-Solution overwrite this, or might there be any other compatibility issues?

Installed with Entware? No problem.
Are you using additional /jffs/scripts/* scripts apart from the entware installed ones? If so, post full script content so I can verify AB-Solution won't touch it.

 

[nimkip]

Installed with Entware? No problem.
Are you using additional /jffs/scripts/* scripts apart from the entware installed ones? If so, post full script content so I can verify AB-Solution won't touch it.

Nope, just Entware. Thank you!

 

[thelonelycoder]

AB-Solution v2.1 status update
I am at the final stages of internal testing for this version.
The feature freeze state is reached, enforced by the expectant future users (!).

I can wholeheartedly say that v2.1 will be the best version to be released so far.
I'm very pleased with the testing and hope to finish soon.
A small group of users will then be invited to do external testing, to weed out further bugs.

Here's the last feature I added before the freeze:
No-one will miss the (p) option, although it's still inside that new menu option: