Adblock update pop up

Everything about using Adblock Plus on Google Chrome
SockEyedKitten
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Joined: Tue Apr 28, 2020 6:35 pm

Adblock update pop up

Post by SockEyedKitten »

While opening a new tab earlier on my Chrome browser, I noticed another tab also opened up on its own and directed me to a page informing me that adblock has just been updated, as well as a section detailing donations.

I found this weird as I've been using adblock plus for 5+ years now and don't believe I have ever gotten a pop-up/new tab opened by it before. I have scanned my computer using malwarebytes but it couldn't seem to find anything.

Is this legit? I took a screenshot of the pop up here: https://imgur.com/3CWCdci
iris
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2020 12:41 pm

Re: Adblock update pop up

Post by iris »

I'm really curious too. I've had it happen the last few days, two different computers. A couple times a day I open a new tab and Adblock opens up a new one telling me the same version has been updated.
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greiner
ABP Developer
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Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2012 5:29 pm
Location: Cologne, Germany

Re: Adblock update pop up

Post by greiner »

Yes, this page is coming from us. If you're interested, you can find more information about it in my reply to a similar question on this forum. I hope this helps clear up some confusion and want to assure you that this is currently only an experiment that we're trying to learn from. Therefore any feedback - positive and negative - is highly appreciated.
SockEyedKitten wrote:I found this weird as I've been using adblock plus for 5+ years now and don't believe I have ever gotten a pop-up/new tab opened by it before.
We rarely do this but there have been various situations over the last few years in which we've been opening a new tab:
- We opened a page upon updating to version 3.0 in which we highlighted the changes we made as part of that major update (see specification).
- We show a first-run page upon installing the extension.
- We show a page alerting the user about data corruption issues, whenever we detect any.
- We open the settings page upon clicking on a link for subscribing to a filter list.

That being said, I want to thank you for checking back with us whenever you see anything suspicious popping up because extensions are quite limited by the browser in regards to the ways they can show such messages.
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greiner
ABP Developer
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Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2012 5:29 pm
Location: Cologne, Germany

Re: Adblock update pop up

Post by greiner »

iris wrote:I'm really curious too. I've had it happen the last few days, two different computers. A couple times a day I open a new tab and Adblock opens up a new one telling me the same version has been updated.
Does this happen multiple times while the browser is open or only once after each time you open your browser? Because, if it's the latter, you may be having problems with data corruption. We're hearing about those mostly from Firefox users and those issues, unfortunately, have a significant negative impact on extensions and need to be fixed by the browser (see this support post).
loganj
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2020 10:54 pm

Re: Adblock update pop up

Post by loganj »

this is really annoying.
this happens every time i open a browser (firefox / chromium) and choose open in new tab for a link or the link opens a new tab by default.
i can understand you show that page once after the update, but you keep showing that page every time i open the browser. i have 3 profiles for firefox and every one of them behave the same. its like spamming us with another type of ad.
not to mention that this damn tab will get the focus instead of the one i just open.
you instead of blocking ads decided to produce your own ad
iris
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2020 12:41 pm

Re: Adblock update pop up

Post by iris »

This is happening in Chrome, and just happens every day, randomly, when I open a new tab. No rhyme or reason to when it happens but it throws open the same tab I've already seen repeatedly, telling me the same thing, and it's already been updated. Two different computers. Two different systems. I don't mind telling me there's an update but I don't need to repeatedly read about the same update, or have it immediately bring itself to the forefront to tell me either.
shrax25
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Joined: Thu Apr 30, 2020 4:28 am

Re: Adblock update pop up

Post by shrax25 »

I use your product. I like your product. The ad wasn't my favorite thing, but it served its purpose. I donated. Since I donated, I really wish I didn't keep seeing the add popping up an new page every so often.

If someone donates a way to stop the request page should be an option.
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greiner
ABP Developer
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Location: Cologne, Germany

Re: Adblock update pop up

Post by greiner »

Thank you all for helping us by reporting those problems you're seeing. Our initial plan was to keep this feature enabled for a while but we decided to start rolling it back now. So anyone who's experiencing this problem should stop seeing this page open in a new tab over the course of the next couple of days.

On that note, I want to clarify that the page was only intended and also verified to be shown once. Any repeated opening of that page is a bug that is likely related to some sort of data corruption but may also have other reasons that we'll make sure to look into. For that, it would be helpful to know whether you're also seeing your settings getting reset on each browser start.

And, if your settings remain intact across browser restarts, you can uncheck the "Show useful notifications" option in the "Advanced" section of the settings page which should prevent the page from opening up.
iris
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Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2020 12:41 pm

Re: Adblock update pop up

Post by iris »

greiner wrote:For that, it would be helpful to know whether you're also seeing your settings getting reset on each browser start.
Settings are unchanged for Chrome. I close it, it opens the tabs I left open, as I have it set. I open pages, I'm still logged in if I chose to remain logged in. No reset settings on anything else in Chrome, only the adblock popup coming up. So I don't know what could be corrupted if everything else in Chrome is fine and all of my ABP settings I have remained the same. I actually went to another adblocker on one computer I use more often to get rid of this annoyance, but if it's being resolved, I can come back to adblock plus.
290xanatos
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri May 01, 2020 8:04 am

Re: Adblock update pop up

Post by 290xanatos »

any feedback - positive and negative - is highly appreciated.
Acting like malware by hijacking a browser tab and shoving a paypal button in my face is exactly the opposite thing I want from a browser extension.

If this is really an experiment, let this be the end of it.

ABP already has its little home on my browser window. Put a "Support us" link at the bottom of the top-level extension settings window if you want better visibility.
loganj
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2020 10:54 pm

Re: Adblock update pop up

Post by loganj »

@greiner are you sure u are a developer? cause it seems that unchecking the "Show useful notifications" its not working. also why don't u update it already on the stores? by now you had all the time to fix your malware behavior but you refuse to do it. i guess u guys are too greedy
iris
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2020 12:41 pm

Re: Adblock update pop up

Post by iris »

I put it back on the computer where it kept popping up the most and it's doing it again. The rest of my features and settings on Chrome is unchanged. Also I second that the "show useful notifications" cannot be unchecked. All of the customizations are locked in the checked position and cannot be changes. Going back to another adblocker now.
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greiner
ABP Developer
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Location: Cologne, Germany

Re: Adblock update pop up

Post by greiner »

As you may have noticed, we've completely stopped the experiment over the last few days. There's certainly a lot we have learned over the course of the last couple of days and I can assure you that we will take a hard look at the results to ensure that we're not repeating any mistakes.

Most importantly, we're going to invest in identifying and mitigating any data corruption issues that have come to light, which have gone unnoticed until now. Therefore I already want to thank you for all the details you've mentioned so far such as that the problem exists across different browser profiles/browsers/devices and that data cannot be persisted (i.e. settings cannot be changed, browser cannot remember whether notification was already shown or whether opt-out occurred).

Additionally, we are going to explore other means of contributing throughout our UI (e.g. a link in the settings page), in the hope that better results can be achieved with less disruption and to, within the technical limitations of the browsers, make sure that it's absolutely clear whenever a message is coming from the extension.

Finally, I want to thank you all very much for sticking with us and for all your feedback and don't hesitate to let us know whenever you want us to change something or you see any problems so that we can fix them.
loganj
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Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2020 10:54 pm

Re: Adblock update pop up

Post by loganj »

don't bother. i already gave up on abp. it was a nice ride for the last so many years
but you guys are not the only adblockers out there. thanks to your greedy a$$es i found out about adguard and the likes. even firefox recommends other adblockers than abp
fckadblock
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Nov 06, 2022 11:00 am

Re: Adblock update pop up

Post by fckadblock »

It has happened to me for last 3 months and i start to get pissed off, even when i already paid a small ammount long time ago.

This piece of shit should block ads and something that comes up sevel times per day and begging for more money is in my eyes ads.

It is not possible to block that page so i reportet both of the apps ABP and Adblocker. I will remove it during the say and hopefully find a better adblocker.
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