Lost filter sbscriptions - time to figure this out

[Dirk]

I am a long time user a technically proficient. I run 4 laptops and a main desktop machine on my home network and one laptop has the filters disappear completely sometime shortly after I add the subscriptions. They always get clobbered within a short but as yet undetermined period of time. I use Easylist and EasyPrivacy. I am running Firefox 3.5.5 and AdblokPlus 1.1.1. The machine that has issues is a Dell Laptop running Vista Home Edition. So here is what I know and what I have tried so far to fix this issue:
1) I run AVG anti-virus on all my machines but only this one has this behavior
2) I have site blocking software (Cybersitter) on all machines with all having the same site filters - I was the one who figured out that Cybersitter corrupting Easylist updates several years ago and have pass thru whitelists to turnn it off for the filter subscription - [easylist.adblockplus.org] and
[adblockplus.org]
3) I turned off Firefox updates but still lose the filters
4) When I look in the adblockplus folder in the user profile I see that the filter set is backed up but that the new filter set is empty - so for example I see the following
Name Date Size
patterns 12/28 1 kb
patterns-backup1 12/27 149 kb - I updated filter subscription
patterns-backup2 12/26 1 kb
patterns-backup3 12/25 1 kb
patterns-backup4 12/24 1 kb
patterns-backup5 12/23 149 kb - I updated filter subscription

The 1 Kb files have:

# Adblock Plus preferences
version=3

[Subscription]
url=~il~

[Subscription]
url=~wl~

[Subscription]
url=~fl~

[Subscription]
url=~eh~

5) I have added the subscriptions, closed firefox and restarted and filters were fine
6) I have closed firefox and rebooted and filters were not deleted
7) Easylist filters are set to update after 5 days - filters are lost before this time expires

So I am now suspicious that the backup of the patterns is causing the corruption. I have changed the settings to prevent backups to see if this corrects the issue:
extensions.adblockplus.patternsbackups;0

I am willing to chase this until I find the culprit and will report back on the backup fix. Any other experiments that could be performed to narrow down the cause?

[Hubird]

Maybe a dump of Add-ons would be helpful. Does the problematic machine have something the others don't ?

AVG Safe search has been known to cause issues.

[Dirk]

Currently installed:

AdblockPlus 1.1.1
Adobe DLM 1.6.2.49
AVG Safe Search 9.0.0.716
IE Tab 1.5.20090525
Microsoft .NET Framework Assistant 1.1
Xmarks 3.3.3

I have had this problem for a long time - I believe I had it when I was running McAfee before AVG.

After I see if backup fix works I will then try deactivating the Safe Search add on.

[Hubird]

AVG Safe Search
Microsoft .NET Framework Assistant

Both have been known to cause issues. If you search the forum you will see Wladimir mention this on quite a few occasions.

[Dirk]

Both are add-ons present on my other machines which show no issues. One was running Vista x64 and is now running Version 7 and two of the others are running XP. Maybe Vista specific? The other laptop running Vista is in my daughter's room - I will have to look tomorrow to see what add-ons it has. I will past again when my first experiment fails or if it fixes the problem.

[ziutek]

I have site blocking software (Cybersitter) on all machines with all having the same site filters - I was the one who figured out that Cybersitter corrupting Easylist updates several years ago and have pass thru whitelists to turnn it off for the filter subscription - [easylist.adblockplus.org] and
[adblockplus.org]

This is, I guess, unrelated to your problem, but https://easylist.adblockplus.org/easylist.txt redirects to http://adblockplus.mozdev.org/easylist/easylist.txt currently.

[Dirk]

And the filters are gone again today. Looking in the adblockplus backup folder the patterns were backed up today at 11:48 am even though I have extensions.adblockplus.patternsbackups;0 set in Firefox - which in the preferences help (en/preferences) says should disable this backup. The new file is 1 kb and when I open it I see no text.

Does this method not disable the backup of the patterns file?

I am now removing the .NET extension and reloading filters. Will post again when I see a change.

[Dirk]

Looking at the backup folder after my last post I now see the date has changed on the patterns file. It now has the following text:

# Adblock Plus preferences
version=3

[Subscription]
url=~il~

[Subscription]
url=~wl~

[Subscription]
url=~fl~

[Subscription]
url=~eh~

No new backup file was created - the patterns file just changed. Expected behavior?

[Guest]

I have site blocking software (Cybersitter) on all machines with all having the same site filters - I was the one who figured out that Cybersitter corrupting Easylist updates several years ago and have pass thru whitelists to turnn it off for the filter subscription - [easylist.adblockplus.org] and
[adblockplus.org]

This is, I guess, unrelated to your problem, but https://easylist.adblockplus.org/easylist.txt redirects to http://adblockplus.mozdev.org/easylist/easylist.txt currently.

I agree this is not the issue - the http://adblockplus.mozdev.org site is not blocked - at worst it could corrupt the filter set on download but it would not remove it. I will add it to the list of things to try.

[Dirk]

Okay - a day and half and the subscriptions are still in place. .NET is gone but it also stopped backing up the pattern file. I am turning back on the backup and we will see if it was the backup or .NET that was causing them to disappear.

[Dirk]

Patterns backup with no loss of subscriptions - it appears fixed.

The strange thing here is that I have a second laptop with the same OS, same version of Firefox and .NET extension turned on and it has no issues.

.NET extension removed from all my machines - thanks for the help - a major annoyance fixed.

[Hubird]

Glad you got it sorted.

[Dirk]

Well this behavior has comeback - not sure when since it is my wife's machine. Filters disappear almost daily. Running Firefox 3.5.8. Still have extensions.adblockplus.patternsbackups;0.

Add-ons:

Adblock Plus 1.1.3
AVG Safe Search 9.0.0.845
CoralIE Tab 1.70.20100204
Xmarks 3.5.10

Trying turning off Safe Search but do not have much hope. Wondering ifI should do a complete re-install of Firefox?

[Hubird]

I would remove AVG safe search from the PC completely (perhaps you might like to remove AVG in favour of a full featured product such as Microsoft Security Essentials, but that's another topic )

The version of Firefox and ABP on your wife's PC are both outdated

Firefox 3.6.8
Adblock Plus 1.2.1

are out, so I'm not sure it is worth trying to troubleshoot any problems with outdated versions of software.

Might not be a bad idea to backup her bookmarks and passwords / logins and start fresh with a new Firefox a new ABP in a clean profile.

[Mandolius]

From what I've read so far, I'd like to install Adblock Plus, but before I do, I need to know if it is 100% compatible with MS Security Essentials. I also use Lavasoft AdAware-Free and Spybot S&D - but without TeaTimer - it's realtime component..

Unfortunately, there are a few professional sites that I occasionally need to to visit which require me to use IE, so I need a suite of tools that will allow me to keep my system as clean as possible, regardless of browser.

Also, a few months ago, I installed and spent some time online with Google Chrome - after which the above mentioned protection software detected many problems, so I haven't opened it, since - does Adblock Plus work with Chrome? The reason I want to know is that I have a few websites online and I need to view my edits in at least a few of the the most currently popular browsers.

Thank you all in advance for your guidance!