Firefox 57 & Noscript 10 usage guide - 1st edition

I understand bo elam's subjectivity towards NoScript, he's been using it for ages and is quite proficient with it. It's easy to excuse a program on what to others may seem inexcusable flaws; I do it every day with Linux. That said I still think NS is missing on not having more granularity, you just have to look at user numbers in the FF addons site: 1.7 million for NoScript (still a lot for this type of program) and 4.6 million for uBlock Origin.

edit sorry @ronjor, didn't see your post.

 

I didn't criticize NoScript in my comment, merely wanted to correct an erroneous claim about uMatrix. If I can't correct these because it's a NoScript thread, that's just unfortunate.

I did try the new NoScript, and being an advanced user, I do "get it", I did not need a guide to figure how to use its primary purpose which is to whitelist/blacklist script sources by base domain -- it's pretty straightforward. I understand it's an early iteration, so of course it needs more work, but as with any software project, things only get better with time.

 

Gorhill, I always been respectful toward you and your programs, I even try to assist Sandboxie users whenever they want to know how to save UBO settings out of the sandbox. But you came at me like if I was telling lies about your programs when all I was doing was replying to a question from Joxx. As I understood the question, he cant understand why someone would not want to do nitty gritty stuff with settings like you can with your programs, I wasn't saying that you cant use your programs with global rules like NoScript. But you took my repply to Joxx as if I was telling tales and call me something that I am not.

Regarding your comment in this post about NoScript, I agree.

Bo

 

Read my reply to Gorhill. I guess you didnt notice but the ones who brought gorhills programs in this thread were Brummelchen and Joxx. All I did was reply.

Bo

 

Look for them, they there, and in your face.

This last couple weeks you been throwing around erroneous information about NoScript and blocking ads. Like I told you before, NoScript is not an adblocker but if you learn how to use NoScript properly, the vast majority of ads are blocked.

Here is proof, with pictures. Like Rod Stewart said, Every picture tells a story.

Without NoScript or an adblocker 1




With NoScript only 1



Without NoScript or an adblocker 2



With NoScript only 2





Without NoScript or an adblocker 3

This set are two pictures. The first one is with my current Firefox profile. The second one is with a new profile. In the first one I disabled NoScript, but some stuff gets blocked even when you disable NoScript. So, I took a second picture of the same page with a new profile.







With Noscript only 3




I hope you are satisfied now. Hopefully you ll stop spreading (you know what) about NoScript.

I posted full pictures, so there are no questions about the validity of the pictures.

Bo

 

Thank you for that explanation bo.

 

You are welcome .

You asked earlier about where are the Settings? I ll show you.

You can change settings in the Drop down menu that opens when you click the NoScript icon or in the Options Tab. Websites are treated as Default, Trusted, Untrusted or Custom. So, when you visit a site, you click the NoScript icon, the Drop down menu opens up displaying the domains that run stuff in the site you are visiting. If you click Trusted, Untrusted, Default or Custom, a menu with boxes opens up. There, you can restrict as little or as much as you want what domains are allowed to run. What you check under Trusted, Untrusted and Default, applies to all sites that fall in each of those categories.

So, have to be a little careful there when changing something. Before, Settings (Basically same settings) where in a separate window., and users had this options on sites that the user set as Untrusted (black listed sites), but now with the new version, we also have the option for restricting Default and Trusted sites as well. Thats new and is confusing people a little bit, specially users who changed setting for Default sites without realizing what they were doing.

Myself, I set Default and Untriusted as restricted as possible (No boxes are checked), meaning, nothing is allowed to run by those domains. For Trusted sites, I allow everything.

New. We now have the Custom category. Users can now set restrictions for individual domains if they want. If you set restrictions for a domain using Custom, it only applies to thiat domain. So, this is a little different than how restrictions are applied to Default, Trusted and Untrusted domains..

Myself, I doubt I ll use Custom often. As of now, I have set one site using Custom. I used to keep this domain as Default and allow it temporarily when required

Take a look, pictures. The first one is the old Embedding window in version 5 where Settings were found. Everything you see there with a Forbid next to it, is a restriction setting. I used to tick them all, and is exactly what I am doing now by unchecking the boxes to restrict in version 10. Looks different but they are same settings.



The boxes.







In the last picture you see the one domain I am setting as Custom, picture taken from the Options tab where you can also change settings globally or for domains you set as Custom. This is a change from before. For me personally, this is a nice change as now Untrusted domains are easy to monitor, or do whatever. Before you couldn't see them in the UI.



Bo

 

BO
That post and explanation is genuinely very much appreciated and i shall start dabbling with noscript again.

 

Just a general comment, I really don't like the new NS interface at all, I had the same with uMatrix. I hope he will bring back the old interface, and if that's not possible he should take a look at uBlock which is much easier to manage.

 

Rasheed, the old interface is gone, cant come back.

Bo

 

But it should be improved, the new one is a step back. I'm only using NS for disabling first party scripts on certain sites. I can do the same with uBlock, but it will break some of those pages while NS does not.

 

https://www.ghacks.net/2017/12/01/noscripts-rating-drops-after-firefox-quantum-release/

 

I am sure the UI will be "improved", but personally, I dont care what it looks like. All I care is that it works properly and the new one does. All settings to do what I used to do in version 5 are there, and more, all in your face. Is easier to make changes. Before, we had to open the old UI to make adjustments, now you do them right there on the spot, on the fly. No need to open an additional window.

Some things work even better with the new UI. The new UI, makes it easier to review and monitor your Black list (if you have one). Before, to review your Untrusted domains you opened a config file and took a look. It was extremely hard to monitor the list. You couldn't do it via UI. Now, the black list is put together with the white list in the UI. Easy to monitor.

Bo

 

Most complains come from people who are confused by the new UI. In my personal view, I think the new UI is easy. But I knew how to use the old NoScript. I used NoScript for 9 years. The first year and a half, I knew nothing, understood nothing, just went with it and didn't even try to make sense of it.. I just knew it was a good program and wanted to learn it. And then, one day, all things started making sense, it went Click Click, and never looked back. It was like learning to ride a 2 wheel bike. Once you learn, you never forget.

In my personal opinion, most people having problems right now, are users who never moved from using basic NoScript. They didn't advance in learning, so now the new version comes out, and the learning process goes back to point 0. A new learning curve, just to get back to using basic NoScript.

Look at the major complains, according to the article:

Number 1, 4 and 5, are usability complains. Learning process in On. If you never got to be an advanced user with NoScript 5, version 10 is a new ball game, a new start. You have to start the process of learning again, just to get back to the level you were at before. Thats how it is. NoScript ha never been easy. It wasnt easy for me, it took me more than a year to start making sense of it.

The other 2 major complains, one is freezes. I haven't experienced that problem but that and complain number 3 have to do with NoScript being more right now like a beta than stable. Thats he thruth. So, if you want to be part of the new NoScript, and take part in the developing process, you have to accept that.

Bo

 

It isn't just about the ugly look, it's unhandy. Perhaps it also depends on the way you use NS. Personally, I globally allow scripts, and like to block only certain first or third party scripts. Perhaps I'm missing something, but this doesn't seem to be possible anymore. Wait a minute, it seems like when you make a site untrusted, NS isn't even blocking scripts, what's up with this? And on some sites it needs to reload before being able to operate. What a mess.

 

Rasheed, you still can Temporarily allow all scripts, look at the right button in the Menu, when you hover the browser over the button, it displays "Temporarily allow all this page". If you click it, all Default domains get temporarily allowed. Look at the picture.

If your Untrusted domains are running content, that's probably because you setting up something wrong. Click on any Default domain in the Drop down Menu or in Options, and untick all the boxes. Making changes for Untrusted (and Trusted, Default) are globally applied, remember that. I untick all boxes for my Untrusted and Default domains. That gives me a more restricted experience than what I had with version 5. Look at the picture for the boxes that you need to untick.



Bo

 

Actually, I think I have already figured it out. With this new style NS, you will only get to see all first and third party scripts if you disable scripts globally. If you don't do this, you can not block first party scripts. This would mean that NS in its current form is useless to me, is this some kind of sick joke? Like I said, I do no want to globally disable scripts, because that would break 80% of all websites, and I don't want to constantly have to white-list stuff.

 

I dont think you ll have the patience to learn and use NoScript.

Rasheed, the idea is to trust/white list the required domains for the sites you visit regularly, that way, NoScript disappears in the background for those sites after a little while. That basically covers, What? I ll say 80% of your browsing. It cant be easier.

And for sites you visit at random, you temporarily allow the scripts. You can temporarily allow all scripts or per domain. One thing that helps me is that I blacklist/Untrust domains that I have found that are not required anywhere, usually they are ad servers, malicious or trackers. The black list, helps me because usually I find a few domains already Untrusted when I visit this type of sites. So, I can ignore them and only temporarily allow the rest, or makes it easier to pick the correct domains that are required for the web page to work if I decide to be selective as this Untrusted domains can be ignored.

Bo

 

This isn't about learning how to use it. It's simply NOT how I would like to use NS. Why would the developer make such a weird change, I don't get it. It's pointless to disable scripts globally, because it will break most sites, and nowadays it's a lot harder to exploit browsers. That's why I'm using uBlock and Ghostery because they block only "bad" third party scripts, without breaking most sites.

 

To use NoScript or Sandboxie. for example, you have to take what the programs give you. We shouldn't expect the programs to have all the features as we want them. I mean, we are not the developers, you know.

Bo

 

...........thats for you, Pete.

Bo

 

Can someone tell me if noscript 10.x supports firefox sync? and if it does, how the hell does one enable it? There's no information regarding it whatsoever.

 

Supports sync as in?
Mrk