Database Info

Where can I find the latest hosts file?

After one day I am already sick of ads...

There are several in the market. Personally, I use AdFree.

AdAway or ROM Toolbox is your friend in the battle against annoying ads.
Sent from my Nexus S using xda premium

AdFree, but you can manually do it, AdFree host file are composed of: http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/hosts.txt and http://pgl.yoyo.org/as/serverlist.php?showintro=0;hostformat=hosts

[email protected] said:
AdAway or ROM Toolbox is your friend in the battle against annoying ads.
Sent from my Nexus S using xda premium
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I tried rom toolbox cause I had it already installed, but it does not work as good as my previous rom using adfree hosts files.
the worst is on this forum, with a huge white space always at the top, I never saw it in previous rom

cowst said:
I tried rom toolbox cause I had it already installed, but it does not work as good as my previous rom using adfree hosts files.
the worst is on this forum, with a huge white space always at the top, I never saw it in previous rom
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I'm using XDA Premium so I have no idea the huge white space at the top. Regardless, you can give AdAway a try. It has an option to enable a loopback local server that can response to ads requests.
As far as white blocks or empty frames in place of ads, it all depends on how the apps handle loopback requests. Some apps just won't show the ads if the ads request is nullified, and some just show a big frame or empty space. Ad blocking apps just update the hosts file routing the requests to ad serving hosts to the loopback localhost 127.0.0.1. They cannot control how the apps handle ads.

[email protected] said:
I'm using XDA Premium so I have no idea the huge white space at the top. Regardless, you can give AdAway a try. It has an option to enable a loopback local server that can response to ads requests.
As far as white blocks or empty frames in place of ads, it all depends on how the apps handle loopback requests. Some apps just won't show the ads if the ads request is nullified, and some just show a big frame or empty space. Ad blocking apps just update the hosts file routing the requests to ad serving hosts to the loopback localhost 127.0.0.1. They cannot control how the apps handle ads.
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adaway did the trick, thanks!

Personally I do not support blocking ads. If an app do annoys me, I would not use it
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA

GeoWatsons said:
Personally I do not support blocking ads. If an app do annoys me, I would not use it
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA
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Yes, but I generally purchase apps I like anyway. The hosts file does more than just block ads.

Block all ads without root

If you want to block all ads without root use Adguard it blocks all browser ads for free. But for £6.95 you get 1 years licence which will block app ads. It's working perfectly for me I have not seen one ad and you don't need to be rooted
http://adguard.com/en/adguard-android/overview.html

Can anyone confirm please?
Sent from my SM-G920F

eSu.Matix said:
Can anyone confirm please?
Sent from my SM-G920F
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Just try it you get 7 days free trial

I have just tried and it, and it's just as god as AdFree maybe a bit slower in loading Web pages ?

Hdfxsts said:
I have just tried and it, and it's just as god as AdFree maybe a bit slower in loading Web pages ?
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Does Adfree block app ads if it does I might try it . I only used to root to block ads

Don't worry Adfree needs root Adguard doesn't

Adfree needs Root but it also blocks most ads in apps and Adguard is about just as god.

I've been using it for a while, it's quite good. But obviously everything adds up and it has an impact on battery life.

Working great for me. Some pages seem to load a bit slower, other faster. Premium does work on blocking app ads (tested in SpeedTest app).

daewond3r said:
Working great for me. Some pages seem to load a bit slower, other faster. Premium does work on blocking app ads (tested in SpeedTest app).
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It's a great app I only rooted my phone to block ads and now I don't have to

Adguard is a massive battery hog from what I can recall from my previous experience with it
Sent from my SM-G920I

Just root and do it free :silly:

adaway if free to and can filter ads without root but only on wifi; I use uc browser, it has a build in adblocker, firefox of course has some adblocking extensions but not all them work

godutch said:
adaway if free to and can filter ads without root but only on wifi; I use uc browser, it has a build in adblocker, firefox of course has some adblocking extensions but not all them work
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But adaway does not work on apps.Adguard is free if you just want to block browser ads

Adguard is hogging battery?
Any other alternative?

Rony Harianto said:
Adguard is hogging battery?
Any other alternative?
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It doesn't even show on my battery list no battery drain here

Rony Harianto said:
Adguard is hogging battery?
Any other alternative?
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I'm not seeing much battery drain here.

Adguard can block ads from apps?

Confused!
How can two apps do same thing and one requires root [which is prohibited by OEMs] while other does not require root. And how can both be same in quality. Can someone explain.

Links to paid apps are not permitted on XDA without a free version available to members as well.
I'll leave the thread open to discuss, but please... No links here.
Thanks,
Darth
Forum Moderator

Android ad blocker?

I'm a long time user of AdBlock Plus, but recently switched my browser to UBlock origin. ABP hasn't been updated for android in a while, so I was wondering if there was a better alternative, or a round up review I could read. Most of what's online is from 3-5 years ago, which seems odd that we need ad blocking now as a form of anti-malware software.
What is a good system wide ad blocker on Android? I have root on my device.
I'd like it to play well with OpenVPN and cell connections too. ABP seems to break on occasion when on cell connections.

i have adaway 3.2 and minminguard xposed module and i have never seen a single ad.if u wish there is a modded and updated youtube adfree version since youtube adaway module doesn't work for most of us.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3449312

I have been using DNS66 lately and have noticed that I have almost no ads any more either in my browser or in any apps I use. Like you, I used AdBlock for a long time but also noticed it becoming less and less useful as time goes. But I read a digest type review of ad blockers recently and DNS66 was at the top. Since I have started using it, I have noticed less ads (virtually none), also a noticeable increase in page load times, app load times and most significantly in the amount of data I use each month. Between using this DNS level ad blocker and removing facebook and replacing it with Metal Pro, I am now using half the data each month, getting noticeable increases across all web related traffic and I am much happier for it.

AdAway + Minminguard + Ad-free YouTube combo is the most powerful adblocker for rooted Android.
Dns66 is fast and lightweight adblocking solution for no-root Android devices, but since it is using VPN service, you can't use it with other VPN service like openVPN as Android only allows one VPN service running.

before some days i unrooted to receive just an OTA.When i opened tapatalk i couldn't believe my eyes.in every screen there was an add that was taking muuuch place on the screen.i had to scroll many times to find what i wanted.i read that minminguard removes both the add and the token place of screen that add was.adaway i think removes only the add.i couldn't imagine my device with adds.and i definitely even would root just to install only addaway programs..

kos25k said:
before some days i unrooted to receive just an OTA.When i opened tapatalk i couldn't believe my eyes.in every screen there was an add that was taking muuuch place on the screen.i had to scroll many times to find what i wanted.i read that minminguard removes both the add and the token place of screen that add was.adaway i think removes only the add.i couldn't imagine my device with adds.and i definitely even would root just to install only addaway programs..
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Not in my case. No root Android + dns66 combo is enough for me, as I can find alternatives for ad-bloated app almost every time. Less than 5 apps with ad banner in my device, which blocked perfectly by dns66.

free ad blocker app for not rooted?

Hi guys I'm wondering if there is a free ad blocker that block apps in both apps and web for unrooted phone? Thanks.

theoryzz said:
Hi guys I'm wondering if there is a free ad blocker that block apps in both apps and web for unrooted phone? Thanks.
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AdHell.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S8+ using Tapatalk

Katt50 said:
AdHell.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S8+ using Tapatalk
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I second this! Works better than the rest.
Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

I tend to disagree. Tried Adhell since I got my phone on launch day, this week went back to DNS66. Hate to go the VPN route, but Adhell did nothing for me browsing Chrome and in some other apps. And before it's said I do not plan on using some other browser.

Here's what I use, but the premium version. https://disconnect.me/mobile/disc

I have tried Adhell but for me it doesn't block the ads on apps only on the browser. Does Adhell block ads on apps for u guys? Well u used adblock on my s7 edge it's the best for me to block ads on both browser and apps but it's no longer a free service haha.

I tried adhell but it blocked a couple of sites I wanted to use... (gumtree)
I just use adblocker for samsung by betafish. Although that doesn't do apps, just browser.

I used BlockThis on my S7 occasionally. Haven't tried anything on the S8+ yet though.

Adhell is ok but it doesnt block everything. All it needs is the ability to import your own hosts file and it would effectively give us adfree/adaway for rooted devices but no sign of such a feature yet despite quite a few requests from people, maybe if enough people request it then he will add this. It does have the ability to change dns servers now so you can try using an ad blocking dns server with it too. Disconnect pro works in the exact same way using the knox firewall, but seems to let just as many ads through but comes with an extortionate price and is supposedly geared more towards blocking trackers than ads, and you cant change the dns.
Other than that you have the vpn based ones like adguard (not free), dns666 (free). I just spotted one called netguard (free with ads and option to buy pro version) https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/apps-games/app-netguard-root-firewall-t3233012 which sounds good and lets you use your own hosts file but again its a vpn blocker.

I use Blokada and so far it's the best for me
https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/apps-games/app-blokada-fire-forget-root-ad-blocker-t3503374

y2k1ltd said:
Here's what I use, but the premium version. https://disconnect.me/mobile/disc
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Does the pro or indeed the basic block ads on apps. I miss AdAway on my un-rooted new phone

is there anything that blocks youtube ads w/o rooting?

mrkoven said:
is there anything that blocks youtube ads w/o rooting?
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Youtube Red............................works for me. lol

Aid777 said:
Does the pro or indeed the basic block ads on apps. I miss AdAway on my un-rooted new phone
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Yes it will, but you don't want to touch that thing with a barge pole. It isn't specifically made for ad blocking, its for tracking blocking. The price is a joke. You can't customise what its blocking at all. adhell is free, does the same thing, is specifically targeting blocking ads, and you can add/remove things from the list, which you cant do in disconnect pro. no contest. if only the dev of adhell would implement being able to import our own hosts files then we would have an adfree/adaway for rooted phones, but I dont know why he hasnt. most of the work to enable that is already done as it is obviously using some sort of hosts file anyway, just his own one instead of one we can customise ourselves.
my main issue is that nothing seems to block the ads that are in apps in your secure folder, regardless of whether it is a knox blocker or a vpn blocker, which i find ridiculous. trying to install the blocker into secure folder does not work and would double your battery drain even if it did work so that isnt an option.

ewokuk said:
Yes it will, but you don't want to touch that thing with a barge pole. It isn't specifically made for ad blocking, its for tracking blocking. The price is a joke. You can't customise what its blocking at all. adhell is free, does the same thing, is specifically targeting blocking ads, and you can add/remove things from the list, which you cant do in disconnect pro. no contest. if only the dev of adhell would implement being able to import our own hosts files then we would have an adfree/adaway for rooted phones, but I dont know why he hasnt. most of the work to enable that is already done as it is obviously using some sort of hosts file anyway, just his own one instead of one we can customise ourselves.
my main issue is that nothing seems to block the ads that are in apps in your secure folder, regardless of whether it is a knox blocker or a vpn blocker, which i find ridiculous. trying to install the blocker into secure folder does not work and would double your battery drain even if it did work so that isnt an option.
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Where can I find more info on adhell... The website or github does not give much at all... Also what is package disabler integration for?
Does it work if Knox is disabled in package disabler?
Sent from my SM-G955W using Tapatalk

DNS66. Just make sure your select all the sources. Works great

While it's not free I use adgaurd. They had a sale and I think it was under 15 bucks for a life time license. it's a VPN app and I haven't found anything else be able to compete with it's protection from ads. I love it. Probably had it about 6 months now. The free stuff tends to not work well at all. I've tried them all.

Is there a good App/Package Disabler and or AdBlocker like Adhell?

Title really says everything but I will iterate, on Samsung devices they have a lot of different Package/App disablers, these get rid of pre-installed bloatware that cannot be disabled normally like SwiftKey on this phone.
Does anyone know of anything like that one here?
Thanks

whoamanwtf said:
Title really says everything but I will iterate, on Samsung devices they have a lot of different Package/App disablers, these get rid of pre-installed bloatware that cannot be disabled normally like SwiftKey on this phone.
Does anyone know of anything like that one here?
Thanks
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I've removed without root some apps with this how-to:
https://www.xda-developers.com/uninstall-carrier-oem-bloatware-without-root-access/
As AdBlocker I'm using Adguard - one big plus is, that some sites does not "see" Adguard and the view on the pages is permittet. It opens a local VPN and is filtering the ads. If you are rootet, you can configure Adguard as a local proxy - so you are able to open a vpn-connection with Adguard enabled.

I am using Adguard Premium as well. Excellent adblocker (you can get it lifetime license 1+1 - 1 PC and 1 android device) for about 6 euros.

Thanks guys, I was hoping for a more direct on device method for the disabling of apps that was able to be undone with a switch on the phone like on Samsung but that is fine there is not enough bloat on here to worry too much.
As for Adguard I will give that a shot and pick up premium if I like it, thanks again!