Best settings in combination with AdBlock Plus

[Oliver L.]

I like NS but I'm getting tired of setting permissions each time I go to a new website (and many old[er] websites sometimes change what's in the URL, so I have to right-click and adjust that as well).

Can anyone recommend a simpler way to browse? I'd rather click on unwanted ads/pop-ups and mark them as Untrusted and be able to surf more easily than say ok all the time (I used to have Temporarily Allow Top Level… etc. but read that it was not recommended). Also I use AdBlock Plus, if that affects what I should be doing.

(I tried to read the guide to NS settings but my eyes glazed over, is there a quick-and-dirty guide that's easier to understand? Also if it seems like there's something I'm misunderstanding about NS's basic purpose/functionality please just say so.)

[Alan Baxter]

I use AdBlock Plus, if that affects what I should be doing.

I use Adblock Plus too, Oliver. Since Adblock Plus takes care of ads (and tracking too if you add the privacy subscription), I don't bother to mark any of the advertising sites as Untrusted. I just let NoScript block them by default. In fact I don't bother to mark any sites as Untrusted.

(I tried to read the guide to NS settings but my eyes glazed over, is there a quick-and-dirty guide that's easier to understand? Also if it seems like there's something I'm misunderstanding about NS's basic purpose/functionality please just say so.)

I'm afraid NOSCRIPT QUICK START GUIDE FOR BEGINNERS is the quickest and dirtiest guide we've got, but I'll see if I can be even quicker.
- I primarily use NoScript to automatically block javascript from any malicious sites that I may click on, be redirected too, or are embedded on a hacked website or web server. I then Allow only trustworthy sites that seem to need javascript before they will work properly.
- For the most part, stick with NoScript's default settings. In particular, messing with the Advanced settings can bite you in the butt if you're not careful.
- The first thing I do in a new install is turn off NoScript's notification bar the first time it appears by clicking its Options button and unchecking "Show message about blocked scripts". I go by the appearance of the toolbar icon instead. The features page explains the icons.
- I check NoScript Options > Embeddings > Apply these restrictions to whitelisted sites too so NoScript will block Flash and other active content on all sites until I click the placeholder NoScript puts there.
- I permanently whitelist sites that need it if I visit them frequently.
- I temporarily allow sites that need it if I visit them only once or infrequently.
- If I figure out that a non-malicious domain that's not a top-level site needs to be whitelisted for a site to work properly, I permanently whitelist it so I don't have to figure it out all over again when I revisit the site.

Hope this helps. Please let us know if you have any other questions.

[Oliver L.]

Thanks for the response and link.

I never messed around too much with the settings so I think most of them should still be on default (I used to have problems with my laptop when travelling with the ABE feature, but it seems to have gotten better in the last year.)

One question: why do you only temporarily allow sites you visit infrequently? Does creating too large/long a whitelist slow down the browser?

[Alan Baxter]

I don't think it should. I've never heard the developer say there's a practical limit, but why take a chance.

Temporarily allow makes me feel like I'm more in control. It's so easy to temporarily allow a site that I haven't bothered to add very many top-level sites to my permanent whitelist. A smaller whitelist feels tidier.

[Oliver L.]

Ok thanks for your follow-up.

I guesss what I'm getting at is, what would happen if I set NS to allow top-level sites, and set it to the most basic URL (without the http)? I know it's not recommended, but would this keep out the nasty scripts/whatever while allowing me to browse without right-clicking and setting permissions each time I get to a new website, as long as I don't care about ads (letting AdBlock Plus do its work)?

Or again, am I misunderstanding something about NS's functionality?

[Alan Baxter]

You're welcome.

I guesss what I'm getting at is, what would happen if I set NS to allow top-level sites, and set it to the most basic URL (without the http)? I know it's not recommended, but would this keep out the nasty scripts/whatever while allowing me to browse without right-clicking and setting permissions each time I get to a new website...?

You'd have some protection against any malicious external scripts, but if you were redirected to a malicious site -- which can happen if a website or its server is hacked -- it would be automatically allowed. That's not so good, eh?

Personally, I don't mind temporarily allowing a top-level trusted website each time I visit it. If I visit it very frequently, I permanently allow it. You can easily toggle a top-level site to temp allow and back with Ctrl+Shift+\. You can also do that by clicking the toolbar button after enabling that from NoScript Options > General pane.

[Oliver L.]

I see what you're saying but I'm not sure how I would know if I was being redirected when I right-click and allow stuff anyway…I tend to allow anything that doesn't have the letters "ad" somewhere in their name…