[tor-talk] ads slow Tor Browser dramatically

Joe Btfsplk joebtfsplk at gmx.com
Fri Nov 2 18:06:50 UTC 2012


Most everyone's read the advice about not using extra addons / plugins 
in TBB, due to possible anonymity leaks.  I understand.
TBB is already slow, which is understandable.  Using "stock" TBB that 
allows ads & possibly other items increasing bandwidth is far slower on 
many sites - even news sites - than same TBB version w/ just AdBlock Plus.
Sometimes so slow, it's not worth using it.  In tests - _at the same 
time_ - using another TBB install w/ - only - AdBlock Plus, vast 
majority of those slow sites w/ big or multiple ads load much faster.

Since addons are a no - no, & since TBB often loads sites w/ ads at a 
snail's pace, might it be possible to modify TBB or verify / modify some 
addon, so most ads will be blocked & anonymity will be safe?
It already uses addons for other purposes, that checked for any info 
leaks.  Blocking ads isn't Tor devs' main concern, but they should be 
concerned about usability.

Some say, those sites need revenue to keep running.  Fine.  But they 
don't have to have multiple *extremely* _graphic & script laden_ ads, 
that slow TBB page loading to a crawl, sometimes making it unusable.
There must be some reasonable middle ground somewhere.




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