NAME

       dbab - dnsmasq based ad blocking

NOTICE

       ○   If     you    like    dbab,    check    out    its    sister    project    dbab-packer
           https://github.com/suntong/dbab-packer/.

       ○   It has been my default way of using dbab for quite a while now,  thus  I'm  officially
           recommending it over the host-package-installing approach.

       ○   I will update the Debian package for the last time and stop packaging it after 2021.

SYNOPSIS

       # start dbab-svr server
       /etc/init.d/dbab start

       # stop dbab-svr server
       /etc/init.d/dbab stop

       # get/update ad blocking list
       /usr/sbin/dbab-get-list

       # add your own to the ad blocking list
       /usr/sbin/dbab-add-list

DESCRIPTION

       dbab  provides  a  total  solution for SOHO service environment, smoothly integrates DHCP,
       DNS, local caching and Ad blocking into harmony operation. Ad blocking is done by  DNSmasq
       and  dbab-svr  the  pixel server, i.e., done at the DNS level -- all requests to ads-sites
       are blocked right there at DNS level.  No  more  user  space  extensive  pattern  matching
       necessary at all. Work for your mobile devices as well. You don't need to install anything
       to your mobile devices to enjoy the ad-free and speed-up browsing.

ALTERNATIVES

       People may also use browsers' adblock-plus extension to block ads, but  fewer  think  over
       how it works internally. Here is an overview of Adblock Plus from a thousand mile high [1]
       -- whenever the browser needs to load something, the extension kicks in and do a  thorough
       pattern  matching  of all known ad urls using regular expressions, then hectically replace
       all found ad urls with something else. This is done on every page, every load,  and  every
       component  of the web page, using JavaScript. Thus it is by nature slow and CPU intensive,
       at least inefficient. There are  other  alternatives  to  this,  e.g.,  privoxy,  but  the
       concepts are the same.

       [1] http://adblockplus.org/en/faq_internal

ADVANTAGES

       Comparing  to  other  ad-blocking efforts, dbab will be super light. Only a few operations
       are enough to determine and stop the  ads.  No  heavy-lifting  (using  CPU  intensive  URL
       pattern matching) necessary. Thus it will be super light and lightning fast.

       The advantages of using dbab are:

       ○   Work  at  the  DNS  level.  Leave  the web pages intact, without any pattern matching,
           string substitution, and/or html elements replacing.

       ○   Work for your mobile devices as well. Were you previously in the dilemma  of  choosing
           ads  free or slow response for your mobile devices (iphone, ipad, etc)? Now you don't.
           You don't need to install any thing to your mobile  devices  for  them  to  enjoy  the
           ad-free browsing experience. Moreover, their browsing speed will increase dramatically
           on revisited pages/images.

       ○   Serve instantly. All ads will be replaced by a 1x1 pixel gif image served  locally  by
           the dbab-svr pixel server.

       ○   Maintenance  free. You don't need to maintain the list of ad sites yourself. The block
           list can be downloaded from pgl.yoyo.org periodically. If you don't like some  of  the
           entries there, you can add-to or remove-from that list easily.

DBAB-SVR

       The  dbab-svr  is  a super minimal web / pixel server, it has one purpose -- serving a 1x1
       pixel transparent gif file. It can optionally provide the automatic WPAD service  as  well
       if  so  configured.  By  default  it  listens  on  localhost,  configurable  from the file
       /etc/dbab/dbab.addr.

DBAB-GET-LIST

       The dbab-get-list is used to get dnsmasq blocking list from pgl.yoyo.org  to  be  used  by
       DNSmasq. The result is stored as /etc/dnsmasq.d/dbab-map.adblock.conf.

       You  can run it once, or put it in a cron job so as to update the block list periodically.
       E.g., to update on a weekly basis:

           ln -s /usr/sbin/dbab-get-list /etc/cron.weekly/

       It is safe to do so, even if the machine might be offline when the cron job is  triggered.
       The existing file will be intact if download failed.

DBAB-ADD-LIST

       You  can  use  dbab-add-list to add your own entries to dnsmasq blocking list, if the list
       from   pgl.yoyo.org   is   not   sufficient   for   you.   The   result   is   stored   as
       /etc/dnsmasq.d/dbab-map.trashsites.conf.

DBAB-CHK-LIST

       The  dbab-chk-list  can  help  you  to  check  if  your  own  list  is  already covered by
       pgl.yoyo.org.

DHCP-ADD-WPAD

       The dhcp-add-wpad will take the content in /etc/dbab/dbab.addr as the IP of  the  host  of
       the  dhcp  server, the squid caching server, then enable the automatic WPAD service within
       the system, with the help of the DNS and DHCP server.

FILES

       ○   /etc/dbab/dbab.addr
           The IP address that dbab-svr listens on. Defaults to localhost.

       ○   /etc/dbab/dbab.list-
           The entries you want to filter out from the pgl.yoyo.org lists. List sites  you  still
           wish to visit there.

       ○   /etc/dbab/dbab.list+
           The  entries you want to add to blocking list on top of the pgl.yoyo.org list, used by
           dbab-add-list.

       ○   /etc/dnsmasq.d/dbab-map.adblock.conf
           The file which dbab-get-list updates.

       ○   /etc/dnsmasq.d/dbab-map.trashsites.conf
           The file which dbab-add-list updates.

       ○   /usr/share/doc/dbab/dbab.md
           The more detailed introduction and installation guild.

AUTHOR(S)

       Copyright: 2013~2020 Tong SUN

       The pixelserv was originally downloaded from
       http://proxytunnel.sourceforge.net/files/pixelserv.pl.txt
       Wrote by Piet Wintjens, with BSD (no advertising clause) license.

                                          December 2021                                   DBAB(8)