Anti-redirect scriptlet for vk.com (href-sanitizer)

[dimisa-RUAdList]

Prerequisites

• I performed a cursory search of the issue tracker to avoid opening a duplicate issue.
• The issue is not present after disabling uBO in the browser.
• I checked the documentation to understand that the issue I am reporting is not normal behavior.

I tried to reproduce the issue when...

• uBO is the only extension.
• using a new, unmodified browser profile.

Description

The site vk.com is one of the most visited Russian sites. All external links on this site are done through a redirect.

There is an idea to create a scriptlet with a name like "anti-redirect" based on this script: https://greasyfork.org/en/scripts/395977-vk-com-del-redir/code

A specific URL where the issue occurs.

https://vk.com/amedia.online

Steps to Reproduce

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Expected behavior

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Actual behavior

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Configuration

uBlock Origin development build 1.47.5b2

[gorhill]

Your request is the equivalent of asking uBO to deal with redirect link, something which I have declined in the past, see #1784.

Clear URLs is the right tool for this.

[dimisa-RUAdList]

The thing is, ClearURLs doesn't solve the problem on this site. The transition is still done via vk.com/away.php.

[gorhill]

If it doesn't work with ClearURLs then maybe it's best to report the issue on their repo?

[dimisa-RUAdList]

Thanks, but I thought it might be possible to solve this problem with uBO. At the moment, almost all such tasks on Russian sites are solved by the Counters filter. However, the current features of uBO do not allow me to do the same for vk.com. Maybe you still look at the script code?

[gorhill]

I prefer to decline, as explained in these similar requests:

• [Enhancement] Add option to *automatically* visit embedded URLs w/o tracker #1784
• Rewrite URL from Qwant search engine to avoid it knowing which results are clicked gorhill/uBlock#3276
• [Request] Filter URL referers (less tracking = more privacy) uBlock-LLC/uBlock#1009

Adding a scriptlet for this one particular case, beside that vk.com could change at any time (further adding burden here), it opens the door for all such requests in the future. This is best left to a dedicated extension, or even more simply, just a matter of using a user script extension.

[MasterKia]

@dimisa-RUAdList What about using that userscript in the userResourcesLocation of uBO? It needs a bit of modification.
Then you can use a filter like vk.com##+js(anti-redirect) in your Counters list.

[dimisa-RUAdList]

@MasterKia
Thank you, I have not yet given up hope of creating a solution using the default tools of uBO.

@gorhill
I carefully reviewed all the rejected cases, including my own.

I think it is possible to create a solution that will be adequate and useful for many cases, although not for all.

I propose to create a scriptlet to modify the value of the href attribute. Its only function will be to replace the original href value with its text value.

Universal. No complicated and risky redirects, no additions, absolutely transparent, using only what already exists in the original layout.

Example: https://vk.com/amedia.online

Screenshot(s)

Target: href="/away.php?to=https%3A%2F%2Famedia.online%2F&cc_key=" ~> https://amedia.online/

Solution: vk.com##+js(href-to-text, [href^="/away.php?to="])

[MasterKia]

I propose to create a scriptlet to modify the value of the href attribute. Its only function will be to replace the original href value with its text value.

Sounds similar to #2347.

[uBlock-user]

uBO has a built-in url sanitiser deployed when the document request is blocked. So add ||vk.com/away.php^$doc and uBO will sanitise the URL and offer a clean URL on the document blocked page for the users to navigate directly.

[dimisa-RUAdList]

@uBlock-user
Thank you, but no. If I add such a rule to the filters, it will only be a terrible irritant. This is not a solution. This is some kind of sophisticated way to motivate users to remove uBO.

For now, I'd rather wait for a response from Gorhill.

[uBlock-user]

This is some kind of sophisticated way to motivate users to remove uBO.

^^^ If that's how you feel about it, but Strict Blocking as a feature has been present in uBO for years and nobody removes uBO because of it, just so you know.

[dimisa-RUAdList]

@uBlock-user
Thanks for the clarification, but I'm aware of how Strict Blocking works.

However, its infrequent triggers are not at all the same as a constant trigger on every external transition on one of the most visited Russian sites.

Do not be offended, but I have no purpose to continue the discussion of the solution you proposed. I'm just waiting for a response from Gorhill.