YouTube question

[mary3444]

I always come here when I have a problem & everyone always helps. First of all I am not good on the computer, have windows 10, & Firefox. For years my husband has always been able to go on YouTube free. A month ago everytime he wanted to go on something it said we had to disable the thing for no ads I have uBlock. I did that & it still say I need to disable uBlock. We don't to pay for youtube but why now. What else can I do seeing I am doing what they say. The funny thing is every so often he goes on & can go anywhere he want to go for a day or two then the same thing happens. I know this is a minor question but it does keep my 80 year old husband busy for a while. Hope you can help & thank you.
Mary

[Corrine]

Hi, Mary! It is nice to see you again, although not nice that there is an issue with YouTube.

I don't go to YouTube often but have never run into that issue when I have.  Have you or your husband tried it with an alternate browser when that has happened?  Does it happen on a site that is fine for several visits and then isn't on a return visit? It would also be helpful if you could provide a link to one of the sites where this has happened, particularly since it doesn't happen all the time.

[Metallica]

There has been an arms race between YouTube and uBlock recently. And YouTube users have become the victims of it.

This is a rather technical article but it explains what has happened:
https://andadinosaur.com/youtube-s-anti-adblock-and-ublock-origin

I don't use YouTube much either, so  don't mind the occasional advertisement. For that reason I use a separate browser with no ad-blocker if I want to watch something. I think you can achieve the same result by opening YouTube in a private tab. Maybe that's something your husband can try.

[v_v]

mary3444,

Yes, I have noticed this exact same behavior when going to youtube lately, and I am using uBlock Origin also.  The issue does not seem to be limited to any particular browser because I routinely run about 14 browsers on an alternating basis and except for the SeaMonkey browser the rest all seem to experience the issue occasionally.

The article referred to by Metallica does give a little background on the situation but it does not seem to have a fix.

What I have experienced is that if I just either "dismiss" or click the "x" to close the notice then I can go on with using youtube for the rest of that session or day.  Sometimes when I start a new session or day of using youtube the pop-up appears again, but sometimes it doesn't.  Either way though all that I have to do is to click "dismiss" or whatever other method to close the notice, and then to continue on using youtube as I always have.

So yes, this new issue seems to be an occasional and repeated annoyance but so far it does not permanently block anything, and I have never disabled uBlock Origin.  So just get rid of the notice and continue on with business as usual.

v_v

[plodr]

Mary, are you using uBlock
https://ublock.org/en
or are you using uBlockOrigin
https://ublockorigin.com/?

They are two different extensions, so before I post anything else, I want to be sure you are using the same extension as I have installed.

[mary3444]

Hi everyone. I am going to answer these question even if I don't know what I am doing.
Corrine, guess I have been good on this computer. I guess the browser is what I use. Tried Microsoft Edge but the same thing happens. It is not just one site it is all of youtube. It can be like that for weeks & then one day he will try & can use it.
Metallica, My husband is worse on the computer then me, he can't even start it. Don't think uBlock is on Microsoft Edge but not sure on that one. Don't think he would mind advertisement just so he could go on youtube.
v_v, There is no X to close the notice so that does not help, again I am not good on here. I just can't get rid of the notice.
plodr, I think I am using ublockorigin.com

Hope my answers make sense. What if I just that ublock off & use something elso.
Thanks everyone

[plodr]

You should not have to shut off UBlockOrigin to see YouTube. I don't shut mine off and I can see the videos. I use FF ESR and UBlockOrigin and don't have a problem.

I do get a popup about trying YouTube Premium that I have to click Dismiss. For some reason this morning I tried two different YouTube videos and the popup did not appear. When it does appear, I will try to get a screenshot to show you what I see.

I start here at Free with Ads https://www.youtube.com/feed/storefront?bp=ogUCKAY%3D
I picked one and it started playing - no popup and no ad at the beginning.

[CaptainTripps]

If you don't have uBlock Origin installed - you can install it from here: 
uBlock Origin

Follow the instructions in this YouTube video: 

This will make sure you have the latest versions of both, the plug-in and the filters. I installed uBlock Origin on Vivaldi, updated the filters and watched a 49 minute, very popular, new  video which has 6.2 million views without one ad showing up.

It's a bit of a mini-war with YouTube trying to force ads while the plugin developers try to defeat the ads.  With that in mind, you'll have to update the filters again if YouTube manages to force ads on uBlock Origin.

I hope this helps

[mary3444]

plodr, I went to that site you said it was movies & tv, that is not what my husband so I went to history hit something & got the same thing about ad blocker. looked at. Tried home hit something & got the same thing about ad blocker. Would not care about a pop-up but never saw that. I am about to give up trying to get it back for my husband.
Captain Tripps, I have uBlock that is up to date. I don't know what filters are so I can't update that.
I am sorry to bother all of you with such a minor thing but I had hoped all of you could help me as I am not good at this.
Mary

[v_v]

mary3444,

As plodr said you do not need to disable uBlock Origin or switch to another ad-blocker, unless you just want to.

The overall story for this situation is as follows (as implied in the link given by Metallica in his "November 02, 2023, 03:34:16 AM" post above):

• youtube wants to show you ads because that is how they both make money and provide service;
• when an ad blocker is used those money-making ads are blocked;
• so youtube has started a campaign to get rid of the ad blockers;
• in response to this uBlock Origin (and probably other ad blockers also) have been working to override and get around the youtube anti-ad block campaign;
• so the situation ends up being like a chess match: youtube makes 'move' and then uBlock Origin makes a 'counter-move' to get around the youtube 'move', then youtube makes another 'move'; right now this cycle seems to just keep repeating itself;
• the video posted by CaptainTripps has simple and clear directions as to how to stay up to date in this cycle of 'move' and 'counter-move'.  You do not need to know what "filters" are, you just need to follow the clicking directions in the video.  You already have uBlock Origin so you just need to follow the 'click this' instructions in the video.  After you finished the proper updating then go to the following page (as listed in the video) " https://drhyperion451.github.io/does-uBO-bypass-yt/ ".  This page will tell you if your filters are up to date with the latest uBlock Origin 'countermove' to the latest youtube move'.

Are you (or your husband) getting the image that is shown in the youtube link provided by CaptainTripps?  If you are then you will see in that image that there is an "x" in the top right hand corner.  This "x" is what I was referring to in my last post (of November 02, 2023, 02:16:43 PM).  My experience has been that if I simply click that "x" the notice goes away for the remainder of my session or for the day.  It may return on another day (but sometimes it does not) and then I simply click on the "x" again to get rid of it.  As plodr indicated there may be an optional "Dismiss" link to click also.  Right now due to the above described 'move and counter-move cycle' there does not seem to be a permanent way to get rid of the notice forever.

During these last few days I have not seen a notice even though I continue to extensively make use of youtube.


ESCALATION !!!


Well I spoke too soon!  Just as I wrote the above I went onto youtube and sure enough a notice has appeared in my Vivaldi browser.  This new notice has the following message:

* Video player will be blocked after 3 videos.

* It looks like you may be using an ad blocker.  Video playback will be bloced unless YouTube is allowlisted or the ad blocker is disabled.

* Ads allow YouTube to be used by billions worldwide.

*You can go ad-free with YouTube Premium, and creators can still get paid from your subscription.

Thus it appears that youtube has escalated its tactics now and that it will somehow try to block any further youtube viewing after "3 videos".  Just to be sure I have gone to the same youtube page with my SlimJet browser.  In that browser I did not receive any notice!  So it appears that this is going to be a game of 'cat and mouse' so to speak, and that it may vary from browser to browser on any given day.  Also my guess is that youtube will try to keep track of the "3 videos" quantity through cookies.  So it may become necessary to periodically delete the youtube cookies.

But still even in this latest notice in the Vivaldi browser there remains an "x" in the top right hand corner.  So I clicked on it, the notice disappeared, and the youtube video played as usual.  Thus clicking on the "x" to get rid of the notice still works.

The hour long video on youtube finally played out and another video automatically loaded in the Vivaldi browser.  This second video had another updated notice now indicating that

* Video player will be blocked after 2 videos.

So it does appear that youtube is counting.  At this point I deleted the youtube cookies and launched another youtube video.  No youtube notice appeared this time and the video continued to play and finish.  I loaded another video and it also played and finished, and there was no notice.  Thus it appears that deleting the youtube cookies also affects these notices.

By the way this "youtube anti-ad blocker campaign" is all over the internet news right now; you can search on that phrase in quotation marks.  Here is an excerpt from a post in the Brave browser community " https://community.brave.com/t/psa-youtube-adblock-detection/510337 ":

Keep your components and browser up-to-date. YouTube is actually pushing out new blocks multiple times per day to try to counter anything that Brave, uBlock Origin, and other adblock are doing to try to circumvent detection.

As you can see it is not just you and your husband or a few people here on Landzdown.  According to another comment somewhere this is a "global campaign" by youtube, and apparently they may be "pushing out" new and variable notices "multiple times per day."

So to sum up:

• you can still click on the "x" in the top right hand corner (or a "Dismiss" link if there is one) to close the notice;
• you may need to keep doing this occasionally;
• periodically you my need to refresh the uBlock Origin filter list according to the instructions in the link posted by CaptainTripps;
• if youtube does begin to "count" and limit usage to three videos then it may also become necessary to periodically delete the youtube cookies.  (If you need a cookie manager for Firefox I suggest the "Cookiebro - Cookie Manager by Nodetics" available at " https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/cookiebro/ ".  Let us know if you need help with this part.)

On the other hand if you or your husband do not mind watching ads then you could click on the "Allow YouTube Ads" link in the notice and this will probably get rid of the notice.  But the result will be that you will be experiencing ads during your use of youtube.  Yet the very reason that all of us are using uBlock Origin (or any other ad blocker) is to avoid these ads and any other ads that might appear on the internet.

Keep us up to date with your experience and let us know if we can be of any further assistance.

v_v

[Metallica]

Not a solution, but some more background on why this is a changing landscape:
https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/2023/11/youtube-launches-global-effort-to-block-ad-blockers

Take care,
Pieter

[plodr]

plodr, I went to that site you said it was movies & tv, that is not what my husband

Can you post the site where your husband starts?

I do have some sites bookmarked on my husband's laptop which I will post but he is using the computer right now. Perhaps while your husband can not get YouTube to work, he can watch something from another site.

v_v, thanks for the explanation. That helped me think about why I have no problem. I dump cookies, except for a few when FF closes so YouTube forgets I was there from one day to another. I don't stream much on YouTube so that helps too, I suspect.

[plodr]

I only have two sites. I've avoided sites where you have to create an account.
See if your husband can find anything to watch at either of these two sites if YouTube misbehaves.
https://popcornflix.com/#/credentials/welcome
https://archive.org/details/feature_films?and%5B%5D=language%3A%22English%22

[Pete!]

Off topic:

These days my wife and I have been doing most of our Youtube video watching on TV via streaming devices. (Not "YoutubeTV", just the free Youtube app).

I've noticed that Youtube is more generous about letting you skip ads than most of the other free services. After a few seconds most (not all) adds give you the option to skip the ad.

Meanwhile we can keep our other devices as secure as we want.

[mary3444]

v_v, I did disable uBlock when this first happened. It then said to refresh which I did but that did not help at all. I am not getting the image that Captain Tripps showed me & the message that I get does not have a X anywhere on there only tell you how to unblock the ads & I have done that many times. I don't go no & I don't think my husband would mind the ads but not sure on that one.
plodr, My husband knows less the I do which means neither one of us knows much about this computer. I don't know how to post. I will try the 2 sited to see if he likes either one. What he likes is watching mma, boxing, & things about Alaska.
Pete, What you & your wife are doing leaves me out in the cold. I do not know how to stream so I would not know how to get the free youtube app.

Guess I will say it is time to call it quits trying to get youtube for him, like I said it keeps him busy for a little while. We don't even own a cell phone so now all of you can laugh at us.

Thanks everyone for your help as I know it is not easy to try & get something for me to understand but I do appreciate your patience every time I have a problem.

Hope everyone has a great holiday

Mary