rediff.com | Tracking

[in4u]

URL(s) where the issue occurs

https://www.rediff.com

Describe the issue

Most, if not all, links (articles, categories, etc.) on the site have some suspicious tracking enabled.

Versions

• Browser/version: Firefox 63.0.3
• uBlock Origin version: 1.17.2

Settings

Privacy filter, Annoyances filter, Dan Pollock’s hosts file, hpHosts’ Ad and tracking servers

Notes

Each link has a mysterious and unnecessary onclick="trackURL('https://track.rediff.com/click?url=...');return false;" tracking snippet besides the normal href. The two hosts filters listed above warn about and block such links.

[mapx-]

maybe needing

rediff.com##+js(set-constant.js, onclick, noopFunc)
rediff.com##+js(remove-attr.js, onclick)

[okiehsch]

Works on my end.

[in4u]

@mapx- Can you please roll back this fix? It's breaking the site. This generic filter is causing all javascript based buttons and functionality to stop working (e.g. close button on dialogs, settings, widget features, email tools, etc.).

There's a need to restrict the filter to only those links which have tracking enabled, e.g. trackURL('https://track.rediff.com/click?url=...');return false; and not everything else. Please re-open this issue until a better solution is found.

[okiehsch]

The easy fix is to add
||track.rediff.com^ to uBO-privacy

[in4u]

I am not very familiar with uBO's extended syntax but is there any way to fine-tune the original fix or build a related one by tweaking certain parameters to apply only if onclick contains the tracking URL track.rediff.com or something like that? The initial fix worked very well, just that it worked a little too much!

[mapx-]

You mean the second filter ?
rediff.com##+js(remove-attr.js, onclick)

[mapx-]

@okiehsch do you see something blocked using that network filter ?

[okiehsch]

Go to

https://www.rediff.com/news/report/naidu-bars-cbi-from-carrying-out-probes-in-andhra-pradesh/20181116.htm

scroll sown to the comments and click reply.

[in4u]

You mean the second filter ?

Yes, if the second filter can be constrained that way, maybe it'll work. Worth testing I'd say.

[mapx-]

/~https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/wiki/Resources-Library#remove-attrjs-

Parameters:
required, attribute or list of attributes joined by |
optional, CSS selector, specifies nodes from which attributes will be removed

[okiehsch]

CSS selector which is what in this case ?

[okiehsch]

rediff.com##+js(remove-attr.js, onclick, .img) maybe.

[mapx-]

well, this is the problem, if I use
rediff.com##+js(remove-attr.js, onclick, a) is functional = rediff.com##+js(remove-attr.js, onclick)

and will still break something.
I see no other selector or I don't know how to reference trackUrl parameter ..

[mapx-]

I see that filter is working on the first page, right clicking the text in a box and inspect it => the onclick part is gone (and event stuff too). I guess a simple network filter wont remove the effect of such onclick construction

[okiehsch]

Add

rediff.com##+js(remove-attr.js, onclick, .img)
rediff.com##+js(remove-attr.js, onclick, .black)

and click on any picture or the text under the picture. It works on my end.

[mapx-]

It works for me (removing onclick on the first page):
rediff.com##+js(remove-attr.js, onclick, .black)

[mapx-]

Let's see if still blocks something useful @in4u and eventually all the cases still with tracking

[okiehsch]

You are right
rediff.com##+js(remove-attr.js, onclick, .black) makes rediff.com##+js(remove-attr.js, onclick, .img)redundant.

[mapx-]

I searched the page and I found other different classes
for example curhand

but also cases without an anchor class
<a href="https://www.rediff.com/movies" onclick="trackURL('https://track.rediff.com/click?url=___https://www.rediff.com/movies___&amp;cmp=mov1_nav&amp;lnk=mov1_nav&amp;nsrv1=ushome');return false;"><div class="n_tabnormal">Movies</div></a>

[mapx-]

maybe the syntax could be modified to use a text part (like trackURL) @gorhill

[okiehsch]

rediff.com##+js(remove-attr.js, onclick, ##[href*=".rediff.com/"]) also works I think.

[in4u]

Wow, if only that function also had a parameter allowing to search for string. This could have been an open and shut case then!

Okay guys, I will test the filter rediff.com##+js(remove-attr.js, onclick, .black). Let me know if rediff.com##+js(set-constant.js, onclick, noopFunc) is also required along with it?

[okiehsch]

Actually I made a mistake while testing, @mapx- add ||track.rediff.com^ to your list to easily see if you still get redirected.
Now add
rediff.com##+js(remove-attr.js, onclick, .black)
and click any picture, I get the warning message.
rediff.com##+js(remove-attr.js, onclick, .img) is also needed after all.

[mapx-]

right, needing .img too, I was testing only clicking the text part ..

[mapx-]

well, @in4u you could use

||track.rediff.com^
rediff.com##+js(remove-attr.js, onclick, .img)
rediff.com##+js(remove-attr.js, onclick, .black)
rediff.com##+js(remove-attr.js, onclick, .curhand)

the first 1 to detect other places still to be fixed

[okiehsch]

rediff.com##+js(remove-attr.js, onclick, .curhand) does not work for me.
I tried rediff.com##+js(remove-attr.js, onclick, .icondiv) earlier and got confused, I still don't understand why this does not work for

[mapx-]

use the element picker, if you find a good filter paste it here (I have no account on rediff)