Update
NoScript v1.9.2.5 added the a prompt to ask if you wanted to add the list on initial installation. Personally I would have been perfectly happy with this, but v1.9.2.6 removed the white-list altogether. Also apparently as a result of this there are discussions under way for a change in AMO (addons.mozilla.org) policy.
Original
The latest updates in NoScript have very naughtily added a system to add a new set of white-list filters to AdBlock Plus to allow the NoScript domains to display adverts. Obviously there is nothing wrong with wanting to display ads on your site, but the way it has been done is very underhanded and should be stopped, fortunately this is very simple.
Many people use both the AdBlock Plus (ABP) and NoScript (NS) plugins for Firefox. These were both excellent and well maintained plugins*, unfortunately NoScript’s maintainer, Giorgio Maone has gone way beyond his purview with the latest updates.
To start with he added code to bypass the ABP blocking on his sites, when this was discovered ABP added additional filters to continue doing what it was designed to do (block adds), however he continued to circumvent these measures. Not only this but these circumventions were in obfuscated (i.e. hard to read) code and were called “incompatibilities” with the ABP plugin, any and all malicious intent was denied.
After some complaints from ABP NoScript relented and removed the circumvention code, but instead added a white-list to be added to ABP every time FF is started, this means if you delete the list it comes back next time, you have to disable them instead. This feature was hidden away in the change-log, something very few people read, so is likely to be missed and cause confusion and annoyance to many people.
Ordinarily I’d boycott the plugin, but given that it is the best script disabling system, I’m just boycotting the ads. To completely remove this feature first you need to find noscript.jar (search if you don’t know where it is), open this in something like WinRAR, go to “content/noscript” and delete “abp.js”. Then start FF, go to your ABP options and delete the NoScript filter subscription. While you’re at it you may want to consider blocking noscript.net and his other sites (flashgot.net informaction.com maone.net), which are all white-listed by default but have been shown to be XSS vulnerable in the past.
* Much of ABP’s success was due to the “EasyList” subscription, who’s maintainer very unfortunately died recently, all respect goes to him and condolences to his family.
