Malwarebytes Privacy on Chromebook seems to bypass my pfSense router.

[Elliott32224]

I am running Malwarebytes Privacy on my Windows 11 and it works very well. I have pfSense as a router with ad blocking programs installed and ads are being blocked nicely when I use Brave and MS Edge, but not with Google Chrome . Any thoughts how to fix? Thanks.

[Porthos]

What does Malwarebytes Privacy have anything to do with AD blocking?

[Elliott32224]

This is on my home network, which uses pfSense firewall, ad-blocker, and router. It is browser specific: Running Malwarebytes Privacy, ads are still blocked on Brave and MS Edge browsers, but not on Chrome.

[Porthos]

All Malwarebytes Privacy does is change your IP. It does nothing else.

[Elliott32224]

I

10 minutes ago, Porthos said:

All Malwarebytes Privacy does is change your IP. It does nothing else.

I understand what Malwarebytes Privacy does, but I am reporting my observations that I cannot explain.

[Porthos]

5 minutes ago, Elliott32224 said:

but I am reporting my observations that I cannot explain.

 

You mention Win 11  but your title mentions Chromebook. Which is it?

Edited November 1, 2023 by Porthos

[Elliott32224]

8 minutes ago, Porthos said:

 

You mention Win 11  but your title mentions Chromebook. Which is it?

Sorry for the confusion. I started this topic, because the initial observation was on a Chromebook. I then realized it was not the Chrome OS, but the Chrome browser. I then tested the browsers on my Windows 11 laptop and proved that the issue was with Chrome browser, whether on a Windows machine or on a Chrome OS machine.

[Porthos]

10 minutes ago, Elliott32224 said:

but the Chrome browser. I then tested the browsers on my Windows 11 laptop and proved that the issue was with Chrome browser, whether on a Windows machine or on a Chrome OS machine.

Ok, Let's use the Windows computer.

Please do the following so that we may take a closer look at your system.

 

WARNING: Do Not click the Repair option under Advanced unless requested by a Malwarebytes support agent or authorized helper

NOTE: The tools and the information obtained are safe and not harmful to your privacy or your computer, please allow the programs to run if blocked by your system.

• Download the Malwarebytes Support Tool
• In your Downloads folder, open the mb-support-x.x.x.xxx.exe file
• In the User Account Control pop-up window, click Yes to continue the installation
• Run the MBST Support Tool
• In the left navigation pane of the Malwarebytes Support Tool, click Advanced
• In the Advanced Options, click Gather Logs. A status diagram displays the tool is Getting logs from your machine
• A zip file named mbst-grab-results.zip will be saved to the Desktop or on the hidden Public desktop (usually C:\Users\Public\Desktop), please upload that file on your next reply
  
   

Thank you

 

[Elliott32224]

Thank you!

mbst-grab-results.zip

[AdvancedSetup]

Unless you really know what you're doing with pfsense then the VPN is going to bypass it to connect because it's not based on per application. Content blocking is not normally a function of fpsense though it can do some. When you say you have Content blocking enabled I assume you mean something like uBlock Origin or Adblock Plus or Malwarebytes Browser Guard, if so then all browsers would need it installed and for the most part should work quite similar.

When you're not on VPN you have 2 different DNS servers listed but really in most setups Windows would only point to the pfsense external firewall for access. Again, difficult to say exactly what you're experiencing as each of the technologies have different purposes.

The Malwarebytes Privacy logs indicate that the VPN connection in many cases did not connect well. Obviously I'm going to think or point to the pfsense as the root cause there but I do not have proof. Something interferes with the connection though.

 

You would need to do a bit more methodical testing to isolate the real cause.

 

Select the same website for testing each browser

Disable pfsense from the mix

Does removing pfsense make any difference

Disable the VPN connection and do similar different tests

Uninstall the Content blocker and reinstall it, etc., etc.

 

 

 

[Elliott32224]

Thanks for this advice and suggestions as how to proceed. pfSense uses a package called pfBlocker-NG to block ads at the router level. It does other things, too, such as blacklisting certain IP addresses. However, your post gave the idea to add your Malwarebytes Ad Blocker Extension to Chrome. After installation, ads were blocked.

I'm not sure about the DNS servers, but I think that may relate to pfSense, which allows one to set up a list of DNS servers. However, I am not sure if this relates, but I have installed ZeroTier on my computer. ZeroTier is a "separate" network that allows me to connect to other home computers, which have ZeroTier installed, when I am away from my home.

[Porthos]

12 minutes ago, Elliott32224 said:

gave the idea to add your Malwarebytes Ad Blocker Extension to Chrome.

You already had it but either it was not enabled yet or turned off.

I also suggest Ublock Origin as well to cover what BG might miss.

Quote

Chrome:
=======
CHR Profile: C:\Users\ellio\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default [2023-10-31]
CHR Extension: (EndNote Click - Formerly Kopernio) - C:\Users\ellio\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions\fjgncogppolhfdpijihbpfmeohpaadpc [2023-10-31]
CHR Extension: (Google Docs Offline) - C:\Users\ellio\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions\ghbmnnjooekpmoecnnnilnnbdlolhkhi [2023-10-31]
CHR Extension: (Malwarebytes Browser Guard) - C:\Users\ellio\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions\ihcjicgdanjaechkgeegckofjjedodee [2023-10-31]
CHR Extension: (Chrome Web Store Payments) - C:\Users\ellio\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions\nmmhkkegccagdldgiimedpiccmgmieda [2023-10-31]
CHR HKLM-x32\...\Chrome\Extension: [fjgncogppolhfdpijihbpfmeohpaadpc] - hxxps://click.endnote.com/extensions/chrome/update-manifest.xml
CHR HKLM-x32\...\Chrome\Extension: [ihcjicgdanjaechkgeegckofjjedodee]

Opera:
=======

 

[Elliott32224]

Thanks. Malwarebytes ad-blocker was turned off. With your suggestion, I will add Ublock Origin, too.

[AdvancedSetup]

As you have blocking working that's good.

Yes, I'm aware that pfsense can do some blocking for Ads but that's not its forte. Plenty of ways to configure as well which is way beyond the scope of support we provide.

I do hope all is working well enough for your needs. If you do require further assistance I'd work with one of the pfsense support methods.

Cheers

 

[Elliott32224]

Thanks. Definitely have ad-blocking working well with the combination of Malwarebyte's and Ublock's extensions installed. Everything is good on my Windows machine with really good speeds, when using the VPN. One issue remains, which is with my wife's Chromebook. VPN speeds are very slow. Is there an equivalent support tool for Chrome OS?

[Porthos]

56 minutes ago, Elliott32224 said:

VPN speeds are very slow

Try a different server.

56 minutes ago, Elliott32224 said:

Is there an equivalent support tool for Chrome OS?

Not that I know of.

[Elliott32224]

Thank you.