All posts by James

FAQ: How do I add or remove a block set?

To add a block set:

Go to the General tab in Options, increase the number of block sets by one, and click the Save Options button at the bottom of the page. Use the Move Set buttons at the top of the new block set to move it to the desired place.

To remove a block set:

Use the Move Set buttons at the top of the block set to move it to the end of the block sets. Go to the General tab in Options, decrease the number of block sets by one, and click the Save Options button at the bottom of the page.

Alternatively, you can just click the Reset Options to Defaults button for the block set. The options will be reset and the block set will no longer be active. You don’t need to remove it.

FAQ: How can I make it harder to remove the extension from Edge?

In general, an Edge extension cannot prevent the user from uninstalling it, so LeechBlock cannot offer this as an option within the extension itself.

However, it is possible to “force install” an extension by setting a Microsoft Edge policy so that the extension cannot be removed or disabled. (You should create a backup of your LeechBlock settings before you attempt this solution: Options > General > Export.)

On Windows, the policy can be set via the Registry Editor:

  • Navigate to the following registry key (or create it if it doesn’t exist):
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge
  • Add a new key under the Edge key (if it doesn’t already exist):
    • ExtensionInstallForcelist
  • Add a new value to that key:
    • Name: 1 (or some higher number if 1 is already used)
    • Type: String (REG_SZ)
    • Data: hnncfhodpmpjchmmcnimoimkcojdmfhl

Warning: Do not attempt to edit the registry unless you really know what you’re doing! You should back up your registry before making any changes. The developer of LeechBlock will not be held responsible for any damage you do to your system by editing the registry.

FAQ: How can I make it harder to remove the extension from Firefox?

In general, a Firefox extension cannot prevent the user from uninstalling it, so LeechBlock cannot offer this as an option within the extension itself.

However, it is possible to “lock” an extension by setting a Firefox policy so that the extension cannot be removed or disabled. (You should create a backup of your LeechBlock settings before you attempt this solution: Options > General > Export.)

On Windows, the policy can be set via the Registry Editor:

  • Navigate to the following registry key:
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Mozilla\Firefox
  • Add a new key under the Firefox key (if it doesn’t already exist):
    • Extensions
  • Add a new key under the Extensions key (if it doesn’t already exist):
    • Locked
  • Add a new value to that key:
    • Name: 1 (or some higher number if 1 is already used)
    • Type: String (REG_SZ)
    • Data: leechblockng@proginosko.com

Warning: Do not attempt to edit the registry unless you really know what you’re doing! You should back up your registry before making any changes. The developer of LeechBlock will not be held responsible for any damage you do to your system by editing the registry.

For further information on setting Firefox policies on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems, see here.

FAQ: Can I block pages on the basis of the referring site?

Yes. The referrer prefix (>) can be used to block pages referred from a site.

For example, >somesite.com will block all pages where the referrer is somesite.com (i.e., if you follow a link from somesite.com then the linked page will be blocked).

Note that sometimes the URL of the referrer is not passed to the linked page, in which case LeechBlock will not detect it. In other words, do not expect this feature to work 100% of the time!

If you want referred pages to be allowed rather than blocked, you should select the option Treat referrers as allow-conditions rather than block-conditions under Advanced Options. Thus, if you were to select that option with the example above, the effect would be to allow all pages linked from somesite.com. (Note that this will have an effect only if you have also specified some sites to block when the referrer condition is not met.)

FAQ: How can I make it harder to remove the extension from Chrome?

In general, a Chrome extension cannot prevent the user from uninstalling it, so LeechBlock cannot offer this as an option within the extension itself.

However, it is possible to “force install” an extension by setting a Chrome Enterprise policy so that the extension cannot be removed or disabled. (You should create a backup of your LeechBlock settings before you attempt this solution: Options > General > Export.)

On Windows, the policy can be set via the Registry Editor:

  • Navigate to the following registry key:
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome
  • Add a new key under the Chrome key (if it doesn’t already exist):
    • ExtensionInstallForcelist
  • Add a new value to that key:
    • Name: 1 (or some higher number if 1 is already used)
    • Type: String (REG_SZ)
    • Data: blaaajhemilngeeffpbfkdjjoefldkok;https://clients2.google.com/service/update2/crx

Warning: Do not attempt to edit the registry unless you really know what you’re doing! You should back up your registry before making any changes. The developer of LeechBlock will not be held responsible for any damage you do to your system by editing the registry.

For information on setting Chrome extension policies on Mac systems, see this article.

For information on setting Chrome extension policies on Linux systems, see this article.

FAQ: How can I disable the “Remove Extension” menu item on Firefox?

You can use the userChrome browser customization file to remove the “Remove Extension” menu item from the Firefox toolbar. Carefully follow these steps:

  • Locate your Firefox profile folder.
  • Create a new folder chrome inside your profile folder (if it doesn’t already exist).
  • Create a new file userChrome.css inside that folder with the following content: [label^='Remove Extension'] { display: none !important; }

You will need to close all Firefox windows and restart Firefox for it to take effect.

Note: If you’re using Firefox 69 or above, you’ll also need to go to about:config and ensure the toolkit.legacyUserProfileCustomizations.stylesheets preference is set to true (go here for more detailed instructions).

FAQ: LeechBlock seems to be slowing down my browser. What gives?

First of all, please check that it really is LeechBlock that’s slowing down your browser! Disable the extension and see whether the problem disappears. If your browser is still sluggish, LeechBlock isn’t to blame.

Second, make sure you have the latest version of LeechBlock installed, because version 0.9.11 introduced some major performance improvements.

If you have a large number of tabs open in your browser, LeechBlock can sometimes slow things down. (It depends on the specifics of your system.) Under normal operation, LeechBlock reviews all open tabs every second, to keep track of how much time is spent on the sites listed in your block sets and to determine whether any sites should now be blocked. If you have many tabs open, either (1) reduce the number of open tabs or (2) select the option Process only active tabs (under General tab in Options).

If you think LeechBlock is slowing down your browser even though you don’t have a large number of tabs open, please contact support.