Note: This page has moved to https://eblocker.org/en/docs/release-notes-2-0

Deutsch | English

eBlocker Help > Release Notes > Version 2.x

Release Notes 2.0

eBlockerOS 2.0.15

Bug Fix

eBlocker Mobile

After the last update 2.0.14, Android devices could have trouble connecting to eBlocker Mobile. This problem has been fixed.

eBlockerOS 2.0.14

Bug Fix

Automatic Network Mode

In some cases, after extending the DHCP lease-time of its IP address,the eBlocker could get into a state where it did not forward any network traffic. This problem has been fixed.

eBlockerOS 2.0.13

Bug Fix

VPN Configuration

In some cases, OpenVPN configuration files from 3rd party providers could not be processed correctly, because of an unusual configuration format. This problem has been fixed.

DNS Firewall

Special characters in DNS requests or responses could sometimes lead to problems. This error has been fixed.

eBlockerOS 2.0.11

Bug Fix

Log Files

In some cases, the automatic rotation and deletion of log files did not work correctly. This bug has been fixed.

eBlockerOS 2.0.8

Bug Fixes

eBlocker Setup

The text of the End User License Agreement was not always displayed in the correct language. This bug has been fixed.

HTTPS Support

In some cases, the eBlocker crashed when activating HTTPS for the first time. A reboot was necessary to restore normal operation. This bug affected only users who had never activated HTTPS support in eOS 1.x. This bug has been fixed.

eBlockerOS 2.0.6

Bug Fixes & Improvements

Dashboard Cards

The initial layout of Dashboard cards has been improved. This change affects only new users. Existing individual layouts will not be overwritten.

Dashboard Notifications

The pop-up window that directs new users to the Dashboard as well as the pop-up that suggests to create a bookmark for the Dashboard have been adjusted for smartphone screens to avoid scrolling. In addition, eBlocker takes care that these pop-up show up only inside browser windows and never in other apps.

eBlocker Mobile Connection Test

The result of the connection test was not always displayed correctly. In particular, it could occur that a successful test was reported as failure. In some cases it could occur that the wrong port was used for the connection test. These bugs have been fixed.

HTTPS Support / Trusted Apps

When creating an exception list for new trusted apps, the provided input was not correctly checked for consistency, or erroneous inputs were not always displayed as such. This bug has been fixed.

Factory Reset

When starting the factory reset process in eBlocker Settings, the progress was not correctly displayed and there was no clear indication that the eBlocker was shutting down at the end of the process. This bug has been fixed.

Domain Blocker

When blocking very long URLs, those URLs were not correctly displayed on the blocker page. This bug has been fixed.

Automatic Updates

The display of the time window for automatic updates was not always correct, even if the actual update was executed within the correct time frame. This display bug has been fixed.

Manual Recording of HTTPS Connection Errors

The transfer of domains from the list of recorded connection errors into the definition of a new exception list was erroneous. This bug has been fixed.

Database Error

In rare cases, the database for blocker statistics could not be opened during the boot process. This cloud cause the boot process to be aborted. This bug has been fixed.

VPN Profiles

In some cases, VPN profiles could sporadically not be read from the database. This could cause the VPN connection to be temporarily unavailable. This bug has been fixed.

eBlockerOS 2.0.4

Bug Fixes & Improvements

Device names

New devices in your home network will now automatically receive a default name. You can of course change this name at any time and provide your own device names to make it easier to identify all your devices.

DNS firewall

In rare cases, the DNS server could crash, if it received an erroneous DNS response from an external server or directly after a software update. This bug has been fixed.

DNS firewall

Incorrect IP addresses of external DNS servers will now correctly be displayed as “not available”.

HTTPS support

Incompletely configured websites could in a few cases not be accessed through the eBlocker, because the eBlocker could not establish a secure connection to these websites. This problem has been fixed.

Blocker settings

In rare cases, it could occur that the eBlocker was effectively disabled for a device, while the it was displayed as “activated”. This bug has been fixed.

Automatic network mode

The stability of the automatic network mode has been further improved: Some devices that were only temporarily connected to the network might in rare cases display a network error, when being reconnected. This error has been fixed.

General

As always there are numerous additional improvements and bug fixes, which make the eBlocker faster and more reliable.

And finally ...

The page “About eBlocker” contains a personal note from the eBlocker team to you. We are looking forward to your feedback regarding the new eBlocker 2. 

eBlockerOS 2.0

New in eBlocker 2

New Look & Feel for eBlocker Settings

The user interface of eBlocker Settings has been completely redesigned:

• The user interface improves usability and overview. The new icons provide an easier navigation through the application.
• The user interface is now fully responsive and can be used on all devices, including tablets and smartphones.
• The most important and most used functions have been moved to the top and are now easier to find.
• Additional wizards assist you, when required.
• Each page in the eBlocker Settings provides now some context based help.

Optimized protection on HTTPS encrypted sites [eBlocker Pro, eBlocker Family]

The new domain blocker feature provides an additional, alternative blocker technology against trackers and tracking ads:

• Trackers and ads can now be blocked on HTTPS encrypted pages without the need to activate HTTPS support. In particular, it is no longer necessary to add the eBlocker certificate to all devices and browsers.
• The well-known pattern blocker is of course still available: You can choose for each device individually, which blocker technology to use.
• If the blocker selection is set to „automatic“, the eBlocker will automatically choose the best blocker for each device to provide the best possible protection.
• Independent from the selected blocker technology, you can now define your own exceptions for single domains to exempt them from being blocked, or add your own domains to the blocking lists.

Improved parental control protection for small kids [eBlocker Family, German version only]

In cooperation with fragFINN e.V. the eBlocker provide improved parental control protection for smaller children on German speaking websites:

• Devices that are protected by the fragFINN profile, allow access only to hand-picked, proven websites, which are really suitable for children.
• Access to all other websites will be blocked, if the fragFINN profile has been activated.
• If the parental control blocker has disallowed access to a certain website, the blocker page will automatically provide access to the DuckDuckGo search engine with activated parental control filter, to make it easier to finding suitable web content.
• If the eBlocker has been set up for German locale, it will offer the fragFINN search engine instead of DuckDuckGo.

eBlocker Mobile: eBlocker protection, even when away from home

The setup of eBlocker Mobile has been significantly simplified, so that also technically not so experienced users can activate full eBlocker protection for all their mobile devices:

• A setup assistant and detailed online help support you with the setup of eBlocker Mobile.
• The new, free eBlocker Dynamic DNS service allows you to test eBlocker Mobile without limitation and without the need to use a – potentially charged – dynamic DNS service from a commercial provider.
• If your Wi-Fi router supports UPnP and if this function has been activated on the router, the eBlocker will automatically setup the required port forwarding for you.
• An automatic connection test shows already during the setup of eBlocker Mobile, if the remote access from the internet works – without the need to connect one of your mobile devices.
• A new dashboard card facilitates the connection of your mobile devices with eBlocker Mobile: Download the OpenVPN configuration directly to your mobile device. Depending on the used OpenVPN app, the app is automatically started and configured in a single step.
• The OpenVPN configuration is automatically adapted to the different operating systems (Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux or others).
• A detailed online help, which is directly accessible from the dashboard card, describes exactly how to setup eBlocker Mobile on your devices.

All features now also available on the eBlocker Dashboard

The eBlocker Dashboard is now the main control center for all settings around the eBlocker and your current device:

• All features that could so far only be accessed through the ControlBar are now also available on the Dashboard
• The Dashboard essentially replaces the known ControlBar.
• With the Dashboard, all features are available at all times. Regardless, whether the eBlocker icon is visible on page or not.
• Of course, you can still use the ControlBar, if HTTPS support has been activated.
• We recommend to create a bookmark for the Dashboard, or add the Dashboard as an app to the home screen on mobile devices, so that it is always easy to access.

Additional New Features

Blocker Statistics in the Dashboard [eBlocker Pro, eBlocker Family]

The Dashboard provides now in two new cards an overview over all blocked requests to trackers, ads and malware. For each device you can see the distribution of blocked requests over time, the top 25 blocked domains as well as the total number of blocked requests in the local net.

Anonymization settings in the Dashboard

An additional new Dashboard card allows you to configure the anonymization settings for the current device: You can hide your IP address by routing all outgoing connections through the Tor network or through any pre-defined VPN network. Or – if HTTPS support has been activated for the device – use the device cloaking.

Change the current user on the Dashboard [eBlocker Family]

If you set up your home network with several different users and parental control profiles, the current user of a device can now also be changed on the Dashboard by entering the user PIN.

Improved wizard to change the network settings

The wizard that helps to change the network settings from automatic mode (Plug & Play) to individual mode or expert mode and vice versa has been improved: It provides now a detailed step-by-step guide and automatically detects inconsistencies in the configuration of the home network (e.g. if the DHCP server of the gateway is still active, when it shouldn’t).