Updates & release notes

Here you'll find the version history of the browser extension and the Windows app.

Browser extension

New: Automatic domain list updates – the extension fetches an up-to-date list of known gambling domains from gambling-blocker.de every few hours, so new providers are detected even without an extension update. The response is strictly validated (size/format/rollback limits); invalid or suspicious data is discarded entirely.
New: Statistics – shows in the popup and settings how many times you've been protected from a gambling site so far (and this month).
New page on gambling-blocker.de: /updates with the version history of the extension and Windows app.

Fix: Several of the recommended help resources were incorrectly blocked by our own keyword heuristic (e.g. ncpgambling.org matching "gambling", bundesweit-gegen-gluecksspielsucht.de matching "gluecksspiel"). All linked help resources are now permanently allowlisted and will never be blocked again.

Multilingual support: German, English, French, Spanish, Turkish, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Russian.
Language is chosen automatically based on the browser language, but can be switched manually in settings.
Help resources on the block page are now appropriate per language (e.g. GamCare/NCPG for English, Joueurs Info Service for French, YEDAM for Turkish, instead of the German services everywhere).

Fix: gambling-blocker.de was incorrectly blocking itself due to the keyword heuristic (matching "gambling"). A new allowlist prevents this permanently and automatically cleans up already-affected installations.

Blocked sites now redirect to a real block page (blocked.html) with help links, instead of closing the tab.
Safety net against switching to already-open tabs / back-forward cache, which previously bypassed blocking.
Domain list significantly expanded (incl. Betano, Bet3000, DAZN Bet, various unlicensed/international casinos, CS:GO skin-gambling sites).
Added a reference to gambling-blocker.de on the block page.
Chrome Web Store-ready package, LICENSE (proprietary, no redistribution).

First version: automatic detection via a curated domain list + keyword heuristic.
Password protection and permanent lock for the settings.
Popup ("Block this site") and options page (domain list, password).

Test-Release ohne inhaltliche Änderungen, ausschließlich zum Testen des Auto-Update-Mechanismus.

New: Automatic background update – the service checks for a new version every 6 hours, verifies the downloaded MSI via SHA-256 against the published checksum, and if successful installs it silently in the background (no user action needed). The Watchdog service is deliberately stopped beforehand to avoid a race condition with the running installation; the tray icon is automatically relaunched in the active user session after an update triggered this way.
New: Automatic domain list updates – fetches the same public domain list as the browser extension every few hours (strictly validated, see the extension changelog).
New: Trusted contact – a configured email address is notified when the permanent lock is activated or an uninstall attempt is detected (even if the permanent lock denies the uninstall). Sent via gambling-blocker.de, not directly from the app.
New: Statistics card in settings shows how often (in total and this month) a domain was actually blocked.
New page on gambling-blocker.de: /updates with the version history of the extension and Windows app.

Fix: Several of the recommended help resources on the local block page were incorrectly caught by our own keyword heuristic (e.g. ncpgambling.org matching "gambling"). All linked help resources are now permanently allowlisted.

Multilingual support: German, English, French, Spanish, Turkish, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Russian.
Language is chosen automatically based on the system language, but can be switched manually in settings (the service, tray app, and uninstaller apply the choice immediately).
The local block page now shows help resources appropriate per language (e.g. GamCare/NCPG for English, Joueurs Info Service for French, the YEDAM hotline for Turkish) instead of the German services everywhere.

Settings completely redesigned: dark card-based layout, live status for service/watchdog/lock mode/domain count, dark title bar.
Single-instance lock: clicking the Start menu shortcut/relaunching opens the settings of the already-running tray icon, instead of creating a second icon.
Fix: A pipe timeout during the periodic status update could crash the tray app (unhandled exception) - now caught, plus a global safety net against any future unexpected error.
Fix: gambling-blocker.de was incorrectly blocking itself due to the keyword heuristic ("gambling") - allowlist added.
Tray tooltip shows live whether the service is active; balloon notification for blocked HTTP sites.

Domain list significantly expanded (see extension), LICENSE added.
The MSI now automatically starts the tray app right after installation/update and ends the old instance before overwriting it (prevents locked files during upgrade).

Switched from an Inno Setup EXE to an MSI installer (WiX Toolset).
Local HTTP server (127.0.0.1:80) shows a real block page for HTTP targets; Windows notification via the tray app.
Verified: updates work regardless of the set password (password prompt only on a genuine uninstall, not on upgrades).

Critical fix: FileSystemRights.Modify in the ACL lock accidentally included read rights - this made the hosts file unreadable for the DNS client, rendering the block ineffective.
Critical fix: NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM is effectively a member of BUILTIN\Administrators - a deny rule for Administrators therefore also affected the service itself. The hosts file is no longer ACL-locked (only rewritten via self-healing every 30s); the config file/folder now use correctly ordered SDDL rules with an explicit SYSTEM exception.

First version: GamblingBlockerService (hosts file blocking) + GamblingBlockerWatchdog (mutual monitoring, service ACL lock) + tray app (settings) + uninstaller (authorized removal with password protection).