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 Get
rid of ads
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originally posted: 03/23/01
update: 11/04/01
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Update 11/04/01: Proximitron
WORKS. Go get it: http://www.flaaten.dk/prox/index.html
A few weeks ago, a visitor Dave, sent me a link to a filter called Proxomitron:
I use a program called Proxomitron
which does all this and more, for free. It rewrites the HTML of a page
before it reaches the browser so you can take out anything, or put stuff
in.
It uses filters, little text files, which users can download or make
up themselves - there are filters to do everything from removing javascript
/ banner / tx3 adverts, taking out flash, adding custom menu`s or css,
killing autoplaying music, re-using or killing popup windows and getting
rid of add on HTML (like that of Geocities sites) to changing HTML headers
to hide referrers or use browsers on sites requiring specific brands,
etc etera.
This sounds like a dream-come-true. I just installed it and it's already
blocking ads the hosts file doesn't catch (see below).
In case you missed it, Proxomitron can be found here: http://www.flaaten.dk/prox/index.html
Repeat after me, "Thank you Dave!"
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Get
rid of ads
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Update 11/04/01: I think advertisers
are reading this and similar articles. I've noticed more and more ads
sneaking through my filters. The way advertisers are doing this is by
placing ads in a local folder, like this:
Host file ad blocking won't block ads in local directories
Using the hosts file blocking (as described below) won't block these
ads. I have yet to find a way to do it. I'm sure it's simply a matter
of time though.
If you're using something that works, drop me a line and I'll post it
for all to share.
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Get
rid of ads
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Update 05/03/01: This "tweak"
is working so well for me, I've decided to make it a little more prominent
on the site. If you "love" ads as much as I do <cough>
I sincerely hope you give this method a try. It REALLY does reduce ads
noticably, and while some ads still do sneak through, you won't believe
the difference!
And I don't know if I was clear about this below, but once you have the
hosts filter in place, any ads that do sneak through really do catch your
eye. You can right-click and see where the ad image is coming from and
if it is being served up from a site other than the one you're visiting,
you can add that site to your blocked hosts lists and you won't see ads
from that site again. Kinda like to updating your virus definitions  .
 Press the STOP button
on your browser to stop the animation on this page.
Overview
Who doesn't want to get rid of banner ads? They are the bain of the internet.
Many people say that having to view banner ads is the price of "free"
content as advertisers pick up the tab. I don't recall being offered a
choice.
Well since other webmasters depend on ad revenue for their income, they
probably won't tell you... Steve will.
Disclaimer:
I understand that there is a certain "need' for ads on the web. Without
income from ads, certain websites may no longer be able to provide the
valuable content we view at the expense of advertisers. T.S. Find a real
business plan.
Let's get down to business
Getting rid of about 75% of all banner (and little square) ads is really
easy. Getting rid of ALL ads is a little tougher, but not impossible (see
below)
Methods:
The method I suggest works really well on most ads, but there are some
pesky ads that it will not catch. The way it works is simple: (keep in
mind, I didn't think of this, it's been around for a while)
Quick Fix:
Don't have time to read all this?
 Get
Ad Terminator.
What to do:
Just change the hosts file to refer all known ad servers to 127.0.0.1
(localhost) or better yet, point to a small 1x1 transparent gif image
so you don't see that "unable to display image" message.
The hosts file is simply named hosts with
no extension. It's just an ascii text file.
On Windows 2000 machines, the hosts file
located in
C:\Winnt\System32\drivers\etc
on Windows 9x boxes it's in
C:\Windows\
Since it is just a plaintext file, you can modify it with Notepad
or the text editor of your choice. Just be sure to save it as ASCII
text when you're done.
Loading all the ad servers out there by hand would be a total pain.
I suggest using a ready-made hosts file.
There are plenty out there. Two I can recommend are:
Ad Terminator
and
DNS Kong's host
file (see more about DNS Kong below)
How it works:
When you load a page, say, www.lamewebsite.com/index.htm, the page calls
for ads to be "served" or loaded from other servers, for example,
a4.g.akamai.net.
Whenever TCP/IP (web) needs a server name resolved, it first checks
the hosts file, then if the name is not present there, it checks nameservers
on the web.
So we simply make the hosts file direct the request elsewhere.
What it won't stop:
A typical example is www.anandtech.com.
The reason why this method doesn't work is that clever webmasters serve
up their ads from their own servers (eg www.anandtech.com/images/bannerad.gif)
so banning them via hosts file is impossible. You would ban the entire
site.
(btw - Wonder boy has 9 ads on his front page alone...)
Keeping up with the Marketing guys
New ad servers appear all the time. If an ad gets through your hosts
file (you see an ad), just right-click
on it and get the properties. This will
usually tell you where it came from. Now just add that server to
your hosts file (remember to point it somewhere benign).
If right-clicking doesn't give you the scoop on where the ad came from,
no worries. Just click View | Source. This
will let you see the entire HTML source of the web page. Scroll down
until you find the code for the ad (I do Edit
| Find on some nearby text). You will find the ad server in there.
The big
(Oracle) ads on CNet are like this.
Get rid of ALL ads:
There are more complex methods for getting rid of ads. The only one I've
used is Ad Muncher (www.admuncher.com).
The problem I had with Ad Muncher is that it slowed down my connection
a little too much for my liking.
How it works: Ad Muncher sits between your browser and the web and checks
the images coming in for their source (source blocking), size and other
criteria. This program is highly customizable and very effective. I just
don't know if the added benefit outweighs the performance loss.
 Related
links:
 Personal
firewall software
If you have a broadband connection, you probably should have one of these.
I used to. But I haven't had one up for a while... I don't know... It's
probably a good precaution, but we throw those kinds of things to the
wind around here...
Maybe check out a major computer magazine (website) and see what product
has the features that you want?
Here are some ideas:
Agnitum Outpost Firewall
Haven't tried it.
BlackIce
Defender
This should be categorized as a fireWATCH as it simply notified
me of security breaches and how it was doing absolutely nothing about
them... bah!
McAfee
Personal Firewall
Hvaen't tried it.
Norton Internet Security
(formerly Norton (Symantec) Personal Firewall)
I used to use the 2001 version - liked it a lot, but haven't gotten subsequent
versions to work.
Tiny
Software Personal Firewall
Haven't tried it.
ZoneAlarm
Tried it briefly - couldn't get it to work.
Other related links:
AdSubtract
From what I can tell, it's another proxy like Ad Muncher.
The Banner Ad Museum
some museum, they don't have the most annoying ad ever (the stupid monkey
one)
"Disallowing
banner ads immoral?" Discussion thread
I came across this thread when I was looking for the "punch the monkey"
ad. I suppose it's healthy to offer an opposing point of view, regardless
of how stupid it may be .
While were on the topic of the hosts file.
You can also modify the hosts file to speed up connecting to your favorite
web pages just a tad. I'll do a little write up on that ASAP. Until then,
check out IPConnect
or DNS
Kong.
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