Pop-up ads

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Apologies if this has been covered elsewhere. I understand that there is software available that will intercept pop-up ads. Can anyone point me in the right direction. Thanks.

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If you do a search on this Forum for popup, you’ll find several threads dealing with this, including links.

One of the utilities mentioned is Pow, but there are more.

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Ok, thanks for that.

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I’ve been using Free Surfer for several months and am quite pleased with it.
http://www.free.surfer.tc/mail%5B/url%5D

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…..Or you can switch from IE to Mozilla and get popup blocking built in to the browser. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist the “plug”)

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How’s Mozilla handling the Lounge? Any problems?

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Not A Single Problem-O, I’m happy to say! Thnx fer askin’

The two things I like MOST about Mozilla ARE the popup control and tabbed browsing. Only ocassionally do I have something tiny, like Mozilla may not want to minimize, but the Win-D key workaround works. Even IE 6 evidently isn’t adhering to all the latest “standards,” whatever that means. But Mozilla has been functioning well for me, expeshully here in the Lounge!

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That’s great. Where can I get it?

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The download page is here. If you want to read any of the history, background and other peripheral stuff about the organization, just shorten the URL to this.

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Thanks, Al. I just grabbed it.

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Edited by WyllyWylly to remove language in violation of Rule 18

This little secret is such a gem as it is soooooo simple and requires little effort and not another application to install and store locally to waste resources. This prevents those pop-up ads and banner ads or linked ads or graphics inserted into HTML that hog up your valuable dial-up bandwidth when trying to browse the web or download any files:

First, make a new shortcut ( I keep mine on the desktop) with the following target:
%windir%SYSTEM32notepad.exe %windir%SYSTEM32DRIVERSetchosts

Open the shortcut. In notepad you will see a file that looks just like this:

This is known as your hosts file. Whenever your computer makes a DNS lookup, it will search through this file first, essentially mapping the hostname in question to a specified IP.

Now, the slick part! Whenever you’re browsing and a new ad or pop-up comes up, right click on it and cut and paste the URL into your “hosts” file. Chop off the “http://” bit as well as the directory and filename, and you end up with this:

The entries after “127.0.0.1 localhost” are the URLs I pasted in. Just put a “2” at the end of the number sequence and at least one space should separate your pasted URL.

No more pop-ups anymore!

For this to work, you must NOT be using the autoconfigure option in IE LAN settings.

I personally don’t bother as it is a waste of time and management, but you may strengthen the above feature by setting your custom security settings to “high” in Internet Options or by adding these addresses to the “Restricted Sites” zone. (You can find both of these by going to Internet Explorer>Tools>Internet Options>Security tab).

Also, if anyone is interested, I have another GREAT tip that is even better that blocks those ads in Kazaa/Grokster/Morpheus increasing bandwidth AND a way to be able to remove the 128kbps download limit and 100/200 search result limit.

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if anyone is interested, I have another GREAT tip that is even better

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[/indent]Sounds like a come on. I’m always interested in a tip that would increase bandwidth.

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Here’s the way to do without ads in KaZaA/Grokster/Morpheus. Basically this tells Internet Explorer that ads.musiccity.com (the starting places for the barrage of ads) is a restricted zone. Here are 2 ways two do this:

1. First, in IE go to Tools>Internet Options>Security (tab);
2. Click on the ‘Restricted Sites‘ icon;
3. Click on ‘Default Level‘ so that it is set to ‘High‘ ( this will not affect your regular Internet setting which is probably ‘Medium‘);
4. Click the ‘Sites…‘ button and put ‘http://ads.musiccity.com’ in the ‘Add this web site to the zone‘ box.

The second way to do this is to simply download the attachment I’ve included, unzip it to your desktop, double-click it and select ‘yes’ to install directly to your registry and it will do all the above in 2 seconds. It is simple and safe.

Start KaZaA/Grokster/Morpheus and you should find the ad section in the lower left-hand corner of the desktop media interface will be blank and all the annoying linked ads on the start page will be AWL. You will now have faster page loads and faster downloads!

Now, there are a few minor version differences amongst these P2P apps, so if you notice an irksome ad, just right-click, ‘Properties‘, copy the URL and repeat 1-4 above. You may also right-click, ‘View Source‘, and copy URLs referenced in the javascripts. I haven’t found it necessary to do this yet as the ads are all coming from the URL listed above.

I will be back to offer part II of KaZaA/Grokster/MorpheusTweak to increase kbps download and search results number……..

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Thanks, Bruce. I’m familiar with the first method & have added the site to my restricted zones. I seem to recall a thread somewhere (perhaps in a galaxy, far far away) where someone was listing a bunch of ad sites to add to the restricted zone. I have about a dozen.

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Just to clarify -[indent]

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The entries after “127.0.0.1 localhost” are the URLs I pasted in. Just put a “2” at the end of the number sequence and at least one space should separate your pasted URL.

No more pop-ups anymore!

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[/indent]You will still have the pop-up window itself, as it’s produced by scripting in the web page; however, the target window will remain empty. With Internet Explorer it shows the test “The page cannot be displayed” instead. Ads that are embedded in web pages will appear as “Action Cancelled”.

Bruce, I was curious, why did you choose 127.0.0.2 in lieu of the usual 127.0.0.1 (the standard loopback address for IP communications)? They work the same, but your choice had me wondering. An alternative that I’ve seen is to use 0.0.0.0, which doesn’t always work, but there are those who would claim that it is faster.

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Yes, you will still have the pop-up window if imbedded in the HTML or script. For example, I frequent the PC World.com site, and each time I change a page or link or what have you, there are multiple ads inserted which, when using the aforementioned, it cuts page load in half!.

I did not know if the address tagged to local host as presented in the host file sample would work and just tried the “2” by way of suggestion from a buddy and it works, so I just left it alone. The 0.0.0.0 would have never entered my mind.

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Funny that you mentioned that… a few years back, you could go in to the options of both Netscape and IE and turn off Javascripting, which would kill the windows. At that time it didn’t kill much else, but I think it would nowadays. And stranger still, the option mysteriously vanished without a word or a trace.

RE the IP addresses you chose, any “invalid” address would work that is contained in your HOSTS file. They key is that your PC looks there first and then resolves the name on a DNS server if it doesn’t find an entry. If you add PRE to the end of the entry, it will be preloaded in the address cache, boosting speed even a tad more. I don’t recall offhand what the limit is, but it’s fairly high.

A final tweak you can perform in addition to this is to disable caching of failed DNS lookups – meaning the OS won’t bother to keep a bad address. Check out the details, along with a REG patch, here: http://www.speedguide.net/Cable_modems/cable_reg_xp.shtml%5B/url%5D

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This PRE I am not familiar with. Do I leave a space between the end of the URL and the PRE? Are any additional punctuation requirements necessary?

Thanks for the link, Mark! I found a tweak for reducing the QoS reserve in Pro to increase bandwidth as well.

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Bruce, the PRE is to force a PREload at boot for that particular entry. The syntax is actually like this:

127.0.0.1   adserv.spamnet.com    PRE  #Added 7-17-02

The pound (#) with this command indicates a comment; tabs can be used for nice neat spacing. When I manually add something, I comment it too, in case it tanks a website I want. CDNow, for example, serves their images in some strange way that can be affected. I downloaded a HOSTS file that was set up with a known list of ad servers, and it hosed that site and several more.

Regarding QoS – there is a 99.97% probability that changing that number did nothing, because applications and services must be programmed to make use of the API (Application Programming Interface, the way a program talks to the operating system) before QoS takes effect and reserves the bandwidth. That 20% default is there in case some program, and the server on the network, request QoS and are designed to use it. There isn’t much out there now that does this, because support for it in Windows is very recent. I wanted to ‘splain that because this is a very misunderstood technology. It can’t hurt to defeat QoS – but there’s probably no point in it either.

RAS is an acronym for Remote Access Services. It is the Microsoft term for the technology their products use with dial-up connections and modems. It’s a form of a network connection, not unlike Ethernet, Coaxial, Token Ring, and many others before it. In that respect, it uses HOSTS too. RAS interfaces with TCP/IP, the network language of the Internet and nearly everything else. TCP/IP includes DNS servers, which you are circumventing with the HOSTS file. That is the reason it exists. You can also add static IP addresses for websites you visit often, and get a tiny boost in page loading times because there is no name lookup. One less network request = good, unless the IP address changes and you suddenly can’t get there anymore.

Phew.

I can’t effectively answer your question about the addresses you are ‘storing in RAS’ – I’m not sure I know what you mean by that. Are you referring to your post on the registry entries?

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Whew! was right! Sorry about the RAS query. I edited after I posted it realizing first, that I was in the wrong thread and second, that you had already answered it. But you were on it and I guess got it B4 I wiped it.

I won’t even pretend to know a darn thing about QoS, but my understanding was that it existed to manage service order on a network. Since I am not on a network, I made the assumption I had no need for it and thus disabling that reserve would provide some benefit. If QoS is needed in web service, then perhaps I should leave it alone? I went back to read some of the related articles, but it bored me rather quickly.

Thank you kindly for the PRE spec. You leave everything at 127.0.0.1?

The RAS thing is baffling me. Are you saying that the addresses are stored there that I have frequented on multiple occassions? I know ALL the sites I visited are not present, so what I am wondering is the how & why of those particular addresses being stored in that location.

You mentioned “also add static IP addresses for websites you visit often, and get a tiny boost in page loading times because there is no name lookup” Adding to the RAS?
Sorry to seem to beat this, Mark, I just want to walk away with a little better understanding of this. You hold a firm grasp on these type of technicalities!

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my understanding was that it existed to manage service order on a network.
Correct.

Since I am not on a network, I made the assumption I had no need for it
you don’t

and thus disabling that reserve would provide some benefit.
99.7% chance that it won’t.

It’s like a road with a special lane that allows only brand new, specially equipped cars to travel on it. The lane has a barrier that comes up when these special cars come along. The cars are programs that you install. But the carmakers haven’t made anything that can travel in that special, reserved lane, so the barrier is down and you can use it. For now. Clear as mud?

If QoS is needed in web service
It’s not

then perhaps I should leave it alone?
You can use all the bandwidth available to you until a specially written program needs that 20%, which is going to happen anytime soon

You leave everything at 127.0.0.1?
Yes, and 127.0.0.2 also works just fine, there’s no computer at the end of that address either, and you’re associating the name with the number. The computer is trying to figure out what name matches that number, and to get the data it needs from that computer. Since there isn’t a computer with an IP address of 127.0.0.x it’s a dead end and you get your blank page, just like you would if you tried to view a live website without an Internet connection.

The RAS thing is baffling me. Are you saying that the addresses are stored there that I have frequented on multiple occassions?
No

I know ALL the sites I visited are not present, so what I am wondering is the how & why of those particular addresses being stored in that location.
That, I don’t know. You can download RegMon and monitor it if you like. It’s an interesting tool. I’d be interested in hearing what you discover if you check it out.

You mentioned “also add static IP addresses for websites you visit often
Adding to the HOSTS file. The lounge would be:

63.151.114.115     www.wopr.com           #Woody's Lounge

or to preload it into the Windows XP name cache,

63.151.114.115     www.wopr.com    pre    #Woody's Lounge

You can also add local PCs on your network, either home or work, that have a static or non-changing IP address.

get a tiny boost in page loading times because there is no name lookup
The computer doesn’t need to connect to a Domain Name Server to translate 63.151.114.115 into http://www.wopr.com. It’s in your HOSTS file instead, and getting it from the hard drive is a lot faster than getting it from the slower link to the network (the Internet). This is true even in high speed networks. That’s your performance boost, and with a modem it can be significant. If WOPR gets assigned a new IP address and you have it in your HOSTS file though, you’re and the site won’t load.

Adding to the RAS?
I think the answer to this is Regmon, again.

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Hi Mark:
Using Win98SE, is there an advantage to:
1. Putting 63.151.114.115 http://www.wopr.com #Woody’s Lounge
the hosts file?
2. or putting 63.151.114.115 http://www.wopr.com pre #Woody’s Lounge
in the hosts file?

Thanks,

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If you’re dialing up to your ISP, yes. It will speed the website loads a tad. If WOPR ever changes its IP address, you won’t be able to load it – and it’s easy to tell, because the page will consistenly not load, and it will be immediate (no wait) while other sites continue to work normally. It’s important to note that the name resolution to an IP address is but one small piece of this – the Lounge, for example, is constructing web pages via server-side scripts and nothing will increase that speed except for something that Claude and Mum might do!

I used to employ TweakDUN to manage the HOSTS file for me. It does many things, and the paid version will also take any bookmarks/favorites that you have and cache their IP addresses in the HOSTS file. Very, very handy!

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Hi Mark:
Thanks for the link to the download. I’ll try it. (I take it you used it when you were using Win98).

One more question. I’m still confused. In Win98SE, with a DSL line (that I don’t keep connected all the time), should I use the line with or without the “pre”?

Thanks again,

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Phil, if you’re using DSL, the addition to HOSTS won’t likely make any difference that you could possibly see. It’s a trick that works best on slow links to the Internet, i.e., a modem. DSL will allow your system to resolve the name so quickly that modifying the HOSTS file will likely be counterproductive (IP addresses don’t change that often, but they do change). My general practice with high speed access (cable, DSL, T1, etc) is to leave the HOSTS file alone unless I have a specific reason to change it.

Using the PRE command will help, but again only marginally, and probably not enough that you would notice.

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TweakDun, the free version, doesn’t seem to be available anymore. They have TweakMaster, which is shareware. I might try searching some obscure sites. Thanks again.

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It’s at: http://www.pattersondesigns.com/tweakdun/%5B/url%5D

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Thanks, Eileen. I’ve been there. The attempt to download eventually leads to “page not found”. And popular sites (like PC World & zdnet) seeem to have taken it off.

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I never tested a download…

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Phil,

I found it here: http://www.majorgeeks.com/article.php?sid=497%5B/url%5D. But I had to use the “Planet Mirror” download site to get it.

Jeff

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Great sleuthing! I just grabbed it.

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Thanks, Jeff. I got it. Couldn’t find it using Google (although I stopped after the first page). How did you find it?

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Did you ‘Use the Force’, Jeff?

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Phil,

Actually, I used Google. If I remember right, it was the 4th or 5th item on the first page. No matter. . . . just glad I could be of some help.

Jeff

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I hate it when someone else’s Google is better than my Google. (Whoever came up with a name like Google, anyway?) All’s well that ends

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Well according to them[indent]

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WHAT’S A GOOGLE?
“Googol” is the mathematical term for a 1 followed by 100 zeros. It’s a very large number.

Google is a company with a very large number of users, and a laser-like focus on finding the right answer for each and every one of them 150 million times a day.

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[/indent]

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You are the !

No mud….it is very clear and very helpful – Thank You!

This RAS thing though is becoming a small obsession. I downloaded the NT Registry Monitor and, yes, it is an interesting program. I checked it out after install and it is very realtime. I will play with it later to see how I may use its powers. I will let you know when and if I stumble upon RAS revelations.

ThanX tons, Mark! I really appreciate your thoroughness, thoughts, knowledge, and advice!

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Hi Mark:
Do you know if this fix is needed in Win98SE? I checked & don’t have a key for

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesDnscacheParameters

It stops with “Services”.
Thanks,

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Phil, the short answer: no. The fix isn’t applicable to Win9x, because it doesn’t cache DNS names (if it does, it’s using a completely different mechanism).

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Sorry for making this thread an even bigger heap of bits…
I know this is basic, but I can’t create the shortcut. I am prompted that notepad.exe cannot be found. I believe this might be because in fact notepad.exe is in the C:WINDOWS directory, and another fact is that I can’t find neither the hosts folder nor the hosts file… My directory goes as far as C:WINDOWSSYSTEM32DRIVERS, no etc, no hosts. Am I doing something wrong? I’m using win98.

Thanks a lot

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In Win98, the location of the HOSTS file is different. It’s located at C:WINDOWS. Can’t find Notepad? Try a search for it using Find – Files and Folders.

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I noticed two different threads in the lounge today where people had software problems caused by pop-up-ad control software (post 149903 and post 160062).

If you are going to run this software then don’t forget that it will stop pop-up windows that you want, as well as the ones you don’t.

StuartR

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Remember that the Windows Update site uses pop ups and these may block the update process.

DaveA I am so far behind, I think I am First
Genealogy....confusing the dead and annoying the living

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That’s why I use NoAds. It’s perfect and noninvasive.

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Whoops! Okay I figured out your link above. It was small so I downloaded it but not installed. Curious if you or others know….how does this compare to Pop-Up Stopper by Panicware?

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Ouch – it’s fixed now.

Pop-Up Stopper screwed my legit popups and I could never remember the combo to hit to bypass.

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