Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Feb 08 - 09:06 PM

I told him the same thing. Over the years his password has been an open secret in the household, so what he needs to do as administrator is change his password and lock them out. And add the other stuff just as a precaution.

With Microsoft VISTA on the horizon, switching to a Mac all of a sudden doesn't seem that ludicrous. ;)

SRS

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: Andrez
Date: 14 Feb 08 - 04:52 PM

Hi SRS why doesnt your friend with the troublesome housemates just set up a guest account and then go in as administrator and use the gpedit.msc console to lock down absolutely everything that should'nt be added to, moved or changed in any way for that account. (start-run type gpedit.msc and then go to user configuration, administrative templates and work through these...... the usual cautions about not changing anything you dont understand apply here though)

That aside I find this kind of thread quite educational. What I can never work out is why people persist with these dodgy Microsoft operating systems?

Using my Mac I have zero, zilch, nada, nyet, nothing..... problems with adware, spyware, viruses or other unwanted junk like that described above. The time and money I dont spend trying to manage these issues are more profitably spent on other things.

So if the point of using a computer is so that you can do things and be productive, why would you bother?

Cheers,

Andrez

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Feb 08 - 11:32 AM

Bill D,

I am compiling a list of shareware and free programs for a friend who is bailing from using Norton Internet Security, and who has a problem with housemates using his computer and changing programs and adding junk.

I have recommended Kerio and AVG and Spybot Search&Destroy. I use AdAware, and seem to be doing okay with the new release, though it can be kind of slow. They no longer support the older SE version.

I did a search for your Proxomitron, and found some indications that it hasn't been updated for several years. Is this one like Kerio that basically works well without the upgrades? One Geocities site says it is dead now. What do you know about that? And how much tweaking is needed to get this up and running? Does it run on all browsers?

I've also sent him information about WinPatrol, and I'm about to load that one in my computer. I think this is the one that will help with the other users (I told him he also needs to change his password so they don't log on as him, as they have been doing, and give them diminished user account.)

SRS

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: Bill D
Date: 22 Oct 07 - 12:41 PM

yer welcome - I hope things improve rapidly.

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Oct 07 - 10:59 AM

Glad to read that, John. It is a time waster and one wonders if it is worth it.

As a side note, I've been doing some tweaking here this weekend. I loaded kerio and AVG and they are "learning" now. (Thanks, Bill D!) I also poked around in my IE settings and realize that when I turn off the default "phishing filter" pages load MUCH FASTER. Damned thing must take your URL and report back to the mother ship to compare it to a list of suspect sites. I know most of the places I'm visiting, thank you very much, and I don't need this. Glad I dumped it. It isn't enough to just say "don't search," you have to select the button to disable it. Then it really does what you want it to. Otherwise it's still trying to run in the background.

Now JiK will come up with three yards of text as to why this is so.

;-D

SRS

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 21 Oct 07 - 11:53 PM

Thanks JiK. Now I'm extra glad I'm still on 98SE!!! :-)

As I said, I've been around since the first 'compression crap' started appearing. Once bitten, twice shy! :-)

I REALLY (but then I'm a Hacker anyway - not a cracker!) dislike mindless 'help thingies' dumbly getting in the way.... :-)

Remember 'Random Bob'? :-)

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 21 Oct 07 - 02:05 AM

Foolestroupe -

At least in Win2K and later, Windows insists on checking "Compress old files" every time you run a "Disk Cleanup." Disk Cleanup is what you use to clear extra Temp files, Autocomplete Forms, Internet pages, Cookies, etc. (You can choose what to delete.)

In your setup, you can tell it NEVER COMPRESS ANYTHING, but it still continues to check to see if there's anything (files not accessed recently) for it to compress - even if it can't compress them because of your settings.

This compression only works if your drive is formatted NTFS, but Windows insists on doing the check even if you don't have a drive where it can put anything it compresses - i.e. if you're using a FAT32 or FAT drive format.

In "modern Windows" the compression (on NTFS drives) can be allowed for entire drives, individual folders, and/or individual files, and apparently is some variant of LZ compression. Nearly all of the sparse Microsoft information on this system says that compression/decompression is "processor intensive" and may significantly slow down your machine - in effect saying "don't use it unless you have to." A "side feature" is that you can't see thumbnails of image files that are compressed when you look for something in Win Explorer.

Yet the search for files to compress is built in as if it's a good thing?

There is a regedit you can do to turn it off, but Mickey says it shouldn't be used "unless it's a confirmed problem on your computer."

Evidence that Mickey doesn't know what this "feature" does is ubiquitous in all articles, where they say that the "Compress old files" is searching for "Comressed files." It's NOT. It's searching for uncompressed files eligible to be compressed due to lack of use.

WinXP and later (maybe Win2K?) allow separate "ZIP" compression of files, built into the Windows setup; but that's a separate sort of "mostly works" feature, and there's no "on the fly" extraction. You have to drag-and-drop files in and out of your "ZIP Folder" for that routine.

John

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 20 Oct 07 - 09:29 AM

JiK

I don't like using the 'mungled all together' save - been around since the early PC/AT days when that darn new fangled idea of 'compressing all the files on a HD' (all of a couple of Mb!) to save space - bloody great till you corrupted 'the index file'... :-)

BTW, I often 'prune the crap out' of the saved dir - most css files, many graphics, etc can often be dispensed with - saves file space, and if you really need to, you can zip the whole thing.

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 20 Oct 07 - 07:25 AM

As IE points out in its pop-op FAQ :

I turned on Pop-up Blocker but I still see some pop-ups. Why?

The following are some common reasons why you might still be seeing pop-ups:

You might have software, such as adware or spyware, on your computer that is opening pop-up windows. To stop these pop-ups, you will have to identify the software that is opening them, and then remove it or change its settings to stop it from opening pop-up windows.

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 20 Oct 07 - 07:22 AM

Tell Explorer to block Adserver5.com.

I'm afraid that doesn't do the trick - IE on my PC has always been set High filter level "Block all pop-ups". They can still sneak in. (After all, this is Microsoft quality security...)

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: EBarnacle
Date: 19 Oct 07 - 09:22 AM

Keep it simple. Tell Explorer to block Adserver5.com. Then you won't have to deal with problems they cause.

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 18 Oct 07 - 05:53 PM

John, I didn't read your post fully and jumped to the conclusion that PIMP was the abbreviation of four words with some meaning to computer operators, not an apt comment. I have no understanding of computer lingo, hence my comment.

I used to get my political and comic cartoon fix from washingtonpost.com but go to them a lot less than I used to.

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 18 Oct 07 - 05:46 PM

My remarks on deep six came from J. E. Lighter, "Historical Dictionary of American Slang," vol. 1.

Webster's Collegiate Dictionary - "From "The leadsman's call 'by the deep six' for a depth corresponding to the sixth deep on a sounding line. 1944 slang: a place of disposal or abandonment- used especially in the phrase 'give it the deep six."
deep-six, vt (1952). 1. slang: to throw away: Discard 2 slang: to throw overboard."
Lighter is much better on dates of quotations than Webster's.

Like SRS, I thought everyone who spoke English knew the term deep six. I did have to look up 'deep,' OED)
Deep (Naut.) "A term used in estimating the fathoms intermediate to those indicated by marks on the sounding line, i. e. 1, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 16, 18, 19." The 6th deep is 11? Need a sailor, I'm lost here.
Usually pronounced 'dip.'

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Oct 07 - 04:59 PM

That is funny, Kevin! "Deep six" is a term that I would have thought would span the Atlantic, because I assumed it came from sea chanteys as much as anything! (ala Davey Jones Locker). I assume six fathoms or (as the wiki site said) the depth in feet of the grave. I'm sure I picked it up at home long before the Nixon troubles. I grew up in a major seaport, so that might explain it.

SRS

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 18 Oct 07 - 04:43 PM

Derogatory to pimps, I'd say.

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 18 Oct 07 - 03:58 PM

Q

Perhaps I should apologize for using the term "pimp" here. It's not exactly a tech term; but has the traditional (US) meaning of a "seller of illegal, illicit, immoral merchandise and/or "services" - having no regard for the value to the buyer or harm to those who actually provide the service and interested only in how much money can be extracted." I.E. here - the "advertising industry" as it shows up on the internet.

Deliberately sarcastic and derogatory.

My apology is for the use of sarcasm here, not for my opinion of those who push the advertising.

John

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 18 Oct 07 - 01:10 PM

My cable server seems to take care of the problem, with Spyware Doctor occasionally picking up the odd one missed. The server is a bother sometimes, since updates are frequent (update and check every hour, and sometimes irregular) but If I am doing a last-minute bid on eBay, I can turn their updates on and off.

Ah, an excuse for a pedantic ramble!
Deep six is a Navy term, apparently American and Canadian only (Not in Oxford Dictionary 1987).
1. the act of being sunk to the bottom of the sea. In print 1919, so prob. WW1.
2. toss overboard; the act of being discarded, disposed of, rejected, etc. This usage seems to be later; in print 1929 (Bowen, Sea Slang).
In the Navy, a wastebasket is referred to as the deep-six.

Lighter says the original sense is often alleged to be 'burial at sea.'

PIMP is new to me, but I retreat into my shell when I hear computerese, eMail talk such as LOL, funny? faces, etc.

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: Bill D
Date: 18 Oct 07 - 12:23 PM

*grin*..."deep-sixed" is sorta set in American usage since Nixon & Watergate. I think someone used the phrase to refer to tossing evidence over a bridge.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_six

Sometimes tech terms ARE overused....sometimes they are about the only way to refer to things and require a context that is familar.

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 18 Oct 07 - 12:02 PM

My problem has been sorted out, as my last post indicated - but I opened the thread again, out of curiosity.

It seems to me that rather a lot of jargon seems to be creeping in here - "deep-sixed" for example. One great thing about the Mudcat is it's possible to get answers to technical queries without allowing the jargon and the tech talk taking over, unlike most places on the net which tend to be as impenetrable as possible. I think we should try to keep it that way.

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Oct 07 - 11:34 AM

I mentioned in another thread but will also mention here that I just deep-sixed the newest version of Lavasoft AdAware. It wasn't performing well and it kept hanging or crashing. The previous version was still in my downloads so I reinstalled it and it is working fine and getting rid of the ad stuff.

SRS

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 18 Oct 07 - 07:41 AM

A rather trite little article that appeared in my local newsrag some time ago, under a Cox News Service byline, quoted (without very specific traceability):

"You are told that Linux, Unix or a Macintosh using an operating system based on Linux are all bulletproof, while Windows is a time bomb. I won't argue that Windows is perfectly secure. But a study by the federal government found that in 2005, "out of 5,198 reported vulnerabilities, 812 were Windows operating system vulnerabilities, while 2,328 were Unix/Linux operating vulnerabilities and 2,058 were multiple operating system vulnerabilities.""

Similar realities mostly apply to the differences between browsers used with Windows.

A good AV, preferably with effective AS and anti-phishing and with an effective firewall is necessary, regardless of what browser you use.

I will note that while I have an incredibly slow connection, the times when the "stalls for ad pimping" are most noticeable are when I've just rebooted and made an intial connection on my dialup service. My AV always checks for updates then, so the connection is even slower than usual - giving me time to notice what people with a faster connection would be unlikely to see, much less be able to trace specifically to the pimps.

Foolestroupe - In IE, v6 or my current v7, I use the Page|SaveAs .mht, which doesn't make a lot of difference here, but on pages with "linked junk" it all gets encapsulated into a single "web archive file" instead of a file with a separate folder full of garbage that you have to keep together. It's a much more stable "save" than plain vanilla html, and still opens in your browser when you want to look at it.

John

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: nutty
Date: 18 Oct 07 - 05:27 AM

I'm no expert but would not allowing Internet Explorer to access the Internet (I have it blocked by Zone Alarm) be one way of solving the problem.

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: GUEST,foolestroupe - cookie munched!
Date: 18 Oct 07 - 05:10 AM

JiK

Some browsers allow you to start displaying the page before it is fully loaded.

I'm still using MSIE 6 (on Win98SE - don't know that V7 will work!) - but in Firefox or Opera - I have to use Opera for Mudcat as Firefox won't save a HTML page from here with the TITLE from the HTML page, but uses "cfm bit" of the URL - you can set the page to do that.


BTW, IE6 never seemed to have that probelm either.

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 18 Oct 07 - 01:46 AM

As it's somewhat pertinent, I'll note that recently even at mudcat I've encountered times when the page loads, but won't "turn loose" so that I can scroll down and read it, while at the bottom of my IE it says "loading ad ...".

The ads have to be retrieved from a separate site - remote from mudcat's own servers, and if the ad-server is getting a lot of traffic, or is just "bogged down" for some reason, the whole page is stalled until the ads finish loading.

I don't particularly object to the ads. On rare occasions I may even get a bit of a chuckle from some of them. But when they interfere with my "total browsing experience" it is annoying.

(Just now, when I opened this thread, it took less than 6 seconds to load the mudcat thread - a little slower than usual; but it then took about 25 seconds to finish loading the ads at the bottom before I could start reading.)

John

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: GUEST,Bill D
Date: 17 Oct 07 - 11:03 PM

ooops, sorry, SRS...I was out of town when you asked, then the thread was not refreshed.

If you have the program, you would need to choose a combination of the filters that come with the program (or just begin with the defaults) or install some of the extra filters written by others. (The author of the program died several years ago)
Here is the guide to how the filters work. It is a steep learning curve to actually write them, so one can read what they do here, and play with different sets and combinations of them to get what suits you.

here (Proxofilterset)284K is a set of filters from 'Gryphon', which is a set based on some created by "JD", but improved for ease of use, it says.

I can even provide the sets written by JD..(3 levels...I use the middle one....and not ALL of them). And, I 'could' do screen captures of my current enabled set of filters that could be copied...I don't pretend that they would be 'best' or that they would suit YOU, but they keep me out of trouble...mostly..*grin*. ONCE in awhile I need to disable Proxo to make some javascript page work, and so far I have not delved into settings deeply enough to see if I can make exceptions without disabling the entire program.

I assume one can find JDs originals online, but it has been 2-3 years, and I haven't done all the searches.

I'll re-read this tomorrow and see if there's something I missed, or if there are questions.

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 17 Oct 07 - 06:26 PM

These pop-up ads kept on coming, in fact they kept on coming more often - mostly starting with "CiD".

Then at last I found this link through Google, and I followed the instructions, and it seems to have done the job.

So if you run up against this Malware/Adware "CiD", there's the place to go.

Touch wood...

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Oct 07 - 10:53 PM

Okay, Bill D, consider yourself asked:

Proxomitron to put a little red [ad blocked]

in the space, so you'll know it's working.

More info on request...

I think you've spoken of this program before.

I've been fighting off ads a lot lately, things the pop up, things that appear in other browsers, like Kevin describes. My browsers are also really slow lately, I think sorting through all of the stuff trying to download that ad aware and Spybot are blocking.

SRS

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: Bill D
Date: 10 Oct 07 - 10:23 PM

I wonder how many votes we'd get for the death sentence for this kind of crap....maybe it's best not to take a poll.

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 10 Oct 07 - 07:42 PM

Bugger - they are back... /uk.celldorado.com /ilead.itrack.it/clients /www.888.com/

Another Spyware Doctor scan identified a few infections, one of which sounded like it's responsible. Gone for now, but...

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: Bill D
Date: 10 Oct 07 - 05:33 PM

Oh...and I can, and do, often turn OFF ads when I plan to be only in Mudcat for awhile.

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: Bill D
Date: 10 Oct 07 - 05:28 PM

oh, I hope the bite didn't make your tongue forked, John! Perhaps one the many "ONs" will help...ActiveOn, FirstOn...etc.


(But I'll guarantee, *I* don't miss the ads...either the content OR the slow loading!)

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 10 Oct 07 - 04:28 PM

Bill D -

It's not that the ads are such a big deal. If the Washington Post (and others who do the same) are in such dire financial condition that they have to have PIMPS to pay for their website, I don't really mind having the ads there; but when the ads fail to load (from remote sites off different servers than for the page itself) it aborts the page that's the purpose of their having a website in the first place, I don't get to read their propoganda, and the whole neo-con political establishment is harmed by their failure to present the "unbiased" news that's ignored by rest of the real news media.

['scuse me now while I go put a Bandaid® where I just bit my tongue. It was a little far into my cheek.]

John

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: bobad
Date: 10 Oct 07 - 04:27 PM

I get the same thing happening with Ad-Block Plus using Firefox browser, I don't see the ads at the bottom of Mudcat anymore and kind of miss them sometimes.

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: Bill D
Date: 10 Oct 07 - 04:16 PM

Boy, I see what you mean about the unnamed site with the initials Washingtonpost, John.
I loaded it, saw no ads, then clicked 'bypass' in The Proxomitron, and hit 'reload'. ZAAAAAAPPPP...up came all these ads in the whitspace and corners.
I need reminders now & then that Proxomitron actually works. It really, really, really makes a difference. I especially hate ads & promos that play 'music' uninvited.

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 10 Oct 07 - 01:25 PM

About 90% of what you see on a lot of web pages actually comes from "adservers" (with a variety of site names) and they can be a real P.I.A. A couple of sites I visit occasionally (but as infrequently as possible) spend about 4 times as long loading the script for the "ad inserts" as to download the page, and then about two thirds of the time one of the "ad links" fails to serve up the insert and the page I want to look at disappears into a "link failure" or "IE cannot open" error message - because the AD-PIMPS selling the ads can't/don't provide a working/workable service.

(One site that I refuse to identify but who's initials are washingtonpost.com has been particularly annoying recently.)

I do "not get them" in my regular browser, but then I use IE.

John

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 10 Oct 07 - 01:11 PM

And now I've done another scan with Spyware Doctor and it came up with a likely candidate which I got rid of. The thing is I did the same the other day and nothing came up. That seems to suggest that it might be a recent thing that's only just been covered in the last update.

So touch wood, maybe I'll be OK now...

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 10 Oct 07 - 12:38 PM

Well I've upgraded to Internet Explorer7 (though I don't plan to use it), and removed Java and Flash. So I'll see if that makes adiffeence.

The ads all indicated they came from "adserver5.com".

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: Bill D
Date: 10 Oct 07 - 12:20 PM

Yes...I should have thought of the basic point John is making. Often, an ad will specifically assume that folks use IE, and embed code telling the script to open IE to do what they want.
   I have had this happen a few times. It doesn't even help to have Firefox..etc, set as 'default', if the ad has code that specifies IE.

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 10 Oct 07 - 11:43 AM

It sounds like you're computer is being told to open new "messages" that are not, strictly speaking, "popups." A popup, in the usual sense, is a separate window that opens in the browser you are using when you connect to a specific web site.

You may be getting "Messages" unrelated to the websites you're looking at. If your "file associations" tell your computer to use IE for files of type .htm and .html, then a "message" in one of those formats will open IE to display itself, even when you're using another browser to surf the web.

Unsolicited messages of this kind frequently happen if you've turned on "Instant Messaging," but there's also the possibility that you've picked up a bug that's "calling home" for some spam (and possibly for some other even less-wanted stuff).

Since Internet Explorer is "built in" and performs several functions in Windows unrelated to browsing, you can't remove it; and since it has to be there it needs to be kept up to date to keep your whole computer from being vulnerable to malware, so you should have Internet Explorer 7.0.5730.11 or better. An update of IE is in order if you're using an earlier version.

In IE7, click "Tools" on the toolbar at the top, select "Internet Options" and click the "Programs" tab. There should be a place to set IE as your "default browser." There should be a similar setting in whatever other browser you use where you can make the other one the default browser. Setting your other browser (Firefox) to be your default browser may help.

In IE7, at the same place (Tools|Internet Options|Programs) there should be a button to "manage add-ons." If you click "Manage Add-Ons" you can take a look at whether something has been turned on that might be force-feeding the ads you're seeing. Java and XML "helpers" are prime possible suspects, although Flash could be a culprit.

Also in IE7, at Tools|Internet Options, but on the "Privacy" tab, there should be a place to check to turn on the Popup Blocker. (This option may come with IE7, or may require a current OS with current updates, so it may not be there if you're using an older OS.) If it's there, it's reasonably effective without adding on a separate blocker program. What you're seeing doesn't appear to be "just a popup" so this setting may not stop it.

In "the other explorer," Windows Explorer, there should be a "Tools" button with a "Folder Options" choice where you can click the "File Types" tab to see if .htm and .html are "associated" to open in IE. You may or may not want to change the association permanently, but changing it temporarily to your other browser (or even to something like Word) would at least indicate whether the separate "junk" you're seeing is arriving as one of these formats. (This change may mean that your "ads" will open Firefox - or Word - when you're browsing in IE?)

To get rid of the ads, you need to figure out where they're coming from. A full system scan with your AV, with current updates, followed by one or more of the Adware scanners like Ad-Aware SE (with current updates) and Spybot S&D (with current updates) should give reasonable assurance that you haven't picked up some kind of malware.

If the scans don't find anything, it's most likely that you're getting "Instant Messaging" that can come in through any browser and/or email program on your machine, or that may be "pushed" by your ISP. Each "suspect" will likely have to be explored individually to find which one is letting the stuff in.

John

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: bobad
Date: 10 Oct 07 - 09:15 AM

It sounds like you may have caught some bug - a thorough scan with some anti- ad/spyware program would be a good idea.

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 10 Oct 07 - 07:24 AM

The thing is, it isn't ads coming up on Firefox when I'm using it - it's Internet Explorer, which I'm not using, opening up in front of the screen with these unwanted ads.

I'd have thought there'd be some way of stopping IE opening up except when I want it to.

This has only started happening pretty recently - either my PC has picked up some kind of infection, or some new bit of technology out there has come into use allowing this to happen.

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: bobad
Date: 09 Oct 07 - 09:05 PM

I've been using Ad Block Plus for a few months now and haven't seen one ad since I installed it.

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: Bill D
Date: 09 Oct 07 - 08:45 PM

The only way *I* can really control ads is with The Proxomitron. It has settings for 'almost' any situation...There are guys who have written special 'filters' beyond what comes with the program, and I 'almost' never see ads on a web page...(you can even tell Proxomitron to put a little red [ad blocked]

in the space, so you'll know it's working.

More info on request...

Subject: RE: Tech: Blocking IE ads coming up
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 09 Oct 07 - 08:30 PM

Almost every internet service has decided to sell ads. The next step is to charge (or charge more) for their services.
Spyware Doctor can't do much about ads. sponsored by the carrier.

I use Internet Explorer exclusively, and have noticed no problems with unusual ads, except those carried by the website I was trying to use.
I mostly stay away from lyrics sources, which are mostly loaded with annoyances.

Subject: Tech: Blocking IE ads
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 09 Oct 07 - 08:08 PM

Just recently I've started having ads in Internet Explorer. for all kinds of things I'm not interested in, opening up without warning when I'm using Firefox.

It's getting to be a nuisance. Anybody got any suggestions for how I can stop it happening? I hardly ever use Internet Explorer, so I wouldn't mind getting rid of it, but so far as I know there's no ready way to do that. And I'd sooner keep it available as a back-up anyway.

I've got Spyware Doctor, which I'd have thought would stop this kind of stuff happening, and AVG for keeping out the viruses.