Terminate the Dancing Ads

xSamhainx · January 29, 2007

Do you hate them as much as I do? I doubt that you do. Ads are a fact of life and normally dont bother me, these are different. If you hate them almost as much as I do, you can get rid of them quite easily. In fact, I havent seen one for days. People are turning off their flash, getting ad-blocking software, changing browsers, etc. None of that is needed.

The picture will just come up blank, the little red x, or with a little 404 error in the background. It's wonderful, I never thought I'd be so happy to see a little red x.

Edit your hosts file per this site Can't Stop the Dance? Edit Your Hosts File

"Windows XP keeps the file in the C:\\Windows\\System32\\Drivers\\Etc" folder.

The following line will stop the music for the dancing mortgage people and any other advertiser using the same broker:

127.0.0.1 ad.doubleclick.net

The ads are replaced with an error message that looks clunky but poses no threat to your cerebral cortex."

This site has more explanation about host file editing-

How-To: Edit your HOSTS file in XP

It's worth it, trust me ='.'=

magerette · January 29, 2007

You interest me deeply.
Do I hate them as much as you? Can I?
Yes, yes I do. I can. The dancing mortgage guy, the wildly flashing cellulite and botox girls--ACKK!! I am going to go try all this and see if it can make them GONE.

xSamhainx · January 29, 2007

This will just take care of the "dancing" ones for lowermybills.com, you would have to find out the address for the other cellulite one, or any others. Who knows, maybe youll get lucky and they both use the same!

At first it didnt work and I was frazzled, then I cleaned out my temporary internet files and it worked like a charm. No more dancing ads!

magerette · January 29, 2007

Worked good, Sammy. These are the ads in my inbox and they are now all gone.You don't know how much I thank you.

chamr · January 29, 2007

I thought is was just me!

I do indeed hate those ads above all others. I don't know why, but there is something deep within my psyche that is repulsed and annoyed by those freakin' jiggly mortgage silhouettes...

KazikluBey · February 7, 2007

I have no idea what you're talking about, but I'm guessing that's thanks to:

Firefox
Adblock - Firefox extension
Adblock Filterset.G Updater - Firefox extension that adds loads and loads of ad-hosts to the adblock filter, so you don't have to.

I haven't seen an internet ad in months. The ads are completely removed, and often they don't even leave the space they occupied, the content below them are simply further up, as the ads are no longer there to hinder it.

It's worth it, trust me ='.'=

Ozymandias · March 3, 2007

I recommend downloading a hosts file from http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm This will block Ads, Banners, Parasites, and Hijackers, web bugs, etc.
Make sure you read the whole page before you start using this hosts file!

KazikluBey · March 7, 2007

NoScript extension for Firefox blocks any and all scripts from being run unless you give the site your expressed permission (which is just two mouse clicks away).

xSamhainx · January 4, 2008

LowerMyBills.com seems to be sneaking some in on me with a new server, so if youre still using this hosts method, and still vehemently hate LowerMyBills.com as I do, make sure to add

127.0.0.1 bannerfarm.ace.advertising.com

It's not the dancing sillouhettes, it's other dancing people and such. Some regular ads with nothing but flashing text and stuff too. I dont care, it's my own little personal mission to never see another one of their ads again.

I really dont mind other ads, that's why I dont go with a full-on host file manifesto of adservers. Just lowermybills.com, theyve earned my hate

Guest · January 4, 2008

I haven't seen an add (don't really like them) since I installed Ad Block Plus (it's free) so I don't know what you guys are talking about

Prime Junta · January 4, 2008

I'm intrigued. Where do you see these horrors?

Gallifrey · January 4, 2008

KazikluBey said:
I have no idea what you're talking about, but I'm guessing that's thanks to:

Firefox
Adblock - Firefox extension
Adblock Filterset.G Updater - Firefox extension that adds loads and loads of ad-hosts to the adblock filter, so you don't have to.

I haven't seen an internet ad in months. The ads are completely removed, and often they don't even leave the space they occupied, the content below them are simply further up, as the ads are no longer there to hinder it.

Likewise here. I haven't a clue what the offensive adverts are (and they do sound offensive!). The only time I see internet ads these days is when I have to, for one reason or another, switch to IE mode to view some websites.

Lucky Day · January 5, 2008

dittos

Sam are you still using IE? Even IE 6 has pop up blocking now.

Have you run spybot or adaware? If you, or any of the precious readers, still have this problem check the free software thread for links to them. Maybe you need to go one further with HijackThis.

Also, Sam, are you hosting a webserver? Are you using Apache and not MS's iNet (I hope)? Is your firewall up? Are you using port redirection with it on? By default most firewalls direct IP's to 0.0.0.0 if the port is block or simply don't respond if I remember right. This cured a lot of DoS attacks back in the day and even wrecked some bots.

On my game server I had VNC running on it for DM's who had Dynamic IP's. There's lots of idiots out there searching for it and know how to break in.

Symantec managed to stop one guy in his tracks when he was loading malware onto my machine but he managed to permanently block and all Windows network file sharing over the LAN.

Me and my fellow expert from Germany were stumped. We never could fix that one. However, she did manage to track down the IP he used in the Windows logs though and I sent a useless complaint to the ISP he last came off of.

xSamhainx · January 5, 2008

No no no nooo...

These are not popups, nor they are not malware of any type. My machine is totally malware/virus free anyway, and I'm totally firewalled and scan all the time. I do use IE7, and I'm fine with it actually (path of least resistance) as it takes care of popups and other such malfeasance, as I said I very rarely have a problem with ads unless they have sound. Or dancing. Or omnipresence.

No, these are nothing more than simple banner ads. Very annoying flash banner ads, which were there sometimes two on a page dancing away as I checked my email, checked the news, checked forums. They were there, they were everywhere, seemingly on any site of repute or reasonable traffic. That is, until I finally could take it no more and just blocked them via my hosts file.

Here's one. And the one that really made me spazz out - "Boogie Hell"

Here's a montage of a lot of them. My blood pressure is rising steadily

I dont even know if theyre still even going anymore, since Ive blocked all of them. Still, even the newer non-dance ones they were sneaking in on me I still block out of principle.

Prime Junta · January 5, 2008

That was funny. The first time.

JemyM · January 5, 2008

I have to say what KazikluBey did. I have never seen what you talk about and I also use Firefox + Adblock. My only issue is a type of banner that sometimes forward to some kind of "memory checker" tool that closes down the page I was watching, resize the browser, pop up multiple "click yes to scan your computer" and despite clicking X it starts to scan it anyway. Eventually I dumped every mirror of that hoax into my HOST file.

KazikluBey · January 5, 2008

Jemy: I use NoScript, so no such annoyances for me.

JemyM · January 5, 2008

Good idea. Im trying it now.

Lucky Day · January 5, 2008

On that page Sam I have a nice transparent tab on that flash that has the word "block". I can choose to block it in Firefox if I want to. Are you not able to block flash ads with your adblocker?
--
the problem with NoScript is that so many webpages today use javascript its almost impossible to avoid.

Are there options in NoScript to block specific pages from using them?

KazikluBey · January 5, 2008

It's on by default and if you want to let a site run scripts you simply set it to allow or temporarily allow scripts from that URL through a little pop-up menu that is activated by clicking on a NoScript icon.

Terminate the Dancing Ads

Paws of Doom

Hedgewitch

Paws of Doom

Hedgewitch

Mounted Highborn

Sentinel

Watcher

Sentinel

Paws of Doom

Guest

Guest

RPGCodex' Little BRO

Keeper Of Traken

Daywatch

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RPGCodex' Little BRO

Okay, now roll sanity.

Sentinel

Okay, now roll sanity.

Daywatch

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