avoiding pop-ups and spam - hosts file
If you enjoy looking at racy and possibly dangerous sites, the 'hosts' file on your pc is your friend.
If you are a linux or *nix geek, then it is usually in /etc/ directory. If you are a M$ victim, then it's in something like C:\winnt\system32\etc\
Basically, you can learn this: anything mapped to port 127.0.0.1 means that the browser will look on your own PC for the file. What this means in practical terms is if you have the comfort of editing your hosts file, you can 'block' spam and pop-ups.
For example, I have these entries in my hosts file:
# block advertizers
127.0.0.1 adecn.com
127.0.0.1 www.clicktorrent.info
127.0.0.1 clicktorrent.info
127.0.0.1 ad.doubleclick.net
127.0.0.1 twx.doubleclick.net
127.0.0.1 c5.zedo.com
127.0.0.1 ilead.itrack.it
127.0.0.1 pages.etology.com
127.0.0.1 clk.atdmt.com
So now, when I use hotmail, or visit some porn sites, I get blank areas, _BUT_NO_ADVERTIZING_
How did I find out those strange site names? You use the 'view source' on the page that has the ads you hate, or launches all the popups.
Mind you, there is a small behavioral thing to learn: One you make an entry to your hosts file, it will not go into effect until you shut down _all_ running browsers on your PC and restart them.
It's a new 'behavior' to learn, but very rewarding to master.
If you want to be safe, you can make a back-up of your hosts file before you mess with it, so you can always go back in case you mess something up.
'Nuff said. Try it and enjoy! Unlike buying software, this is _free_ and comes with all M$ and *NIX servers.
If you are a linux or *nix geek, then it is usually in /etc/ directory. If you are a M$ victim, then it's in something like C:\winnt\system32\etc\
Basically, you can learn this: anything mapped to port 127.0.0.1 means that the browser will look on your own PC for the file. What this means in practical terms is if you have the comfort of editing your hosts file, you can 'block' spam and pop-ups.
For example, I have these entries in my hosts file:
# block advertizers
127.0.0.1 adecn.com
127.0.0.1 www.clicktorrent.info
127.0.0.1 clicktorrent.info
127.0.0.1 ad.doubleclick.net
127.0.0.1 twx.doubleclick.net
127.0.0.1 c5.zedo.com
127.0.0.1 ilead.itrack.it
127.0.0.1 pages.etology.com
127.0.0.1 clk.atdmt.com
So now, when I use hotmail, or visit some porn sites, I get blank areas, _BUT_NO_ADVERTIZING_
How did I find out those strange site names? You use the 'view source' on the page that has the ads you hate, or launches all the popups.
Mind you, there is a small behavioral thing to learn: One you make an entry to your hosts file, it will not go into effect until you shut down _all_ running browsers on your PC and restart them.
It's a new 'behavior' to learn, but very rewarding to master.
If you want to be safe, you can make a back-up of your hosts file before you mess with it, so you can always go back in case you mess something up.
'Nuff said. Try it and enjoy! Unlike buying software, this is _free_ and comes with all M$ and *NIX servers.