Best Ad Blocking Software

When XP was brand new, I paid $10 for AdSubtract Pro by Intermute.
http://www.intermute.com/products/adsubtract.html

I see the price has tripled, but the product is GOOD. They give me regular free updates, the software allows me to configure the ad blocking and cookie control the way I want it, and it performs maintainance jobs faster and more thoroughly than Windows. Pages load quickly, because the ads aren't accepted for download. I appreciate the convenience of the GUI, and shutting it off (for example, when I need to evaluate a web page as others will see it) is one click in the Notification Area.

I don't work for these folks, and am receiving no compensation for this endorsement. I am just a happy and satisfied customer.

I see on their website that they have additional products now, all available with a 30 day free trial.

Johanna

 

Another method is using the hosts file to your advantage. Done properly you can redirect advertisers websites before they can show their product. I use a combination of this and strict adblock built into firefox web browser.
(I cant get enough tab browsing )

This site keeps a host file updated for you and has more information about hosts files.
http://www.hosts-file.net/downloads.html

If you have a well maintaned host file you can trick your web browsers by not connecting to the ip address's of advertisers.

I.E. your browser wants to look for google, instead of doing the dns look up, it will first check your host file for the proper ip address. So by putting the ip address next to googles name in the hosts file the computer will skip the dns look up and go direct to whatever ip address you stated.

An example of the host file:
127.0.0.1 localhost
127.0.0.1 www.google.com
127.0.0.1 ad.doubleclick.net

Now www.google.com and ad.doubleclick.net will be unable to connect to any other ip address then 127.0.0.1 which i already stated was localhost.

I dont mean to detract from your post johanna the program you mention does work really well
I just want to show us cheap people some other techniques available.

Now i need to find out how to create custom cookie controll
Perhaps there is a file i can edit to add some custom filters, possibly with wildcards?? now that would be the life

 

SpywareBlaster, often associated with Spybot, uses the principles you described to prevent your browser from "bad sites ". Using a database of known "problems ", SWB uses Windows to lock down the hosts files, comes with an easy to use GUI and can be regularly updated (free version) or auto updated (paid version).

AdSubtract has a built in cookie control. I just looked, and I have 23 "allowed" cookies. All other cookies are deleted with one click, or never accepted in the first place.

Johanna

 

Johanna could you check if adsubtract is a seperate process when browsing, or does it change some files within the browser, Im curious to find out how it controls cookies.
Im going to make an assumption and say - If its a seperate process it must tell the browser before accepting cookies ask "me" if its ok??

Any insights into cookie control would be most appreciated.

 

Eric Hoffy--IE Tools|Internet Options|Security and Privacy tabs offer quite a bit of cookie control. Any site that you put into Security tab|Restricted Sites will not be able to deposit a cookie on your PC. The program IESpyAds will help you create an extensive Restricted Sites list. Spywareblaster also offers to populate the Restricted Sites list.
https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ehowes/www/resource.htm
Also the Privacy tab will let you accept/deny various cookies. (Set the slider and click on Sites.) Third Party cookies are those from sites other than the one which you are viewing. These often are ad sites or worse.
Then there are cookie manager programs. I use Cookie Jar. It tells you what new cookies you have collected and allows you to delete or keep.
http://www.jasons-toolbox.com/programs.asp?Program=Cookie Jar
There are many similar cookie manager programs.
SpywareBlaster uses a killbit technique to deny certain ActiveX controls and cookies from depositing on your PC. SWB in fact does not "run" on your PC although the program is installed. It performs its work in the background and uses no resources.
SpywareBlaster sets the "killbit" on the CLSID's of known spyware using ActiveX. Every program has a CLaSs ID that is unique to the type of program. The spyware can never be opened on your system after the killbit is set. You have to update SWB from time to time since it develops new killbits as it discovers new spyware.
A tutorial on SpywareBlaster is
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/tutorial49.html

Johanna--I knew that SpybotS&D could block changes to HOSTS and that SpywareBlaster can backup/restore HOSTS, but I am not sure SWB can block changes to the HOSTS file. I think it protects the backups, but not the active HOSTS file.

 

A picture is worth a thousand words... As you can see, one click and I remove all cookies I haven't changed to "trusted ", and I could clean my temp files and browse history, too. I could be more strict in the policies I set, as you can see from the next picture. I do block referrer cookies, but as a webmaster, those particular cookies help me to understand how my sites are being used and where my traffic is coming from, which helps me make site improvement decisions.

Cookies are not necessarily a bad thing, and most are harmless. Some are convenient, like the one that lets me open up the BBS w/o having to log in! (You can see it is on the trusted cookie list!) It would be impractical to be prompted for every cookie. A better idea might be Privacy Bird from AT&T, so that you can make an informed decision, or have your browser dump all cookies and temp files when you close it (which will slow your browser down).

AdSubtract acts as a proxy server, second only to Norton for incoming data. It does not affect the browser itself, just the information the browser retains and displays, according to the rules you define.

Johanna

 

WelshJim

SpywareBlaster adds a huge database of "known problems" to the blocked content in the hosts file. "Updating" the program means increasing the list. SpywareBlaster does not run in the background, it uses Windows own Host file to protect from known "bad guys ".

Johanna

 

Thank you Johanna and Welshjimguys for the great information about cookies.
Im now adding a cookie exception list to my Mozilla Firefox browser.
I had previously set it to accept cookies only from the originating site.
Currently looking for a list already compiled, i can just "insert ".

"but I am not sure SWB can block changes to the HOSTS file. I think it protects the backups, but not the active HOSTS file. "

I was under the impression that, if the DNS Client service was running you could not change the hosts file, only temporarily change, since the DNS Client caches the file it would save the file from cache to harddrive upon closing.

actually now that i read it, I feel I am mistaken, maybe it doesnt save it upon closing??
now im curious and am going to test this right now.

Eric.

 

"I was under the impression that, if the DNS Client service was running you could not change the hosts file, only temporarily change, since the DNS Client caches the file it would save the file from cache to harddrive upon closing. "

Any changes to the Hosts file is immediate and stays in the file whether or not you have the DNS Cleint started or not. Makes no difference if you change the information while the browser is open or closed, Furthermore after you shut down the DNS Cleint the Changed host file remains the same.

However what if I were change the hosts file to read-only attribute?
Wouldnt that prevent outside tampering?

 

If you are concerned about possible tampering with your hosts file, then your internet security isn't tight enough. Read this.
More info here on how the hosts file works.

From MS

Johanna

 

Eric Hoffy--

Yes, it could not be changed, including by you. No big deal, however, to rechange the attribute. There also are toggle programs. See close to the bottom of this page
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

 

Johanna,
I dont think i made it very clear what I was after.

Id like to understand how SWB locks down the Hosts files.
Do you know how it accomplishes this?


Eric

 

Johanna--

You are correct that I used a bad choice of words about SWB running in the background. SWB does what I said earlier--sets killbits. Except for that (accomplished when you initiate protection within the SWB program), SWB does not run at all.
However, I do not believe the rest of your statement is correct. SWB and HOSTS have nothing to do with each other. Many people run SWB without having a HOSTS file (other than HOSTS.sam). Perhaps you are thinking about SWB's list that can be added to Restricted Sites.
And Internet Explorer's Security settings have nothing to do with HOSTS, either.

 

Welshjim thanks for the link, it has answered my all my questions regarding the Host file.
Im not so lazy that ill use a bat file but, Hey, now i can lock it down

Thanks for all the information guys, this will be most usefull.

Now to find my list of cookies to block

Anyone know where the list of blocked cookies is stored?

It would be quite convienent to copy and paste entry's from my hosts file to the cookies exceptions.

 

Eric Hoffy--Posted by Johanna

SWB does not lock the HOSTS file. But within SWB you have the option (HOSTS Safe) to create a back up of your HOSTS file. That backup is encrypted and therefore "locked down ".
Also at the end of the article in my last post is a list of programs that do protect, in one fashion or another, protect the actual HOSTS file.

 

Eric Hoffy--

If a cookie is blocked, it is stored nowhere on your PC. That is the objective of blocking a cookie.
If you read that reference I supplied earlier, you will see that you can block a cookie by putting the site that delivers the cookie to your HOSTS file. If you already have populated HOSTS with one of the lists mentioned, there will be few sites left to block. However, using a Cookie Manager (like Cookie Jar) will let you see what cookies are still getting through and you can add those sites to HOSTS manually.

 

SWB looks like a great program, Im going to invest a few bucks and get a copy.

The inclusion of adding CLSID's into the registry, by SWB, sold me. there is no way i would do that myself unless i had the exported registry keys and such.

A valuable lesson has be learnt here:

A program doing the job its designed to do, will do a much better job then i can.
So i wont waste my time trying to do it all myself, Just use the program and take a break
It would be like me trying to take on the oakland raiders by myself !!

I dont want to turn this post into a discussion about something else, so ill stop rambling , Thanks for all the great advice

Eric

 

Ahh i didnt realize it would work that way, So all i need to do is keep my hosts file updated.
Im going to give SWB a go.
Thanks again
Eric

 

Eric Hoffy--Yes, SpywareBlaster is an excellent program. And it is free!! But you can send JavaCool a donation, and/or you can buy the automatic update feature.

 

Eric Hoffy--

Well, no. And as Johanna has said, blocking cookies is actually only one part of the job--not the most important-- of protecting your PC from Malware.
Suggest you re-read this whole thread.
The HOSTS file prevents you from reaching certain sites. Restricted Sites in IE prevents those sites from depositing cookies. Privacy tab in IE can prevent all third party sites from depositing cookies, if that is how you set it up. SWB plays the role described--primarily disabling ActiveX controls, but it also is a source of URL's to add to Restricted Sites. Cookie managers let you see what cookies are getting through.
But SWB and HOSTS do much more than keep you from getting bad cookies.
My purpose is not to confuse. Let me know what questions remain after you have reviewed what already been said.
I presume you have an Antivirus program installed and keep the virus definitions up to date. Ditto for a spyware detector program, such as AdAware and/or SpybotS&D--again with up-to-date reference files.
And stay away from questionable sites!!