Pop-ups have sunk to a new low

[DarkArctic]

I was just browsing the web one day when the usual barrage of pop-ups come flying at me. But this one caught my eye.

** Be wary 56k users. 200k file ahead (I didn't have any image manipulation proggy available **

http://darkarctic.stormpages.com/popup.html

-DarkArctic

 

[Kaneda]

thats great.

 

[Penguin4x4]

Well I tried to access OC3D's GeoCities Site.......................boy was that a weird popup...............

 

[CrystalMethod]

Holy poop! Don't think I get that many popups in a year. What sites have you been going to?!?!

 

[CharlesHF]

Holy poop! Don't think I get that many popups in a year. What sites have you been going to?!?!

That's in the ad.
Makes you wonder where the computer in the AD has be going.

 

[scrappydog]

Excellent hack

Here's a great hack for our Windows users. Go to the following Windows directory:

C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc\

Open the HOSTS file with notepad. Add any "ad spam" vendors to the list like this:

0.0.0.0 ad.doubleclick.net

How do you get this URL? Three simple options:

(1) If it's a graphic, right click on the graphic and scroll down to Properties. The "Address" will display the path where the graphic is being pulled from.

(2) If it's a graphic, you can also view the HTML source to see the path.

(3) If it's a popup, download and install PopUp Killer. It rocks because it displays the path for annoying popups, including the ones that "hide" the IP/URL of the offending server. PopUp Killer rocks because it is freeware, it uses little resources, and it works.

By doing this, the ad server that is trying to upload an ad graphic on your system (and eating your bandwidth in the process) cannot make a connection with your system. You will see a blank IE space where the ad should go.

BTW, I also do this whenever I get HTML email spam. What happens is that spam-email vendors will send an email with graphics embedded. When you open the page, the graphic will be uploaded from their server... and more importantly, it pings their server with the info that your email address is valid... resulting in more spam. I know this little trick because I used to be a product manager for an enterprise email application. Anyway, by doing this hack, you are effectively blocking their server from uploading unwanted garbage on your system AND the spammers will not know that your system "exists".

Anyway, best of luck in your anti-spam war! Please feel free to email me if you have additional questions.

 

[ThePerfectCore]

Here's the 56k friendly version. I chopped it down a bit and coverted it to B&W:

http://www.geocities.com/mendoza_343/popupbw.jpg

Copy/paste into address bar. For those of you who don't notice right away, he's running Linux. You can't really tell from my picture unless you've used Linux, though.

There are two popups that make me laugh - the "Taskbar Upgrade Wizard" that wants me to make my taskbar transparent or add a system tray icon or something, and the popup that compares my machine's performace to that of an average PC. It claims my machine is at 0% of possible performance, and the average PC is at about 50%.

Makes me want to take a bat to their heads and show them what this system can really do compared to the "average" n00b PC.

 

[Disputant]

I don't remember the last time I saw a pop-up, but damn that is a lot.

I used to build my host file like that, but I couldn't keep up with all the addresses and the file was getting huge. I use Proxomitron now, there is a pretty big community working to keep up with blocking all the newest tricks. That coupled with the Phoenix browser, I don't see anything but the site I typed in.

 

[The Revelation]

On a related note, grab Lavasofts Ad-aware. It's great for getting downloaded cookies/spyware off your system.

 

[scrappydog]

I don't remember the last time I saw a pop-up, but damn that is a lot.

I used to build my host file like that, but I couldn't keep up with all the addresses and the file was getting huge. I use Proxomitron now, there is a pretty big community working to keep up with blocking all the newest tricks. That coupled with the Phoenix browser, I don't see anything but the site I typed in.

Coolio! I didn't know about Proxomitron (funny name). Is it a decent app and convenient to use?

BTW, I would agree that Ad-Aware is a nice addition. I also use Safeclean Utilities and RegCleaner for hidden file/registry clean-up work.

 

[Audioaficionado]

No pop ups using Phoenix 0.4

 

[scrappydog]

No pop ups using Phoenix 0.4

Does Phoenix do the blocking? I've never used it.

 

[Gerst240]

what are you doin with mozilla without the popups turned off for ?

all you need to do is edit->preferences->advanced->scripts and plugins
and its the first option under allow scripts to just uncheck open unrequested windows and you will be browsing popup free

 

[scrappydog]

what are you doin with mozilla without the popups turned off for ?

all you need to do is edit->preferences->advanced->scripts and plugins
and its the first option under allow scripts to just uncheck open unrequested windows and you will be browsing popup free

Whoops. Lemme restate. I've never used Phoenix before... hence, I haven't used Mozilla. I use IE.

 

[Lithan]

I don't really get more than one or two popups a day. Of course I'm more than 18 years old, so I can buy my porn and I dont have to look for it online.

 

[DarkArctic]

what are you doin with mozilla without the popups turned off for ?

all you need to do is edit->preferences->advanced->scripts and plugins
and its the first option under allow scripts to just uncheck open unrequested windows and you will be browsing popup free

It was a fresh install. I think it was worth it just to get that pop-up. It really gave me a laugh.

-DarkArctic

 

[Dragon_Engineer2]

Re: Excellent hack

ScrappyDog if I can get this to work you are my hero.

Here's a great hack for our Windows users. Go to the following Windows directory:

C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc\

Open the HOSTS file with notepad. Add any "ad spam" vendors to the list like this:

0.0.0.0 ad.doubleclick.net

How do you get this URL? Three simple options:

(1) If it's a graphic, right click on the graphic and scroll down to Properties. The "Address" will display the path where the graphic is being pulled from.

(2) If it's a graphic, you can also view the HTML source to see the path.

(3) If it's a popup, download and install PopUp Killer. It rocks because it displays the path for annoying popups, including the ones that "hide" the IP/URL of the offending server. PopUp Killer rocks because it is freeware, it uses little resources, and it works.

By doing this, the ad server that is trying to upload an ad graphic on your system (and eating your bandwidth in the process) cannot make a connection with your system. You will see a blank IE space where the ad should go.

BTW, I also do this whenever I get HTML email spam. What happens is that spam-email vendors will send an email with graphics embedded. When you open the page, the graphic will be uploaded from their server... and more importantly, it pings their server with the info that your email address is valid... resulting in more spam. I know this little trick because I used to be a product manager for an enterprise email application. Anyway, by doing this hack, you are effectively blocking their server from uploading unwanted garbage on your system AND the spammers will not know that your system "exists".

Anyway, best of luck in your anti-spam war! Please feel free to email me if you have additional questions.

 

[scrappydog]

Re: Re: Excellent hack

ScrappyDog if I can get this to work you are my hero.

Seriously. Send me an email and I will send you my HOSTS file. Just do a search on your system for HOSTS. There should only be one file on your system with this name. Right click it, select Open Containing Folder, and it the folder will open up. Right click the HOSTS file and open with notepad. You could also use Word, WordPerfect, or whatever, although I'm a text editor guy. It WILL work, and it rocks.

Between flushing my router, flushing my IE cache, using my HOSTS file, Ad-Aware, Safeclean Utilities, and RegCleaner, my system is super duper clean and runs without a hitch. I've also turned off OS services that I simply don't need, so my OS is using fewer resources and therefore less memory... and less chance for Microsoft memory bugs to create instability.

The HOSTS hack is nice tho.

 

[squatch3858]

i have herd that some pop ups can even install viruses on your computer

 

[scrappydog]

i have herd that some pop ups can even install viruses on your computer

Hmmm.... not sure. You could accidently "choose" to download something that automatically installs itself. That happened to me once. It was amazing -- I literally had to go into my services console, turn off remote access and other services that would make my system vulnerable, and then strip my registry. If worst comes to worse, you can also pull out your ethernet or phone cable to disconnect any downloads on your system.