Posted 8:42 PM by Blah blah

Stop popup ads!

If you have questions on using the hosts file, please email me.

Go to this opt out page to stop getting ads from Doubleclick, X10.com (that annoying spy camera ad), Comet Cursors (which I loathe), and more.
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Here's a better way to block popup ads: use a hosts file. Follow the instructions and download their updated hosts file.

A hosts file is a text file that sits in your Windows directory. It's essentially an address book for your computer. Every website on the Internet has its own IP address, just like everyone has his own phone number. An IP address is a series of 4 sets of numbers, separated by dots. For example, http://www.yahoo.com is really 64.58.79.230 to the computer. http://www.aol.com is really 64.12.187.25.

Whenever you enter a URL into your browser, your computer actually goes to a DNS server that's already running on your computer, to TRANSLATE the URL into an IP address that it understands. If your DNS server is not working, you cannot go to ANY website on the Internet unless you enter its IP address directly into your browser. Try it! Try entering 64.12.187.25 into your browser. It should take you to http://www.aol.com.

The hosts file can overrule the DNS server. You can define your OWN IP address for a website address. You can say "Hey, for http://www.aol.com, I want you to go to 123.123.123.123 instead!" Then your computer will dumbly follow your hosts file the next time you try to go to aol.com. And you'll get an error screen.

How does all this help stop popup ads?

Whenever you get a popup ad, your computer goes to the ad company's computer to download the ad. This modified host file lists thousands of ad companies URLs, BUT it points them all to the IP address 127.0.0.1 instead! What is 127.0.0.1? It's your own computer! Thus if you replace the old hosts file (which you must first backup) which this new one, all requests for ads will instead go to your own computer, returning NOTHING.

Positives and negatives of using this hosts file way to block ads.
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THE STRUGGLE TO JUST HANG ON (San Jose Mercury News): how tough times are here in Silicon Valley. Scary.