BPsite Forums

Built-in to Windows is a nice easy way to block adverts, including a lot of pop-ups.
It wasn't intended to be used for this, but it works, so who cares what it was intended for. :P

Step 1:
Launch Notepad (or any other standard text-editor).

Step 2:
File>Open and type "C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc\hosts"

This will open up a file starting with some #ed out lines and ending with 127.0.0.1       localhost.

By adding an entry in the format "127.0.0.1 eviladverts.com" you can block ALL files from eviladverts.com from even being read by your machine.
If your web browser comes across "http://www.eviladverts.com/evilflashing.gif" it will be turned into "http://127.0.0.1/evilflashing.gif" which will instantly return an error message.

So, not only can you block adverts, you will also be speeding up your surfing, because you don't need to rely on a pop-up blocker scanning files or anything like that.

Step 3:

So, you want a list of advert servers to block?

Fine, here's my list:

If you are still getting adverts after these, just find the server the ad is hosted on and ad it's domain name to the list.

Unfortunately this doesn't work for specific files, only entire servers, so any websites which host ads on their own servers can still cause problems, but it's better than nothing, yes?

Step 4:
Found lots of advert servers? Feel free to post your own lists here. :)


Any questions?

meh,i keep the pop-up stopper  :P

or you could get norton firewall programmy and you get protection for other stuff too

ah wait nevermine you want to do this without fancy software

thats not what firewalls do. they allow you to allow or disallow internet access per program, so you can block attempts to access your computer. (since i last rebooted, its blocked 803 intrusion attempts and 82 attacks  :blink: )  firewalls wont block ads from certain servers from displaying or anything like that (at least not that im aware of). however, the method ss mentioned is even better than a popup blocker. it sets your computer to totally ignore anything from given sites, more or less, rather then downloading items, scanning them, THEN blocking them, so you can actually browse FASTER.

of course, it helps if you put the slashes in the directory.  :hmmm: THIS one actually works.

"C:|windows|system32|drivers|etc|hosts"

edit: ah, i see the problem. ss cant figure out how the make the forums display slashes. everytime you see |, its a backslash.

Ah feck, stupid backslash removal - that's PHP's fault. :angry:

C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc\hosts

so which entry in your list would be blocking http://www.suprnova.org (http://www.suprnova.org)? it hasnt worked since I tried you adblocking method.  :(  

Nope, works here.
Must just happen to be down every time you try it. :P

l0l, you're right. it works again.

I tried


using wordpad and it said that isn't a pathway or something. :(

Don't use Wordpad, use Notepad.
Type "C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\"
Tell me what happens.

without the quotes if thats what threw you off...

*pokes Galmort* I knew it was w/o the quotes...

SS it gave me some "GMREADME" file

GMREADME?

Can you post the contents here (or just the beginning & end if it's a long file).

Odd. :blink:

That's when you type "C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\" or "C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc\hosts" ?

the first one.

non etc/hosts id guess  

You are typing the final // yes?
What about if you add the etc bit on the end (but not the hosts bit), does that do anything?

It gives me the pathway cannot be defined or something.

:miffed:

Okay, do this:

Go into My Computer > C > Windows > System32.

Right click and select New > Folder

Type in "drivers" (without quotes).

Press enter/return key.

If that works we can continue, if you get an error tell me what it says.

It has the folder drivers already

Okay, look for that folder and double click on it.

Does it have anything inside? (Check the status bar... View>Status Bar if it's not already on.)


Oh, and what version of Windows are you using?

It has that GMREADME folder and that's it.  I'm using ME.

Hmm, okay. Odd. But try this:

Create an etc folder inside drivers.
Create a file called hosts.txt inside etc.
Open the file in Notepad, paste the stuff above into it, then save & close.
Rename the file to hosts (without any extension).

Win Me is weird though... a hybrid between 98 and XP, so it might not be there because it doesn't work.
 

What stuff above?

In the very first post of the thread - the list of servers.

So how do I know if it works or not?

Um, try going to one of the places and you should get an error.

If you want to make sure it works, add "127.0.0.1 bpsite.co.uk" (without quotes) to the end of the list, restart your browser and these forums wont appear. Remove it from the list and restart your browser and it'll come back again. Hopefully. :unsure:

Um...I added it to that list and it didn't work b/c look I'm here.

You need to completely restart your browser, or possibly the whole system?

teh window?

Not just the window - all open copies of Internet Explorer, you need to close then re-open.
If that doesn't work, you might have to restart Windows (or just logout and in again).
If it still doesn't work then HOSTS is probably an NT/2k/XP only thing.

Yea...it doesn't work.  *curses @ the compy* I've been trying to get XP but to no avail have I succeeded in persuading the rents.

for blocking kazaa pop ups

#127.0.0.1 desktop.kazaa.com
#127.0.0.1 shop.kazaa.com
#127.0.0.1 www.kazaaplatinum.com

in SS's list should be

127.0.0.1 desktop.kazaa.com
127.0.0.1 shop.kazaa.com
127.0.0.1 www.kazaaplatinum.com

also add

127.0.0.1 dgm2.com

to the end and problems are solved