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Proxomitron handles their sad little test just fine. Here's the message I get:

We have determined that you use ad blocking software. This site is provided for free and depend on an income from these ads. By blocking them, you make it impossible for us to continue keeping this website online for free. Therefore, you will not be able to access this website again until you uninstall or de-activate your ad blocking software.

Close your browser window, uninstall your ad-blocker and come back here to visit us.

The message displayed is passed as a parameter to a script so one could easily display one's own message

I wonder if this special code can be cleaned before it reaches the browser by The Proxomitron or your favourite page-scrubber proxy. It might be a little annoying to disable javascript every time I run into one of these. (Perhaps the mozilla crew will make a nice interface for per-site javascript blocking.)

Use a proxy to filter out what you don't want. Use the browser to render the pages.

The proxy'll work with any browser that allows you to set a proxy, so that you can set up a rule set that doesn't change when/if you change browsers (i.e., in cases where the site only supports, e.g., IE).

More importantly, the proxy (if it supports regexed grepping) can be set up to remove or alter any arbitrary HTML -- something most browsers aren't set up to do. And it provides a additional layer of defense when the browser is buggy (see the earlier /. story today on IE's 'ability' to run arbitray code from a supposedly 'local' page).

I use Proxomitron under Windows. It does arbitray regex, so I can remove ads, flash, abitrary javascript, etc. I can also add or change elements (showing hidden fields is useful in debugging). And I suspect I'll be able to come up with a filter for the IE bug I mentioned above.

Opera and proxomitron. It allows me to filter out flash like everyone's complaining about, and you can set rules for just about everything sent and recieved. Very nice.

Actually they do have your data. If you preview any e-mail they typically have something like

<img src=/spamcity/tracker.pl?id=177729299>

Where 177729299 is your personal id number.

This won't give spammers what they'd need to make a Bayesian filter work to get past other Bayesian filters, though. Some of the most important information a good Bayesian filter gets is not from your spam, but from your legitimate email. A good Bayesian filter notes who you routinely correspond with and what you talk about, and uses that information to prevent false positives. That means that it can go aggressively after stuff that looks like spam and not worry too much about catching legitimate email.

Still, tracking codes and other such stuff is why users should:

1. Get an email program that doesn't open links or display images automatically.
2. Install a good software firewall, like ZoneAlarm or Kerio , and configure it to block this cr*p.
3. Install Proxomitron to filter out what gets past the firewall.

Computer security and privacy can be enhanced considerably by taking a number of relatively simple measures.

Strangely enough, though, I've been using Phoenix for a while now, and have had no problem with popups. :D

Also note that it will make millions and millions of dollars anyway.

So it must be ok! Thanks Taco...I think I'll put up a /. mirror but with my own advertisers. I know you won't mind if I take your work and profit from it.

Heh, in a way, I'm already doing the equivalent of p2p trading wrt slashdot. I'm running The Proxomitron which wipes out all the ads. So I'm benefiting from your work without making you any money.

Now here comes the part where all the Taco lovers mod me down without considering the point I'm trying to make...

Actually I just flashed mine and it kept all my settings. Port forwarding, IP address, subnet mask, all of it. I feel I should mention that I was unable to flash the firmware from linux. Mozilla simply didn't upload the file containing newer firmware (I have no clue why) and when I tried to use Konqueror it got about halfway through the update process when the router reported a "pattern error" in the binary file and aborted the upgrade. So I booted to Win2k and ran their little update program and it flashed it just fine. Although I did have to turn off the Proxomitron.

That's funny, I looked for a banner ad, but all I have is a little red text link that says "Ad". Proxomitron

The only way to fly (through browser restrictions).

User-Agent: Mozilla/8.0 (compatible; MatrixViewer 1.0; There is no spoon. )
Accept: text/xml,application/xml,application/xhtml+xml,tex t/html;q=0.9,text/plain;q=0.8,video/x-mng,image/pn g,image/jpeg,image/gif;q=0.2,text/css,*/*;q=0.1

navigator.appVersion=99.99
navigator.(appName|u serAgent)= "MSIE Microsoft Internet Explorer 99.99 Windows XP 2000 Win32 Win64"
navigator.platform="Win32 Win64 Windows XP 2000 ME"

Another good way of protecting yourself from ads and bad javascript and the like is a free little app called Proxomitron. Because it's a proxy based app, it works with both Netscape and IE nicely. Since I tend to use both when I'm on a windows box, I find it makes my browsing much much cleaner.

If you have to use IE (And cant bitch slap the webmaster) try Crazy Browser. It will give you tabs, and stop pop ups. Middle mouse button works also.. Then complete it with Proxomitron and you can do almost anything. Proxomitron is kinda like junkbusters for windows, more options, gui interface, proxy switcher, very nice.
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Open Letter To America from a Canadian

or you can use a proxy like proxomitron (win32, sorry) to rewrite your referer info every time. (for example, rewrite your referer to be the URL you are requesting, or the root of the site.)

prox site

Get Proxomitron.

It uses regular expressions to allow you to convert anything in HTML (including the HTML headers) to anything you want.

It'll block pop-ups, pop-unders, javascript, cookies, java, or whatever you can write a regex for.

If you're worried that not viewing site X's pop-ups is theft of service, you can not forego using Proxomitron on those sites, either entirely, or on a regex-by-regex basis.

You can bypass filtering just by adding string (like "bypass..") in front of the URL, or automate this with a Bookmark/Favorite set to a simple javascript.

And it makes browsing SO much more enjoyable. It's the difference between night and day, not having annoying, flashing, in-your-face ads.

And it's fast (even with DSL connection speeds) and it's free (as in beer, but hey, they author also licenses it to adsubtract).

Get Proxomitron and take back the web.

You can save several different configs which you can swap between, allow certian sites to pass-through by default, and it has a button on the main GUI to toggle on/off all filters if you are getting snagged on something it's filtering.

I've been considering putting together some filters so I can strip out excess content by using my home computer as a proxy for my palm pilot (running Xiino).

I'm kind of disappointed that development has stopped on it, but I'm figuring someone will pick up the torch and take the idea further.

I don't know about you, but I just prefer the way IE handles things. Maybe it's because I'm used to it, but web pages in IE just look a lot more polished than Mozilla.

Either way, there are much better applications that do things like kill popup ads or annoying javascript. My personal favorite is the Proxomitron. Granted, it's just a complex find/replace local proxy server that only runs on windows, but I'm sure there are similar programs for your operating system of choice.

I use Proxomitron. Works like a charm, blocks pop-ups, blocks ads, freezes animated GIFs. You can specify exceptions to the rules, and add new rules for anything that isn't flagged by the defaults. (I haven't had to add anything yet)

Proxomitron.org

Maybe it's not so much a shortage of advertising customers as it is an oversupplied commodity market for the space. I see no shortage of advertising on the web, but everyone complains about the lack of money they get from banner ads. Evidently the banner ad companies offered less and less money, looking for the price point where the supply became a problem. The website owners accepted less and less money until they started going out of business. However the continuous expansion of the Internet means a never-ending supply of people who will sell space for whatever they can get, which is now approaching $0.

Now we have ads that are bigger than ever, as well as the highly annoying pop-ups, pop-unders, and "Shoshkeles". Not that I see many of them, of course.

I see no reason why an ad-supported desktop or other software product would fare any better than the ad-supported websites.

Simple solution: Use Mozilla, and turn off unrequested popups. I haven't seen one in months.

Or if you want to keep using the IE engine for compatibility, you can try out Crazy Browser (http://www.crazybrowser.com/). It's a tabbed browser using the IE engine and it can easily disable popup ads.

Or you can install Proxomitron (http://www.proxomitron.org), it's a wonderful free http proxy that filters out most ads including the annoying pop ups.

I use both when I'm forced to use Windows (at work).

Just block them.

I've noticed some sites intentionally block/cripple Opera.

To get around that you can use a proxy and change your user agent string to:

Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows 98; Actually 0pera 6.03)

(or something similar...)

And fool 'dem com-pee-u-ters!

I use IE with thee proxomitron. Blocks ads & pop ups. Very nice.

Does it add anything to IE that The proxomitron doesn't also add? Besided skinning of course, but I run windowblinds so I don't really want them anyway.

Proxomitron, the ad blocker software, can identify any browser you have as anything you like. The default is Space Bison. (Unfortunately, I don't think there is a Linux version.)

I agree. One problem with Flash is that web designers are rarely good cinemetographers.

Another is that web designers rarely take the time to consider all the programming issues of making Flash actually work in the real world.

A third problem is that, even if a web designer is an extremely knowledgeable programmer, and a great cinematographer, there are browsers that deliberately mis-identify themselves. Opera can be one of them. There is a menu option to identify Opera as anything you like. And Opera is arguably the world's most convenient browser.

The excellent free ad removal tool, The Proxomitron (or here, The Proxomitron), identifies whatever browser you use as "Space Bison". It is a woolly world out there, and we should not pretend that we are ready for a particular technology when we aren't.

This is the issue: Do you want some of your customers to get error messages, or bad displays? If you don't want to make this sacrifice, then Flash technology is not quite there yet.

Enjoy.

0.0.0.0 ad.doubleclick.net
0.0.0.0 images.slashdot.org

Get Proxomitron. It rewrites the HTML of incoming web pages before it reaches your browser to delete tags dealing with pop-up windows, banner ads, and anything else annoying. Set it up and write a simple custom filter to eliminate any embed tags with a file that has an extension identifying it as flash animation. I just went ahead and eliminated all embed tags since they're only used for evil.

With something like the Proxomitron
(dun, Dun, DUNNN! )

(Sorry, but whenever I mention the Proxomitron (dun, dun DUNN! ), I am compelled to add the authoritative interlude)

With something like the Proxomitron
(dun, Dun, DUNNN! )

(Sorry, but whenever I mention the Proxomitron (dun, dun DUNN! ), I am compelled to add the authoritative interlude)

What's wrong with javascript? If you're worried about all of the malicious javascript code, I recommend Proximitron

After trying 5 different pop-up killers, this one was definitely the best for me. It handles tons of other annoying web-based shenanigans too.

I can only strongly recommend The Proxomitron. It's freeware and it allows you to block all sorts of nasties - popups included. Besides popups, it will also filter javascript, cookies and ads. If that isn't enough for you it allows you to create your own filters using regexps. The Proxomitron is very powerful.

It's actually better than what you are looking for, because it isn't one of those stupid Browser Helper Objects. It acts as a local proxy and filters the HTML before it hits your browser. This program is a godsend to anyone who wants to browse in peace. The default look of the program is a little zany, but don't let that scare you since it can be easily turned off (Config | Visuals | Don't use textures).

You should also look at the IE security settings. Basically you need to turn everything off in the default Internet zone.

webwasher and proxomitron do a good job of cleaning the marketing carbuncles off of a lot of sites. W/O webwasher, the onion would crash my browser.

Does anybody else want an application-proxy for the desktop?

One word: Proxomitron

Besides with Proxomitron enabled, all I see is "[iframe]" anyway! :)

Didn't see it because I use Proxomitron. It lets you use regexps to zap ads, and /. ads are already blocked.

Currently, Slashdot banner says in ascii [click here!] on my mozilla browser. :)

Ive been using ad filters for over a year now, and its speeds up surfing by turning off ads. I love it. CNN and MSN have about 10 ads per page filtered. Thats 10 pictures or swf files I dont download. If you want it, its free for windows, its proxomitron and a nice forum where people design updated filters. A nice new filter I just got closes the "This site is supported by Ads, click here to continue" ads. I never see them. :)

First, identification info that is sent to the server:
When you watch a movie, the server is sent a string that includes your operating system, country, language, processor class, and maybe some other things. Your ZIP code is sent. A GUID is also sent. My GUID was all 0s but this might vary, perhaps if a different operating system or proccessor is used. Or maybe this will be implemented in the future.

How to capture the videos locally:
1. Get The Proxomitron
2. Get Streambox VCR (This program is no longer published, most likely for legal reasons. Search google for it, and make sure you get a version that has the Real Media capability, not all versions do.)
3. Get Project URL Snooper, CommView, or any other packet sniffing program.
4. Copy the following text into a text editor and save it as a .cfg file:
----cute here----
##
## Proxomitron Config File
##

[Global]
Enable = TRUE
FreezeGIF = FALSE
FilterHTML = FALSE
FilterHeadersOut = TRUE
FilterHeadersIn = FALSE
EnableProxy = FALSE
EnableAutoRun = FALSE
ForceTextures = FALSE
NoTextures = FALSE
SysTray = TRUE
Port = 8080

[HTTP headers]
In = FALSE
Out = TRUE
Key = "Accept-Encoding:"
Replace = "gzip"

In = FALSE
Out = TRUE
Key = "Accept-Language:"
Replace = "en-US, en, *"

In = FALSE
Out = TRUE
Key = "Accept:"
Replace = "*/*"

In = FALSE
Out = TRUE
Key = "Bandwith:"
Replace = "1544000"

In = FALSE
Out = TRUE
Key = "ClientID:"
Replace = "Win98_4.90_6.0.9.584_play32_AOL8_en-US_586_axembe d"

In = FALSE
Out = TRUE
Key = "Connection:"
Replace = "Keep-Alive"

In = FALSE
Out = TRUE
Key = "GUID:"
Replace = "00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000"

In = FALSE
Out = TRUE
Key = "Host:"
Replace = "210.59.224.69"

In = FALSE
Out = TRUE
Key = "Icy-MetaData:"
Replace = "1"

In = FALSE
Out = TRUE
Key = "Language:"
Replace = "en-US, en, *"

In = FALSE
Out = TRUE
Key = "RegionData:"
Replace = "06555"

In = FALSE
Out = TRUE
Key = "SupportsMaximumASMBandwidth:"
Replace = "1"

In = FALSE
Out = TRUE
Key = "User-Agent:"
Replace = "RMA/1.0 (compatible; RealMedia)"

[Patterns]
Name = "Unnamed HTML Filter"
Active = FALSE
Limit = 256
Match = "Free Movies"

[Proxies]

----cut here----
5. Start Proxomitron and load the config file you just created.
6. Use the packet capture software to find the URL of the movie and copy it to the clipboard. (It consists of letters and numbers, followed by 100 or 300 for the quality, and ends in .rm)
7. Start Streambox and goto Edit, then Paste Link.
8. Make sure the URL is correct, then click the Proxy tab.
9. Click Use HTTP Proxy. For host enter "localhost" and for port enter "8080"
10. Click OK and let the movie download. (Each 300k movie I have downloaded so far is between 250-300 megs.)
11. Enjoy
Notes: I have read that it is possible to capture the movies without using Proxomitron by hexing Streambox, but this method is less permanent and I know it works. Proxomitron has many other great uses and you should explore its features. Finally, my config file is from version 3(b) but hopefully it works with newer versions, or else you can always enter the above data manually. It may not be neccesary to use all the HTTP headers above to trick the server, but theres nothing wrong with being thorough.

Not good news, or well-reported news, or objective news, but I didn't see any full page X10 ads either.

That could have something to do with The Proxomition, though.

--

Choose between downloading the free ad-supported version with all features and functionality included, or download and purchase your copy of Opera for 39 USD.

Ultimately, I think I use too many services that won't work on anything but the Big 2 (I have to bypass my proxy for things like Netbank, eBay, Blogger, etc). What I really need is a way of fixing this file type attachment hole without having to download a patch. Has anyone worked out a custom filter for Proxomitron that detects malformed MIME type stuff...?

Honestly? I seriously would recommend browsing the web only with Mozilla. I had been using IE, but I switched to mozilla full time after 0.9.1 (except for work related browsing on my company's web pages, which are written exclusively for IE browsing.) It's been buggy, it's still a little buggy, but I haven't had many real showstoppers because of it. And no one's published any attacks yet, but because it's NOT integrated into the OS, I'm somewhat less concerned about the damage it's capable of causing.

If you're stuck with IE, then might I recommend a proxy filter such as The Proxomitron? You can modify the incoming http headers to do anything you want, including altering file extensions!

John

Why not just have a really scaled-back HTML renderer that ignores tags that you choose to ignore?

The Proxomitron can cause that behavior, all you have to do is add a filter to replace <foo> tags with ;lt;!----->. I belive it runs under linux with wine.

If you're running Windows, get the Proxomitron. A few careful regexes, and you'll never see one of these again. Or a popup ad. Or an on-exit popup window. Or a javascript redirector. Or a million other things you hate.

Proxomitron has an option that does exactly that.

I, for one, won't view flash unless I click on it.