Slashdot Mirror

I've been using Junkbuster to block ads for the past two years, but it's becoming pretty much ineffective since the blocklist is never updated.

Anyone know of a source for fresh blocklists, or a program that's updated more regularly? I'd prefer to keep it Junkbuster if possible.

Actually, that's a known issue. It's because Junkbuster is getting old and not being very well maintained. It doesn't properly support HTTP/1.1, which Mozilla uses by default.

Please give Privoxy a try instead. It's based on the Junkbuster sources, but much enhanced, supports HTTP/1.1, and works beautifully with Mozilla (all versions). You can grab a fully-loaded blocklist from Stefan Waldherr as always.

While a big hosts file might be simpler, something more like junkbuster is a much more elegant solution to block ads and filter cookies. You can choose what to block with regular expressions, so that you don't have to block an entire site to not get ads, nor do you have to block each and every different site that serves ads.

This combined with Mozilla's anti-pop-up capability make browsing the web an almost enjoyable activity. I haven't changed my blocklist in many months and have yet to see a single ad.

I would just like to thank you, slashdot, for reminding me to install Junkbuster.

No offense, but those giant monster ads are just too much for me. Banners I can deal with... I might buy a subscription at some point, after you have some of the issues like "What else can we give you for your subscription" worked out. I hope you'll use it as an opportunity to increase the signal-to-noise ratio. It worked extremely well on the SomethingAwful Forums.

>slashdot.org

All I see is conspicuous blank areas on the page. Get the modified version of Internet Junkbuster for free.

From their main page (today): "You can now subscribe to Kuro5hin, and browse the site ad-free."

I just went to K5 to see for myself, and sure enough, Junkbuster filtered the banner ad quite effectively, just like it does for nearly every other site on the web.

K5 is cool... maybe someday I'll kick the slashdot habbit and read K5 instead, and maybe even send 'em five dollars.

But it won't be due to banner ads. Junkbuster takes a bit of work, and you have to get a good blocklist built ( Stefan Waldherr's site is a good place to start). Maybe Junkbuster is too difficult for most mainsteam users, but I'd guess the average slashdot or K5 reader could set up Junkbuster about as easily as setting up a Paypal account... and it works for almost all websites for free (zero dollars, and GPL freedom to hack).

To all you who are off writing you panicky responses about evil cookies coming to get you, why don't you use a sane cookie filtering system like Junkbuster?

Don't like having DENY ALL/ALLOW EXPLICIT control? Or R/O cookies for certain sites? Than keep to your naked browsers with Javascirpt and other things turned on, and don't complain!

Plus you get the added benefit of no ads.
--

I find it rather amusing that the first thing I read while using my newly-installed copy of Stefan Waldherr's modified JunkBuster was the slate.msn.com story about ad-based revenue for web content. It works beautifully and replaces ad images with a 1x1 pixel image, rather than the typical 'broken image' icon. Boy, there sure is a lot of blank space in this Slate page...

Well, the biggest one is to prevent stupid sites from refusing to serve you just because you're not using browser X. They're almost always wrong. I'll take my chances, thank you, I don't need you playing Mommy.

If you're paranoid, there are certain browser-specific bugs that a malicious website can take advantage of if they know your exact version. Better to keep them guessing. (You have cleaned out your /etc/issue file so it doesn't say exactly what version of what OS you're running... right?! If you do, you might as well as change it to "PORTSCAN ME NOW, WORLD!")

And, it's always a good thing to throw some entropy into to some marketroid's demographics.

Plus, I hope I give some admins a good laugh now and then. If you ever see this in your server logs, you'll know it's me:

Mozilla/6.666 (Atari 2600)

I like the images that this conjures.

Gee, I've been thwarting banner ads for years now. It's called Junkbuster, and it's at www.waldherr.org/junkbuster

Proof or not, I was responding to the comment "it doesn't appear to be on ThinkGeek" with a statement of fact.

I couldn't care less about /.'s, or anyone's advertising motives... thanks to Junkbuster.

And Waldherr has blocklists and a modified version that looks better in Windows and can do the 1x1 pixel substitution.
__

While the link in the article to Junkbusters is good, development seems to have stopped.

You can get a better version with updated blocklists and more Windows-looking from Stefan Waldherr.
__

I do not want targeted advertising. Look, you do not have to advertise to me.

It won't get your "rights" back but why not use junkbuster.

... it's to get me to take akamai out of my junkbuster filters and spam me with ads...

Heh heh, maybe doubleclick will start running similar 'proxies'..

Your Working Boy,

Me, personally, I just ignore the banner ads and let the companies earn their pittance. Why are some people so afraid of that?

Wakko, do you know that when you see the banner won't make any money to the company? Only when you click the banner ("click-through") will it trigger something somewhere, and a couple of pennies fly into someone's pocket.

Now, since I have no intention of clicking the banners (and hence making them money) there is no point in having to view animated stupid boxes which spout "CLICK", "CLICK HERE" and so on. So, I choose to use junkbuster (the Waldherr 1x1 GIF mod) with an automated (cronjob) blocklist updating.

Trust me, filtering out banners is better. Everything is more clear and lets you focus on the content instead of the smoke and mirrors and flashing stupidity-memes (advertisements).

The only problem with Tom's hardware review, is that their server implements referrer filtering.

Basically, if you're like me, and use a proxy which blanks the referrer, you get that hammer image for every gif, and get the front page of every story. Not fun.
---

You obviously haven't done tech support much. While old-school DOS users may find it easier to 'put file X in directory Y', I've got a feeling that 90% of the people attempting this would feel FAR more comfortable booting up Internet Explorer, going to the site, downloading junkbuster, and clicking the "open this file when done" checkbox.

How often do people these days move files around directories? especially ones with big scary warnings and thousands of files like C:\windows\system? I'd venture that running an installer is much more intuitive these days than shuffling files around on the hard drive. most people don't even know how to access the hard drive and its folders, they just know how to run programs.

Actually, I just put junkbuster on one of my other computers today, and it's not really all that difficult if you have an rpm-based distribution. All you have to do after installing the package is su root and run the junkbuster init script. There's one pre-packaged (and slightly modified) version of junkbuster right here that comes with premade blockfiles even. On the site, he maintains some blocklists that get updated every month, and even if you don't want to be bother to get new ones all the time, the ones that come in the package will still block 90% of your ads for a good long time to come.

Of course, a link is often helpful.

Here's a blockfile that is updated often, sometimes a bit too strong but if you're too lazy to do it yourself....

A version of junkbuster that inserts clear gifs

Here's a blockfile that is updated often, sometimes a bit too strong but if you're too lazy to do it yourself....

A version of junkbuster that inserts clear gifs

Please...

"Have you considered suing slashdot, or perhaps andover for compensation for the bandwidth that it took to download the banner ad at the top of the page you're seeing now? if not...why? you didn't ask for the banner ad. It's a blantant infringement of your rights as an internet user."

Wrong, buddy. I do nothing, and I receive spam. It's completely passive on my part. It's like a telemarketting call: they initiate it, and enter my private space. With telemarketters, I can just ask them to never call again lest I persue legal action against them. I can't do the same with spam.

With banner ads on slashdot and the like: that's accepted when I choose to load the website. Being a proactive person, I installed Internet Junkbuster years ago, and continue to reap the benefits today. Again, a completely easy and legal way of avoiding unwanted advertisements -- something spam does not provide.

Perhaps you'll also claim Kuro5hin is somehow evil, too. When we do bring in ads (eventually), anyone with a user account has to opt in. If you don't have an account, you get a mixed-bag of ads. But I will personally (as an admin of the site) ensure that IJB has an updated blocklist containing the URL for the K5 ads so people can opt out even without an account. Something which Spammers don't even think of providing.

And if you do choose to opt-in for ads (supporting K5), you get to choose the advertisement classes you see. No more adverts for random things you don't want!

So before you paint everyone who doesn't like advertisements as some sort of evil person who wants to freeload: realise that they probably (like myself) dislike advertisements you cannot opt out of, like those wonderful advertisements positioned right above urinals. Captive audience, anyone?
---

Regards

tom

--

• FilterProxy
• Cut The Crap
• Junkbuster
• WebFilter/NoShit
• Muffin
• Proxomitron

Everyone go out and try an ad filtering proxy today! It makes your browsing experience so much more tolerable!

--Bob

As long as their server only counts ad impressions or ad click-throughs for billing purposes, I'm not adding to their advertisement bottom line.

Yes, IJB works great. I use Stefan Waldherr's slightly hacked version from http://www.waldherr.org/junkbuster/. (It displays a "Junkbuster" image as well as the empty image or a broken link.) Also check out his filter files on the update page.
--

It's a boring town full of wankers who are too busy gazing into their own navels to be interesting.

People have asked why I don't consider moving to CA to be with the other tech nerds ('in my element' is the frequent refrain), instead of staying in NYC. This is why. Then again, maybe between the Doge everyone loves to hate and the NYPD ('Hold on officer, it's a wallet!') the citizenry doesn't have enough attention-span to spend on loathing tech nerds. Either that or there's _waaaay_ much more building space on which to sell ads.. (or maybe people've just been hating me for decades and I don't really give a shit anymore)..

I'd definitely consider the Pacific NW (Vancouver, WA, OR, been to all and enjoyed them a lot) or NH or VT tho, as long as the gun laws are adequately free (hell, in VT IIRC you can carry a loaded pistol concealed in your car, and I don't know OTTOMH any other state that's legal)..

I gotta admit though, I get a chuckle when I see that Doubleclick ad by the Flatiron building.. I just keep thinking about how many pennies they're not getting thanks to me using Junkbuster.

Your Working Boy,

It is not useful (at least until it is possible to fine tune it), because many of the web sites (like /.) have a separate server for images, highly tuned for a static data (khttpd?). So with these sites it would be the same like disabling loading the images at all.

I think there should be a more fine-grained solution. And why implement any in browser, when there is a separate one (JunkBuster, available even in RPM format).
--

For Linux and friends: junkbuster (Waldherr's 1x1 transparent GIF version)
For the Windows family: Webwasher.

They both can be used to block advertisements, banners and such. Junkbuster can block cookies, send roll-your-own "wafers" in response to cookies (eg. put some Echelon spookwords into it :) Webwasher can also filter out Javascript pop-ups and such.

Even slashdot looks more tranquil without animated banners.

Do you think his advertisers appreciated out visit?

His advertisers didn't know I was even there ....

(have you junkbusted lately? Damn it feels good...)

Your Working Boy,

One could always do what Linus did for backing up his work --sharing it with the world. I heard he didn't have a tape drive for many years until he was given an Alpha, but his work could always be found somewhere on the internet in good hands.

The internet will always save your best work and discard the junk.

Here are some easy-to-use filtering personal proxies.

Junkbuster
Waldherr's version of Junkbuster with 1x1 transparent GIF support instead of "broken image" icon
Webwasher for Windows. Free from Siemens AG.

These should get you started towards an "all phat no wack" surfing experience!

He mentions negative margins a lot.. And he's right.. You do run Internet Junkbuster, don't you?

"Typical click-through rates have fallen to under 0.5%, and are continuing to fall. Advertising networks are shifting to pay-per-click systems, from pay-per-impression ones."

Which is much worse, as it forces users to load things without them really wanting to (in most cases).. Kinda like those popup windows you find on "shadier" sites, like Netscape.com. Portals? Basically repackaged push that doesn't require a special client.

"The reason so many sites advertise is because it's free and easy to do so, and if it brings in some cash, great! "

This is why things like Cybergold or AllAdvantage are starting up. Paying a person for advertising impressions.. They are trivially defeated, of course, as you can't ever trust a client on a nonsecure machine :^)

What they don't seem to understand is that advertisements don't work, and never really did. Now adays, it's easy for a person who recognises a need to go out and find information on products. Need some way of turning off lights remotely, and don't like "the clapper" ? Simply go and find a site about .X10. No need to advertise, as most people will find the information themselves through a convienient search engine. So, if not to inform, what purpose do adds serv? They serv only to create want and need, and unless you're the mental age of a 10-year-old, they won't work on you.. Only the momentum of the "consumerism" of the 1950s through 1980s keeps people advertising in this day and age. I can't wait for it to die.
---

Is there a nice site that allows people to share their killfiles and spam filters? It'd be nice for me to be able to head to rec.arts.poetry or similar, and have a killfile maintained by the community (in the same way that Waldherr's Junkbuster has a community maintained blocklist.

Perhaps as an extension to NNTP, an FAQ, Killfile, and other info links would be available in the info for the group (as meta fields), allowing people to not have to wait for the FAQ to be posted, etc.
---

(I just love to turn on the "tinygif 2" option and see all the banner ads I'm not downloading marked "Junkbuster". ;-)

Junkbuster is a boon to anyone still using a 56K or less modem. It's worth it to me just to not have those stupid banner ads blinking at me all the time. (Does anyone remember The Andromeda Strain? 8-)

There is also a nice URL to verify that you are runing the proxy correctly, and displays the loaded blocklist and configuration. It works great as a home page.

I've been using this setup for quite a long time and I am very happy with the results. The browsing time is greatly increased and without the clutter.

There is also a nice URL to verify that you are runing the proxy correctly, and displays the loaded blocklist and configuration. It works great as a home page.

I've been using this setup for quite a long time and I am very happy with the results. The browsing time is greatly increased and without the clutter.

The original: http://www.junkbuster.com/

The version I use: http://www.waldherr.org/junkbuster/

I prefer the latter because, well, look at the site and you'll see. Regardless, I urge you to install and use it.

• It's slink, honestly
• on a Unix machine, you can start it in user space (no root access required)
• you can get rid of quite a lot of annoying images - on many sites (e.g. DejaNews), it really speeds things up
• it has a per-domain/per-host cookie blocking mechanism

I could actually make a nice junkbuster feature request list. ;-)

Otherwise, aye to all the suggestions. I miss those features mentioned at the top of the thread each and every day!

:-) Not to miss the point here, but Universal wouldn't have had me see the advertisement either way. I'm using this cutting edge piece of technology thing called a proxy! Yes, you, too can have the fun of not looking at advertisements. It also doubles as a fun way of letting all my LAN machines load webpages quickly. www.junkbuster.com for the plain-jane ver,
www.waldherr.org/junkbuster/ for the blank-image patched ver + central blocklist :-)

It all was in spring 1994 if I remember right when I shortly killfiled every .com and .net leaving nothing but .edu and .mil posts. That worked for a while, but people graduated and had to use those addresses. No one wanted to have an aol.com address like it was some disease.

You can take the dejanews.com power search page, save it and edit the crap out of it. They make it easy as you will see a few comments in there that say "content starts here" and "content ends here." You can cut everything above and below that.

As far as the banner ads go, visit http://waldherr.org/junkbuster/ where you can easily install an industrial strength anti ad tool. Its easy to maintain too. If a sex banner or eye killer comes into view, just insert that address into the blockfile. No need to restart anything as the next time you load a page, you can see the changes take effect immediately.

May your surfing days (and nights) be enjoyable and not surf in sewage and spam.

Internet junkbuster is an excellent bandwidth saving product. It looks funny at work when I browse without it. I've become so used to not seeing ads.
You really should check out http://www.waldherr.org/junkbuster. They have a modified version of ijb which is a lot cooler + they maintain an excellent, regularly updated blocklist.

I've almost switched from RH to Debian a number of times for this very reason. But there are a few reasons holding me back. First is that RPMs are the standard. While some developers make rpms available, very few make debian packages also. I just installed junkbuster from rpm the other day, which saved me a lot of time in installation and a lot of headache later if I want to uninstall it. For many fringe projects not included with Debian, I'd be giving that luxury up. I also found Debian information hard to find and usually out of date. Certainly a common problem, but really important given Debian's added complexity.

I can think of only two solutions to the problem. Switch to rpm format, but extend rpms to do what you need it too, while keeping the format backwardly compatible. Or make Debian package creation easy for a developer unfamiliar with Debian, so they aren't forced to run Debian to understand how to create packages for it.

As it is, rpms work good enough. I've had few problems with them. And RH, in turn, is good enough too.