AVOIDING ONINE ADS WITH EASE
Being online doesn’t have to mean being swamped by ads.
The recent increase in Internet advertising has been a source of annoyance for many people. Here, we offer some advice that will help reduce the amount of advertising you’re faced with and help you take control of your browsing experience. (TechLink NH in no way endorses or guarantees the software and solutions herein — use at your own risk.)
Pop-Up Ads
For a lot of people, the most annoying thing about surfing the web is the windows which appear out of nowhere advertising any number of things. These types of ads are often called “pop-up ads.” There is a lot of software available which will keep these ads from appearing, but before you decide on one, keep in mind that pop-up windows can be a good thing. For example, when you want to play a game and it launches in a separate window.
With that in mind, TechLink NH recommends pop-up blocking software such as “Stop-the-Pop,” “NoAds” and “Pop-Up Stopper.” These are three highly rated programs which are available free of charge. Simply point your browser to http://www.download.com/ and type in the name of the program you wish to download. (Please keep in mind that no program will be 100% effective.)
Here’s a tip for more advanced users -- another way to get rid of pop-ups is to switch to a web browser called Mozilla. It can be downloaded for free from http://www.download.com/ or http://www.mozilla.org/ and the latest versions come with a built-in pop-up blocker. It also gives the option of allowing pop-ups from trusted sites, thereby negating the problem of blocking both good pop-ups and bad ones.
Ads in Web Pages
Most popular web pages these days have some form of advertising, but that doesn’t mean your web experience has to be interrupted by viewing ads. Just like with pop-ups, you can use software to help filter out some of the ads.
AdFree is a free program which blocks most regular ads and has the additional feature of blocking pop-up ads. Find it by visiting http://www.download.com/ and typing in the name of the program.
For advanced users, the program “Proxomitron” is a powerful way to block ads and other unwanted content. By configuring your web browsers to use the program as a proxy (explained on the web site, http://www.sankey.ws/proxomitron.html where you can also download the program). It will block most ads, including Flash ads, as well as allowing you many other advanced options such as preventing window resizing and keeping MIDI music from playing.
On the non-free side of software, Ad Muncher is an excellent program which blocks ads in web pages. Currently the software costs $25 for a one-time registration, but it is well worth the price if you want to remove ads from your browsing experience. Find this software at http://www.admuncher.com/
Spam
“Spam” is a catch-all term for unsolicited commercial e-mail, usually promoting dubious products and claims. Spam generally comes from companies who have bought your name and e-mail address from a list, but sometimes this information is taken from web pages or posts in newsgroups. Wherever it comes from, it’s important to know how to get rid of it:
· Never click on the “click here to remove me from your list” link, or send a reply e-mail saying you wish to be removed. It might seem counter-intuitive, but by clicking the link or sending an e-mail, all you’re doing is confirming to the spammer that your address is active. This makes your name even more valuable to them.
· Never, ever buy anything from an unsolicited e-mail. Not only does this encourage spammers to continue their illegal methods of advertising, it’s also unlikely that you’ll get what you think you’re paying for. A recent survey by Scambusters magazine showed that, when dealing with a spammer, only 45% of buyers actually receive the item for which they paid. Fewer than 5% of those are actually happy with their transaction. In their words, “if it’s spam, it’s scam.”
· Some experts suggest maintaining an e-mail account which is not your primary account. You can use that account whenever you feel that your name might be seen by spammers, such as when you’re registering for a web site. This way, the spammers will not get your main address, but simply a dummy account. Make sure to access the account now and then to delete the spam, though, to keep your allotted space free.
· If you use a web-based service such as Yahoo! or Hotmail, when you open your e-mail there will be a link, usually at the very top or very bottom of the letter, which says something like, “This is Spam” or “Block Sender.” By using these buttons, you can eliminate some of the unwanted e-mail coming into your e-mailbox.
· If you use a POP-based e-mail account (this does not include web-based services such as Yahoo and Hotmail), we suggest downloading a program called “MailWasher.” What this program does is download your mail and then allows you to check off whether mail from a certain sender is spam or not. If it is spam, you have the option of adding the sender to a “blacklist” and/or bouncing the e-mail back to the sender. If you blacklist the sender, that means that all future e-mails from them will be pre-marked as spam and you won’t have to deal with them. If you bounce an e-mail, it gets returned to the spammer, making it look like your address doesn’t exist! In most cases, this will cause the spammer to remove your name from the list. To get MailWasher, visit http://www.mailwasher.net/
Visit these links for more information:
http://spam.abuse.net/
An anti-spam advocacy site, geared towards fighting the spam explosion
http://www.cauce.org/
The Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email, a group dedicated to passing
anti-spam legislation
http://www.zdnet.com/
The latest computer news, including stories about spam and ad-blocking software.
http://www.cnet.com/
Free downloads of anti-ad software and news stories about ad-blockers and spam.
Visit the following web sites to
download TLNH’s recommended
spam and ad solutions:
http://www.download.com/
http://www.mailwasher.net/
http://www.mozilla.org/
http://www.admuncher.com/
http://www.sankey.ws/proxomitron.html