This document is a derivation of @Man's original work on banner-ad blocking. Go read it first if you have not already. As I have a Windows box with IE5 on it, I thought I would attempt to port his work to this platform. I am pleased to report success! This configuration will definitely work if you are already on a LAN behind a proxy of some kind. I haven't tried it with dial-up yet, so that's on the TBD list.
Using your favorite text editor, insert @Man's host list under his step one into this file, which should just be called hosts (no filename extension). For brevity I will not put it here, plus we'd have to try to keep them in sync and it would just be irritating.
This part is a little bit harder and still requires some fiddling... I am actually using a proxy in this configuration, but I'm doing so from the perspective of an end-user who does not have admin rights... but I digress...
Under the Internet options, select the connection settings tab, then LAN Settings button, check proxy server, advanced, exceptions window, and paste in this lovely one long line of preformatted text, right from my browser settings to yours:
207-87-18-203.wsmg.digex.net;*.ngadcenter.net;*.flycast.com;*.eu-adcenter.net;a32.g.a.yimg.com;*.adsmart.net; *.doubleclick.net;*.linkexchange.com;*.preferences.com;*.punto.net; ad.webprovider.com;*.focalink.com;*.imgis.com;adfu.blockstackers.com; adimages.earthweb.com;admedia.xoom.com;adpick.switchboard.com;adremote.pathfinder.com;*.admaximize.com;*.clickhouse.com;*.enliven.com; ads.fairfax.com.au;ads.fool.com;ads.freshmeat.net;ads.hollywood.com;ads.jwtt3.com;*.link4ads.com;ads.lycos.com;ads.madison.com;ads.mediaodyssey.com;ads.msn.com;ads.ninemsn.com.au;ads.seattletimes.com;*.smartclicks.com;*.smartclicks.net;ads.tripod.com;ads.web.aol.com;ads.x10.com;ads.xtra.co.nz;ads.zdnet.com;ads3.zdnet.com;ads5.gamecity.net;adserver.janes.com;adserver.monster.com;adserver1.ogilvy-interactive.de;banner.media-system.de;banners.looksmart.com;bizad.nikkeibp.co.jp;califia.imaginemedia.com;click.avenuea.com;cornflakes.pathfinder.com;*.hitbox.com;erie.smartage.com;gm.preferences.com;*.click2net.com;image.eimg.com;*.valueclick.com;liquidad.narrowcastmedia.com;*.imaginemedia.com;media.preferences.com; mercury.rmuk.co.uk;*.mediaplex.com;newads.cmpnet.com; ng3.ads.warnerbros.com;ngads.smartage.com;nsads.hotwired.com;rd.yahoo.com; realads.realmedia.com; regio.adlink.de; retaildirect.realmedia.com; spin.spinbox.net;*.admaximize.com;*.superstats.com;*.clicktrade.com; tsms-ad.tsms.com;*.extreme-dm.com;view.accendo.com;*.avenuea.com;webads.bizservers.com;*.alladvantage.com;*.burstnet.com;www.commission-junction.com;www.eads.com;*.freestats.com;*.targetshop.com;*.teknosurf3.com;*.valueclick.com;*.websitefinancing.com;www4.trix.net
Now clear your cache and history file and you should be good to go.
It is extremely important that you do not attempt to paste in any more than 2000 characters into that window. The problem arises because IE5 stores these proxy override settings in the registry. If you put in too large a key size, IE 5 will not work at all, nor will the control panel, and you will have to go into the registry manually to fix it. The registry key is:
My Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings \ProxyOverride
It's best just to delete that key and put something more reasonable in there.
In case you're wondering, the string that I told you to put in there is 1633
bytes in length.
Well, for starters, trying it out on a PC with a dial-up and no a LAN connection to see if I can make it work. If anyone can work off of what's here and can figure something out, drop me a line. Otherwise, this will have to wait until I am not using my home PC enough that I feel like I can "Upgrade" to win 98 and IE 5.
Last Updated: 12/7/99 by GP. Subvert the dominant paradigm. Fnord.