Internet ads you can't turn off

[Elfwreck]

I browse with the sound off, have for years. When I want to hear something, I unmute the sound and fetch a pair of headphones.

[sadievan]

Another vote for Adblock Plus

Carol

[The Terminator]

I don't "Like" them but I can understand why they are there so I can't "Hate" them. If it means that I can legally listen to music on YouTube then I'm okay with it.


I haven't come across any usntopable ads that play music or sound on a web page for awhile (Other than before a video that you are watching), now I just "Click for sound".

[darryl]

I haven't been using Windows for browsing for some time, but I seem to recall that an ad without a close button can be dealt with swiftly by means of a right click on the appropriate window icon in the taskbar, producing a popup menu with a close option.

Regardless of OS, I also recommend flashblock and the various varieties of adblock. And at least review cookies regularly. Most browsers I have used have an option which makes this very easy.

[teh603]

Originally Posted by darryl

I haven't been using Windows for browsing for some time, but I seem to recall that an ad without a close button can be dealt with swiftly by means of a right click on the appropriate window icon in the taskbar, producing a popup menu with a close option.

Alt-f4 is usually a better option. I vaguely remember some nasty ads on a windows box that would go full-screen and even cover the taskbar or do other nasty things to keep people from being able to close them. Alt-f4 was the best way to get rid of them.

Its not like you're running Linux and can manually invoke a command prompt to give your browser signal 15. I'm not even entirely sure how to do that, but I know it can be done.

[xg4bx]

i use chrome with ad block and ScrewAds which blocks youtube commercials.

[plib]

I have the usual ad/flash/tracker blockers on the browser plus pixelserv on the router (essentially a hosts file for the entire house but router based) so no one sees any ads on the computers.

Where they can be more of a problem is on a phone, particularly if you don't have a decent data allowance but they slow performance even if you do. One of the main reasons I'm going to root the new Android is to enable the same kind of hosts file blocking on the phone.

[tubemonkey]

I don't mind 15 sec ads. Anything longer will generally see me close the tab.

[Belfaborac]

I hate (in the proper sense of the word) ads and couldn't browse without AdBlock and FlashBlock. Can't remember when I last saw one.

[cjr72]

Originally Posted by JD Gumby

And learning how to properly edit your c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts file is also a damned good thing to do (once you know the addresses of some of the more obnoxious ones, you can prevent your computer from ever even contacting them).

Having to maintain entries for the /etc/hosts files of my various machines seems like a nightmare to me.

Originally Posted by JD Gumby

EDITS: Oh, and don't be a prick and just popping every ad server into your hosts file or adblock, just the bad ones - the ones that are animated, make noise, and/or attempt install software or put a tracking cookie on your computer. With AdBlock, don't choose any subscriptions. Manually add the rules you need to block only the worst offenders.

Well I do subscribe to a list. If a list of ad servers has already been put together why should I reinvent the wheel? I do allow text ads for Google search results so hopefully that makes me a little bit less of a prick.

[BeccaPrice]

I dislike ads intensely, and block every ad I can.

If I feel the need for a specific type of product, I'll go do research and determine for myself which brand I want. I decide which books I want to buy based on reviews and recommendations, not because of their ads. I can't think of a single example of a time when an ad has influenced my buying habits. Why should I give them my time and mind-space?

[EowynCarter]

A don't use an ad-blocker. I block ads with Alt F4 or the red cross when it's too much.

[plib]

Originally Posted by cjr72

Having to maintain entries for the /etc/hosts files of my various machines seems like a nightmare to me.

If you can install pixelserv on your router you can control everything coming into the house with one file. It's part of Frater's OTRW on DD-WRT but if you have optware on your router then you can probably install it standalone.

[Xanthe]

I had to answer "what are you talking about" because I don't see them.

I use Pale Moon (a Firefox variant) with No-Script and Adblock Lite, plus I have some entries in my Hosts files, so I never come across them.

[Rob Lister]

With firefox, adblock, and flashblock, I see very few ads.

But richness of HTML5 is allowing page developers to annoy me with different types of popups and distractions. I'm waiting for a add-on to block those too. I'm sure one already exists but the annoyance hasn't yet reached my critical 'hunt' threshold.