Block web advertising
Today, Internet advertising is booming. Banner ads, the most common type of web advertising, are often found at the top of a web page and range from the sublime to the obnoxious. When you click on a banner ad, you open another website.
Skyscraper ads are large, vertical ads that typically reside on the right side of a web page. They often contain more information than banner ads and use motion to visually enhance their emotional appeal and interactivity.
The most common objection to these ads is that they slow download times. To avoid them, use software programs that filter out banner ads or simply turn off graphics in your browser. Here’s how.
In Internet Explorer 6.0, click on Tools > Internet Options > Advanced, and then clear the check box next to Show Pictures (under Multimedia).
If you're using Firefox, instead of turning off images altogether you can simply right-click on ad images and select Block images from... For Flash ads and other scripts, you can get more serious with the NoScript addon.
Simply go to Tools > Add-ons and click Get Extensions at the bottom of the window. This will take you to the Firefox extensions site, where you can search for and install NoScript. Once installed, NoScript can be controlled from the small 'S' icon in the bottom right of your Firefox window, and with a bit of training should help you eliminate most web advertising altogether.
Contextual advertising
Contextual advertising highlights words within the text of a web page and turns them into links to the advertiser’s website. They work with specific software programs like TopText, SurfPlus and AdPointer. Remove these programs from your PC with the Add/Remove Programs feature on the Control Panel to avoid these ads.
E-mail, pop-up, pop-under and out-of-banner ads
Unsolicited ads that come via e-mail are known as “spam.” Learn how to block spam by reading “How to prevent spam”.
Pop-up ads have evolved into an underhanded, aggressive form of advertising. When a web page is loaded, a new, smaller ad window without menus or scroll bars “pops up” on the screen.
Pop-ups noticeably increase download time and require extra mouse clicks to be removed. Many users close the window before the ad finishes loading, which has led to pop-under ads, which launch beneath the window in view. This allows the full content of the ad to load without you being aware of it.
Out-of-banner ads appear when a web page is first loaded, hovering over the text for about 10 seconds before retiring to a more traditional banner ad location.
Some browsers offer a pop-up blocker feature in the Preferences or Tools menu. This will prevent any pop-ups from launching, but may also affect the functionality of some websites. Various programs disable these sorts of advertisements, including Pop-Up Stopper®.
Service Pack 2 of Windows XP offers improved security and a safer web experience with built-in firewall and pop-up blocker features. Learn more by reading Protect your HP PC: firewalls.
Cookies and web bugs
Advertisers frequently use cookies to track your Internet surfing habits. If you are concerned about your privacy, you can turn off automatic cookie acceptance in your browser.
- In Internet Explorer 6, open Internet Options from the Tools menu and click on the Security tab.
- Netscape Communicator 6.1 features an advanced Cookie Manager that allows you to view cookies before accepting them.
Web bugs are a new threat to privacy on the Internet. Web bugs are small files, usually in the form of a graphic, that go undetected. They collect information such as the computer's Internet protocol address, the time web pages are viewed and previously set cookie values (which might contain personal information). Privacy Watchdog groups are currently working to establish guidelines for the use of web bugs on the Internet.
There are many benefits and drawbacks to online advertising. Protecting your identity and information on your PC is important as you decide which online advertisements to access. |
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