[internetworkers] /etc/hosts & blocking ads served on web pages

Jim Allman jim at ibang.com
Fri Sep 15 18:34:57 EDT 2006


On Sep 15, 2006, at 5:49 PM, nkramer wrote:

> Does anyone have any troubleshooting ideas? This is on Windows Xp  
> Professional.

Hm, it looks like you've got the file path right. Here are some ideas  
off the top of my head. NOTE that I assume below that your HOSTS file  
is blocking ad.doubleclick.net--if not, add it first.

Simplify things a bit by browsing directly to http:// 
ad.doubleclick.net. If you see a 	DoubleClick web page, but you  
suspect the cache is telling lies, try pinging the domain from the  
DOS shell:

         > ping ad.doubleclick.net

You'll see an IP address reported back, which should be 127.0.0.1 (or  
0.0.0.0, or whatever you set in the HOSTS file). If not, your HOSTS  
file is indeed being ignored.

Here's one possible explanation, from http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/ 
hostsfaq.htm#Proxy
-----
If you are connected to the Internet using AOL, a custom dialer  
provided by your ISP, through a Local Area Network (LAN) connection  
or a remote proxy server these procedures (using a HOSTS file) may  
not be effective.
...
Using a remote proxy server which basically does the DNS requesting  
for you does prevent the HOSTS file from being considered. In other  
words ...Your browser will route its request through your proxy  
server before your machine looks up an entry in Hosts.
-----

Hope this helps,

   =jimA=

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jim Allman
Interrobang Digital Media
http://www.ibang.com/
(919) 649-5760




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