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Old March 4th 08, 11:08 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsme.internet
Ben
External Usenet User
 
Posts: 7
Default Using the MVP's Hosts file causes problem...

I can only thank you, Mike, for sharing your expertise with me.

I would like to perhaps end my input by leaving you with one sentence:

When I de-activate the hosts file and open the BBC news page I see no
spaces, no word 'advertisement', no small box with the red cross in it and
no boxes of any kind.

Best wishes,

Ben.


"Mike M" wrote in message
...
| Ben,
|
| Let's get one thing straight. The ONLY BBC site that is blocked by the
| MVP hosts file is stats.bbc.co.uk which as should be obvious from its name
| is a stats/tracking site. The only visible effect of blocking this site
| is that in the left hand frame below the "Related BBC Sites" you will
| probably see the infamous "Red X" icon. If you right click on the icon
| and select Properties you will see something similar to
| http://stats.bbc.co.uk/o.gif?~RS~s~R...ghWeb_Story~RS
| indicating that stats.bbc.co.uk is the URL of the blocked image.
|
| No other BBC content is blocked however if there is a link to an advert OR
| other external content whose server is blocked via the Hosts file then
| this will be blocked.
|
| If you are seeing an empty box with Advertisement in it then I'll give you
| a clue. This box would normally contain an advert or perhaps other
| external contents but access to the site concerned is being blocked by the
| hosts file. What that site might be can be determined in the usual way,
| right click, properties.
|
| All other sites display ads.
|
| So what? All this means is that the site serving the ads isn't blocked.
| If you don't want to see the ads, be adventurous, add the urls of the
| sites serving those ads to your copy of the hosts file.
|
| As for my being in the UK, that is immaterial. I use a customised copy of
| the MVP hosts file (however for this test reverted to the original copy)
| and as a test have accessed the BBC news site via a US proxy (non UK IP
| address) and see none of the problems that you are seeing. I suspect you
| need to look a lot closer to home than the BBC site for the cause of your
| problems,
|
| What some consider to be a problem when using the hosts file to block for
| example access to ad serving sites is that the behaviour of the browser
| back button can be erratic as the back route might include links to a
| blocked site. In such cases it is often easier to jump back to the
| required site using the drop down box rather than step back site by site.
| --
| Mike Maltby
|
|
|
| Ben none wrote:
|
| Hello Mike,
|
| I must quote you. "If you don't want this to happen forget about the
| hosts file and display
| the ads". I don't want this to happen. But I have no ads (this only
| on the BBC web site) when I "forget" (de-activate) the hosts file.
| All other sites display ads.
|
| I believe I do understand the purpose (and value) of the hosts file.
|
| The BBC web site is not behaving like any other web site. Its display
| is, in part, contrary:
| No hosts file = no ads displayed and no spaces. And an activated
| hosts file = blocked (no) ads and spaces.
|
| All other web sites respond normally. No hosts file = ads displayed
| and no spaces. Hosts file activated = no ads but spaces.
|
| I wonder if you, in the UK, see the ads when you de-activate the
| hosts file. I on the other hand, and in western Canada, see no such
| ads when I do so. None whatsoever. And no spaces.
|
| This is, in my view, an anomaly.
|
| Perhaps we will have to leave it at that, Mike. But I am curious as
| to what ads the BBC is using? Perhaps this is a clue for me:
|
| style type="text/css" media="all"
| @import "/css/screen/shared/styles.css";
| @import '/css/screen/shared/toolbar_ifs.css';
| @import "/css/screen/nol/styles.css?v2";
| @import "/css/screen/nol/furniture.css";
| @import "/css/screen/nol/promo.css";
| @import "/css/screen/nol/business.css";
| @import "/css/screen/nol/ifs.css";
| /style
|
| Cheers,
|
| Ben.
|
|
| "Mike M" wrote in message
| ...
| You do not need to deactivate the hosts file when visiting the BBC
| web site. Where advertisements are blocked the word advertisement
| will appear. If you don't want this to happen forget about the hosts
| file and display the ads. If you want to see some ads and not
| others then edit the hosts file accordingly. The properties of an
| ad will tell you its source and you can then add or remove the url
| or ip address to the hosts file.
|
| Any suggestions?
|
| In the same way that you have repeated your question I will repeat my
| reply. Learn and understand the purpose of a hosts file..
| --
| Mike Maltby
|

|
|
| Ben none wrote:
|
| Hello Mike,
|
| This image is of the front-page of the news international version.:
|
|
http://www.geocities.com/cowichancricket/MNG1.gif
|
| The hosts file is de-activated - the page displays normally. No ads.
|
| This image reflects the blocking of ads. i.e., the hosts file is
| activated.
|
| http://www.geocities.com/cowichancricket/MNG2.gif
|
| I do wish to use the hosts file. I don't want to de-activate it
| everytime I access the BBC. However if there were a way I would
| prefer to see the site appear without the blocked ads space i.e., as
| in the first image..
|
| Any suggestions?
|
| Ben.
|
|
| "Mike M" wrote in message
| ...
| Ben none wrote:
|
| Hello,
|
| With the Hosts file de-activated this website displays normally:
| http://news.bbc.co.uk/ ,
| however, on activation of the file, a white space appears across
| the top of the page with the word 'Advertisement' showing twice
| together with a spacing in the left hand links bar.
|
| I have tried deleting the three references to the bbc in the hosts
| file but this has no effect.
|
| Any help appreciated.
|
| Since you appear not to understand the purpose of the hosts file
| why are you using it? Its purpose amongst other things is to
| prevent the display of unwanted advertisements and this it is
| clearly doing. If you want the adverts don't use the hosts file.
| Alternatively learn its purpose and understand what it is doing.
|
| Clue: Adverts are rarely served from the website being viewed.
| The only BBC reference in the MVP Hosts file blocks the stats
| counter and has nothing to do with the display of adverts. Other
| blocked sites include the string bbc but have nothing to do with
| the BBC web site. --
| Mike Maltby
|
|