Invasive, external banner ads that won't budge are harshing my Netflix buzz.

June 29, 2012 7:03 PM

How do I get rid of these banner ads in Netflix (below which say "Ads not by this site")?

As of late, when I open Netflix I get these crappy banner ads at the top which are clearly are not affiliated with Netflix (and if there was any doubt, it actually says "Ads not by this site" below the ad). These ads shift the viewer down so that not only can I not see the whole screen, but it cuts off subtitles and I can't even access the control buttons. Totally annoying.

I've encountered plenty of malware in my day so my first step towards a solution would be a carefully worded Google search. No luck there--found the same question in a few places but zero answers. I ran a recommended-as-legit ad remover, and now it doesn't actually SHOW the banner ads--it's just blank and still says "Ads not by this site" below. My last resort is Combofix which has worked for everything else before but nope, not with this stubborn little worm. I can usually figure this stuff out but I am completely stumped here. Help! This is kind of ruining my Netflix experience (I can't switch to full screen without the controls and like to watch stuff with captions, which are cut off here). Thought about calling Netflix but I have more faith in my MeFites then I do in what I suspect will be a computer-automated system that would force me to sit on hold for 30+ minutes....

posted by lovableiago to computers & internet (8 answers total)

What browser and operating system are you using? What malware remover did you use? Was it MalwareBytes? Run that.
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 7:05 PM on June 29, 2012

Oops, sorry--I'm on Windows XP and I use Firefox primarily (I did open Netflix on Chrome and got the same problem). I actually cannot recall the ad blocker I used but I'll try MalwareBytes...although that has failed to remove stuff before that Combofix has nabbed on follow-up which is part of why I'm feeling hopeless...!
posted by lovableiago at 7:12 PM on June 29, 2012

This might help.
posted by birdherder at 7:14 PM on June 29, 2012

Run it with your computer in safemode once it's updated. Microsoft also makes a malware/virus thing that you download and burn on a cd that will boot straight to it and clean your system. That might work better.
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 7:14 PM on June 29, 2012

Oh... yeah, if you installed anything like birderherder's link says, uninstall it. Don't install weird things! :)
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 7:15 PM on June 29, 2012

If a general malware scan won't find it, look in your extensions on both Firefox (Tools -> Add Ons -> Extensions) and Chrome (Wrench Icon -> Tools -> Extensions).
posted by zsazsa at 7:34 PM on June 29, 2012

It was that blasted Codec extension--thank you to everyone who responded!!!!!!!!!! I'm ecstatic.
posted by lovableiago at 7:38 PM on June 29, 2012

I checked my Chrome extension list and noticed one extension that I don't remember installing - "vid-saver". As soon as I removed, no more 'ads not by this site'. Thanks for pointing out the article 'birdherder'.
posted by tvjoshi at 8:21 PM on July 31, 2012