Blocking images & ads from Hotmail?

March 24, 2004 9:06 PM

Is there any way to use Mozilla/Firebird's "Block images from this site" feature while using Hotmail? While logging in, you get tossed from passport.net site to hotmail.com site to hotmail.msn.com site like a (insert something politically incorrect here). But Hotmail often kills my dial-up, so I'd love to block their ads from loading. Hope me, please?
posted by Ufez Jones to Computers & Internet (10 answers total)

I use AdBlock. It allows you to block images indiscriminately by right clicking on them. It also allows you to use wildcards, so instead of just blocking ads.adserver.com/ad1.gif, you can block ads.adserver.com/*. very handy. it also lets you block iframes and flash ads, unlike other tools.
posted by o2b at 9:20 PM on March 24, 2004

o2b, Mozilla's "Block images..." does all that, too. You can block "hotmail.*, or "ads.*", etc.
posted by signal at 9:42 PM on March 24, 2004

Adblock is just lovely.
posted by Blue Stone at 4:04 AM on March 25, 2004

The standalone "thunderbird" which is just the email portion of Mozilla does this.
posted by mecran01 at 6:28 AM on March 25, 2004

AdBlock is a bit easier, IMO, as it (optionally) adds visual flags to non-image items on the page you can block, and adds "block this image" and "block all images from foo" to the context menu. Ufez Jones also said it wasn't working for him.
posted by o2b at 6:41 AM on March 25, 2004

Sorry, he didn't say that. He asked if there was a way to use it. Yes, but, IMO, AdBlock makes it easier.
posted by o2b at 6:42 AM on March 25, 2004

Response by poster: Thanks all. I'll give adblock a shot since it blocks flash ads(!)
posted by Ufez Jones at 7:00 AM on March 25, 2004

If adblock doesn't work for you, Skallas made a hosts file that also blocks hotmail ads very easily.
posted by gd779 at 8:41 AM on March 25, 2004

Thanks! I've been looking for a way to block Flash ads too.
posted by fuzz at 11:02 AM on March 25, 2004

You can also right click on the images, see what the domain is.

Then, just add the domain to your host file (thereby overriding DNS) and set the IP to 127.0.0.1.

In Windows its found in :\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc\hosts

Linux would be /etc/hosts

Example:

127.0.0.1 localhost
127.0.0.1 ad.doubleclick.net
127.0.0.1 a.tribalfusion.com
posted by the fire you left me at 2:00 PM on March 25, 2004