A while back I covered how to stop banner ads and access to certain web sites with the HOSTS file. This article on O'Reilly Windows DevCenter (which contains banner ads) covers doing this with HOSTS files, and PAC files.
PAC files are Proxy Automatic Configuration files, which use JavaScript to tell the browser how to connect to specific URLs. PAC files offer a number of advantages over the HOSTS file. Most notably you can use wild cards, block specific paths (not whole hosts) and redirect to a different port. The down side is that PAC files only work with your browser. If you block a host in your HOSTS file then even ping will be redirected.
- The O'Reilly article: WindowsDevCenter.com: Kill Internet Ads with HOSTS and PAC Files [Mar. 30, 2004]
- A great resource with a starter no-ads PAC file and instructions: Bust Banner Ads with Proxy Auto Configuration
I plan to switch over to PAC files for the bulk of my filtering / blocking. Hopefully I will be able to provide some updated resources for this in the near future.
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