How can I stop Doubleclick, Avenue A, etc from reappearing on my computer?

[Sarah]

Hello, I use spyware blaster and ad aware. I use Firefox. Every time I
run them these are back:

AdRevolver
Advertising.com
AvenueA.Inc
DoubleClick
HistLink
MediaPlex
Statcounter
Zedo

How can I stop them from getting put on my computer in the first
place?

Thanks
Sarah

[Beauregard T. Shagnasty]

Sarah wrote:

> Hello, I use spyware blaster and ad aware. I use Firefox. Every time I
> run them these are back:
> ...
> How can I stop them from getting put on my computer in the first
> place?

Utilize your HOSTS file.

http://k75s.home.att.net/tips.html#hosts

--
-bts
-Motorcycles defy gravity; cars just suck

[Vanguard]

"Sarah" wrote in message
news:1186494755.636571.214620@d30g2000prg.googlegr oups.com...
> Hello, I use spyware blaster and ad aware. I use Firefox. Every time I
> run them these are back:
>
> AdRevolver
> Advertising.com
> AvenueA.Inc
> DoubleClick
> HistLink
> MediaPlex
> Statcounter
> Zedo
>
> How can I stop them from getting put on my computer in the first
> place?


Those are cookies. Cookies are not spyware. They are text files, no
different than you opening Notepad, entering some text, and saving to a
..txt file.

Firefox has its own options for cookie management. Use those options to
dictate if you allow 1st party cookies (cookies written by the current
domain for its own domain), if you allow 3rd party cookies (cookies
written by the current domain but readable by another domain - cookies
can only be read by the domain specified within the cookie), and
per-session cookies (cookies that get purged when the browser closes
versus cookies that specify an expiration of which many will list years
in the future). I don't use Firefox. In IE, I configure to allow 1st
party cookies, block 3rd party cookies, and allow per-session cookies.
I'm sure Firefox has similar options.

IE also has lists of Allowed or Blocked domains for cookies. I'm sure
Firefox has the same. You could, for example, block all cookies, even
1st party cookies, but add a "good" site to the Allow list so their web
site functions properly. Problem is that you might want to allow
cookies at a "good" site but you really don't want them lingering around
after you leave. Many sites require cookies for their site to function
properly but you only want their cookies to exist during your session at
that site. I use a cookie manager (already built into a popup blocker)
in IE that lets me whitelist cookies which means all others are forced
to be per-session cookies. I don't care about whether a site leaves
cookies because non-whitelisted sites will get their cookies purged when
IE closes. Maybe Firefox has some built-in whitelisting option that
ALSO forces all other cookies to be per-session cookies. There are
mozilla.* newsgroups more focused on those products, like Firefox.

Cookies can be used for tracking but only if permitted to continue
existing past your web session. After all, while you are at a site,
they can track you by your IP address as you navigate around their
pages, can provide info in URLs links to other site's pages to indicate
from where you came or use Referrer to do the same thing. While you are
there, they don't need cookies to track your web navigation. Cookies
are not spyware. Read:

Have a read at:
http://www.edbott.com/weblog/?p=246
http://www.xblock.com/articles/article_show.php?id=64
http://thundercloud.net/infoave/answ...-badcookie.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_cookie

I bet you NONE of the anti-spyware tools that you use has yet to report
the cookies (.sol files) left behind by Flash.

[Vanguard]

"Beauregard T. Shagnasty" wrote in message
news:YV_ti.23185$ax1.16637@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
> Sarah wrote:
>
>> Hello, I use spyware blaster and ad aware. I use Firefox. Every time
>> I
>> run them these are back:
>> ...
>> How can I stop them from getting put on my computer in the first
>> place?
>
> Utilize your HOSTS file.
>
> http://k75s.home.att.net/tips.html#hosts


A hosts file will not stop a site from writing cookie .txt files. The
site writes the cookie. The cookie is often for a 3rd party. So learn
to configure your browser to block 3rd party cookies. Blocking content
from a "bad" site by using the hosts file does not block the current
site from writing cookie files.

[Phantom]

"Beauregard T. Shagnasty" <a.nony.mous@example.invalid> wrote in message
news:YV_ti.23185$ax1.16637@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
> Sarah wrote:
>
>> Hello, I use spyware blaster and ad aware. I use Firefox. Every time I
>> run them these are back:
>> ...
>> How can I stop them from getting put on my computer in the first
>> place?
>
> Utilize your HOSTS file.
>
> http://k75s.home.att.net/tips.html#hosts
>

If you do decide to use your hosts file, let hostsman do the work for you:

http://www.abelhadigital.com/

BUT don't load every hosts file. I use only MVPS hosts. Also, have it
overwrite current hosts every update rather than merge. If you add your own
sites to the hosts file, keep them in a separate file and copy/paste after
update.