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Last post Author Topic: Ad Muncher: keeps the brain intact while surfing the Net - beats AdBlock!  (Read 68143 times)

Josh

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May I ask what version of ad muncher is installed and running? Also, what is the process name of the aol executable? I am sure that this either A. Is blocked in the newer builds of ad muncher, or B. Can easily be blocked by adding the process's name to the filter targets tab under options.

Defenestration

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Unfortunately, AM does not currently work with FF 2.0 :(

Check out the following link for more info

http://forums.mozill...ewtopic.php?t=438641

Josh

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Yes, this is a bug on the end of Firefox, although a workaround is being worked on by Murray at admuncher. So, hopefully we will see an updated beta that fixes this issue. This will hopefully solve the issue until firefox decides to fix it.

Defenestration

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Where did you find out that Murray is working on a workaround ?

In all my correspondence with Jeffrey, he said they would not be doing anything to solve this problem.

PS. It's great news if that is indeed the case though! :)

Josh

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« Last Edit: November 07, 2009, 05:12 PM by Josh »

housetier

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AdBlock beats AdMuncher because AB works on my computer while AM does not. I would have loved to try it though...

Josh

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What do you mean it doesnt work on your computer? Is it because you run linux? If so, I dont think you can compare the two as this is obviously a windows based utility (for now, a linux port is planned once the major features are finished).

app103

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May I ask what version of ad muncher is installed and running? Also, what is the process name of the aol executable? I am sure that this either A. Is blocked in the newer builds of ad muncher, or B. Can easily be blocked by adding the process's name to the filter targets tab under options.

These are not normal ad banners...they are some proprietary type of content produced with Rainman. Blocking these ads is very different than blocking a normal ad.

I didn't expect Ad Muncher to block them, as most developers don't know about these ads or what makes them tick.

The reason why TPA Ad Buster works is because the developer is a long time AOL user and creator of some of the best AOL plugins available.

I have sent an email to Jeff explaining the problem in as much detail as possible and offered to help him in any way I can. I would really like to see some other program pick up where TPA left off.

Josh

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I am sure he will get this working. All we need to do is find a copy of aol 8.0 which is nearly impossible to find :-/

housetier

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edit:
this post has caused too much discomfort
« Last Edit: July 15, 2006, 03:56 AM by housetier »

app103

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I am sure he will get this working. All we need to do is find a copy of aol 8.0 which is nearly impossible to find :-/

AOL versions 4.0 - 9.0SE will all connect and are all in use by people.

You can get up to 5.0* at oldversion.com.

I don't know if you can access these files outside of aol, but here is the rest of the setup files not listed there:

America Online 6.0* for Win 95/98/ME

America Online 7.0

America Online 8.0 (I am not sure if this is the regular 8.0 that I run or the 8.0 'optimized')


America Online 9.0SE downloader (you have to run this to download the actual setup files)

Installing one of these in vmware and setting up a trial account with AOL will buy you about 45 days to play around with it for free. One account will work for all versions, and you can have multiple versions installed on the same machine. If you need any help setting it up not as a dialup software let me know. It can be set up to connect over tcp/ip too, for use with broadband or another ISP's connection. Provided you are connecting over tcp/ip, you can have up to 7 copies of aol connected at the same time...one for each screen name on the account.

*a note about versions prior to 7.0:
If you are running 2k or xp you can't use a version earlier than 7.0. There was a 6.0 that worked with win2k but it was a beta and was never released to the public. (my dad might have a copy still, as he was a beta tester for AOL back then)

Keep this in mind too: AOL will update their software in an attempt to defeat other people's attempts to mess with their software...older versions are not immune to this updating...they still support 4.0 onward. TPA has been dueling with AOL over fading text in chatrooms for years. They keep fixing it and AOL issues a patch to break it again. So just because you can block AOL ads today doesn't mean they will be blocked tomorrow. It could turn into a vicious cycle.

Josh

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App, thanks for the link! Like I said in the irc channel, I couldnt access that page with the d/l links you posted. This is much appreciated.

As for aol breaking an entry Jeff adds, well, that is why he is around. He is constantly fixing what sites add to get around the programs like admuncher. Heck, he fixed http://environmentalchemistry.com/ which actively scans for ad blockers by running a script he wrote. Jeff also encourages you leave ad muncher set to not filter sites that you use frequently and enjoy to give the developers some sort of revenue back for their hard work.

app103

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This won't be a matter of fixing url's...that isn't the way aol likes to break things.

They may make you rewrite code and find new methods of blocking.

This could be an interesting 'fun' game of cat & mouse coding  ;D

Josh

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trust me, the devs enjoy a challenge. You'd be surprised to know how many "hacks" are in am to make it work with certain apps ;-)

urlwolf

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any chances of getting a discount again for admuncher?
Thanks a lot

Josh

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At the present time, most of the developers time has been spent finishing up 4.7 for a release within the next month. We expect, dont quote me on this thou, 2 more beta releases before we go gold with 4.7. Once 4.7 is out the door, we will see what we can do :)
« Last Edit: November 07, 2009, 05:13 PM by Josh »

brotherS

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Ad Muncher Usage Statistics for v4.7 Build 27105/1458
Adverts removed by Ad Muncher:  166,049
Approximate bandwidth saved:    1,297 MB
Counter started:              March 21, 2006

:Thmbsup: Really a great tool! :-*

urlwolf

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At the present time, most of the developers time has been spent finishing up 4.7 for a release within the next month. We expect, dont quote me on this thou, 2 more beta releases before we go gold with 4.7. Once 4.7 is out the door, we will see what we can do :) Dont worry, I havent forgotten my great friends at DC :)

Hmm, looks like 4.7 is out :)
Josh, will you get us a discount?

Thanks!

Dirhael

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I just have to agree with brotherS and the rest of the Ad Muncher users on this forum, it really is a great tool. Over the last few years, I've noticed a tendency with online newspapers and gaming sites getting infested with advertising to the point of being almost unusable. The solution to this for me, before discovering Ad Muncher, was using a ad-blocking hosts file. As many of you know, that method has some serious limitations and in the end I had to give it up. After that, I tried out the Proxomitron and while it packs some serious power, I found that it just wasn't worth the effort to keep the lists up to date & working. I can imagine the pre-made lists you find over at the CastleCops forums are great if you mainly visit English websites, but none of them really took good enough care of many of the Scandinavian websites I visit. In the end, I grew tired of it and moved on. Then came Firefox and adblock/-plus. At this point, I had been using Opera for many years, but the promise of proper, and easily maintainable, ad-blocking made me test the waters with the now famous ferret. While I really liked the adblock extension, I did not really find myself comfortable with the Firefox browser itself. So, I moved back to Opera like I've always done in the past. Now I do love the browser, but it does lack proper ad-blocking (even with the content blocker built into v9 of the browser, it's still nowhere near a complete solution yet), so I went out hunting around the web. By chance, I happened to stumble upon the Ad Muncher entry over at Betanews and thought it looked interesting, so after a very quick (less than 0.5 MB) download I started browsing like my life depended on it. After all, I had no intention of paying for the software if it didn't take care of the websites that are important to me. The same week, I paid for and registered the application. It had everything I'd ever wanted from an ad-blocker. The default lists are very very complete, and has handled just about every single non-English site I've ever visited as well. It also impressed with the speed, and it also allows me to configure anything related to the filtering with a few simple mouse clicks. When you also consider that it works with just about any application connecting to the web, with the same rules applying to all of them without having to setup anything, it's hard not to be impressed.

As for my statistics so far, it has saved me close to .5 GB since my last re-installation of Windows (I forgot to backup my config file, so the old stats were lost). While the program isn't free, I feel that I've received more than what I paid for it after being stuck with a 56k modem during this Christmas. The ads on many websites are a pain with a broadband connection, but those times when you're stuck with dial-up the web is just about unusable without proper content filtering.

Ad Muncher Usage Statistics for v4.7 Build 27105/1459
Adverts removed by Ad Muncher:  55,883
Approximate bandwidth saved:    436 MB
Counter started:                november 28, 2006
Registered nurse by day, hobby programmer by night.

CodeTRUCKER

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I am always somewhat dismayed when a thread becomes a "this" vs "that."  I am not referring to a debate, but more along the "my [fil in the blank] is better than your [fill in the blank]" kind of tone.  I have used both and each has strengths and weaknesses.  The best thing  ( i am parroting others here) to do is to try each.  I also think that it is not necessary for everyone to have the full-blown set-up in every case.  A little may work just peachy for a few or even many.

My experience with AM is it is intuitive and solid; on the other hand, the Proxomitron gives me the power to re-write any part of the Internet (even DC) to my own tastes, but it does take a fair amount of work.
« Last Edit: June 01, 2009, 03:08 PM by CodeTRUCKER »

brotherS

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I understand what you are saying. IMHO, it's really about what you want to do/focus on. A person who needs just one task does not always need the full-blown alternative. Some prefer to pay for software A instead of spending some hours to learn software B (that delivers the same or "enough" results).

So... alternatives are great! :)

CodeTRUCKER

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I understand what you are saying. IMHO, it's really about what you want to do/focus on. A person who needs just one task does not always need the full-blown alternative. Some prefer to pay for software A instead of spending some hours to learn software B (that delivers the same or "enough" results).

So... alternatives are great! :)


Agreed!  :Thmbsup:
« Last Edit: June 01, 2009, 03:09 PM by CodeTRUCKER »

Josh

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Be advised, if you are not running the latest BETA, you are not receiving updates. 4.72, the latest stable release, has stopped receiving updates and you have to upgrade to the beta from http://www.admuncher.com/beta.pl

CodeTRUCKER

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Thanks for the heads-up.  :up:
« Last Edit: June 01, 2009, 03:10 PM by CodeTRUCKER »

Josh

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CodeTRUCKER: Did you intend to post something?

EDIT:

Now I see you are going back and editing all of your posts. Disregard
« Last Edit: June 01, 2009, 03:14 PM by Josh »