Re: Dial up vs. cable questions

From: Kim Clay (kimclay_at_myrealbox.com)
Date: 12/31/04 

Date: Thu, 30 Dec 2004 22:15:56 -0500

>Can you use ad blockers or does that kill the functionality? I remember
>there was a free internet service several years ago which had it's own
>special software that connected and displayed ads. The thing I (and
>apparently many others) discovered is that once you signed up with their
>software, you could uninstall it and put the phone number and login info
>right into a Windows dialup networking thing and connect that way with no
>ads. They didn't last long...
>
 Ad blockers - yes - But you must use their dialer program, no cheating
there.

 I think I tried all the free ISPs also as they came & went.

 I use Privoxy now http://www.privoxy.org/ & Junkbusters before that. It
will stop most of the mess. As I remember NetZero always wants to go to
its homepage which is _very_ cluttered. I would minimize or close that
window & be on my merry way but still missing the top of my screen which
has the ad bar. & they make it quite obnoxious! & still get some
pop-ups. It is still usable & good for emergencies.

 I also have IP Cop http://www.ipcop.org on another computer (AMD5x86)
as a firewall (yeah on a dialup). It has a web proxy server which makes
repeated visits to a web page _lots_ faster on a dialup.

 The OP could investigate both these ideas if he so desired. Neither is
essential for a novice, just accessories that are nice.