Internet Explorer - A Giant AD?

FirstShirt

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Is it just me, or do you think IE is consumed with advertisements? Is there a good option to eliminate all the popups, popunders, and continual video/audio ads?

By the way, I just bought a new laptop with Win8 so I'm struggling with my mind as I transition from Seven to Eight. . .
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satellite P875-S7102
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-3630QM Processor
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Mobile Intel HD Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    16:9 aspect ratio, 1920x1080, Supports 1080p content
    Hard Drives
    750GB
    Keyboard
    Premium Raised Tile LED backlit Keyboard with 10-Keypad
Use the Desktop version of Internet Explorer and add the two EasyList and two Fanboy Tracking Protection Lists from the following link. After added, the lists update themselves automatically.

Internet Explorer Gallery

You can also change what pop-ups are allowed by going to Internet Options > Privacy > Pop-up Blocker Settings. Personally, I block all pop-ups and then whitelist any sites that I want to allow pop-ups from (or CTRL click links to open in a new window and bypass the pop-up blocker manually).
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8 64-bit
ARC1020; Thanks for the info. I have done what you suggested.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satellite P875-S7102
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-3630QM Processor
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Mobile Intel HD Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    16:9 aspect ratio, 1920x1080, Supports 1080p content
    Hard Drives
    750GB
    Keyboard
    Premium Raised Tile LED backlit Keyboard with 10-Keypad
You can also change what pop-ups are allowed by going to Internet Options > Privacy > Pop-up Blocker Settings. Personally, I block all pop-ups and then whitelist any sites that I want to allow pop-ups from (or CTRL click links to open in a new window and bypass the pop-up blocker manually).

One of my favourite sites (www.guru3d.com) now brings up in your face popups. I use IE 11 and set it as above to block all pop ups and it seems IE 11 totally ignores my instructions. I don't mind the targeted ads at the sides but when an advertisement pops up so that I need to stop reading and close that window, it is too annoying. Is there a better browser or do I need to take this website off my favourites list?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro WMC
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Masuhr - Black Corsair
    CPU
    Intel I7 4770k
    Motherboard
    ASUS Maximus VI Hero
    Memory
    Corsair Dominator 16GB DD3-1866
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus GTX 660 Ti
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS PA248
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1200
    Hard Drives
    Revodrive 350 480GB
    SSD Mushkin Chronos Deluxe 240GB Sata3
    HDD WD Red 2x2TB Sata3
    PSU
    Corsair 860i
    Case
    Cooler Master HAF X
    Cooling
    Corsair H100i
    Keyboard
    LG G19
    Mouse
    Microsoft Sidewinder X8
    Internet Speed
    DSL
    Browser
    IE
    Antivirus
    MS Defender
    Other Info
    Logitech T650 Touchpad
You could try various adblocker extensions, they are usually better at preventing popups than the regular Internet Explorer.

Adblock Plus for example : https://adblockplus.org/releases/adblock-plus-11-for-internet-explorer-released
I haven't tested it on IE but it's a popular extension on other browsers.

A more involved solution might be to edit your hosts file, you can manually add any hostname that you want to block. It might seem a bit technical but it's actually rather easy. If you're not tech-savvy, some hosts files built by Internet users/communities already exist. They list the most well known ad networks (sometimes thousands+) and block them. The most popular is probably MVPS (https://forums.malwarebytes.org/index.php?/topic/2823-mvps-hosts-updates/). Such files tend to be large though and can sometimes slow down performance so I think it best to build one yourself tailored to the sites you visit.
More info : How to Block Unwanted Ads in All Applications and Speed Up Web Browsing with the Hosts File

Since popups rely on Javascript to work you can disable it on some sites which will also block most if not all ads. It can affect various features of most sites so it's a heavy handed solution (but it works beautifully if you don't mind missing fancy menus and such).
You can place the sites most affected by ads/popups in the Restricted Sites Zone (Internet Options > Security > Restricted Sites > Sites), then disable Javascript in this zone (Internet Options > Security > Restricted Sites > Custom Level > Scripting: Active Scripting > Disable).
If the site doesn't work properly anymore just delete it from the Restricted Zone.
There might be extensions that simplify the process of selectively disabling Javascript on IE (similar to NoScript on Firefox), so Google is your friend ;)

For power users, there is yet another solution : using a proxy to filter everything. It is much more powerful than adblockers, and isn't limited to blocking ads. You can literally customize everything that comes from the net. It also works independently from the browser so it will work as well on IE than Chrome and FF. The disadvantage is that it's more complex and you need to learn how to set rules and how if works by yourself.
More info : Proxomitron - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (no idea if it still works on Win 8)
Privoxy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 (x64)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
Thanks for the adblockplus suggestion. I installed it and it seems to be working great with IE 11.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro WMC
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Masuhr - Black Corsair
    CPU
    Intel I7 4770k
    Motherboard
    ASUS Maximus VI Hero
    Memory
    Corsair Dominator 16GB DD3-1866
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus GTX 660 Ti
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS PA248
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1200
    Hard Drives
    Revodrive 350 480GB
    SSD Mushkin Chronos Deluxe 240GB Sata3
    HDD WD Red 2x2TB Sata3
    PSU
    Corsair 860i
    Case
    Cooler Master HAF X
    Cooling
    Corsair H100i
    Keyboard
    LG G19
    Mouse
    Microsoft Sidewinder X8
    Internet Speed
    DSL
    Browser
    IE
    Antivirus
    MS Defender
    Other Info
    Logitech T650 Touchpad
If it were me, I'd just dump IE completely. While it's certainly true it's come a long ways since MS left the bloated carcase to rot for a couple of years with IE6, you've hit on probably the single biggest problem that still plagues IE.

I would try out both Firefox and Chrome then keep the one you like best. For me, the fact that Chrome can't do things like block inline scripts the way Firefox can with NoScript, makes Firefox a no-brainer decision, but you can get about 90% of the way with Chrome which is probably good enough for the majority of situations. Until Microsoft completely rewrites ActiveX from the ground up, which will never happen for a bunch of different reasons, IE will continue to suffer from the "at any cost" approach Microsoft adopted to win the so-called browser wars. The focus was on features, followed by more features and somewhere towards the back of the line was security. ActiveX controls are essentially the same as any program you might run, like MS Word, except that they run via the web browser. They're compiled code, no real sandboxing to speak of and Microsoft's initial approach to security was to have digital signatures on ActiveX controls so you knew who to sue if something went wrong. To this day, those design decisions hobble ActiveX and there's no way to fix them without breaking huge numbers of ActiveX controls like Windows Update for one.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1
I spoke too soon, right now I get a popup playing a noxious Keurig Coffee Commercial on www.msn.com which I have set to my home page. There is no way to close it and the ad comes up every time I start IE 11. I tried Google Chrome and the same ad came up but I was able to close it and the next time I opened my home page the ad did not reappear. I think I will download Firefox and if I am happy with that forget about the Microsoft Internet Explorer. I definitely do not like these in your face ads.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro WMC
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Masuhr - Black Corsair
    CPU
    Intel I7 4770k
    Motherboard
    ASUS Maximus VI Hero
    Memory
    Corsair Dominator 16GB DD3-1866
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus GTX 660 Ti
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS PA248
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1200
    Hard Drives
    Revodrive 350 480GB
    SSD Mushkin Chronos Deluxe 240GB Sata3
    HDD WD Red 2x2TB Sata3
    PSU
    Corsair 860i
    Case
    Cooler Master HAF X
    Cooling
    Corsair H100i
    Keyboard
    LG G19
    Mouse
    Microsoft Sidewinder X8
    Internet Speed
    DSL
    Browser
    IE
    Antivirus
    MS Defender
    Other Info
    Logitech T650 Touchpad
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