Block ads without Ad-Block

Let’s admit, many of us don’t like ads while surfing websites, much less those flashy and ultra-cool (read irritating and dumb) ads. If you use Firefox, there’s a good chance that you are using Ad-block or similar extension. Opera has something similar too. But what of those ads that you see when (rarely) you use Internet Explorer? Or what of those ads integrated in Messenger windows?
To block these relatively harmless (and other potentially dangerous) ads, you can use Hosts file created by MVPS. According to them :

The Hosts file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. This file is loaded into memory (cache) at startup, then Windows checks the Hosts file before it queries any DNS servers, which enables it to override addresses in the DNS. This prevents access to the listed sites by redirecting any connection attempts back to the local (your) machine. Another feature of the HOSTS file is its ability to block other applications from connecting to the Internet, providing the entry exists.

You can use a HOSTS file to block ads, banners, 3rd party Cookies, 3rd party page counters, web bugs, and even most hijackers. This is accomplished by blocking the connection(s) that supplies these little gems.

You can get more information and download link at MVPS website.

(My) Top 20 Firefox Extensions

Here are my top 20 extensions for Firefox:

1. DOM Inspector – Inspect the DOM of HTML, XUL, and XML pages, including the browser chrome.

2. Adblock – Filters ads from web-pages.

3. Tabbrowser Preferences – Enhance control over some aspects of tabbed browsing.

4. Web Developer – Adds a menu and toolbar with various web developer tools.

5. FasterFox – Performance and network tweaks for Firefox.

6. SessionSaver – Magically restores your last browsing session.

7. NoScript – Extra Protection for your Firefox : NoScript allows JavaScript, Java (and other plugins) only for trusted domains of your choice.

8. Right-Click Link – Opens selected text in a new tab.

9. Anonymouser – Open link anonymously with anonymouser.org.

10. Disable Targets for Downloads – Prevents download links opening a blank window.

11. Kill Google Ads – Remove Google ads from a HTML Page.

12. Mouse Gestures – Allows you to execute common commands using mouse gestures.

13. Tab Mix Plus – Tab browsing with an added boost.

14. Paste and Go 2 – Past text and load/search it immediately.

15. Super DragAndGo – Drag a link or anything like a uri and throw it anywhere to open in new tab.

16. DownThemAll – The mass downloader for Firefox.

17. Remove Cookie(s) for Site – Adds right-click menu option and toolbar button to remove all cookies of currently opened site.

18. CookieSafe – Control cookie permissions.

19. FlashGot – Enables single and massive downloads using most popular external download manager.

20. VideoDownloader – Download embedded videos from more than 60 websites (including YouTube,Google, etc).

Cheers!