Google and other ads on Retouchpro

[Kraellin]

as of this morning, i'm seeing google ads and others here on RetrouchPro. i'm hoping this is something that doug has implemented to help pay for the costs here on RP and not some odd piece of malware that has suddenly shown up on my browser. since i'm not seeing it on some other sites where no ads were showing before, i again assume this is something new implemented by doug. i'd just like a confirmirmation on this so i dont keep running around looking for spyware, malware and other stuff on my browser/system.

craig

[patriciakay]

Hi Craig...

On my RetouchPro too....I thought the same as you...

Patricia....

[Cameraken]

Hi Craig

I don’t see them on my machine with a modem?
Although I thought I spotted something similar on my parents broadband machine this morning.
Is it a virus? Or maybe a broadband only thing?

Ken

[Kraellin]

patricia, ah, good. if you're seeing them too then it would seem this is indeed something doug has implemented and not some oddball malware thing

craig

[Kraellin]

whoops, i may have spoken too soon. ken and i must have posted at the same time.

ken, does your modem use some sort of 'fast access' or 'accelerator' type software to speed up your browsing? that could account for you not seeing the ads. then again, maybe both patricia and i are infected.

craig

[Cameraken]

Hi Craig

Could you post a screen shot?

I see nothing different on my machine. No fast access etc but I do have a firewall.

On my Parents machine this morning I used a link in favourites to look at RetouchPro. Just before Retouch Pro came up I noticed an Ad for Insurance flash up. I thought they had changed their home page to account for this but when I checked their home page it was their correct one.

Ken

[makeovermagic]

i've got it too, i'm on cable high speed with firewall -- i've attached a screenshot -- the ads change but appear on all viewing pages on retouchpro.

marsha

[Kraellin]

ken,

attached is the screenshot.

i also checked to make sure this wasnt a spoof google site. seems like it's the legitimate google page ads.

craig

[Cameraken]

Thanks Marsha and Craig.

No. I definitely don’t have that and it’s also completely different from what I saw on my parents broadband machine so they don’t have that either.

Ken.

[Kraellin]

ken, do you have any sort of popup blocker and is the count going up when you browse on RP?

craig

[Cameraken]

Craig.

I have No popup blocker.

I have installed a host file as Gary recommended on both machines. I am using Firefox but I have also just checked IE and that is also not showing these Ads.

I don’t think you should be seeing this. I think you need Gary

There is a popup blocker available for Firefox (note 4)
http://www.flourish.org/adremove/

But it seems that there is something on your PC that is causing this.

Ken.

[palms]

Just to add to your confusion here I dont see anything at all like the screen shots etc & no reference to google. I do have a pop up blocker on, the count isnt going up but i think it only notifies me every hour had a look at the log though and this was there

pagead2googlesyndication.com/pagead/ads

at the time i logged on here

help this helps at all

Palms

[patriciakay]

I have a pop up blocker and its on high...to stop them...but i still have this google one on Retouch....Its also has Swedish ads too...I also have a firewall that is on..My connection is broadband...
Patricia...

[palms]

Yep i got it Couldnt have noticed at first as i just scrolled down the screen not looking at the side panel sorry if i did cause confusion

Palms

[Doug Nelson]

I put them there, no malware to worry about. It's an experiment and may or may not be permanent.

[Cameraken]

Thanks Doug.

So why don’t I see them? Is my Host file blocking them?

Ken.

[patriciakay]

Thanks for letting us know Doug....Before we all went into TOTAL PANIC MODE!!!!!!

Patricia...

[Kraellin]

thanks, doug. i thought that might be the case. if it helps pay the bills, then it's a welcome addition. google ads are about the least obnoxious of all ads and often helpful, being that they are context driven. boy, photoshop for free! i think i'll click on that one (actually, i've clicked on those before ).

craig

[Kraellin]

ken, what is this 'host' file you're talking about?

craig

[Cameraken]

Hi Craig

Unfortunately the thread where Gary talked about the Host file was deleted
Maybe Gary would be good enough to repost it. However I did keep some notes.

Please read this. It explains all about how it blocks unwanted sites and Ads (including Google)

http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

You can also download a host file from that link.
Make sure you read the ‘Editors Note’ about this slowing down your machine.


Gary also mentioned another program called Hoster. Available here
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Hoster_d4626.html


This program makes is easier to manage the Host file. It will append new files to the Host file and can lock it as read only so that the Host file cannot be altered.

I now have 82917 blocked sites is my host file. It works great and I am very grateful to Gary for telling us about this.

Hope this helps

Ken.

[chrishoggy]

For want of a better way of saying this. I hate google ads , they are just another form of spam IMHO. They utilise content that forum users put in a post, in order to place advertisements related to their content. I do hope we do not get what I have seen on many other forum, where we have inappropriate advertisements (even with the adsense filter setting set correctly)

Sorry but thats my opinion on google ads/adsense.

*************Edit:******************

These are adverts I've seen on here so far after seaching for a simple thing llike birthday threads. eg: http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/salon/14236-special-message-flora.html

Top 10 Hair Removal (UK)
Compare our Top 10 Hair Removal Specialists (UK). Informed choices
www.e-shopping.co.uk


Don't suffer Electrolysis
London IPL Permanent hair removal is cheaper, less painful & quicker!
www.aitec.co.uk


Permanent Hair Removal
Latest advanced systems. Est 25 yrs Call 0870 429 2220 for free advise
ThePrivateClinic.co.uk


laser hair removal
face, body, armpits, bikini line from £35, clinic in Norwich surgery
www.coltishallclinic.co.uk


Adult e-Cards
Send as many as you like all free. Every 60 seconds someone sends one!
www.DevilCards.com

NOT very well targeted ads really, are they? And the reason I hope they don't stay

[NancyJ]

When did google start doing graphical ads?! They're so 90s.

[HannibalVector]

I don't mind the google adds being there, I realize the site doesn't pay for itself!
But these adds are pretty annoying, because they change tho whole apperance of the site. The layout has narrowed down drastically.
Isn't there a way to move the adds horizontal to the top of the page, so we don't see them anymore when we scroll down?

[Doug Nelson]

The forum width is the same it's always been (look at the RP logo, I didn't change anything).

Ads should get more and more relevant over time.

I'll try to make them prettier after I determine whether they're worth the bother at all.

[HannibalVector]

Originally Posted by Doug Nelson

The forum width is the same it's always been

Oh my mistake, then the layout just moved to the left I guess.
Ok no problem, we will get use to it!

[Gary Richardson]

These are the instructions I usually give about Hosts files.

• Hosts file:
  • Every version of windows has a hosts file as part of them.
  • In a very basic sense, they are used to locate webpages.
  • We can customize a hosts file so that it blocks certain webpages.
  • However, it can slow down certain computers.
  • This is why using a hosts file is optional!!
  • Make sure you read the instructions on how to install the hosts file, here.
• If you decide to download the hosts file, the slowdown problems can usually be avoided by following these steps:
  • Click the start button (at the lower left hand corner of your screen)
  • Click run
  • In the dialog box, type services.msc
  • hit enter, then locate dns client
  • Highlight it, then double-click it.
  • On the dropdown box, change the setting from automatic to manual.
  • Click ok
    

To explain as simply as possible.

When your browser seeks to resolve a web name into a IP address, it looks for it in a very specific order.

First it looks on your computer for the HOSTS file. This is a file where your computer saves web addresses and their related IP addresses. By default it is empty. However you can add names and their related addresses to it. If your browser finds the web adress you are seeking here, it will look no further. It will not connect to a DNS server.

This can be used as a way to block you visiting Harmful sites. You merely enter the site name you wish to block, and give it the IP No 127.0.0.1 (which is the loopback address for your computer). Now when you try to visit this bad site, your computer loops back and you are unable to access the site.

Several HOSTS files are available that have large lists of known malicious sites, you add these to the native hosts file on your computer, and this will block you from visiting those sites.

As we are talking about Google adds, might I recommend an add on to those of you who use Firefox as your browser.

Its called Customise Google and is available HERE

It allows you to customise Google, so you can do any or all of the following (I've boldened the ones I use):

* Use Google Suggest (suggest words while you're typing)
* Add links to competitors
* Rewrite links to point straight to the images in Google Images
* Removes image copying restrictions in Google Book Search
* Secure Gmail and Google Calendar, switch to https
* Block Google Analytics cookies
* Hide the Gmail spam counter

* Remove ads
* Anonymize your Google userid
* Add a result counter in search result
* Filter spammy websites from search results
* Add links to WayBack Machine (webpage history)
* Remove click tracking
* Add links from Google to your bookmark manager
* Use a fixed font for Gmail mail bodies

Makes using Google a lot more user friendly.

Ken, Hosts file will not block the adds. Which browser are you using. Depending on how the adds are being added to the webpage, your browser may be unable to download them.

I don't see them either, and I'm not going to try to change the condition either. I hate ads, and all that goes with them, though I can understand why Doug may feel he has to go down that particular road.

[chrishoggy]

The bottom banner isn't that intrusive, but the side one does look out of place. It also side shifts the layout of the forum/site.
If this is an experiment for funding retouchpro, may I offer an alternative. Code a paypal donate button in to the forum, so it shows at the bottom of each post (Next to Quote button). Add to this a message such as "If you found this post useful, please donate to RetouchPro"
Then when someone is helped on here, they can repay that help with a donation. I know Flora has a donate link in her sig, but if this was on every post, it may just generate the income the site needs.
To me the Google commercial ads have thrown the NONE-COMMERCIAL image of retouchPro to the side

[Doug Nelson]

Sorry to shatter any illusions, but I never intended RP to be non-commercial. I didn't start RP to be a cozy little cul-de-sac on the internet. It's remained a hobby solely because all the donations and Amazon links don't even provide maintenance expenses, let alone a war-chest to hire programmers to build and maintain the 99% of the site that's still in my imagination.

Granted, I never intended to go the advertising route, but passing around a bigger hat or more hats leaves me feeling like a beggar (and an ungreatful beggar when I have to confess that the donations aren't enough) and the ads don't.

[Gary Richardson]

I don't think you've shattered any illusions for me Doug, the site needs funds, and you feel that this is the best way to acquire them.

Currently I don't see them, and as long as I can continue to filter them out, I don't care a jot whether you have them or not.

[chrishoggy]

Details from Doug Nelson

retouchpro
RetouchPRO is non-commercial, and relies on the generosity of our users to exist. Please give what you can to support our on-going maintenance and to fund our future growth. So far contributions from users just like you have enabled our forum software upgrade, our new Gallery, our links database, and even the server space we exist on. There are many more good things on the horizon, but only with your financial support. We have no user-fees or membership charges, but please give what you can, even if it's only a dollar or two. Just ask yourself what the services and community offered by RetouchPRO are worth to you. Without your vital support, there IS no RetouchPRO. (If you'd rather use PayPal, our PayPal email address is paypal@retouchpro.com and if you'd rather use snailmail email me at dnelson@retouchpro.com and I'll send an address to mail it to)

Thats what I read, and the reason I assumed you stood by the none-commercial ideal. I don't think that handing the (hat) paypal donate button round would make you look like you were begging. It just gives the NEW and old users a quick, clear and easy way to support the site. Fact is without Flora's signature link, I would not have even known where to donate. The Donations in the drop down menu doesn't seem to work? You get forwarded to the Amazon home page ???

May be a contest where a $1 donation is required to enter, could boost funds?