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By
Hans Nyberg
AdSubtract is a great addition to any Internet-connected
computer. Put out by interMute, AdSubtract does exactly
what its name implies: subtracts ads. By not downloading
the ads, everything else will load faster. And especially
on a dial-up modem, you can notice the difference. The Standard
Edition is free for noncommercial use. AdSubtract works
by forcing most Internet activity to go through it. By doing
this,
AdSubtract can check the Web pages for ads and eliminate
them. There is a database that the people at interMute are
constantly updating with new "formulas" for the ads.
These formulas, or, as AdSubtract calls them, tokens, identify
ads and lets the program prevent them from being shown.
The tokens are stored in a database within AdSubtract. A
new database with more tokens is released frequently, and
will update the database on your computer in a few seconds.
There is also a link on the "Updates" tab that lets you
report ads that are displayed. These ads are then included
in future database updates. Of course, AdSubtract eliminates
ads. But it also eliminates cookies. Cookies are small text
files that some Web sites put on your computer.
Some cookies are useful, such as those on weather sites,
so you don't have to type in your Zip code every time. You
will instead be taken right to your local weather. In fact,
the Green Bay News-Chronicle's Web site, www.gogreenbay.com,
has a cookie with its forums so you can tell which messages
you have read and which ones are new. Cookies are also used
with log-ins that say something like "Remember my username
and password."
But a number of cookies are not used for good things. Cookies
are used for tracking usage of Web sites and tracking what
you search for. It's not the best thought, when you realize
companies could be keeping records of things you do online.
Those people concerned with privacy should disable all cookies.
There are, though, sites that don't let you use them unless
you enable cookies. This is where you use the customized
list. In AdSubtract, the "Filters" tab allows you to either
allow or not allow cookies and ads for all web sites. You
then can make a list of exceptions. For example, you could
allow cookies from www.gogreenbay.com, while on all other
sites cookies are rejected. Another way to use a site that
requires cookies is to temporarily disable all filtering.
By left-clicking once (or right clicking, opening the menu)
on the yellow, circular icon in the system tray next to
the clock (figure 1), you can enable or disable the filtering
for everything. Just remember to turn the filtering back
on, or you'll be accepting cookies and getting ads.
AdSubtract eliminates most ads, most noticeably the flashing
ones, and gives you controls over the cookies. And possibly
best of all, it speeds up your surfing.
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