advertisements on major websites not displayed

[Dan]

When I go into websites such as www.pcworld.com or www.news.com.au the
advertisements the other frame on the same website are not displayed
and display the error message "The page cannot be displayed
The page you are looking for is currently unavailable. The Web site
might be experiencing technical difficulties, or you may need to
adjust your browser settings........"

I have recently installed SP2 and I tried turning off the pop up
blocker to see if it makes a difference, but it doesn't.

Does anyone know the solution to this?

Thanks.

 

[Raymond]

Is your security setting on Medium? Then again,
it could just be a temporary problem with the
sites that load in those frames, which is actually
more likely given that error message. If so it should
clear by itself.

 

[Dan]

Yes its set to Medium. Cannot change it to Medium-Low or Low as SP2
doesn't let me do that.

 

[Raymond]

Medium should be fine, no need to lower it.
Have you tried CTRL+F5, for hard refresh?
Are you running any strict firewall rules ?

Also check your Hosts file for any lines
that don't begin with "#" and not using
"localhost".

 

[Dan]

CTRL+F5 doesn't do any difference. The firewall rules are the default
ones that SP2 installed.

What do you mean about the hosts file and where should I look for it?

 

[Jan Il]

Hi Dan

You might try the following and see if it helps:

To download Java VM for XP:

Download the Microsoft Java VM for Windows XP here
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com

Problems accessing secure sites/ cannot install 128 bit encryption
http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/answers2.htm#secure_sites

On your desktop right click the Internet Explorer Icon
then:

1 Click on the advanced tab at the top
2 Scroll down to Java
3 If you have Java Sun listed---Check that box
4 Under Microsoft VM check off the 3 boxes

and..........

Script Debugging Problem

Open IE
Tools | Advanced
Under Browings:
Disable Script Debugging - Check it
Display a notification about every script error - Uncheck it
Apply
OK

If these steps do not resolve your problem, please post back to this thread
with the details and any error messages.

Hope this helps

Jan
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that's why they're so contagious.

Please reply to the newsgroup so others may benefit.
Replies are posted only to the newsgroup for the benefit or other readers.

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[Dan]

Tried everything below.

The error reads the same as before which is:


The page cannot be displayed
The page you are looking for is currently unavailable. The Web site
might be experiencing technical difficulties, or you may need to
adjust your browser settings.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please try the following:

Click the Refresh button, or try again later.

If you typed the page address in the Address bar, make sure that it is
spelled correctly.

To check your connection settings, click the Tools menu, and then
click Internet Options. On the Connections tab, click Settings. The
settings should match those provided by your local area network (LAN)
administrator or Internet service provider (ISP).
See if your Internet connection settings are being detected. You can
set Microsoft Windows to examine your network and automatically
discover network connection settings (if your network administrator
has enabled this setting).
Click the Tools menu, and then click Internet Options.
On the Connections tab, click LAN Settings.
Select Automatically detect settings, and then click OK.
Some sites require 128-bit connection security. Click the Help menu
and then click About Internet Explorer to determine what strength
security you have installed.
If you are trying to reach a secure site, make sure your Security
settings can support it. Click the Tools menu, and then click Internet
Options. On the Advanced tab, scroll to the Security section and check
settings for SSL 2.0, SSL 3.0, TLS 1.0, PCT 1.0.
Click the Back button to try another link.



Cannot find server or DNS Error
Internet Explorer


Does that help?

 

[Raymond]

The Hosts file is in:
%windir%\system32\drivers\etc
you need to open it with notepad.
Here I'm assuming it's Win2k or
WinXP.

Also try running:
ipconfig /flushdns

 

[Dan]

Yes it was the hosts file that was causing the problem. I copied the
hosts.bak to the original hosts file and it seemed to have cleared up
the problem as the ads work now. I don't know how the hosts file had
so many entries listed with IP of 127.0.0.1 and was blocking a lot of
adservers. I am not sure how Windows XP did it?

 

[Jan Il]

Hi Dan

Yes it was the hosts file that was causing the problem. I copied the
hosts.bak to the original hosts file and it seemed to have cleared up
the problem as the ads work now. I don't know how the hosts file had
so many entries listed with IP of 127.0.0.1 and was blocking a lot of
adservers. I am not sure how Windows XP did it?

Glad to hear you were able to get your problem resolved. Good job!

Thank you for posting back and letting us know what worked for you, and for
the benefit of other readers who may have a similar problem.

Jan
Smiles are meant to be shared,
that's why they're so contagious.

Please reply to the newsgroup so others may benefit.
Replies are posted only to the newsgroup for the benefit or other readers.

How to make a good newsgroup post:
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[Raymond]

That's very suspecious. I would run a virus scan
and check for spyware. I don't think XP is doing
that. Check whether you have any other legitimate
ad blocking software running that might do this. I've
never heard of XP doing this by itself.

 

[Dan]

I have Spy Sweeper installed and could it be doing that adding
blocking ads by adding them to the hosts file?

Is it important to have ads blocked or not?

 

[Raymond]

I have Spy Sweeper installed and could it be doing that adding
blocking ads by adding them to the hosts file?

I wish you had told us that before.

You can check that by re-enabling the Hosts
file, deleting the non-127.0.0.1 entries there,
then navigate to those sites, and see if it they are
added back. Then do the same with Spy Spweeper
disabled. If they're not added back again, then you
can be fairly sure it's Spy Sweeper that's doing it,
which's probably the case The Hosts file is sometimes
used as a means of defense, though it could also be
used for malevolent ends. Since they all had 127.0.0.1,
I wouldn't be too worried, it's probably Spy Sweeper
causing this.

Is it important to have ads blocked or not?

That's up to you.

 

[Raymond]

I wish you had told us that before.

You can check that by re-enabling the Hosts
file, deleting the non-127.0.0.1 entries there,

Sorry, I meant delete the non-localhost ones.