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| IE-SPYAD
IE-SPYAD is a Registry file (IE-ADS.REG) that adds a long list of known advertisers, marketers, and crapware pushers to the Restricted sites zone of Internet Explorer. Once IE-ADS.REG is "merged" into your Registry, most direct marketers and crapware pushers will not be able to resort to their usual "tricks" (e.g., cookies, scripts, popups, et al) in order to monitor and track your behavior while you surf the Net. Please note that by adding domains and servers to Restricted sites zone of Internet Explorer, IE-ADS.REG cannot cause Internet Explorer to start blocking ads. You will still see the ads. The Restricted sites zone merely imposes limits on the types of things that those domains and servers can do with your web browser. For example, IE-SPYAD will: * STOP OBNOXIOUS WEB SITES FROM INSTALLING CRAPWARE behind your back via * PREVENT THE USE OF ACTIVEX, JAVA, AND SCRIPTING, all of which are active * BLOCK THE COOKIES TYPICALLY ATTACHED TO BANNER ADS and which are used to * REDUCE THE NUMBER OF OBNOXIOUS SCRIPT-BASED POPUPS that clutter your This Restricted sites list is based in part on info from: 1. the latest databases for SpyBot Search & Destroy 2. discussions in the SpywareInfo Forums 3. other crapware reference Sites:
Briefly, the Restricted sites zone in Internet Explorer contains a list of sites that must follow very strict rules of behavior when you surf to them with Internet Explorer (Netscape Navigator/Communicator does not use the Restricted sites zone). You can specify the sites that are put into the Restricted sites zone as well as the policies those sites must follow. By setting the policies for the Restricted sites zone to a very high level of security, we can ensure that any web sites added to the Restricted sites zone cannot do certain things which could compromise your privacy and security -- e.g., place "cookies" on your hard drive; use Java, Active-X, or scripting; install programs behind your back, etc., etc. The Restricted sites zone allows you to set policies to govern the use of browser technologies and features which can be used by web sites to threaten your security and privacy. These threats include such things as: * ActiveX controls If you followed the instructions in this ReadMe to install IE-ADS.REG, then you: 1. added a long list of known ad/spy servers to the Restricted sites zone By adding all those ad/spy servers to the Restricted sites zone, you have prevented them from engaging in all sorts of nasty behavior when you visit web sites that may use those servers to present banner advertisements. In short, the Restricted sites zone protects your privacy with advertisers by placing your browser on a "short leash" whenever it communicates with those ad/spy servers. How can I tell if IE-SPYAD is working? When you visit web sites, look in the bottom right hand corner of Internet Explorer, where you will see a small icon telling you which Security zone ("Internet," "Trusted," "Restricted") applies to that site. Try pointing your browser to this web site: If the Restricted sites zone of Internet Explorer is doing its thing (using the information from IE-ADS.REG), then you should see a red icon in the bottom right hand corner of Internet Explorer indicating that doubleclick.com falls in the Restricted sites zone. Occasionally, you will hit sites which fall solely in the Restricted sites zone, as in our example above. More often, though, you'll simply see a "Mixed" zone. If you visit a page which uses banner advertisements served up by one of the ad servers in the Restricted sites zone, you will likely see the icon in the bottom right hand corner of Internet Explorer turn to a "Mixed" zone, meaning that most of the page belongs to one zone (probably the Internet zone), but that the site is drawing some information (banner ads) from one or more of the ad servers in the Restricted sites zone. I'm still seeing ads on web pages. Why isn't it working?
Once you add IE-SPYAD's list of sites and domains to your Restricted sites zone, you may start receiving pop-up notifications from Internet Explorer when you visit certain web sites, even though the web site itself isn't in your Restricted sites zone. That notification usually reads: "Your current security settings prohibit ActiveX controls on this page. These notifications are related to IE-SPYAD's additions to your Restricted sites zone. That may not be immediately apparent if the main web site you're visiting doesn't fall in the Restricted sites zone. Here's what's happening: many web sites and web pages are built from content that's drawn from several different sources. Those sources may include not only the web site or page that you're visiting, but third-party advertisers. If you access a web page that's using content drawn from an advertiser or crapware pusher that's in the Restricted sites zone, then Internet Explorer will classify that content (but not necessarily the entire web page) as falling within the Restricted sites zone. That's why you'll sometimes see Internet Explorer labeling a page as "Mixed," instead of "Internet" or "Trusted" or "Restricted." A "Mixed" zone web page is drawing content from mutliple sources that fall within different zones. The "error" that you're seeing isn't really an "error" -- it's simply Internet Explorer's way of telling you that some element of the web page attempted to use ActiveX controls but couldn't because the content source fell within the Restricted sites zone. You'll see that while using IE-SPYAD. It doesn't necessarily indicate a problem; in fact, it really indicates that IE-SPYAD is doing it's job. Unfortunately, there's no way to turn that warning off without changing the settings for ActiveX controls in the Restricted sites zone. If that third-party content is absolutely essential for the web page you're viewing, there are ways to identify which entry in IE-SPYAD is causing the problem. See the "How can I tell which entry is causing a problem with a web site?" question below for more information. How can I see which domains or servers have been added to the Restricted sites zone? There are two ways to view the list of servers or domains which IE-ADS.REG puts in the Restricted sites zone. First, you can view the list of sites BEFORE installing IE-ADS.REG by opening IE-ADS.REG in a simple text editor like Notepad. .REG files are, in reality, merely text files formatted for use by REGEDIT.EXE, a utility which edits and manages the Windows Registry (which is itself a vast storehouse of information about your Windows configuration). To open IE-ADS.REG in Notepad, simply right-click on the file and select "Edit" from the context menu that pops up. You can enable or disable domains in this .REG file by editing the entries. For more info on editing and customizing IE-ADS.REG, please see the question below, "How can I customize IE-ADS.REG?" Second, you can view the list of domains and servers after they have been added to the Restricted sites zone. In other words, you can see what domains and servers are actually in the Restricted sites zone at any one time. To do so: 1. Open "View" or Tools," then "Internet Options," You can remove domains or servers from this "Sites" list. For more info on removing sites from the Restricted sites zone "Sites" list, see the next question, "Now that I've installed..."
Some web sites might require your browser to "play nice" with a server from a domain that has been placed in the Restricted sites zone. For example, a web site might complain that it can't place a "cookie" on you hard drive, or that it can't use Java, and that it needs to do one of these things in order for the page to work. Perhaps you try to launch a streaming audio file by clicking on a link, and the link doesn't appear to work. If you trust the web site, you can try removing the offending domain entry from the Restricted sites zone: 1. Identify which domain (e.g., cnn.com or Note that web pages can draw content from Note that you might have to pay very close attention to the web page to figure out which domain is being restricted. |
