Ad.doubleclick.net and cj.dotomi.com

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judway

judway

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Joined
Mar 9, 2005
Posts
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West Melbourne, FL
I am getting Ad.doubleclick.net and cj.dotomi.com redirection sites and it is causing problems. I have used the free versions of:  CCleaner, SuperAnti Spyware and Malwarebytes Anti-malware without success in removing the problem. Any clues for an easy way to remove the bastards?
 
Those programs won't help, you need to block those sites in the browser.  There are numerous such addons for the various browsers that will block those sites automatically.  The specific addons depend on which browser you're using.
 
I like to use a Hosts file.  Windows looks up a URL in it's internal Hosts file before checking an external DNS server, if it finds the URL in Hosts it uses the address listed there instead of looking elsewhere.

So you just list the domains you want to block and when your browser is instructed to go to one of those domains, it just loops back into your own machine.  This blocks the unwanted connections from ever occuring.

A popular Hosts file compilation and instructions for using it is at mvps.org.  It involves replacing the Hosts file on your machine with the one you download from the site.  I've been using their list for several years now and it takes care of at least 90 - 95% of the unwanted junk.
 
Ned

I am using the latest version of Firefox. What is the specific addon that I should use. Thanks.

Lou

I will look into what you use. I previously came across the stuff in a search. Thanks.
 
Wayne, AdBlock Plus is the most popular ad blocker.  Go to the Mozilla addons site and search on adblock and you'll see the addon and some useful extensions to it.  I also recommend NoScript to block scripting that is a much bigger security risk than the ads.
 
One thing you can do but it carries some danger

Search your hard drive for a file called HOSTS

Now I just searched and found HOSTS.TXT but as I recall the file name is just hosts, NO extnsion.

Part of the file may look like this...

# localhost name resolution is handled within DNS itself.
# 127.0.0.1      localhost
# 127.0.0.1      pub.sponsorselect.com
        127.0.0.1      fastdailyfind.com
        127.0.0.1      paid.outbrain.com
        127.0.0.1      nym1.ib.adnxs.com

Any attempt to acces,, for example... paid.outbrain.com/anything at all

Will return a 404,page not found error.

The danger...Sometimes some webpages just flat out INSIST you view the stupid ad.double.ick

 
This free programs works well.
I have used it on two different machines with success.

http://adwcleaner-download.com/
 
Now I just searched and found HOSTS.TXT but as I recall the file name is just hosts, NO extnsion.
Click to expand...

You are correct. The hosts.txt file is usually included in any Windows installation as an example . The 'real' Hosts file used by Windows does not have an extension. The first active line is the local hosts line (an active line is one without the # sign at the beginning).

My current one looks like this (cooked up by me for my own needs). (As some IP addresses change from time to time, I have to remember to check here first when things go wrong in my mail client!!)

# C:\Windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts
127.0.0.1  localhost
127.0.0.1  PopFile_BPG
127.0.0.1  PopFile_Stu
#  pophm.sympatico.ca as of Oct 27 2014
65.55.162.206  jssmith
65.55.162.206  Simon
65.55.162.206 smith.stuart
65.55.162.206  June
65.55.162.206  BPG3
# pop.gmail.com, 09Oct09
173.194.73.109 Alfa38Gmail
173.194.73.109 SimonGmail
#  smtphm.sympatico.ca as of jul 28 2014
65.55.176.125  SympaticoMailOut
 
Then to follow Stu's example, any host you want to block (ad.doubleclick.net, popups, etc.) is given the Local Host address (127.0.0.1) or 0.0.0.0.  This stops Windows from getting it's address from an external DNS server and blocks your browser from communicating with it.

That's what the MVPS Hosts file does - it's just a text listing of all the known bad guys in the Hosts file format.  If you're using a positive Hosts file like Stu's example, just append the new data to the end of it.  Or use the MVPS file as a direct HOSTS replacement.
 
The main problem in using a host file for ad blocking is that the domain names (eg ad.doubleclick.net) of these guys change often (just to frustrate us, I am sure), so you are forever updating the hosts file. The best way is to use an ad blocker (like AdBlock plus for Firefox). If you need to, you can block certain domain variations using a wild card (*). For example: ad*.net Anything with 'ad' and '.net' in it  will be blocked.
 
I've been pretty happy with the Ghostery extension. I use Firefox, but I gather it works with other browsers too.  Here's a 3rd party site that compares various blockers:
http://www.areweprivateyet.com/
 
All of you using ad blockers should read the latest edition (#505) of Security Now! by Leo LaPorte and Steve Gibson.  Start on page 14 of the PDF transcript.  It makes a good argument for not blocking ads.  Personally, I stopped doing so a couple of years ago when I realized that those ads were allowing me access to many beneficial web sites for nothing, just the price of having a few innocuous ads on the pages.  Without those ads, many of the better web sites will eventually either disappear or become subscription only.  Follow your conscious, I did.
 
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