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Dan Albrich
Microcomputer Network Specialist
dalbrich@oregon.uoregon.edu
You may have seen recent TV advertisements for Internet providers that block popup ads. There are also companies that sell software expressly for this purpose. What you may not realize is that much of this convenience can be had for free.
Enter Mozilla, a browser alternative with better customization control than Internet Explorer. You can install Mozilla in addition to your current browser, which allows you to try it out without losing the browser you currently use. To install Mozilla, you need either Duckware 2002, (available from the Microcomputer Services Help Desk in 151 McKenzie) or an Internet connection. See http://www.mozilla.org/ to download the software. Mozilla versions exist for Macintosh, Windows, and Linux operating systems.
Mozilla has several configurable options that enable you to control the content you receive. However, it's possible—even easy—to accidentally block content you actually want. If you cannot view some desired content after introducing these controls, then undo that change. You may also adopt a "two browser strategy," in which one browser setting is more restrictive than the other. The following suggested customizations can help to eliminate blinking and animation:
Customization #1:
While browsing a page with a blinking image,
right-click (or control-click, if you're using Mac OS with a single-button
mouse) on that image, and select "Block Images from this Server."
Effect: All images sent from that server are now blocked. (Note that some links are themselves images, so you may need to experiment to see if your blocks have the desired effect while still enabling you to navigate the site.)
How to Undo: Select Tools-> Image Manager-> Manage Image Permissions. Select the site, then select "Remove Site" to re-enable it.
Notes:
Customization #2:
Select Edit -> Preferences -> Privacy and Security -> Images
-> Animated images should loop -> "Once"
Effect: GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) files can be easily animated, and are commonly used for advertising. This enables the animation to play only once. After that, it will not continue playing.
How to Undo: Change the "Never" selection back to its default "As many times as the image specifies."
Customization #3:
Select Edit -> Preferences -> Advanced -> Scripts and Plugins ->
Uncheck the following:
Effect: Blocks most popup ads and other annoyances
How to Undo: Re-check the boxes listed above.
The following customizations are recommended only for folks who really want to block ads, at the expense of not being able to view some websites at all.
Customization #4:
Uninstall Macromedia Flash.
Go to http://www.macromedia.com/support/flash/ts/documents/remove_player.htm
Effect: This change blocks Macromedia animation that is popular both with content producers and advertisers.
How to Undo: Flash is easy to reinstall if you decide you do not want this change. The Macromedia URL cited above has instructions for both uninstalling and reinstalling Flash.
Customization #5:
Edit -> Preferences -> Privacy and
Security -> Images -> "Do not load any images"
Effect: Turns off images completely. This change is one of the most severe, but can greatly speed text browsing, especially over slow links. It's unlikely that most users will be able to use a browser exclusively with images off, although they might be able to get by with this option for some websites and use an alternate browser for the others. You can do this in most browsers.
How to Undo: Reselect "Accept all images."
Note: A less severe version of this one is to block images that are not from the originating server. You might experiment with these options to find the ones that suit you best.
Mozilla supports "tabbed browsing." This is similar to opening a new window in other browsers. When you select "File" followed by "Open Web Location," you'll see three options displayed in a drop-down menu.
These options include the familiar choice to open the page either in the current window or in a new window, plus the option of opening a "new navigator tab." The navigator tab option loads multiple virtual pages in the same frame, with tabbed labels at the top. When you click on a label, that page is displayed. In addition, you can bookmark a series of tabs as one entry and open the series from one bookmark.
You can also change the way Mozilla looks through the use of themes. In fact, there's even a theme that makes Mozilla look like Internet Explorer if you wish. These and other advanced customizations are available from http://themes.mozdev.org and http://www.mozdev.org/
Mozilla is just one browser based on the "Gecko" engine, the engine behind multiple new browser options. Others include Phoenix, which offers the ability to selectively block popups (instead of always turning them off), and "Chimera" for Mac OS X.
See http://www.mozilla.org/ for more information.