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Author Topic: You've Been Flashed  (Read 2963 times)

rockchucker

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You've Been Flashed
« on: April 17, 2005, 10:58:47 am »
I don't have a flash plugin enabled. And I never have, except for a couple months ago, I downloaded and installed it because something had me curious enough, but then I turned it off.

So when I heard about the flash player problem Claire just mentioned, I just sort of snickered. But then I've been commenting on abuses of advanced web technology for several years.

Want to get rid of the flash plugin? It's pretty easy. At least under Linux. Just go to the /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins directory and remove libflashplayer.so and flashplayer.xpt. Depending on verions and maybe there's some other players for flash and/or shockwave things, you might look for something like libshockwave or files resembling that name.

I don't know how useful the Flashblock extension for Mozilla and Firefox would be here. But I know I've seen a reference someplace to a preference in Firefox for disallowing persistent objects. Don't remember if that's in a patch, or the latest release. I thought I saw it on Slashdot, but I can't find it there.
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Astra

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You've Been Flashed
« Reply #1 on: April 17, 2005, 06:03:58 pm »
I kill anything I don't like with the Adblock Firefox extension. I've thought about installing Flashblock to go along with it, but haven't needed it so far.
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danhei

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You've Been Flashed
« Reply #2 on: April 17, 2005, 06:38:54 pm »
I use the Flashblock extension with Mozilla's Firefox.  What it does is replace flash objects with a little script F.  You can then click the F to load the object.  I only do this when I want to specifically view Flash content. Otherwise, all ads are blocked.  Using Firefox with Flashblock and Adblock greatly improve web surfing.  I was at the library the other day with Internet Explorer and it was just awful.  Popups, popunders, flash ads, animations, etc.  I can't see how people use the web that way.

Y'all have probably been hearing about Firefox for awhile.  So go download it if you haven't and install the above extensions.
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danhei

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You've Been Flashed
« Reply #3 on: April 17, 2005, 06:40:01 pm »
Here is Flashblock:  http://flashblock.mozdev.org/

Adblock was linked to in Astra's post.  This site has Adblock files already made to use:  http://www.geocities.com/pierceive/adblock/
Read the insructions and then scroll down and install the latest file, 2005-04-17a.txt as of this post.
« Last Edit: April 17, 2005, 06:43:22 pm by danhei »
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Roy J. Tellason

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You've Been Flashed
« Reply #4 on: April 18, 2005, 10:11:23 am »
I've not yet seen any good reason to install the flash plug-in in the first place,  based on what people I've talked to have told me...

Some web sites give me a notice popping up that I need to install additional plug-ins to view all media the page wants to give me,  but I usually dismiss that and don't worry about it.  It hasn't been detrimental to my use of the page,  as far as I've been able to tell.

What's to be gained by the use of this stuff,  anyhow?  Nothing as far as I can see...

<shrug>
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Claire

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You've Been Flashed
« Reply #5 on: April 18, 2005, 10:56:23 am »
Quote
What's to be gained by the use of this stuff,  anyhow?  Nothing as far as I can see...
 
Well, it's true that Flash is used for a lot of (increasingly annoying types of) ads. And a lot of time-wasting site intros (by designers more into their own cleverness than into delivering the goods). And now a whole bunch more &^%$##@! tracking.

But it's also the heart of great, entertaining animation sites like

JibJab

Mark Fiore political cartoons

and

Atom Films

Don't make me give up my Flash animation!!!!!

Thanks to danhei's recommendation, I installed Flashblock for Firefox. Seems to work just fine -- and doesn't even care whether you're on a Linux or a Windows system!

Also used Astra's link to install Adblock (even though I already had ad blocking checked in Firefox Preferences). Seems to be a useful extension. Blocks ads more effectively and gives some flexibility about what to block and what to allow. Ditto, Adblock didn't care whether I was on Linux or Windows; it just worked.

Thanks, guys.
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danhei

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You've Been Flashed
« Reply #6 on: April 18, 2005, 11:01:23 am »
Having Flash installed let's you view some web content.  I specifically like it to watch cartoons.  But don't install it if you don't think you're missing much.

Using Adblock to block the flash works but you still have it load up the object one time before you kill it.  Flashblock stops any flash from loading unless you specifically click on the script F.  There is one downside to this:  some sites use alot of flash even for things like menus and navigating is more time-consuming.  But I usually just don't visit those sites because I think flash menus are poor design.
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danhei

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You've Been Flashed
« Reply #7 on: April 18, 2005, 11:04:04 am »
Claire beat me to a reply!

I'm glad you like Flashblock.  You might also want to try that site I linked to for Adblock files.  Each new file is comprehensive so you only need that one.  It really makes surfing nice because other people already figured out the ads to block for you!
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RagnarDanneskjold

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You've Been Flashed
« Reply #8 on: April 18, 2005, 10:53:42 pm »
OK, with all the talk of ads and flashing, I have wondered about something for a while. When I am at work and using a newly setup pc, when I go to Claire's Home Page, the system always wants to  install Quicktime. What is it on her home page that requires Quicktime? Why does it just go to automatically install as soon as you go to her home page?
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rockchucker

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You've Been Flashed
« Reply #9 on: April 18, 2005, 11:42:42 pm »
Quote
OK, with all the talk of ads and flashing, I have wondered about something for a while. When I am at work and using a newly setup pc, when I go to Claire's Home Page, the system always wants to  install Quicktime. What is it on her home page that requires Quicktime? Why does it just go to automatically install as soon as you go to her home page?
There's a script tag which loads a JavaScript from JellyCounter. I'm not much for reading JavaScript, but there's a reference in the script to QuickTime. (And Flash too.)

Beats me why a visitor counter would need QuickTime, but there it is.
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... it is poor civic hygiene to install technologies that could someday
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Claire

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You've Been Flashed
« Reply #10 on: April 19, 2005, 06:21:02 am »
Quote
OK, with all the talk of ads and flashing, I have wondered about something for a while. When I am at work and using a newly setup pc, when I go to Claire's Home Page, the system always wants to  install Quicktime. What is it on her home page that requires Quicktime? Why does it just go to automatically install as soon as you go to her home page?
Well, that's weird. I've never seen anything like that or had anybody mention it to me. You must be a patient fella, Ragnar. If I went regularly to somebody's site & that site kept insisting I install Quicktime, I'd be a very unhappy camper.

I'll ask Debra to look into it.

Thanks, rockchucker, for tracing the weirdness to the jellycounter. But somehow, that just makes it even weirder.
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Just as the flattery of friends often leads us astray, so the insults of enemies often do us good. -- St. Augustine, Confessions, Book IX, Chapter 8


When faith ceases to be a challenge to the standards of polite society, it is no longer, or has not yet become, faith. -- Donald Spoto, Reluctant Saint:  The Life of Francis of Assisi


My life is my message. -- Gandhi
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