It wouldn't be so bad if it was only the banners and pop-ups, but the small gifs (buttons and folder pixs) are on the ad server too, so basically the whole site doesn't display right anymore...

Look like I'm not the only one, either. From the Smallville thread in TV Talk...

I'm running SP2 now, and other possible factors could include Spybot S&D, Google Toolbar and ZoneAlarm. None of them have ads.kleinman.com specifically mentioned or disabled. Nor am I aware of any "turn off all banner ads" options in anything I've run...

Got this response in the tech forum Haven't checked the host file--and would need coaching--but none of the other options apply. This isn't the *only* site I'm having the issue with... Maybe a quarter of the banner ads I might normally see are being blocked. This is the only site whose general layout is affected.

I would suspect SP2 is the culprit if it's a recent change. I know the QA guys at work have been messing around with it to make sure it doesn't cause our clients any headaches when they upgrade, and they mentioned some new ad-blocking stuff. I'm a 2000 guy, though, so I can't really point you in the right direction; however, I'm sure someone else here can.

das

Aren't there a *lot* of people here on SP2 by now?

The problem *is* recent, but I've been changing my system enough lately that I can't confirm the timing. I'm hoping it's something I can fix, which might not be the case if it's SP2...

My windows firewall is completely turned off, as is the new "security tray" monitor. Using ZoneAlarm and Norton SystemWorks/AV 2002.

You mention ads.kleinman.com specifically. Have you checked for more generic variations, ads.* and such?

das

I can confirm that there's no *listed* blocking of "ads.*" in anything I'm running on my own, but that may be what's happening...

Do you see the following image, out of curiosity?

I'll get back with you tonight when I'm (briefly) on my home machine...

Yes, that comes through just fine. Do you have a clue?

The host name isn't resolving, or at least it isn't resolving correctly.

The URL to that image is normally http://ads.kleinman.com/ads/hkflix/blowout_728x90.jpg , but I replaced the host name with the IP address -- http://66.7.164.231/ads/hkflix/blowout_728x90.jpg

I'm not sure what would cause it to do that (an entry in the HOSTS file, perhaps?), but maybe knowing that it's at least somewhat DNS-related can push you in the direction towards a solution.

If you drop to a command prompt and type "nslookup ads.kleinman.com", what do you see?

I see:

Server: ns3.dock.net (My ISP)
Address: 206.xx.xx.xx (my IP?)

Non-authoritative answer:
Name: ads.kleinman.com
Address: 66.7.164.231


So it's resolving at the cmd spawn, at least partially... I'm going to try looking at the hosts file... (I haven't opened it directly for years, so I'll have to google some research first...)

Yep. There was an entry in the hosts file like:

127.0.0.1 ads.kleinman.com

as well as maybe a couple hundred other ad servers.

After deleting that line and resaving, everything is back to normal.

I don't even know what program put them there... Dated 8/21/04... But I guess I'll leave the other blocked servers in place and only re-allow them as needed... Weird...

Thanks for the help, Adam and das...

I think SpyBot 1.3 has an option to add the entries to the Hosts file.