Adblock can't block floating Flash

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 5:11 pm

It appears Adblock can't block floating Flash.

For example, go to http://bbs.macd.cn/index.php

There is a floating Flash which doesn't show the "Block" tab at all. I had a hard time finding where it is located, even in the source code (I searched for "swf" but I can't find that floating Flash)

There are some websites which use the same technique too. It's annoying.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 5:49 pm

It would be great if you could fix that and add the block tab to these types of floating Flash ads too.

Wladimir Palant · Post by **Wladimir Palant** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 7:22 pm

This Flash object is "http://219.232.239.208/match/test/CTPEGC_flash.swf", you can see it in the list of blockable elements - and yes, Adblock Plus sometimes has trouble displaying object tabs for moving objects.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 9:56 pm

Wladimir Palant wrote:This Flash object is "http://219.232.239.208/match/test/CTPEGC_flash.swf", you can see it in the list of blockable elements - and yes, Adblock Plus sometimes has trouble displaying object tabs for moving objects.

Thank you for quick response.

Do you think you can fix that?

I usually want to block the placeholder or frame instead of the ad because the site may host different external ads over time. However that part of source is not available when I view the source code. If I can view its source, I may be able to block it by CSS which will be a better solution.

Do you have any idea how to read the source code of that floating Flash?

Wladimir Palant · Post by **Wladimir Palant** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 10:08 pm

Why do you want to look at the source code? Take a look at http://adblockplus.org/en/faq_basics#objects (second animation) - that's how I would block this object.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Sep 15, 2007 5:27 am

Wladimir Palant wrote:Why do you want to look at the source code? Take a look at http://adblockplus.org/en/faq_basics#objects (second animation) - that's how I would block this object.

It is because some sites become trickier.

They no longer use ad/ads/banner to name their ads.
They keep changing the locations so it would not be feasible to block them efficiently.
The flash/java object is subject to change. It may host different external ads once in a while. You can't use wildcards to block them. It is "http://219.232.239.208/match/test/CTPEGC_flash.swf" this time. Next time it may be:
"http://219.232.239.208/same/do/xvcfd.swf" or "http://220.200.57.150/new/cqiod.swf"

Yours suggestion works but only for short time. But Adblock can't handle this kind of situation well. The filter either works for short time, or you are forced to apply a too generic filter which blocks more than you want.

Adblock is not enough. That's why CSS and script may come into handy.

Although the ads keep changing, the location which place the ads won't change. They use the same element/placeholder/frame to hold the ads.

Instead of targeting the ads, I target the element/placeholder/frame. No matter how the ads are changed (even they changed folders or have ever-changing external ads), it doesn't matter. It's because the whole element which place the ads are blocked, so I won't be able to see it.

That's why I need to view the source code and find out the codes which holds the ads, so I can block the entire placeholder.

If you have any idea how to read that part of source code, please tell me. Thank you.

Aserone · Post by **Aserone** » Sun Sep 16, 2007 7:27 pm

Guest wrote:Although the ads keep changing, the location which place the ads won't change. They use the same element/placeholder/frame to hold the ads.

Instead of targeting the ads, I target the element/placeholder/frame. No matter how the ads are changed (even they changed folders or have ever-changing external ads), it doesn't matter. It's because the whole element which place the ads are blocked, so I won't be able to see it.

That's why I need to view the source code and find out the codes which holds the ads, so I can block the entire placeholder.

If you have any idea how to read that part of source code, please tell me. Thank you.

Well, what I use is the DOMi and EHH. Have I misunderstood this or you want to use "Element Hiding"? With EHH it's extremely easy to do, without looking at the source directly.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Sep 16, 2007 10:32 pm

Aserone wrote:
Guest wrote:Although the ads keep changing, the location which place the ads won't change. They use the same element/placeholder/frame to hold the ads.

Instead of targeting the ads, I target the element/placeholder/frame. No matter how the ads are changed (even they changed folders or have ever-changing external ads), it doesn't matter. It's because the whole element which place the ads are blocked, so I won't be able to see it.

That's why I need to view the source code and find out the codes which holds the ads, so I can block the entire placeholder.

If you have any idea how to read that part of source code, please tell me. Thank you.
Well, what I use is the DOMi and EHH. Have I misunderstood this or you want to use "Element Hiding"? With EHH it's extremely easy to do, without looking at the source directly.

You may try it yourself and you will see what I mean.

It is interesting to find out that neither works, that is you can't use DOMi or EHH to block it. It hides itself very well. So tricky.

The only thing you can do so far is to block that ad via "List of Blockable elements". Still you can't block the whole placeholder/frame. It will re-appear when the structure of the ad URL changes.

PS: If you can't see the floating Flash (on the right hand side) for some reasons, disable your ad blocking applications, if any.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Sep 16, 2007 10:38 pm

To further clarify, what I mean is you may try and see how you can block the whole placeholder/frame:
- make sure you have Flash installed
- go to http://bbs.macd.cn/index.php
- you will see a floating Flash (on the right hand side) rising from the bottom
- try to block that floating Flash

So far the best I could do is to block that ad. However it is subject to the limitation that the ad will reappear when the structure of URL changes once in a while.

However if we can figure out how to block the placeholder/frame which contains the ad, we can block that kind of floating Flash on the website in the long run.