Wednesday, April 30, 2008

article About Browser status bar message: Done with error - (all-vga-corner)

This bug is bothering me as I cannot:

1) access certain pages in all browsers (IE, Firefox, Opera, Flock, Avant);
2) see google ads; or/and
3) open up live chat session.

The pages appear perfectly alright so it has something to do with my computer. I updated windows update frequently and perform virus/spyware scans but futile. For months, I have searched for a solution but there is no answer. I strongly suspect it has something to do with my registry or my anti-virus/spyware applications.

The first light to the solution is from adsense.com. After going through the steps to locate the problem, I realised that there is a file named "HOSTS" which reside in windows directory.

After opening it, I found the few restrictions that block the advertisements from appearing.

NOTE: You can disable the READ-ONLY properties of the HOSTS file in order to edit and save it. This is not mentioned in www.adsense.com.

If you find these lines in HOSTS file, please delete them:

# [Google Inc][Restricted Zone site]
127.0.0.1 adwords.google.com
127.0.0.1 pagead.googlesyndication.com
127.0.0.1 pagead2.googlesyndication.com
127.0.0.1 adservices.google.com
127.0.0.1 www.googleadservices.com

After deleting the lines and save the HOSTS file, I can FINALLY see the Google ads in my webpage after reloading the browser.

In the first place, how do you know if your HOSTS file is active?

Test #1: Open a Command Prompt (XP): Start Run (type) cmd (click Ok)
(type) ping microsoft.com (press Enter) You should see the following [screenshot]
Note: not all sites return a ping request (example) microsoft.com returns a "Request timed out"
Test #2: paste ad.doubleclick.net into your browser, you should see the following:
"The page cannot be displayed" (IE only)

To know more about HOSTS file, please click HERE. There are other anti-virus/spyware or firewall programs that adds entries into this HOSTS file. The computer becomes over protected - To be safe than sorry mentality.

I hope you find this tips useful if you encounter similar issues.

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