I had been using HostsServer with Internet Explorer for a long time, and really appreciated the increased speed and the "ad blocked" message where servers were being blocked. Now I've switched to Opera 9.6 and I no longer see the "ad blocked" message from HostsServer. I am using the same settings I always have, and the blocked message still appears in IE, just not in Opera. Is HostsServer not supported in Opera, or is it just a fluke with Opera itself?

Welcome TeeJay3800

I don't use Opera but i do know How the HOSTS file works and a bit about HostsMan and HostsServer and its proxy.

Do you have HostsServer proxy active and its message insertion active in its Preferences.





I choose to Enable Log and Log referrer so that I can see the HOSTS file's effectiveness.

If you do then it is just a fluke with Opera.

I think I'll install Opera to see what all the fuss is about but last time I had it installed I wasn't impressed much.

Posted with Opera 9.6

It does not permit McAfee SiteAdvisor nor Web of Trust ( WoT ) that I like.

Yes, the server is running and I have site blocking set to "message." Do you see any messages or images in place of blocked items in your install of Opera?

FYI, although Opera does not support the regular WOT plug-in, it does have a very handy bookmarklet. It works very well on the fly.

I do not notice any blocked items such as media.adrevolver.com adverts here.

I'll have to try out that bookmarklet option.

It's kind of like learning a new swimming stroke.

When I get exhausted I go back to the dog paddle and floating on my back for a while.

HostsServer works here with Opera 9.60.

Have you checked the HostsServer Log Viewer? Do the elements that are supposed to be blocked by hosts appear in the log?

For the most part, no. When I was using IE, all ads that were blocked on sites with embedded ads (like foxnews.com), I would see the "blocked" message and the blocked site would be logged in HostsServer. Now with Opera, they are not. The ads themselves are blocked, but there is no message from HostsServer saying so...they are just blank.

The only way I can get HostsServer to display a blocked message is when I attempt to visit an entire site that is blocked. Example: www.myspace.com. When I try to go there, I get the "Blocked: www.myspace.com" message and the block is logged in HostsServer.

Any idea why the ads being blocked at sites like foxnews.com aren't being logged in HostsServer? (and also not getting the "blocked" message)

That's the way Opera works I guess.

The ads from ads.adsonar.com are blocked but the rest are from foxnews.com itself.

None of the ads being blocked by the hosts file are appearing in HostsServer's log, so does that mean HostsServer is not correctly functioning?

If I'm going to use Opera, is it better to shut HostsServer down to conserve on resource usage?

What I see



What is in HostsServer Log



The ads from ads.adsonar.com, view.atdmt.com, js.adsonar.com, tracking.foxnews.com and ad.doubleclick.net are blocked.

It is better to have the HostServer proxy active as it does speed up browsing.

In my case, it doesn't seem like HostsServer is "picking up" on the ads being blocked, so I'm not sure it is speeding up browsing at all.

In your screenshot, I see the "klip" image that HostsServer inserts in place of the advertisement. On my computer, there is nothing there...it's just blank.

Because nothing is appearing in my HostsServer log, even though ads are being blocked by the hosts file, I think HostsServer isn't actually doing anything.

The only difference I can think of is I'm using Windows 2000 and Opera. When I used IE, my browser and log looked exactly like yours. Now with Opera, it's like HostsServer isn't doing anything.

I guess that Windows 2000 is the problem and it is only a little better than Windows NT after all and is 8 years old and in computer years it is at about the same age as Columbus was discovering the Americas.

Please review:
http://forum.abelhadigital.com/index.php?showtopic=257

Actually Windows 2000 is just like XP...they share nearly identical NT kernels. Win2k is much more advanced than NT and is in fact nearly identical to XP is almost every way. XP was essentially a GUI improvement.

Because they are so similar, I fail to see why HostsServer would work on Opera in XP, but not 2000.

Also, HostsServer does seem to work when you directly visit a blocked URL. For example, when I try to go to www.myspace.com, I do get the blocked message and the item appears in the log. It is only for embedded ads where I don't get the blocked message and aren't listed in the log (like small ads taking up a small portion of a page).

I appreciate the help, I just don't see Windows 2000 as the cause.

@TeeJay3800

I tried foxnews.com and I got the same result as you.

Apparently, this is the way Opera works and not HostsServer fault.

Here's an older discussion about this:
http://my.opera.com/community/forums/topic.dml?id=226872

Thank you for confirming this, and for the link to that informative thread. :)

Based on what we know about the interaction of HostsServer and Opera, is it worth using HostsServer? I really liked how it speed up browsing in Internet Explorer, but since Opera doesn't seem to recognize HostsServer, it doesn't seem like it's doing any good.

Please let me know what you think about this.

It depends on how much you are going to use other browsers. But even if you use Opera almost exclusively, HostsServer does work in some cases.

My advice is turn HostsServer off for awhile (a week, for example) and then decide if you want to keep it or not.

Thanks for your input. I'll do that and see what I think.

I want to make clear that the problem is not with HostsServer. It is an excellent and very useful product. The problem is with that particular "safety" feature of Opera and how it is not possible to disable it.