is there an host list to block windows 11 ads?

By drugo
in Microsoft (Windows)

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drugo

Posted
Posted (edited)

Hi

I know there many tutorials to stop windows 11 pro 64bit ads ,but they are still there , in the aps and not onlt in the aps

is there an host list to block windows 11 ads?

an host list but won't slow down windows 11 , i have tried the firewall but it doesn't stop them

thanks

Edited by drugo
Grand Master

satukoro

Posted
Posted (edited)

Just out of curiosity, where are you seeing ads in Windows 11 Pro?

I am using W11 Education N and am not seeing ads, however I have also implemented a number of group policies to lock down search to not show web content, disable news and features, widgets, etc.

I'm curious because I want to make sure I didn't miss anything.

On a separate note, I highly recommend using a PiHole (raspberry pi dns server) to filter your network traffic using convenient blocklists.

Mentor

drugo

Posted
  • Author
Posted
  On 01/04/2024 at 14:34, satukoro said:

Just out of curiosity, where are you seeing ads in Windows 11 Pro?

I am using W11 Education N and am not seeing ads, however I have also implemented a number of group policies to lock down search to not show web content, disable news and features, widgets, etc.

I'm curious because I want to make sure I didn't miss anything.

On a separate note, I highly recommend using a PiHole (raspberry pi dns server) to filter your network traffic using convenient blocklists.

Expand  

hi

but for example in microsoft bing weather 

but should some filrewall rules or host block these ads

i have the pro version, and yes i have spent hours to disable , at the next updated windows will re-enable them :(

 

Grand Master

Good Bot, Bad Bot

Posted
Posted
  On 01/04/2024 at 14:50, drugo said:

hi

but for example in microsoft bing weather 

but should some filrewall rules or host block these ads

i have the pro version, and yes i have spent hours to disable , at the next updated windows will re-enable them :(

 

Expand  

I just have a bookmark to my weather site of choice in my browser's (which is open all the time) bookmark toolbar. Edge has a weather widget right on it's home page. I avoid most of the Microsoft apps myself and Weather is uninstalled.

Grand Master

Nick H. Supervisor

Posted
  • Supervisor
Posted

The simple answer is no. You won't be able to stop Windows from giving you "help." Unless you use one of the cut down ideas of the OS like ReactOS, Tiny11 etc.

Windows 11 will do everything it can to "help." All I can say is: if you don't want that assistance, don't use Windows 11.

  • Sgt_Stryder, devHead and snowy owl
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Grand Master

satukoro

Posted
Posted
  On 01/04/2024 at 14:50, drugo said:

hi

but for example in microsoft bing weather 

but should some filrewall rules or host block these ads

i have the pro version, and yes i have spent hours to disable , at the next updated windows will re-enable them :(

 

Expand  

Are you using the preinstalled Weather app or is Bing Weather a different app?

I do not see any obvious ads in the preinstalled Weather app, however if you use anything Bing-branded, you're almost certain to see msn content and advertisements.

Grand Master

Brandon H Supervisor

Posted
  • Supervisor
Posted

not free, but AdGuard seems to kill the embedded ads in Windows. Neowin often has deals for lifetime licenses, so it's worth keeping in mind at least IMO :)

  • jnelsoninjax
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Grand Master

adrynalyne

Posted
Posted (edited)
  On 01/04/2024 at 17:19, Brandon H said:

not free, but AdGuard seems to kill the embedded ads in Windows. Neowin often has deals for lifetime licenses, so it's worth keeping in mind at least IMO :)

Expand  

The irony is not lost on that one. 
 

 

For OP:

As a rule, any self-hosted ads cannot be blocked by hosts file entries. 

Grand Master

Brandon H Supervisor

Posted
  • Supervisor
Posted
  On 01/04/2024 at 19:28, adrynalyne said:

The irony is not lost on that one. 

Expand  

Hey, I whitelist Neowin at least :D it's probably one of the only sites I do whitelist, because Neowin at least doesn't go overboard with their ads like most of the internet these days.

  • adrynalyne, cork1958 and xrobwx71
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Steven P. Administrators

Posted
  • Administrators
Posted

Members still have only inline ads, (meaning in the page) and every care is taken to place them and disclose the ads properly too.

Microsoft aggressively pushes their ads through their own products, so to block them we'd end up blocking other services like Windows Updates or MSN services (like weather and news) it is because Microsoft also owns and manages the content on it. The only way to block at host level (which probably includes *some* ads by Microsoft) would be managed host lists in PiHole https://avoidthehack.com/best-pihole-blocklists I used it to stop LG ads on my TV and also some Samsung "smart" content being pushed to my bedroom TV.

Edit: As an example, one of the SmartTV PiHole blocklists even warns that some blocked URLs can prevent updates to the TV.

Grand Master

Steven P. Administrators

Posted
  • Administrators
Posted
  On 01/04/2024 at 19:28, adrynalyne said:

The irony is not lost on that one. 

For OP:

As a rule, any self-hosted ads cannot be blocked by hosts file entries. 

Expand  

Not really, those that buy AdGuard are also helping with some commission, they are going to block anyway, so why not try to get in on it while we can :)   

Grand Master

goretsky Supervisor

Posted
  • Supervisor
Posted

Hello,

Could you share a screenshot (or several) with examples of the advertisements you are receiving?  I am wondering if these might be the result of adware or browser toast notifications or something else.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky
 

Mentor

drugo

Posted
  • Author
Posted
  On 01/04/2024 at 17:11, satukoro said:

Are you using the preinstalled Weather app or is Bing Weather a different app?

I do not see any obvious ads in the preinstalled Weather app, however if you use anything Bing-branded, you're almost certain to see msn content and advertisements.

Expand  

Hi

yes i use the preinstalled weather app , but maybe i should block edge browser ads with an extension

by the way it did happen even in windows 10 ,the microsoft bing weather but i have installed an older weather version to block ads

thanks

 

  On 01/04/2024 at 17:19, Brandon H said:

not free, but AdGuard seems to kill the embedded ads in Windows. Neowin often has deals for lifetime licenses, so it's worth keeping in mind at least IMO :)

Expand  

hi

yes ,great program ,but if i have to pay to block an operation system ads ,well i will keep a dual boot , windows just for the software I need , linux for the day use

  On 01/04/2024 at 19:28, adrynalyne said:

 

As a rule, any self-hosted ads cannot be blocked by hosts file entries. 

Expand  

hi

i did not know about it , i rembmer some host file create to block ads , but the way i think w11 could even restore the host file and empty it from non beloved lines  :(

 

Grand Master

satukoro

Posted
Posted
  On 03/04/2024 at 13:41, drugo said:

hi

i did not know about it , i rembmer some host file create to block ads , but the way i think w11 could even restore the host file and empty it from non beloved lines  :(

Expand  

If you are willing to invest a few bucks into a Raspberry Pi (as low as $10 for their really bare-bones ones), you could run Pi-Hole which is essentially a network level dns sinkhole.

This is what I do at home to block ads and other unsavory content across all the devices on my home network. Keep in mind, if (as someone mentioned) the ads are being served from the same domain content is being served from, you will not be able to block those ads using a DNS or host-file based solution.

Here is a link to a guide on Raspberry Pi's website about how to install Pi-Hole: https://www.raspberrypi.com/tutorials/running-pi-hole-on-a-raspberry-pi/

Once your Pi-Hole is setup and attached to your network, you basically just set the Pi-Hole as your DNS server either at the router level or wherever your DHCP server is (or if you're completely unhinged and use locally assigned static IPs configured on the computer itself, you would configure it there) and voila, ads will be blocked assuming you imported or manually set up a block list.

Grand Master

adrynalyne

Posted
Posted (edited)
  On 03/04/2024 at 16:24, satukoro said:

If you are willing to invest a few bucks into a Raspberry Pi (as low as $10 for their really bare-bones ones), you could run Pi-Hole which is essentially a network level dns sinkhole.

This is what I do at home to block ads and other unsavory content across all the devices on my home network. Keep in mind, if (as someone mentioned) the ads are being served from the same domain content is being served from, you will not be able to block those ads using a DNS or host-file based solution.

Here is a link to a guide on Raspberry Pi's website about how to install Pi-Hole: https://www.raspberrypi.com/tutorials/running-pi-hole-on-a-raspberry-pi/

Once your Pi-Hole is setup and attached to your network, you basically just set the Pi-Hole as your DNS server either at the router level or wherever your DHCP server is (or if you're completely unhinged and use locally assigned static IPs configured on the computer itself, you would configure it there) and voila, ads will be blocked assuming you imported or manually set up a block list.

Expand  

The only bad thing is like hosts file blocks, it cannot block self-hosted ads without blocking the site as well. 

Grand Master

satukoro

Posted
Posted
  On 03/04/2024 at 17:20, adrynalyne said:

The only bad thing is like hosts file blocks, it cannot block self-hosted ads without blocking the site as well. 

Expand  

I ran into that a while ago trying to block youtube (roku app) ads via my Pi-Hole. I ended up just replacing my roku with an old laptop with browser based adblocking for yt and connected a wireless keyboard/touchpad for couch-use.

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