AdHate

Ads and banners have a way of showing up on your screen even after trying to block them with various browser extensions. The most efficient way to handling any problem is to cut the source which, in this case means blocking the domains hosting the adware.

TCP/IP connections are controlled by the Hosts, a Windows file that's initially empty and can be filled with any websites you want to prevent from reaching your PC. Editing the Hosts files is also wise for blocking domains susceptible to malware.

Making these modifications to the Hosts file yourself is tough, takes a long time, and will definitely mess up your Internet settings if you don't know what you're doing. Fortunately, there are other people who have already thought of this, put in the time and effort and, most importantly, are willing to share the experience with others.

To cut to the chase, you can use an app that makes to sure to add a very long list of known adware domains to the Hosts file, creatively called AdHate. It doesn't have the flashy interface you'd expect. In fact, it has a pretty raw look. Two buttons are displayed in the tiny window for blocking adware and for unblocking.

If you're curious about how AdHate works, you can take a look at the log details shown in this window. On block, it takes ownership of Hosts (which is possible only if you are the PC's administrator), downloads a so-called "mega-Hosts file" from the web, copies its contents to your system's Hosts, and flushes DNS cache.

Next, you can find and open the Hosts file to view modifications and even add domains of your own. Thanks to the fact that AdHate creates a backup of your original Hosts file, it can restore settings to default if you change your mind (on unblock). However, it fails to do this if Hosts is being used by another process.

All aspects considered, AdHate delivers the most effective solution when it comes to anti-adware measures: blocking the domains hosting the ads. It's simple to use by anyone.