Re: Kooks and their Kookies
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Junkbuster, which I've been playing with, too has just a list of URL patterns that are blocked. When it encounters such an URL, it displays this hardcoded spiel: char CBLOCK[] = "HTTP/1.0 202 Request for blocked URL\n" "Pragma: no-cache\n" "Last-Modified: Thu Jul 31, 1997 07:42:22 pm GMT\n" "Expires: Thu Jul 31, 1997 07:42:22 pm GMT\n" "Content-Type: text/html\n\n" "<html>\n" "<head>\n" "<title>Internet Junkbuster: Request for blocked URL</title>\n" "</head>\n" WHITEBG "<center>" "<a href=http://internet.junkbuster.com/ij-blocked-url?%s+%s+%s>" BANNER "</a>" "</center>" "</body>\n" "</html>\n" ; Notice something unpleasant!!! See the 2 %s's? They are filled with 1) the URL you tried to access, 2) the pattern from the blockfile that matched. But they're not just displayed in your browser; only if you click on the junkbuster logo, they are passed to a cgi script at the junkbusters site, which displays them and possibly logs them. Not nice at all. I'd much prefer a filtering proxy that allowed different actions for different patterns in the block file: at the very least, the choices should be "404 not found", "403 verbotten", a 1x1 jpg, and a user-specified replacement text/url.
The ability to edit the incoming text and pictures to delete embedded ads would be awfully nice. Consider for example the html dynamically generated by wired's cgi script when you access http://stocks.hotbox.com. (take a look at it). Wouldn't it be nice if the proxy could be told to delete or replace all the text between <!-- ad strip --> and <!-- end ad strip -->??? Occasionally an ad is embedded in a picture together with some useful information. Take a look at http://www.bloomberg.com/gifs/iview.gif. it has both useful information that should be displayed and sponsor informaion that should be mercilessly censored - replaced by a user-specified graphic or at least a black rectangle.
Anyway, yes, keep posting your lists of evil URLs. I have no moral problem with trashing those unwanted ads.
Instead of spamming the mailing list, I've put up a web page at http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Hangar/6354 (let's see if they pull the plug on it)
Would there be any interest if I put an anootated netscape cookie file (cypherpunks cookie potluck) someplace like geocitie.com?
I have also placed some cookies for sharing on them same web site.
Death to the Usenet Cabal! --- Dr.Dimitri Vulis KOTM Brighton Beach Boardwalk BBS, Forest Hills, N.Y.: +1-718-261-2013, 14.4Kbps
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dlv@bwalk.dm.com