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Web Smacker

## Configuring Web Smacker

This section describes how to use the configuration dialog.

### Filter Options

Please see the last question in the Frequently Asked Questions section for more help on filter options.

Filter web pages and remove advertising
  Clear this box if you want to see all advertising on web pages. Check this box if you do not want to see advertising on web pages.
Show broken picture where ads would be
  Check this radio button if you want to see where the advertisements would be on the web page, but still not download them. This will also allow you to click on the advertisement and go to the advertiser's page, even though you did not download the advertisement itself.
Remove ads entirely from page
  Check this radio button if you do not want to see where the advertisements would be on a web page. This prevents downloading the image, and it results in a cleaner looking page.
Always block ads from known ad sources
  Check this box if you want to prevent downloading pages and images from known advertising companies and URLs on the internet. If you do not select this check box, slightly more advertising may slip through the filter. Also, not checking this box will allow you to download the advertisements on demand. If you want to see an advertisment that has been blocked, simply right click on the image and select "Show image" from the context menu.

### Connection Options

Run Web Smacker on this port:
  Changing the default entry in this text box is not recommended. If you change it, you need to manually change your proxy settings in your web browser. The entry in this text box is the port number where the Web Smacker will listen and process http requests.
Connect to another proxy server
  Check this box if you want Web Smacker to forward its http requests to another proxy server. This may be necessary if your Internet Server Provider (ISP) requires you to connect to a proxy server. The Web Smacker install program should have already correctly set this check box, the proxy host, and the proxy port, and changing them is not recommended.
Proxy Host
  This text box should contain the name of the server where Web Smacker will forward all its request.
Proxy Port
  This text box should contain the server port where Web Smacker will forward all its request.

### Subscription Options

Every so often, Web Smacker will automatically download the latest filters to your machine. This allows Web Smacker to change its filtering strategy as the contents of web pages change. This prevents a web server from changing its contents to sneak in some new advertisements.

Update filters every __ days from this URL:
  The first text box contains the duration in whole days after which Web Smacker will download the latest filters from the URL specified in the second text box. This must by an http URL. For example, an ftp URL will not work here. Changing the URL from the default is not recommended.
Update Now
  Press this button if you want to download the latest filters immediately, instead of waiting for the next automatic update to occur.

### Buttons

Ok
  Press the Ok button to accept the configuration, save it, and close the configuration dialog box.
Cancel
  Press the Cancel button to cancel any changes you made to the configuration, and close the configuration dialog box.
Use Defaults
  Press the Use Defaults button to revert to the default configuration that Web Smacker first started with. If you have accidentally broken your configuration, (by specifying a bad URL or proxy) pressing this button, and then the Ok button should fix it.
Shutdown
  Press the Shutdown button if you want to shut down Web Smacker. You may not be able to connect to the internet after shutting down Web Smacker. Unless you have a good reason, do not press this button.

## Frequently Asked Questions

How does Web Smacker work?
  Web Smacker works by intelligently analyzing web pages as you download them. It decides which images in the web page are advertisements, and removes them. The advantage of this strategy over other other web filters who use a black list approach, is that Web Smacker can remove advertisements from a web page it has never seen before.
Does removing the advertisements make it take longer to download the web page?
  No! In fact, it takes far less time on a page with many advertisements. Web Smacker prevents your web browser from downloading the ad, which saves you time. On pages with a lot of advertising, Web Smacker can reduce the download time by more than 50%. On pages with no advertisements it still does not take longer. Web Smacker analyzes and filters the web pages faster than your machine can download them at modem speeds up to 56K.
How do I configure my favorite web browser to use Web Smacker?
  Well, the installation process should have automatically detected your browsers and installed them correctly. However, if this process fails, you can configure your favorite web browser manually. Click here for instructions.
Which filter options should I choose?
  That depends on what kind of internet user you are. If you only visit a few favorite web sites and find web advertising as abnoxious as I do, then you should probably select the Remove ads entirely from page radio button, and select the Always block ads from known ad sources check box. If you don't want to see the ad, but still may want to occasionally click through the ad to the advertiser's web page, then you should select the Show empty picture where ad would be radio button and check the Always block ads from known ad sources check box. If you really only care about reducing download time, and don't mind letting a few advertisements slip through, then clear the Always block ads from known ad sources check box.
Sometimes Web Smacker blocks pictures that don't seem to be advertisements. Why is that?
  Well, first let me say that determining what is and what is not an advertisement is a subjective decision. If you had different people looking at a web page and circling the advertisements, chances are they would not agree exactly as to which pictures are advertisments. Web Smacker does a very good job of determining which pictures are advertisements and which are not, but like other humans, it may not perfectly agree with you. However, Web Smacker automatically updates its filters on a regular basis, so its accuracy will improve with time. If there is a web site you frequent that is particularly annoying and is not correctly subdued by Web Smacker, then you can write me e-mail at jeffrey.rennie@gte.net. Please give me the full URL in the e-mail. Within a week your Web Smacker will be automatically updated with more accurate filters.
Can I copy Web Smacker and give it to my friends?
  Yes, but certain restrictions apply. Web Smacker is protected by the General Public License.
Where can I find out more about Web Smacker?
  You can visit the Web Smacker home page for the latest info and releases of Web Smacker. If you are a hacker, you are invited to participate in the ongoing development of Web Smacker. It is an open source project.

Copyright 1998 Jeffrey Glen Rennie