What is the best way (or software package) to use to block double click, about.blank and so on. I am running fedora 9 on iptabled firewall that will protect my home network of mixed OS's. Thank you.

I tried this nice but old guide a long time back and was happy with it: http://www.melvilletheatre.com/artic...oxy/index.html
It uses Squid for caching and Privoxy for blocking ads etc. Point all the browsers in your LAN to Privoxy's address/port and you're good to go.

The simplest way would be to add the undesirable names to
/etc/hosts with a local address ....
e.g.,
127.0.0.2 doubleclick.net doubleclick.net


Cheers,
Tink

This is good info for my work station. On my 1st post stated that i am dealing with other OS's (sic). I can not impose Linux on the other networked people. The Squid - Privoxy may well be the the start of something BIG; but this solution calls for changes on each workstation's browser which I can't comply with at this time. Thank you for your time and a good start.

You can do this at the individual workstations with Firefox and the AdBlock and NoScript extensions.

If you want to implement Tink's solution (post #3), and you have the (free) Spybot Search & Destroy package installed on a Windows system, you can ask it to "inoculate" that system. It will then create a C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts file (on Win7, but in an ...\etc\hosts file on other releases) mapping several thousand scruffy sites to 127.0.0.1. You can move that file into you Linux /etc/hosts file and not see those sites again.

Oh, about.blank is, AFAIK, just a placeholder indicating that a blank page is being displayed, not something you can (or need to) block.

Note: Other Windows packages may do the same thing. I've been using the Spybot one for at least a decade, maybe two, with no problems, so I've never looked for any other package.

for the VERY OLD and VERY DEAD fedora 9
you do nothing
none of the current firefox plugins will run on the very old firefox2 in fedora 9
the current firefox 6 will not run on fedora 9

fedora 9 is and has been DEAD for a very long time
The current version of fedora is fedora 15
You are 6 versions out of date

install fedora 15
THEN
install add block pulse and no-script in firefox6


also DO NOT use the HOST file to redirect back to localhost ( fedora is NOT WINDOWS )
there is a " hosts.deny " file
ALSO NOT RECOMMENDED
use "add block" and "no-script" after you INSTALL fedora 15

You can get an excellent hosts file here; I've been using their hosts file for years.

With a good hosts file, you don't need any memory-hogging browser plugins.

http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/hosts.htm

Do not just overwrite your existing hosts file. The information at the beginning of that file should be incorporated into the beginning of the new one.

Also, update your Fedora.

a host file will not block the third party cross site scripting

WOW! Thanks for all good pionters. You all rock. At my age I hope that is the right use of "rock". I would like comments on the following do to something I read on the net. What about a non caching forwarding DNS server on my network. It would not be open to the public.

If you are trying to block ads when surfing, then FF+NoScript (+ optionally AdBlockPlus) is the way to go, imho.
No pt in messing with the system level.

I also use flashblock, so I only see flash if I want to, on a per flash-file basis.
http://flashblock.mozdev.org/

OP was specifically talking about blocking ads such as those served by doubleclick, not at blocking a malicious attack.

A host file does that adequately.

If I implied that a hosts file provides security, then I phrased myself poorly. It eliminates inconvenience.