OK,
As
ryan182 and I pointed out before, the "hosts" file is an invisible file. In addition, OS X does
not install it by default... so if you recently upgraded to Tiger, chances are you don't have one. If you have one, you can easily edit it. If you don't have one, you can easily add one.
1. TO FIND IT:
In the finder, select command-F (to find). One of your search limiters will say "kind"... scroll down to "other" and then select "visibility" in the pop-up window. In the value selector choose "invisible." Type "hosts" on the search area and your results should come up (or come up blank). If you have a "hosts" file, proceed to step 2, if you don't have one (or this step confuses you because of the different interfaces of the find window between Jaguar, Panther & Tiger), skip to step 3.
2. IF YOU HAVE A HOSTS FILE:
Open it with TextEdit and add the recommended lines:
Code:
127.0.0.1 a.tribalfusion.com
127.0.0.1 pagead2.googlesyndication.com
The system won't let you save the changes into the actual file, so do a "Save As" and name your new file HOSTS (in caps). For ease, I'd recommend you save it to the desktop. Skip to step 4.
3. IF YOU DON'T HAVE A HOSTS FILE:
Create a new TextEdit file with the following contents:
Code:
127.0.0.1 localhost
127.0.0.1 a.tribalfusion.com
127.0.0.1 pagead2.googlesyndication.com)
Save your file as HOSTS (in caps). For ease, I'd recommend you save it to the desktop. Proceed to step 4.
4. MAKING THE NEW "HOSTS" FILE LIVE:
Drag the new 'HOSTS' file to your "home" directory (the little icon that looks like a doghouse if you are in the finder and open a new window).
Now here comes the fun part. Open a window in Terminal (in your Applications>Utilities folder), and paste the following script in it:
Code:
mv HOSTS hosts
sudo mv /etc/hosts hosts.previous
sudo mv hosts /etc
sudo killall -HUP lookupd
exit
What this script does is: back up you current hosts file (if any), add the new 'HOSTS' files after re-naming it 'hosts'...
Terminal may ask you to type your admin password. If this happens, type it, hit the return key, and paste the script again.
Congratulations, you may now enjoy an ad-free FT experience.
I've done this on three different macs (running 10.3.9 and 10.4.2) with nooo problems.