Broken links to marketing addresses

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Guest

When I open one specific web site, then I click on a link, it almost always
go to a URL media.fastclick.net/.... with the error message "the page cannot
be found". Then I go back and this time, the link works.
On another web site, when I click on a link, it always go to
http://altfarm.mediaplex.com/ad/ck/3440-28728-3840-17 with the error message
"the page cannot be found". But if I go back, I always get the same problem.
I run antispyware and malware oon my PC and I still have the same problem.
What are these addresses ? is it a problem on my PC or on these web sites ?
 
It's probably a problem with the web site. It would appear that those links
are trying to launch ads for you to watch before sending you on to the page
you wanted to see in the first place. Or, you could have an ad-blocking
program on your system that uses your Hosts file to block ads - those sites
you mentioned are often blocked this way by such programs. Lastly, it could
be a cookie problem with those sites. Fix for that would be to delete the
cookie(s) from said sites.
 
Yes, the link for "shopping carts" on the page is
http://altfarm.mediaplex.com/ad/ck/3440-20870-8030-44, but it immediately
goes on to
https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=xpt/cps/developer/ProCarts-outside
I would suspect the first URL is not for advertising use, but is for some
sort of click-counting purpose. (?) I turned off my Google Toolbar pop-up
blocker and there was no pop-up either. Have you checked your Hosts file to
see if that site is blocked - hence there's no redirection on through to the
next page?

Check your Hosts file as per this article:
Problems Using Internet Explorer with Incorrect Hosts File
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q219843

More info on the Hosts file:
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hostsfaq.htm
 
Hi Jacques,

I visited the link that you provided with no problems, although it does a
re-direct to a different address, so this is probably the cause of your
problems (your browser does not recognise the re-direct response from the
web server at altfram.mediaplex.com). So the problem is at the web site. You
did not mention your version of IE. Ah! I just checked on a Win2K with IE
and I got the page cannot be displayed error, but it worked fine on an XP
machine.

A DNS report for the site altfarm.mediaplex.com indicates that one of their
Name Servers is timing out - again indicating that something is wrong with
their site.

I suppose the solution to your problem is to upgrade to XP or to contact the
webmater of those sites and tell them that your version of IE does not
recognise their re-directs.
 
It works, thank you!
There was an entry for mediaplex.com in my Hosts file.
But which program is using my Hosts file to block access to this
mediaplex.com page ?
MSN toolbar has its pop-up blocker set to "Allow Pop-ups" and my Google
toolbar has its popup blocker disabled.
Also as a general question, in Microsoft newsgroups, I always get an email
notification of replies at the first reply but not after (this is why I read
your reply so late today), do you know why?
 
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