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Update for ICQ 2001B/2002
See
this site, which has up-to-date info on removing ICQ ads.
ICQ version 2000b has apparently
added advertising windows -- we knew the AOL involvement would only screw
things up, right folks? Anyway, these eyesores are downloaded from ads.web.aol.com
(among other places) in the fasion of AOL Instant Messenger.
Oscar writes in a quick and dirty solution to block these ads:
Find the ICQ web cache directories
(usually C:\Program Files\ICQ\AteBrowser\#########\cache\
where ######### is your ICQ number) and replace each "cache" directory
with a read-only file by the same name.
(Note: This is essentially
the opposite of the "Replace cookies.txt file with read-only directory"
hack for old versions of Navigator.)
Another solution (for the
SMS banner at the top of the window) comes from GRC's newsgroups:
Close ICQ, then Program
Files/ICQ/Partners then open the partner.xml file, clear all the
text from it, save and close. Mark as read only too.
To turn off AutoUpdate
(to keep them from 'upgrading' the software without permission)
Go into your registry
and look for auto update. It's most likely in:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Mirabilis\ICQ\DefaultPrefs
And set the value to "No"
Note: this may or may
not be beneficial. See below.
If you don't use new features
in the new AOLified versions of ICQ, you can probably use an older, pre-AOL
version, which does not have spamvertising windows. (I currently use version
Beta 1.113, dating back to 1996, which works just fine! Doesn't eat MB's
of disk space either :)
You can find some older
versions (maybe not THAT old) at
this site.
If the new ICQ is versatile/foolish enough to let you use it through a proxy server, set up the ad-filtering proxy of your choice (Proxomitron, AdSubtract, Junkbuster, etc.) to block the adserver, and set up ICQ to connect thru this proxy. Or for now, add the following lines to Windows' Hosts file (C:\Windows\Hosts):
127.0.0.1 ads.icq.comOthers have reported success in using personal firewall software to block ICQ's access on port 80.
127.0.0.1 cb.icq.com
127.0.0.1 cf.icq.com
A hack posted below lets
you strip ad-spaces right from the DLLs and regain precious desktop real-estate.
For those lacking the experience/ambition to undertake it themselves, yeh.tech
has a package called ICQ
Strip which incorporates the updates.
Jason shares the following advice snagged from the newsgroup alt.icq:
STEPS FOR ELIMINATING BANNER BOXES ON ICQMake sure ICQ is not Running.
1- Download Reshack from
http://www.users.on.net/johnson/resourcehacker/2- Look for Auto Update in your registry
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Mirabilis\ICQ\DefaultPrefs
And set the value to "No"
I've heard a number of reports that indicate the software was somehow updated (to show banners) even on systems with AutoUpdate turned off. Best to back-up your ICQ files after performing any hacks, in case AOL tries to change them on you.3- Delete the following files from your ICQ folder
icqateima32.dll (removes advertisement downloading)
icqateimg32.dll (removes the loading of images)
icqateres.dll (removes part of the advertisement function)4- Open ICQCore.dll in Reshack. ( this is where it gets interesting)
4a Go through each of the Dialogs till you see one with a banner box.
4b Click the banner box and it will highlight the control for that box.
4c Change the last 2 numbers in that control to 0, 0
Example:
CONTROL "", 1070, "{9F9012BA-E55B-11D3-ADE7-0090270D8F00}",
0x50000000, 1, 158, 260, 38
Becomes
CONTROL "", 1070, "{9F9012BA-E55B-11D3-ADE7-0090270D8F00}",
0x50000000, 1, 158, 0, 04d Change the main dialog box size coordinates (at the top of the
script) to Ad box y coordinate +1. Example: for above control you take the 158
then change the main dialog box y coordinate to 158+1 (159) So;
2503 DIALOGEX 0, 0, 262, 196
Becomes
2503 DIALOGEX 0, 0, 262, 159NOTE The last four digits are position/size coordinates - first set
is x,y position, the second set is x,y size.4e Compile the script
4f Repete for all dialogs with banner ads then save the file (Have a
backup of ICQCore.dll just in case something goes wrong)
Henrik reports an additional
change that makes the whole hack look better: to remove that line that
is left just edit the last number on the last line to 0.
CONTROL "", 1069, STATIC, SS_BLACKFRAME | SS_SUNKEN | WS_CHILD | WS_GROUP, 0, 157, 261, 1Becomes:
CONTROL "", 1069, STATIC, SS_BLACKFRAME | SS_SUNKEN | WS_CHILD | WS_GROUP, 0, 157, 261, 0
Douglas writes in to
add that there are additional .dlls to modify to remove ALL annoying banners.
They are:
ICQWP.dllThis applies to ICQ 2000b v4.63 build 3279.
ICQSearc.dll (this is where the classic mode search is located, as opposed to the wizard)
ICQSMS.dll
ICQVoice.dll
You can eliminate all HTML (ad) rendering by zapping (move/rename/delete) icqhttp.dll . Note that this doesn't affect the banner windows themselves--use the above for that.
Note: see the General Neutering section.
More links
ADBusters'
ICQ ad-removal site - Includes the ICQ PowerCrack that does the following:
"All trademarks are hereby
acknowledged as the property of their respective owners." So don't even
THINK about suing me :)