This page contains basic support information regarding installation, upgrading, and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). For additional assistance, please review the AdShield User Guide that installs with the program.

Click here if you purchased AdShield 3.0 and would like to submit a support request. AdShield 3.0 is sold and supported exclusively by All Star Software Systems.

Download the AdShield.exe file to your computer.

Close all other Windows programs, including anti-virus software.

Double-click the AdShield.exe program file and follow the on-screen instructions.

Upon completion of the installation process, your Programs menu will contain a shortcut to the AdShield User's Guide, which explains how to use the product.

After purchasing AdShield, we will immediately email you a license file and block list with instructions. (Please contact us if you do not receive your license file within 24 hours.) Follow the instructions in the email to apply the license file and unlock the extended features of AdShield 3.0.
Note: You should save the license file, license.txt for backup purposes.

AdShield will automatically run the next time you start your Internet Explorer and begin blocking web advertisements. Verify AdShield is properly installed by either:

Launch Internet Explorer and click on the AS button on the right side of the browser toolbar. The main AdShield Window displays in the left pane of your Internet Explorer browser. (See illustration.)

or

Launch Internet Explorer and right-click in the browser window. A pop-up menu displays, with the following AdShield menu items added at the bottom: Maintain Block List, Add to Block List, Add to Exclude List, and AdShield Option Settings. (See illustration.) Click one of the AdShield menu items and the appropriate dialog should appear.

Be sure to read the AdShield User’s Guide for tips that will help you optimize AdShield and block the most ads possible. Choose Programs -> AdShield -> AdShield User’s Guide from the Start menu.

In order for AdShield to operate properly and prevent unwanted internet advertisements, please ensure your browser is properly configured.

From your Internet Explorer main window, choose: Tools -> Internet Options -> Advanced:

• Check - Disable Script Debugging (if present and not required for other applications)
• Un-Check - Disable a notification about every script error
• Check - Enable third party browser extensions

For best results when upgrading from a previous version of AdShield, follow these steps:

• Make a backup copy of your block/exclude list file, adshield.abl, and your license file, license.txt.
  
  Click the Export button on the AdShield Explorer Bar to make a backup of your block list and exclude list.
  
  If you have an earlier version of AdShield, you can also copy the adshield.abl file to another folder using Windows Explorer. The default location of the block/exclude list file is: C:\Program Files\AdShield\AdShield\adshield.abl.
  
  Note: If you're using AdShield 3.0 in a multi-user environment, AdShield 3.0 maintains a separate block/exclude list file for each user. You can log on as each user and run the Export function, or use Windows Explorer to make a copy of each adshield.abl file.
  
  
• 
  
  Close all programs. Choose Shut Down from the Start menu and select Restart.
  
  
• Install the new version of AdShield. Click here for installation instructions.
  
  When Setup prompts you to Choose a Destination Location, choose the same folder where you had your previous version of AdShield installed.
  
  
• Review the AdShield User’s Guide for the latest features and options, to maximize AdShield’s performance.
  
  Choose Programs -> AdShield -> AdShield User’s Guide from the Start menu.

If AdShield didn't stop most of your popups, it is probably because your machine has already been infected with "Ad-Ware". AdShield prevents popups generated from web surfing, but it cannot stop programs that are installed and generate ads internally.

Try using one of these free Ad-Ware / Spy-ware removal programs: Ad-Aware or Spybot.

Once your system has been cleaned, AdShield will block nearly 100% of unwanted ads and popups. Be sure you have imported the latest block list from our site.

To Remove AdShield from your system:

• Choose Settings -> Control Panel from the Start menu. Double-click Add/Remove Programs. Select AdShield from the list of installed programs and follow the on-screen instructions.
  
  
• Reboot your system.

Additional information (optional):

The normal way to uninstall is from Windows Control Panel's Add/Remove Programs and then reboot. To remove anything that might be left after that simply run the Windows program regedit.exe and delete the following keys if they're still there:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Browser Helper Objects\{7559B76E-0222-4d77-9499-CCE9EB4EDC2F}

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\InternetExplorer\Extensions\{4FB6C25E-7B37-4c93-B592-16ECD8D18361}

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\MenuExt\&Maintain Block List... HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\MenuExt\Add to &Block List... HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\MenuExt\Add to &Exclude List... HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\MenuExt\AdShield Option &Settings...

Reboot and you'll be able to delete the entire install folder and all its contents. c:\program files\adshield\adshield or c:\program files\allstar\adshield.

Problem 1: I just installed AdShield but it isn't blocking anything.

Solution 1a: After installation, the AdShield block list is empty and must be populated in order to block the most ads. If you did not receive the block list as an email attachment, you may download it from our download page.

Soltion 1b: Be sure to reboot your system after installing AdShield. This is especially important when you’re upgrading from a previous version. If you're using Internet Explorer 6, be sure to select the Enable third-party browser extensions (requires restart) option. This option appears on the Advanced tab of the Internet Options dialog, accessible from the Tools menu.

You may be able to correct the problem by re-running the self-registration process. Choose Run from the Start menu and enter the following string in the Open edit box:

regsvr32 "C:\Program Files\adshield\adshield\adshield.dll
(for version 3.0.8 and below)

regsvr32 "C:\Program Files\allstar\adshield\adshield.dll
(for vesion 3.0.9 and above)

or

download AdShield_ReRegister.bat to automatically re-register AdShield.
Instructions: Save AdShield_ReRegister.bat to your desktop, close your browser, double click the file to run it, then re-start Internet Explorer.

Note: If you installed AdShield in a different folder, make the appropriate change in the path specified inside the quotes.

Problem 2: AdShield isn't blocking (all) pop-up ads.

Solution 2a: As described in the User's Guide, AdShield 3.0 does suppress pop-ups that attempt to open a window with a specific URL that’s listed in the AdShield block list. Unfortunately many of these pop-up ads don’t target a specific URL – their entire content is written into them by scripts running in the original browser window. AdShield includes an option to block these scripted pop-up ads, regardless of the contents of your block list.


Solution 2b: If AdShield didn't stop most of your popups, it is probably because your machine has already been infected with "Ad-Ware". AdShield prevents popups generated from web surfing, but it cannot stop programs that are installed and generate ads internally.

Try using one of these free Ad-Ware / Spy-ware removal programs: Ad-Aware or Spybot.

Once your system has been cleaned, AdShield will block nearly 100% of unwanted ads and popups. Be sure you have imported the latest block list from our site.

Problem 3: AdShield menu items and Explorer Bar are not available for all users of a multi-user system.

Solution 3: Microsoft's design requires that user interface extensions to Internet Explorer be recorded in a part of the registry database that is specific to each user. Meanwhile, AdShield's core ad-blocking functions are recorded in a part of the registry database that is shared by all users. This means that, upon installation, the program will block ads for all users but not all users will be able to modify the block list or options. To enable the interface for the other users:

• Log on to the user account for which you'd like to enable the AdShield interface.
• Run the AdShield Setup program by choosing Programs -> AdShield -> AdShield Setup from the Start menu.
• The Setup program indicates whether the AdShield interface is enabled or disabled for the user.
• If the AdShield interface is disabled for this user, click the link to enable it. (You can also use the Setup program to disable the interface for a specific user.)
• You may need to log off and log back on again before the change takes effect.

Problem 4: Script error or script debugger messages.

Solution 4: Harmless script error/debugger messages may occur when AdShield blocks a scripted pop-up ad or the download of an entire ad script. This usually happens when a poorly-coded ad script attempts to open a pop-up window and then manipulate it without checking to see if the pop-up was actually created. We recommend simply clearing the checkmark next to "Display a notification about every script error" on the Advanced tab of the browser's Internet Options dialog (accessible from the Tools menu). You can always double-click the little warning icon in the lower left corner to display the script error messages, if necessary. If you have a script debugger installed, you may also be prompted to debug these script errors. In this case I'd simply select "Disable script debugging" on the Advanced tab of the browser's Internet Options dialog when you're not developing web pages with scripts.

The problem is identifying the source and adding it to the block list. One possibility is to use Internet Explorer's View Source feature to examine the page's source HTML. If you can find the ad server’s URL in the page source, you can add it to the block list. Right-click any (standard) image on any page and choose Add to Block List from the pop-up menu. Type the part of the ad server’s URL to be added, highlight it, and click OK. Obviously this technique is time-consuming, so we can't recommend it very highly. We're working on better support to identify ads delivered through these mechanisms.

If the pop-up menu does not contain the Maintain Block List menu item when you right-click anywhere in the browser, there may be an installation problem.

Problem 6: The AdShield dialogs do not display when I select the AdShield menu items. The browser displays an "Invalid syntax error" page that states, "The page cannot be displayed."


Solution 6: Please be sure to reboot your system after installing AdShield. This is especially important when you’re upgrading from a previous version. If you're using Internet Explorer 6, be sure to select the "Enable third-party browser extensions (requires restart)" option on the Advanced tab of the Internet Options dialog, accessible from the Tools menu.

You may be able to correct the problem by re-running the self-registration process. Choose Run from the Start menu and enter the following string in the Open edit box: regsvr32 "C:\Program Files\adshield\adshield\adshield.dll"
Note: If you installed AdShield in a different folder, make the appropriate change in the path specified inside the quotes.

Microsoft support article Q229970 confirms that a bug in Internet Explorer 5.0 prevents the loading of more than one browser helper object. As a result of this bug, AdShield may be incompatible with some component of a product already installed on your system. In particular, the problem has been noted on systems where the nzdd.dll from RealNetworks has been installed, and on systems where the amcis.dll from Radiate (formerly Aureate) has been installed. The Radiate "product" is spyware that we, personally, would remove from our own systems. For more information about spyware and what can be done about it, see the OptOut page at the Gibson Research Corporation site. Microsoft states, and our own tests indicate, that the bug is fixed in Internet Explorer 5.01. If you are still experiencing this problem with AdShield after upgrading your browser to the latest version, please let us know and we will investigate further.

Thanks to Mike in Milwaukee for alerting us that "REAL DOWNLOAD EXPRESS", (npnzdad.exe), may be uninstalling part of AdShield when you restart your computer. If you have this product on your system you can try the following:

• Uninstall AdShield.
• Run the System Information Utility (msconfig.exe), select the Startup tab, and clear the checkmark next to REAL DOWNLOAD EXPRESS. If you don't have msconfig.exe on your system, try moving "REAL DOWNLOAD EXPRESS" out of your StartUp folder manually.
• Run regedit.exe and rename or remove the key "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\Browser Helper Objects\{EBCDDA60-2A68-11D3-8A43-0060083CFB9C}".
• Be careful not to change anything else when running regedit.exe.
• Reinstall AdShield.

Problem 7: Why does the AdShield panel still say Trial version even thought I purchased AdShield?

Solution 7: See: License Application

Solution 8: See: After the trial period has ended (15 or 30 days) AdShield stop working. At any time you may apply the license file that was sent to you via email at the time of purchase to activate AdShield. See: License Application

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