Remove ads from Yahoo! Messenger 9

By Dan | Published: 07/02/2008

no adsThis is just a quickie because I have a little free time now as tomorrow I will be done with my final exams.

I’m sure the issue with Yahoo! Messenger stealing focus is very common out there. It is annoying mostly because for example when I am engaged in a captivating chat with a friend and I am typing really fast (~60 wpm), the flash ads from the Y!M window swap and I find myself focused on the wrong window. Of course that for me this isn’t such a big deal (but still very annoying) as it is for others who look at their keyboards as they type and when they look at the chat window and see it empty… that’s not a pleasant sight.

Now let’s cut to the chase and get rid of this problem once and for all. It’s very simple and all you have to do is to open Notepad or any other text editor and open the file C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc\hosts (yes, that’s right, no extension there). A full explanation about that file is given and marked as a comment in the file.

So, after the default line (127.0.0.1       localhost) just add 127.0.0.1 insider.msg.yahoo.com

Well that’s it. Very simple and effective.

Here’s how it looks without ads:

Yahoo! Messenger no ads

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  • snoopz
    Yes..its..so..easy..thanx..alot
  • Dermot2k
    Ad Destroy 6.0 has been released and available in downloads in 32bit and 64bit Versions

    Ad Destroy 6.0 is compatible with all official builds of Yahoo Messenger 10

    If you use 9.0 or below, check for older versions of Ad Destroy.

    Image: http://f.imagehost.org/0566/AdDestroy6.png

    Features:

    Remove Advertisements
    Enable Polygamy
    Enable Smiley Search
    Disable Buzz! Sound
    Disable Yupdater
    Disable smileys
    Disable Audibles
    Remove Plugins area/Y!Mobile/Y!insider
    Disable Chat Abuse Link
    Toggle Nicknames/Usernames
    Enable Messenger Debug Options
    Disable Yahoo! Messenger at Startup

    Please Report any questions or comments to http://www.irish-gaming.net/index.php/topic,149...
  • HJK
    Just lovely. Way simpler than the patching. Unintrusive. Elegant. Wish i thought of that.
  • guah
    tried this method, but it disables me to enter chatrooms.
    i tried the registry method in the link below and it works well.
    http://www.mydigitallife.info/2008/01/25/disabl...
  • Hi everyone. For the new messenger i saw that non of old methods are working. I have a website with some downloads. http://baiamare.myftp.org/downloads.php?cat_id=13 here you can find yahoo messenger with a patch that is working. ;) good luck!
  • Drake
    This is the only method I found that really works
    Thanks a lot man
  • hafis
    definitely it removes the ad on my yahoo messenger v.9.0.0.2112
    But the space of the ad doesn't went off , what could i do to remove it.
    image : http://i43.tinypic.com/2rf3q50.jpg

    reply your views to hafiskaniyarakkal@yhaoo.com
  • greenexplorer
    still, there's problem! the ads are gone, but there's still a blank background with an 'action canceled' notice. I restarted my pc but it's still the same. any suggestions? ty!
  • drath
    It did work very nicely thank you very much!
  • lukman
    This is the best way i found on the net about removing add from YM 9
    Thanks so much
  • ghost
    Try "yahoo ghost" application latest version, search at google.com
    or it can be found here on download.com
  • Dan
    I'm very glad that my post helped so many of you out there.

    @Raphael: I don't use a Yahoo! voice account. I prefer Skype for that. From what you're saying, it seems like that particular service uses the same server as the ads do. In that case blocking the ads results in blocking the functionality of your voice account. Check out what "mark" said, he might be on to something.
    Anyway this is the best general solution I could imagine. Cheers.
  • dark journey
    program free ad-removal - gotta <3 it. Big plus about this fix is ~ you don't have scan it for ad/malware - good job - it has to be one of the most useful lines in my hosts file.
  • mark
    remove the text to make ur calls
  • Raphael
    This removes ads, but also removes the ability to place phone calls if you have an yahoo voice account, so it's not useful for anyone that also use yahoo messenger for that. Any method for removing ads and still be able to place phone calls? Thanks
  • Paul
    Thanks, on Vista 64 bits and the latest yahoo messenger it works quite well, although the frame for the ad is still there, with a blank in it.
  • Evan
    THANK YOU, TOOK ME 10 different tries to get rid of the damn ads, this works, thanks!
  • jack
    it's work thanks alot... lol...
  • Absolutely easy, and can't believe it took this long to find such a simple fix. You're a great person for sharing. Thank you
  • try what HOK said... the link is useful ^_^
    this is the most useful thread of all non working pieces of others haha
    this works!
  • leos
    thx, this is really the only real method to get rid of that enoying ads....i tryed everything else and it didn`t worked at all....thank you again
  • Raz
    Finally, a permanent solution that works like a charm. Thanks man.
  • King Leoric
    wow thanks man! This is the best and working! Thanks very much man! God Blessw
  • Kushan
    this is the #1 solution that I cud find from internet..
    thank you thousands time.
  • SS
    Only Thing That Worked For Me (On Vista SP1 64-bit) and Messenger 9 Final :D
    Great Work Man, Thanks ALOT !
  • Hok
    I have make program to do so. Get it here. http://www.ficforlife.com/2008/09/remove-yahoo-.... Thx
  • Heiko
    Well that is one of the best solutions to find on the net!!
    I tried to disable the Ads with patches , Registry hacks - you name it , but this really works fine.
    Thanks a lot !!
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