The fruits of rooting / No ads

[redcat22]

Sometimes it's the little things that put a smile on your face. I DL AdAway to get rid of ads (naturally) in the games i play such as Words/Scramble with Friends. It didn't work though cuz i guess the ads are bundled in the app somehow and don't work normally like other apps. So i said to myself, hey i'm rooted so i'll go find them and just take 'em out! And i did! (Actually i just renamed the files) Anyways, those annoying little banners are gone from my games!

 

[waker]

Sometimes it's the little things that put a smile on your face. I DL AdAway to get rid of ads (naturally) in the games i play such as Words/Scramble with Friends. It didn't work though cuz i guess the ads are bundled in the app somehow and don't work normally like other apps. So i said to myself, hey i'm rooted so i'll go find them and just take 'em out! And i did! (Actually i just renamed the files) Anyways, those annoying little banners are gone from my games!

Nice. How are the files named? Just curious.


Sent from my Thunderstick using Tapatalk

 

[redcat22]

Nice. How are the files named? Just curious.


Sent from my Thunderstick using Tapatalk

In the folder "com.zynga.words" there's a "files" folder and inside i renamed 7ac62ea6ada---.png (there's like 30 characters in this .pgn file but it's obvious which one it is). Mine had a giraffe icon (for Dream Zoo, another Zynga game).

In the folder "com.zynga.scramble" there's a "files" folder and inside i renamed "XpromoIcons" file.

I looked at those files again before i typed this post and i noticed that each app recreated the files i renamed but the banners still did not appear.

 

[ang1dust]

Oddly adds dont bother me. I guess they will soon realize i dont look at them and start coming to my door since thats the "ultimate add blocker" is to just ignore them

 

[paintdrinkingpete]

Oddly adds dont bother me. I guess they will soon realize i dont look at them and start coming to my door since thats the "ultimate add blocker" is to just ignore them

I'm usually the same way, although I do recall back when I used to play Angry Birds that the ads annoyed the crap out of me because they would actually get in the way of the screen I was trying to view.

Just a quick tip that works even if you're not rooted: put your phone into airplane mode before you start the game. Most of those ads have to be downloaded, so if there's no data connection, no ads! Granted, you also won't get email/message notifications and stuff like that, but that may be an added bonus to not be disturbed while playing! Not an idea for everyone, but just something to keep in mind if the ads do bother you.

 

[wildman]

Sometimes it's the little things that put a smile on your face. I DL AdAway to get rid of ads (naturally) in the games i play such as Words/Scramble with Friends. It didn't work though cuz i guess the ads are bundled in the app somehow and don't work normally like other apps. So i said to myself, hey i'm rooted so i'll go find them and just take 'em out! And i did! (Actually i just renamed the files) Anyways, those annoying little banners are gone from my games!

AdAway works perfectly for me, did you restart the device after you opened app and update host file?

 

[anon(394005)]

Being able to use a blocking hosts file is probably the only reason I could see a need for me to have root access. I use MVPS blocking hosts file on my home PC's that I swear as kept malware at bay over the years of surfing the far reaches of the Internet. While the Android system is far less susceptible to attack than Windows, I'd still like to be able to at least block ads. Is there any way to do so without root? Or an easy way to temporarily elevate to root to install or update the hosts file. I'm always logged into my Windows systems as LUA (Limited User Account) and created a batch file that prompts for admin access to update the hosts file.

 

[cedellh]

Never thought of rooting to block ads. That increases my desire to root my Milestone X

 

[wildman]

Being able to use a blocking hosts file is probably the only reason I could see a need for me to have root access. I use MVPS blocking hosts file on my home PC's that I swear as kept malware at bay over the years of surfing the far reaches of the Internet. While the Android system is far less susceptible to attack than Windows, I'd still like to be able to at least block ads. Is there any way to do so without root? Or an easy way to temporarily elevate to root to install or update the hosts file. I'm always logged into my Windows systems as LUA (Limited User Account) and created a batch file that prompts for admin access to update the hosts file.

I do not see a simple way to temp root to install the host file because rooting the TB requires overriding bootloader without a rewritable version that usually requires a system wipe to restore device to status to remove unroot.

 

[anon(394005)]

I do not see a simple way to temp root to install the host file because rooting the TB requires overriding bootloader without a rewritable version that usually requires a system wipe to restore device to status to remove unroot.

Thanks! I figured as much. Too bad Android doesn't allow something similar to Windows where you can easily/temporarily elevate your privileges to do so something. With Android, it's either all or nothing. Unfortunately, it's because of that reason I will not root.

 

[paintdrinkingpete]

Thanks! I figured as much. Too bad Android doesn't allow something similar to Windows where you can easily/temporarily elevate your privileges to do so something. With Android, it's either all or nothing. Unfortunately, it's because of that reason I will not root.

To get all technical here... when you gain root access to an Android device, it is still like running on a "limited user account" for about 99% of the time you're using it. The "Superuser" app that you install when you root your phone prompts you to authorize all requests to any process that requires root access, much like UAC works with windows.

 

[yodatom10]

This method is all well and good but the real question is when an app gets updated will it update okay or will it error out because you messed with it

 

[redcat22]

AdAway works perfectly for me, did you restart the device after you opened app and update host file?

Yes, but that won't work for the banners. Zynga just uses a different method (don't know the technical term) of loading the ad banners on the menu screen to these games. The ads you normally see between taking turns are gone though. AdAway works perfectly for those.

 

[redcat22]

This method is all well and good but the real question is when an app gets updated will it update okay or will it error out because you messed with it

If ya'll are interested i will let you know what happens when there is an update for these games.

 

[chubb]

I just turn mobile data and wifi off. This way calls and texts still come through but most adds won't load. Jewels star is horrible with adds. Completely ruins game play with stutters and makes it unplayable. But with no adds works perfect. Other quick response games suffer due to loading adds while playing, but no data connection fixes them. This is why I prefer developers either make a paid version or put adds at the end of a level and/or in the main menu. NOT DURING GAMEPLAY.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[anon(394005)]

I finally rooted and installed AdAway. I really like that it has the option to use the MVPS hosts file that I've trusted for years and use on my home PC's. Works great, web pages load a bit faster as they can't load ads and I have more peace of mind knowing the hosts file also blocks known malicious sites (swear its prevented malware from even getting to my PC's while browsing the far reaches of the web).

A late thanks to Pete for the info on how super user works. Now that I've seen it in action, it's pretty cool how it prompts to grant or deny access and that it logs all activity so I can see what apps have been granted or denied su permissions.