Problem: Ads not by this site.

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My browser has been hijacked. I have adblocker so I don't see them and I don't want to see them.
It's just a blank space with little words that read Ads Not By This Site. I think it could be a virus. My stuff didn't detect anything. I need to get rid of whatever it might be NOW!! ! So far it has begun disrupting all my activity on YouTube. I can't watch a video for 10 seconds without a split second skip. Any suggestions on what to do?

If you're getting a blank space with the words "Ads Not By This Site", that is either your adblocker, or some other browser extension, security filter, or what have you, blocking the ads. Presumably, it is telling you they are not hosted on the site.

Beyond that, OS, browser, extensions, etc. make for such a complex mix, I don't know if I or anyone else could possibly help you without extensive details...

I would have gone with what theWanderer said, and suggested that you temporarily disable the adblocker or related add-ons then checked the page again - but a swift Google search on "displaying Ads Not By This Site" unearthed this (link below) and I wonder if you now have a situation where your adblocker is successfully blocking ads inserted by an adware program you've inadvertently installed?
http://malwaretips.com/blogs/remove-ads ... this-site/

Run the search yourself in case there are more relevant clues to what's happening.

Well I checked the Add-ons and I should only have 3.

bsavin1.
Something to do with coupons or whatever. I don't have any need nor use for coupons. Deleted and Removed. Ads gone away.

Well, Cornflake was obviously right.

The misleading part (which I'm taking the time to explain in case you need tech support again) was that either you failed to describe the fact there were actual ads which included these words (as described in the link) or that your adblocker was blocking the ads, and all you got was that phrase (which is certainly possible but confusing). It isn't that uncommon for certain blocking methods to lead to white space with odd text: I use a HOSTS file, and the ads blocked by that file appear as white space, with the words "Outertech Linkman" and the version number. Outertech Linkman is one of the add-ons I use and want, and for some reason, whenever my browser can't find the server, it displays that text. So it seemed "Ads Not By This Site" could just be your ad-blocker's way of telling you it was blocking those ads. (Other ads blocked by my HOSTS file, by the way, don't appear at all; there is no white space, or any other clue there would otherwise be an ad there. I only know this because I've visited the same sites on computers which don't have the same HOSTS file installed.) The more carefully you describe what you're seeing, the easier it is to help you - and if you'd stated exactly what adblocker you'd used, then anyone could have discovered that, in this case, it wasn't the adblocker. Details are more likely to get you the information you need.

Another, very important point. If you discovered an add on you never installed, and didn't want, one which is generally considered malware, then you don't know how you picked it up. Which means you ought to run several different scans for malware on your computer, before you consider it safe to use. That's not just paranoia - I once removed over 8,000 infections from a friend's computer. (Okay, that was an extreme case. Still, one infection often opens the door for others.)

I found at least five tracking cookies and removed them. Think they could be responsible?

Tracking cookies aren't great, but by themselves they aren't much to worry about. You can pick up something nasty anywhere (and, as I already said, that may open the door to more) although the two worst places (at least, the sources of most of the infections I clean off friends' computers) are porn and Facebook. Not the only source of crap by any means (I ran across a library homepage that was infected with a "drive by download" exploit a while back) but both are risky as hell.

May I ask what security measures you utilize and/or recommend?

I use NoScript, SpyBot, Avast, CCleaner, etc....

I am always open to learning and improving my counter-measures.

Thanks in advance.

Those are all good tools. I'd add MalwareBytes, so if you suspect an infection, you have another scanner you can run. But the basic foundation of what I do is built on two things: a good HOSTS file, and doing my best to avoid obvious trouble. I will only touch free downloads from sites I trust - and actually using the checksum never hurts. That's pretty obvious stuff; you probably do at least most of it already. But the HOSTS file is really critical, because it stops at least a lot of the random problems you might run into. Yes, on some systems it can slow down your Internet speeds (if you're using Windows XP, disable your DNS Cache) but it will save you time in the long run. A good one, like this one http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/hosts.htm, lists all the malware servers known at the time. (You should update this, just like your other software.) That way, if you run into a hidden link to one of these, your browser won't connect to it. The one I linked to covers the worst of the nasty stuff - and, although it also lists a bunch of ad servers (some of which also serve malware) it doesn't get so aggressive about blocking ads that you'll have a lot of trouble with sites you use.

Now, if you use a HOSTS file, sooner or later, you're going to find a site you can't access, because it is blocked. In some cases, it may be okay, since some are added for serving ads, or other reasons. But if you run into a blocked site, at least be sure you want to visit it before you unblock it. If you just clicked on an interesting link, it might be time to forget about reading that article. If that link has even a whiff of "social engineering" about it, you really want to forget going there... The thing about a HOSTS file is, although it isn't perfect, it cuts down - drastically - on the number of infections you'll get. If I knew a better way, one that would guarantee I'd never see malware, I'd go with it in a heartbeat. I loathe malware. But since I don't, cutting out 90% or more of the infections I'd usually expect to see isn't something I'm going to sneeze at. I've even been unintentionally stupid and gotten away with it because of my HOSTS file. (I'm a writer. Some of the topics I research... well, I write stuff set in World War Two a lot, and there are some freaky people who post about that war. I certainly don't linger when I see I've hit one of those sites - wouldn't trust the info on them anyway - but I've actually gotten away with more than I'd suggest anyone try deliberately. )

By the way, one more piece of advice. Sooner or later, no matter what you do, you're probably going to have trouble. Since there's no way to be sure in advance how bad it will be, I suggest you, A: back up files that are important to you (even without malware, if you want to keep those files, it's much better to keep a few copies of them), and B: get used to the sort of tools you might have to use to fix the mess. LiveCDs are great; there are a few "forensic" ones out there, and even if you can't make sense of half of what they offer, the tools you can figure out will save your life sometimes. And there are special tools for finding and getting rid of rootkits, all kinds of stuff. If you have at least a rough idea what they are and how they work before you need to know, you'll be ahead of the game.

If you have adblocker then you're supposed to see "blank spaces that read "ads not be this site'" I would assume- because the adblocker is doing its job of blocking the ads. So I dont understand what your complaint is.

^ This issue has been resolved - see the thread's content.

The whole blank space with "Ads Not By This Site" shouldn't be there anyway. It was never there before. When something like that shows up, then something wormed its way into the browser extensions behind your back. It's suspicious enough that companies would advertise on a website without that particular site's approval and My computer is the only one seeing them while my parents' computer doesn't have them at all.

I see.

Thanks very kindly for your expertise!

:)