HOWTO: Block ads in Chikka Txt Messenger v4

Chikka ads appear non-obtrusive (yet) and small enough to not be a bandwidth hog (yet) but similar guides/apps have sprung up for Y!M, AIM, etc. Besides, auto-update breaks my IM session :-\ And I'm on XP so adjust if you're using an older OS.


1. Add this to your Hosts file ^[1]:

Code:

127.0.0.1 imu.chikka.com

Or block all incoming/outgoing connections with your firewall on that hostname or 209.10.203.112

2. If you want to delete exisiting ads, purge recursively:

Code:

%USERPROFILE%\ChikkaDefault\Data\ads

3. To completely remove/hide the ads placeholder in the GUI on the default theme:

Edit skins.xml from (default install directory):

Code:

%ProgramFiles%\Chikka Messenger\Chikka v.4\skins\Default

Search for:

Code:

<control id="807" rect="44,390,174,450">

Yes, that's the same as the coords attribute of HTML's <map> tag. Now replace with:

Code:

<control id="807" rect="44,0,174,0">

Output:

Note: Blocking imu.chikka.com will also effectively block auto-update, the "web updates" dialog contents and some other (blank) pages that dont seem to be used at this time. MMS should still work as it uses a different address.

^[1] Places to get good Hosts files: [ 1 ] [ 2 ]