Guidescope is the
helper application available at
www.guidescope.com that enables
blocking of
cookies and
banner ads. It works similar to the
venerable Junkbuster client in that it serves as a
proxy to process
webpages requested by a user's
web browser; it will also use Junkbuster-style
configuration files if the user is
upgrading from a Junkbuster
installation or simply have particular websites that you want to block
manually. However, Junkbuster-style configuration files require manually editing a text file every time the user wishes to block a new ad or allow a new cookie; Guidescope's
pop-up control panel allows making these same changes with just a few
mouse clicks.
Besides ad and cookie blocking, Guidescope also offers an opt-in system for receiving advertisements and announcements targetted to chosen interests, a "favorite sites" button that will open windows for up to five of the user's favored sites simultaneously, and a "weather" button which uses the user's optionally-supplied zip code to check the forecast on a weather website.
Guidescope is available for multiple platforms, including Windows and Linux. However, it has a few strikes against it for hard-core open-source and privacy advocates. First, it is a closed source application, downloadable only in binary form. Second, it monitors users' browsing activity (in order to add unblocked ads to its database), though Guidescope notes that it does not even try to keep track of individual identities and browsing habits.