Eurogamer

Xbox 360 users concerned at the prominent placement of advertisements on the console's new dashboard have devised a number of workarounds to disable them entirely.

Each method, as posted on Reddit, involves blocking the server Microsoft uses to deliver advertising to the console - rad.msn.com.

One option is to block the domain via your router, if the device's settings support this. After doing so, trying to access the domain via a computer and receiving a 404 or "security" error means the address has been blocked. Receiving a 403 error means the address has not been blocked.

A more detailed method involves using the free OpenDNS service, which can filter your connection and block specific sites. Instructions for doing this lie below, although using this method may require you to re-download any title updates for games you have played.

1. Sign up for a free OpenDNS account.
2. Add a network for your current IP address.
3. Go to Advanced Settings and next to 'Domain Typos', ensure 'Enable typo correction' is checked.
4. Go to Web Content Filtering settings and set the filtering level to 'None', and under 'Manage individual domains', put rad.msn.com and select 'Always block' and then click 'Add domain'.
5. On your Xbox, go to System Settings -> Network Settings -> (your connection) -> Configure Network -> DNS settings -> Manual, and enter the OpenDNS IP addresses for the primary and secondary DNS servers: 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220.
6. Clear your hard drive cache: System Settings -> Storage -> Hard Drive -> press Y -> Clear System Cache

Microsoft launched its Metro-themed Xbox dashboard this week to a mixed response. "There are benefits here, but it's also an unwieldy update that feels designed more as a way to dazzle and seduce," Dan Whitehead wrote in Eurogamer's new Xbox dashboard overview.

Xbox Live Indie Game makers spoke to Eurogamer in an article published this morning, one branding the new desktop design "an advertiser's dream".

Lol, you should post a link to this in all of the other dashboard threads with all of the complaining going on about the ads.

'Sell your X360' was an better advice that I got today. Creating an account and all is way to troublesome.

Show me how to skip advertisements on Hulu and to get the NFL to stop having TV timeouts at games I attend. Particularly the ones in December that are so frigging cold. After all my tickets cost me $300 each why should I have to wait for commercials?

One more mistep from Microsoft and I will.

That doesn't solve the annoying layout, it only replaces 1 add on the lower right with an avatar picture.

Personally I don't mind. We see ads every day in the hundreds. If I am not interested I ignore. If it intrigues me on something im actually in the market for, then Ill check it out.

I have a feeling all these ad nay-sayers are a bunch of kids under the age of 18, with no real buying power, and thus don't see ads as relevant.

lol, so you have to pay a premium to have Live access AND receive ads? LOL wow MS has really pushed out the money grabber this time.

God, this sucks though as I see others potentially copying this idea. Meh, depending on the ads space and effect on the overall use of the system, I probably wouldn't care. I typically get the free versions of apps with tiny ads for the same reason.

Another issue with the ads is the impression that this will expand in the Metro UI. Meaning you'll see this in your Windows phones and PCs with Win8.

Now this is purely speculation, but if this doesn't have a large sustained push back, it will happen.

So if you go to the Video tab what do you want to see?  What we see here is 1 advertisement (blocked in this screenshot) and 3 spots for content that is currently relevent for people. 

Do you just want a blank boring screen that never changes?