This article will discuss ways in which to eliminate or block the majority of these imposing beasts.
Everyone who has been surfing the internet has faced the dreaded pop-up window. Many times they are harmless ads, sometimes they try to scare you into buying something or fool you into thinking you have a virus. Often when you close one pop another one pops up. The truth is pop-up advertising is effective or it would have been abandoned. It used to be that these little booby traps only lurked on the darker side of the internet, but their effectiveness has spread to even the most trusted and often visited sites. One thing is certain these little windows are definitely annoying, and sometimes harmful to your computer or your information.
The best way to attack this problem involves a little tweaking of your favorite browser and installation of a good pop-up blocker. The first step is to make sure you have good antivirus software to help protect you from the ones that like to install malware or toolbars that are often unwanted. Some antivirus suites even come with their own pop-up blocker. As always, make sure your antivirus has all the current updates as viruses are often reconfigured to bypass this protection.
The second step is to configure your browser appropriately, most have settings that help block pop-ups. As with your antivirus software always make sure your browser is also the most up to date version you can use on your system. After that is set up you can also install a third party pop-up blocker. There are many out there, some of the best ones are even free, or provided by your internet service provider. That should definitely put a stop to the pop.
When confronted with the pop-ups, remember that even a click on a close button could just open more windows, buttons can purposefully be deceptive. If all else fails close the entire browser session. It is always better to be safe than sorry.
For questions or more information feel free to email Shawn@vicariousproductions.com
