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Internet Security

How To Stop Pop-Up Ads

Advertising is part of what makes the internet a profitable investment for companies. Without advertising, in one form or another, the web simply could not be the free service it generally is. One form of advertising on the World Wide Web is the pop-up ad. This kind of advertising works when you open a certain website. As you open it, another window opens to display an advertisement. To close the advertisement, you either have to click on the ad or close the new browser window that has opened for you. You can also experience a version of this called a pop-under. This opens a window under your current browser window. This means you will not see it until the window you are using has been closed.

In the early days of the internet, simple banner ads on websites were profitable enough for companies. However, as the internet increased in popularity, and the dot com crash of the nineties happened, banner ads began to stop generating the cash they once were. As a result, pop-up ads became popular. They are harder to ignore. These ads also have a higher click rate, and they are more difficult to close, making them that much more likely to close a sale.

The major users of pop-up ads are pornographic websites. Sometimes the pop-up ads can get a bit more persistent with these kinds of sites. Instead of a single window opening, multiple windows open. As the user attempts to close each window, another one opens. The only way to stop this is to close the browser or shut the computer down. Another more persistent type of pop-up is usually referred to as “mouse trapping.” This type of ad fills your screen and removes all icons and menu bars so it is impossible to kill the ad. The only way to get rid of this ad is to shut the computer down, as access to other open windows, web pages, and programs is eliminated. The static image ad is also quite common. In this variation, the ad stays in one location as long as a particular program is open. This is most common with music programs and websites.

Working on the internet is not the only way to get pop-up ads. Some software programs have pop-up ads. If spyware has infected your computer, you may also be experiencing pop-up ads at random intervals.

Not only are these ads annoying, the more persistent forms of pop-ups ads can be damaging to your computer with improper shut downs of certain programs. Moreover, some of these ads can carry malware, which can be very harmful to your system. It is important to stop these ads at all costs, if for no other reason than to save your sanity.

There are several things you can do to combat pop-up ads. The first line of defense is your browser itself. A number of different companies make browsers that eliminate pop-up ads before they ever begin. Gecko-based browsers, including Mozilla Firefox and Netscape versions seven and eight, are very good at stopping pop-up ads before they even start. A Gecko-based browser is an open source web browser layout engine. It is considered to be the second most popular type of search engine layout. Other companies that make browsers that eliminate pop-up ads include America Online and Internet Explorer. Not all versions of these browsers, though, support pop-up blocking technology, so it is important to check before you install.

Another thing you can do to combat pop-up ads is install an add-on program. Several toolbars and software programs claim to block pop-ups. Yahoo's toolbar, MSN's toolbar, and Google's toolbar all claim to block pop-ups. The freeware programs KillAd and NoAds close the windows before they open. Other software programs including Super Ad Blocker, Pop-Up Stopper, Pop-Up Sentry, and Proximitron work in a similar fashion.

Many users are unaware of pop-up blocking technology. As a result, people continue to fight with pop-up ads on a daily basis. Armed with this new knowledge, though, you can be among the intelligent and begin fighting your pop-up ads with a new browser or a software add-on program.

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SolveYourProblem.com : 2007

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