# How do I block pop-ups? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 19, 2004, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-block-pop-ups/264933 "2004-09-19T01:55:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2004, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-block-pop-ups/264933/1 "2004-09-19T01:55:07Z")
I tried Yahoo pop-up blocker and it didn’t work. It actually blocked the pop-ups I wanted and left all the garbage. Oh and if anyone has a company that is thinking of using this internet telemarketing equivilent please don’t bother with me. I keep a running tally of companies that chose to interrupt me and I will NEVER do business with them. This means you, Champion Mortgage and University of Phoenix and [Monster.com](http://Monster.com) and [expedia.com](http://expedia.com) and . . . ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2004, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-block-pop-ups/264933/2 "2004-09-19T01:58:23Z")
Until I find out otherwise I’d suggest you switch browsers to Firefox. I inadvertantly installed the google toolbar to IE and decided, since it was a big name, to leave it. Today I went to a site with one known popup. Google incremented the ‘blocked popups’ counter, and the popup appeared anyway. But the other 11 do seem to have been successful. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2004, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-block-pop-ups/264933/3 "2004-09-19T02:04:44Z")
I also have the Google Toolbar Popup blocker, and yes, mediafastclick seems to have found a way to get popups through it, curse them to the lowest and most inaccessible cleanout pits of the bottom-most circle of hell. But those are just occasional; otherwise, it rocks. And it’s free. However, you do have to pay attention, because it will unwittingly block some popups that you want, like the interactive star chart at [skyandtelescope.com](http://skyandtelescope.com). ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2004, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-block-pop-ups/264933/4 "2004-09-19T02:08:42Z")
I’ve seen Mozilla get caught out by a few pop-ups - but only on sites which specifically demonstrated Mozilla’s failures. I guess toolbars from Yahoo and the like get installed ‘automatically’ with other software, therefore have a fairly high market penetration, making it worth the spammer-types’ while to circumvent them. Mozilla browsers are still insignificant enough to worry them. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2004, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-block-pop-ups/264933/5 "2004-09-19T02:51:51Z")
I’ve been using Mozilla for about 2 or 3 weeks, and haven’t had a single pop up. The look and feel is almost identical to IE. Try it and see what you think-- free download. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2004, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-block-pop-ups/264933/6 "2004-09-19T03:49:36Z")
I’ve had mozilla about an hour so far and no pop-ups. I was online for three hourse before and I had pop-ups every ten seconds. YESSS! Thanks! 🆒