# How do pop-ups get past my pop-up blocker? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 23, 2009, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-pop-ups-get-past-my-pop-up-blocker/514870 "2009-10-23T15:30:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-pop-ups-get-past-my-pop-up-blocker/514870/1 "2009-10-23T15:30:30Z")
I use IE7 and occasionally I get a pop-up even though blocking is on and usually works. How does this blocking work and why does it fail? I am talking about navigating to a web site, and then with no further clicks I get another window open up with an ad, either on top of or underneath my current window. (I am not talking about clicking on a link that opens in a new window.) ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-pop-ups-get-past-my-pop-up-blocker/514870/2 "2009-10-23T15:41:22Z")
My impression is that there are many different ways of causing a new window to occur. Possibly some of them are blocked, and others are akin to spyware in that the new window takes advantage of a bug or flaw in the software? ---
**Author:** ![Dripping](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d2c977/32.png) [@Dripping](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dripping)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-pop-ups-get-past-my-pop-up-blocker/514870/3 "2009-10-23T16:24:32Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > I use IE7 and occasionally I get a pop-up even though blocking is on and usually works. > > How does this blocking work and why does it fail? It doesn’t work because it’s Microsoft crappy IE and it fails because it’s Microsoft crappy IE. Get Firefox. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-pop-ups-get-past-my-pop-up-blocker/514870/4 "2009-10-23T16:40:50Z")
> [@Dripping](#): > > It doesn’t work because it’s Microsoft crappy IE and it fails because it’s Microsoft crappy IE. Get Firefox. While this is good advice- I, personally, install Firefox and AdBlock as the first two things I do on a new computer- this doesn’t always help. Even with Firefox and AdBlock, I do occasionally find popups. Or, more frequently, popunders. Firefox doesn’t fix everything, and IE isn’t always completely worthless. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-pop-ups-get-past-my-pop-up-blocker/514870/5 "2009-10-23T18:15:24Z")
The pop-ups that come up on [del]Snopes[/del] a website that I go to everyday have managed to get past Firefox, IE, and AVG. They must be using some high-powered dickware. ---
**Author:** ![HorseloverFat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8e8cbc/32.png) [@HorseloverFat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HorseloverFat)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-pop-ups-get-past-my-pop-up-blocker/514870/6 "2009-10-23T18:20:05Z")
Web technologies are a lot more complicated than we tend to think they are. You can make pop-up or pop-under windows in javascript in a few different ways. You can also obfuscate code to fool blockers. On top of it, blockers try to be intelligent. For instance, I may click on something that brings up a pop-up but because its a click-event (or whatever they are called in js) its not considered a pop-up. This makes using the web easier but might be exploited by someone who wants to get past your pop-up defense. Lastly, I dont think anyone blocks pop-unders. Netflix is notorious for this. Pop-unders dont have the stigma that pop-ups have. FWIW, I find IE to do just as well as Firefox in this regard. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-pop-ups-get-past-my-pop-up-blocker/514870/7 "2009-10-23T18:25:35Z")
> [@HorseloverFat](#): > > Web technologies are a lot more complicated than we tend to think they are. You can make pop-up or pop-under windows in javascript in a few different ways. You can also obfuscate code to fool blockers. I am a software development manager. Although I do not have a strong background in web development, I have written some JavaScript, and have done a taste of J2EE and a bunch of PHP (none of it for production systems). I am asking the question because I was looking for a somewhat technical explanation. > [@Dripping](#): > > It doesn’t work because it’s Microsoft crappy IE and it fails because it’s Microsoft crappy IE. Get Firefox. Thanks for the opinion but this comes nowhere near to answering the question. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-pop-ups-get-past-my-pop-up-blocker/514870/8 "2009-10-23T19:20:16Z")
> [@Dripping](#): > > It doesn’t work because it’s Microsoft crappy IE and it fails because it’s Microsoft crappy IE. Get Firefox. That may not be possible for someone who doesn’t have all the needed permissions on the computer they’re using. ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-pop-ups-get-past-my-pop-up-blocker/514870/9 "2009-10-23T19:28:47Z")
Some popups are generated by Flash, which isn’t caught by AdBlock, as that only handles primarily Java/Javascript-based pop-ups. Get FlashBlock in addition to AdBlock and you’ll be good to go. FlashBlock requires you to give permission either on a case-by-case basis, or on a whitelist-basis to sites with Flash content. Using these two plugins, I haven’t gotten a popup in _ages_. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-pop-ups-get-past-my-pop-up-blocker/514870/10 "2009-10-23T19:35:03Z")
If you want a more technical answer, can you post a link to a page or a site that does this for you? One of us can check out the Javascript and tell you what it’s doing. Could be that it’s not the web sites - your browser is infected and the pop ups are coming from that. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-pop-ups-get-past-my-pop-up-blocker/514870/11 "2009-10-23T21:46:53Z")
The Cincinnati Enquirer website always manages to get Netflix popups right by Firefox. I think ESPN’s website has it too. I never can block Netflix popups. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-pop-ups-get-past-my-pop-up-blocker/514870/12 "2009-10-23T21:59:38Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > The pop-ups that come up on [del]Snopes[/del] a website that I go to everyday have managed to get past Firefox, IE, and AVG. They must be using some high-powered dickware. Do you have Adblock Plus installed in Firefox? I don’t get any popups from Snopes. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2009, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-pop-ups-get-past-my-pop-up-blocker/514870/13 "2009-10-24T03:16:59Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > If you want a more technical answer, can you post a link to a page or a site that does this for you? One of us can check out the Javascript and tell you what it’s doing. > > Could be that it’s not the web sites - your browser is infected and the pop ups are coming from that. I have gotten them on Snopes but am unable to reproduce the situation at the moment, will get back. It surprised me because I think of them as a device used on less scrupulous sites. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2009, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-pop-ups-get-past-my-pop-up-blocker/514870/14 "2009-10-24T04:07:20Z")
These, > **[Popup Check – Test your popup blocker](https://www.popupcheck.com/)** > > Free Popup Blocker test to check your pop up blockers ability to block pop ups. [www.popuptest.com](http://www.popuptest.com) _might_ help narrow down the cause. CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2009, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-pop-ups-get-past-my-pop-up-blocker/514870/15 "2009-10-24T15:34:58Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > The Cincinnati Enquirer website always manages to get Netflix popups right by Firefox. I think ESPN’s website has it too. I never can block Netflix popups. Today’s [Get Fuzzy](http://comics.com/get_fuzzy/2009-10-24/) is rather timely. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-pop-ups-get-past-my-pop-up-blocker/514870/16 "2009-11-21T23:23:03Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > If you want a more technical answer, can you post a link to a page or a site that does this for you? One of us can check out the Javascript and tell you what it’s doing. The following link caused a pop-behind for Netflix [AMC | Watch TV Shows & Movies Online | Stream Current Episodes](http://www.amctv.com/originals/the-prisoner/episode-1) The pop-behind window had the following URL [http://cdn.optmd.com/V2/67739/163236/index.html?g=AQAP9pU=&r=www.amctv.com/originals/the-prisoner/episode-1](http://cdn.optmd.com/V2/67739/163236/index.html?g=AQAP9pU=&r=www.amctv.com/originals/the-prisoner/episode-1) I was unable to reproduce this, though, so it may be generated randomly.