# Interenet Explorer, Pop Up Ads and Spyware **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 24, 2003, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interenet-explorer-pop-up-ads-and-spyware/203436 "2003-09-24T01:00:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interenet-explorer-pop-up-ads-and-spyware/203436/1 "2003-09-24T01:00:33Z")
So I was having a problem with some software that was installing itself, unbidden, onto my computer. I did a little research here, got Ad-aware 6.0, and that resolved _most_ of the problems. Then I went into the Privacy section Internet Options in IE, and edited the “Block list”, and that got rid of some of the other persistent problems. But there is still at least one site that I cannot block. I get a pop up every few minutes, telling me that I’ve won a free $50 shopping card from Wal\*Mart. The click through goes to a site at [servedby.advertising.com](http://servedby.advertising.com). So I tried to block that one. Then I right-clicked on the pop up, and in the properties it says that the URL is: ```auto http://www.adsrve.com/p10.php?i=2859552&u[0]=138&t=9/23/2003 8:42:28 ``` when it pops up again the URL is: ```auto http://www.adsrve.com/p10.php?i=2859552&u[0]=597&t=9/23/2003 8:47:32 ``` My question is, can I block this somehow. If not can I sue Wal\*Mart for invasion of privacy? I hear that they have a lot of money. How is this different than a phone solicitation every five minutes? Thanks for your help! ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interenet-explorer-pop-up-ads-and-spyware/203436/2 "2003-09-24T01:15:05Z")
Get yourself a free copy of [Spybot Search & Destroy](http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?lang=en&page=download), and clean the rest of the spyware off your computer. Then use [SpywareBlaster](http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html) to block over 500 different flavors of spyware. ---
**Author:** ![lilbtagna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4491bb/32.png) [@lilbtagna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lilbtagna)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interenet-explorer-pop-up-ads-and-spyware/203436/3 "2003-09-24T01:20:24Z")
In addition to Spybot, you might want to download the [Google Toolbar](http://toolbar.google.com/) to block future popups. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interenet-explorer-pop-up-ads-and-spyware/203436/4 "2003-09-24T01:28:05Z")
I added the Google Toolbar, and the first thing that happened was I got a _new_ pop up for Matchmaker. But maybe there won’t be anymor after that. I’ll try the other suggestions in a bit… ---
**Author:** ![rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/919ad9/32.png) [@rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rabbit)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interenet-explorer-pop-up-ads-and-spyware/203436/5 "2003-09-24T01:53:39Z")
you might have been unfortunate enough to get slammed with some of the nastier scumware. I suffered something similar with a nasty piece of work called surferbar. Only way to get rid of it was by finding and erasing the relevant files manually. Neither Spybot adaware or any of the other automated fixes found the bugger. (Although Im told Spybot has updated their prog. to recognize it). You might want to try doing a scan over at [www.doxdesk.com](http://www.doxdesk.com) (use the parasite link). Its usually the most effective way to find if youve got one of those nasty crap on your system ---
**Author:** ![Ptahlis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a8b319/32.png) [@Ptahlis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ptahlis)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interenet-explorer-pop-up-ads-and-spyware/203436/6 "2003-09-24T02:49:51Z")
As far as popups go, I switched to Mozilla for my browsing, and I never get them anymore. I am not an anti-MS zealot, but this is simply a product that is far superior to IE in lots of respects, and I recommend it wholeheartedly. ---
**Author:** ![lilbtagna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4491bb/32.png) [@lilbtagna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lilbtagna)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interenet-explorer-pop-up-ads-and-spyware/203436/7 "2003-09-24T04:01:29Z")
In line with what **Ptahlis** said, I downloaded the Opera browser and now I don’t even like using IE anymore. Opera has a built-in popup blocker that you can set to several different options. However, if there’s already adware on your computer, I don’t think it would really matter which browser you were working with. Did you download anything before you started getting all the popups?