# Microshit and their popups **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 7, 2004, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microshit-and-their-popups/232971 "2004-03-07T13:02:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microshit-and-their-popups/232971/21 "2004-03-07T21:27:53Z")
> [@Voodoochile](#): > > Maybe Im wrong, but it doesnt sound like he was talking about javascript popups, but the permission popups you get when some sites try to run some activex scripts on your computer (for installation of various gadgets or whatever). Yeah, but those can be faked. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microshit-and-their-popups/232971/22 "2004-03-07T21:29:18Z")
> [@London\_Calling](#): > > Okay, 20 posts in and we’re slowly getting there; is it right to say this is an issue specific to Windows XP (cos I think most people here don’t use it and don’t have a clue about this certificate business) ? No. Windows 9x and the whole 2000 family including XP. ---
**Author:** ![RandomLetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8edcca/32.png) [@RandomLetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandomLetters)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microshit-and-their-popups/232971/23 "2004-03-07T22:35:03Z")
> [@htns](#): > > I was given a checkbox on the confirmation popup “Always trust software from [scum]”. I was NOT given the option “Never trust software from [scum]”. As a result, I had to click “no” over and over. > > Tell me, Microsoft - how do you explain this oversight? When I say “no”, I mean it. Give me the option of saying “no” to a whole company if I choose. At least, let my “no” choice be permanent when I’m asked if I want ScumwareLord to install Wizzy Keen Fastsurf Popkill Gold Pro with 50K of useful code and a couple gigs of spyware. Thankfully, Microsoft will be adding a “Never Trust” feature in Service Pack2 for WindowsXP. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microshit-and-their-popups/232971/24 "2004-03-08T04:04:20Z")
> [@sevenwood](#): > > The problem with that strategy is that once you’ve made your permanent “no” decision you’d never get asked that question again - and never even get a chance to install anything new from that company or change your mind in terms of one of the installations that you’d turned down in the past. > > And in your particular case I noticed that you wanted to make that decision on your **mom’s** laptop. Maybe mom should get a chance to decide for herself on that particular piece of “toolbar crap” sometime in the future? Hell, I’ve already made up my mind that I NEVER want anything from Gator, simply because I’ve read too many bad things about the company. No matter WHAT sort of software they come up with, I doubt that they’ll change the company’s ethics, which is what I’m concerned about. One of these days I WILL actually try to figure out Mozilla or Opera. As it is, I have my internet settings to “Prompt before running Active X”, and a few other features disabled or have to have a prompt. It’s a pain, and some pages don’t run properly, but I find having a virus is even more of a pain. ---
**Author:** ![Mort\_Furd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mort\_Furd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mort_Furd)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microshit-and-their-popups/232971/25 "2004-03-08T20:30:18Z")
> [@sevenwood](#): > > The problem with that strategy is that once you’ve made your permanent “no” decision you’d never get asked that question again - and never even get a chance to install anything new from that company or change your mind in terms of one of the installations that you’d turned down in the past. > > And in your particular case I noticed that you wanted to make that decision on your **mom’s** laptop. Maybe mom should get a chance to decide for herself on that particular piece of “toolbar crap” sometime in the future? Mozilla does exactly this with cookies. I tell it “No, I don’t want to take cookies from this site ever again in the life of the Universe.” Mozilla remembers this, and never asks again. BUT Mozilla has a cookie manager control panel where I can go in al change the settings for any site that I’ve made such a decision for. No problem at all to expand the concept to trusting sites for software. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microshit-and-their-popups/232971/26 "2004-03-08T20:41:02Z")
> [@Lynn Bodoni](#): > > Hell, I’ve already made up my mind that I NEVER want anything from Gator, simply because I’ve read too many bad things about the company. No matter WHAT sort of software they come up with, I doubt that they’ll change the company’s ethics, which is what I’m concerned about. Amen. Some companies have destroyed their own reputations so thoroughly that I would be very happy to deny them access to my machine, forever. And if the miracle happens that Gator or Comet Cursor or some shitware company actually makes something I MUST try, well, I can figure out how to take them off the hypothetical “never trust and never ask again” list. But I ain’t holding my breath. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microshit-and-their-popups/232971/27 "2004-03-08T21:03:28Z")
A common them 'round here is to dump IE. Then I see posts about ‘figuring out’ Mozilla. So…any advice? Feel free to trash IE when giving adivice, because I’m fed up. It is my company’s standard, but since I use my own desktop at home now instead of my company laptop, I want to switch browsers from IE to anything. Mozilla (Firebird?) gets plugs…_is there anything to fear? other than fear itself"?_ I don’t have time to figure anything out. Brains…possibly. Time…no. ---
**Author:** ![TPWombat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbce88/32.png) [@TPWombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TPWombat)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microshit-and-their-popups/232971/28 "2004-03-09T01:08:18Z")
It’s Mozilla **Firefox** now. My friend installed Firebird a few months ago and said it was very good apart from a bit of a pain to install and configure. I gather they have rewitten the installation now - I installed a few days ago onto my 98SE box and it was smooth as a very smooth thing. Don’t recall having to configure anything, just ran the install file and off I went. Haven’t had any problems at all. And no popups!!! ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microshit-and-their-popups/232971/29 "2004-03-09T02:41:58Z")
> [@sevenwood](#): > > The problem with that strategy is that once you’ve made your permanent “no” decision you’d never get asked that question again - and never even get a chance to install anything new from that company or change your mind in terms of one of the installations that you’d turned down in the past. Doesn’t bother me a-tall. In fact, if there were a button labeled “never ever install Gator, and while you’re at it turkey-baste pure capsacin up the company’s president’s butthole,” hey, I’d click that bastard in a New York minute. ---
**Author:** ![spudzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@spudzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spudzilla)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microshit-and-their-popups/232971/30 "2004-03-09T04:20:59Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > A common them 'round here is to dump IE. > > Then I see posts about ‘figuring out’ Mozilla. > > So…any advice? Feel free to trash IE when giving adivice, because I’m fed up. It is my company’s standard, but since I use my own desktop at home now instead of my company laptop, I want to switch browsers from IE to anything. > > Mozilla (Firebird?) gets plugs…_is there anything to fear? other than fear itself"?_ I don’t have time to figure anything out. Brains…possibly. Time…no. Until recently. Mozilla Firefox didn’t have an installer; it just came as a zip file, and that was probably difficult to manage for some people. But now with the installer, there’s very little that you need to figure out. Just launch the application and you’re off. You \*can \*download and install various extensions if you want, but popup blocking and cookie whitelisting (and various other features) are built-in. Plus there’s no ActiveX. ---
**Author:** ![Urban\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Urban\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urban_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microshit-and-their-popups/232971/31 "2004-03-09T11:01:43Z")
I would check the cookies setting though. Make sure “Ask me before accepting a cookie” is checked. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microshit-and-their-popups/232971.md?page=1)