# Those pesky pop-ups **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 2, 2002, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-pesky-pop-ups/130493 "2002-10-02T03:18:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@sly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sly)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2002, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-pesky-pop-ups/130493/1 "2002-10-02T03:18:23Z")
Grrrrrr… I hate to complain (most times) but I’ve about had it with these pop-up windows on nearly every site I visit hawking everything from lower insurance rates to deep discounts on Viagra. Sure, we could all afford to save a few bucks and, Lord knows, my life would be more complete if I were sporting wood twenty hours a day. If I want to be bombarded with money-grubbing capilatists, I’ll watch PBS. Yeah, yeah, I know, the money has to come from somewhere to support this vast, digital information source, but I figure the same guys who created these flash-enhanced sites had to have a way to suppress these irritating pains-in-the-ass. I use Explorer at work and Netscape at home (diversity is key, no?) if that helps. Any takers? Sly ---
**Author:** ![Hilow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c4cdca/32.png) [@Hilow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilow)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2002, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-pesky-pop-ups/130493/2 "2002-10-02T03:38:23Z")
My favorite program by far is the free popup stopper from [http://www.panicware.com](http://www.panicware.com) I almost never see popups. The only disadvantage is that you need to be aware of sites you actually want popups to appear. I used a different one at work, but it occasionally let popups through. ---
**Author:** ![reprise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@reprise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/reprise)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2002, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-pesky-pop-ups/130493/3 "2002-10-02T03:42:48Z")
Of course you could use Opera as your browser. It has a built in “refuse pop-ups” option which can be enabled and disabled with one keystroke or two mouse clicks as needed. ---
**Author:** ![andy\_fl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@andy\_fl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andy_fl)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2002, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-pesky-pop-ups/130493/4 "2002-10-02T04:00:38Z")
[www.lavasoftusa.com/](http://www.lavasoftusa.com/) - Get Adaware to remove the spyware on your system. The basic version is freeware and Hilow gave you that other great link. ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2002, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-pesky-pop-ups/130493/5 "2002-10-02T04:02:08Z")
In case you’re wondering why you’d enable it, it’s because it disables all scripting commands to open another window. I’ll click a link promising more information, and go, “What the hey!” when nothing happens. These links are supposed to give the info (eg. a privacy policy for a website) in a new window so you ‘keep your place’ on the site. Not a problem once you’re used to it-clickety-click, pop-ups enabled, click the link & see the info, then clickety-click and they’re blocked again. I love Opera. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2002, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-pesky-pop-ups/130493/6 "2002-10-02T06:06:05Z")
go to [download.com](http://download.com) and search for pop up killer. i once used a very effective pop up killer, can’t recall the name though. also, you could set which sites it suppresses pop ups from and which sites to show pop ups from. as **SCSimmons** says, any sites for which you enable “kill pop ups” you won’t be able to launch any of the legitimate info pop-ups. but a little practice with the software and you should be able to handle that. ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2002, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-pesky-pop-ups/130493/7 "2002-10-02T06:37:23Z")
I use Netscape 7. There is a way to disable pop-ups. It calls them ‘Unreqeusted Windows’ so there’s no problem with when you actually want to open up a new window (with a click). That thread: [Netscape question re:pop-ups](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=122686&highlight=netscape) _previews_ - heh heh - the link works with the happy tongue guy. ---
**Author:** ![AndrewL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@AndrewL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndrewL)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2002, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-pesky-pop-ups/130493/8 "2002-10-02T13:54:46Z")
I use [The Proxomitron](http://proxomitron.cjb.net/). Not only does it block pop-ups with high reliability, it has all sorts of configurable filters for blocking such “features” as embedded music, blinking text, status bar scrolling text, ad banners, and those software tricks that let web sites install things on your computer without your knowledge or permission. And it’s free. ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2002, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-pesky-pop-ups/130493/9 "2002-10-02T16:50:02Z")
The Mozilla browser, which is what Netscape is based on, has a feature to block unrequested pop-ups, like Corbomite mentioned is in Netscape 7. However, Mozilla has an additional feature that AOL took out of Netscape - you can block images from certain servers. Like those annoying ad images at the top of your favorite web pages. In Mozilla, just right-click and choose Block Images from this Server. Then in the future, that ad space will just be blank. Not only is it less distracting, but web pages load faster. I was an Opera user for a long time, but Mozilla is winning me over. It’s not as responsive as Opera, but it has fewer Javascript problems that many sites cause. ---
**Author:** ![ZooMetropolis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e480ec/32.png) [@ZooMetropolis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZooMetropolis)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2002, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-pesky-pop-ups/130493/10 "2002-10-02T17:34:27Z")
If you are a windows user, and you know the address of the page you want to block, you can edit the HOST file in the Windows folder. For example, let’s say I want to block a certain address, put this: 127.0.0.1 _here goes the address_ But first of all, I would download the program named by **Hilow** , and the one named by **andy\_fl** ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2002, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-pesky-pop-ups/130493/11 "2002-10-02T21:00:10Z")
The Mozilla browser, which is what Netscape is based on, has a feature to block unrequested pop-ups, like Corbomite mentioned is in Netscape 7. However, Mozilla has an additional feature that AOL took out of Netscape - you can block images from certain servers. Like those annoying ad images at the top of your favorite web pages. In Mozilla, just right-click and choose Block Images from this Server. Then in the future, that ad space will just be blank. Not only is it less distracting, but web pages load faster. I was an Opera user for a long time, but Mozilla is winning me over. It’s not as responsive as Opera, but it has fewer Javascript problems that many sites cause. ---
**Author:** ![sly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@sly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sly)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2002, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-pesky-pop-ups/130493/12 "2002-10-03T02:56:18Z")
Thanks everyone. Opera seems to be the answer but I’m having a helluva time configuring this thing at work, what with the proxy settings and such. I tried to have the IS guy help me but he doesn’t like the idea of using an “unapproved” browser. Tech-Nazi. I’ll download a window killer tomorrow. Sly ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2002, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-pesky-pop-ups/130493/13 "2002-10-03T09:14:21Z")
Forget everything else. Adshield is the most effective ad stopper on the net. I’ve forgotten what popups look like, and not just popups, all those other ads that clutter up evry web page you load, and make loading time that much longer, all gone! [http://adshield.org/](http://adshield.org/) This program is wonderful (and free). ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2002, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-pesky-pop-ups/130493/14 "2002-10-03T11:51:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SCSimmons \* > \*\*These links are supposed to give the info (eg. a privacy policy for a website) in a new window so you ‘keep your place’ on the site. \*\* Y’all might have noticed that the SDMB works like that. Every link you click here spawns a new window. Some sites are like that, where every link spawns. I personally have no need for this sort of thing, as I know how to use the “Back” button. Sometimes you decide to click a lot of links and the multi-spawn windows become excessive. It uses up more of the computer’s memory, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Bongmaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Bongmaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bongmaster)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2002, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-pesky-pop-ups/130493/15 "2002-10-03T17:01:01Z")
I get a smile on my face every time my pop up blocker stops one. I hate those things like I hate cockroaches, and if I could find the people who actually click on them and give the advertisers the idea that we actually want them…well, bad things would ensue. ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2002, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-pesky-pop-ups/130493/16 "2002-10-04T05:20:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jomo Mojo \* > \*\*Y’all might have noticed that the SDMB works like that. Every link you click here spawns a new window. \*\* I always right-click on the links to get a new window, because I usually don’t want to have to back-surf. But, as I test it just now, I find that clicking a link on the SDMB _does_ open the link in a new window. Even with my ‘refuse’ setting on. ??? How do they do that? ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2002, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-pesky-pop-ups/130493/17 "2002-10-04T07:19:57Z")
I imagine that the refuse settings block Javascript commands to spawn pop-ups (i.e. ones that run without you taking any action). Since you chose to click the link it may be that your browser interprets that as a genuine request and allows it - particularly as it’s not Javascript related, but a simple use of **target="\_blank"** in the HTML for the link.