# Very annoying 'popovers' lately, any way to get rid of them? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 8, 2014, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-annoying-popovers-lately-any-way-to-get-rid-of-them/688011 "2014-05-08T21:44:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2014, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-annoying-popovers-lately-any-way-to-get-rid-of-them/688011/1 "2014-05-08T21:44:09Z")
Lately I have been overwhelmed by web pages that start out normal then a small but intrusive window opens up (usually asking me to subscribe or share this on FB or something likewise), it is usually difficult to find out how to dismiss them. What can be done to negate these? (Using Firefox, but willing to jump ship if that would help). Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2014, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-annoying-popovers-lately-any-way-to-get-rid-of-them/688011/2 "2014-05-08T21:53:48Z")
Your computer may be infected. There are also applications and browser addons that bundle with other apps. Have you installed anything recently? Traveled down that dark alley of the web lately? ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2014, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-annoying-popovers-lately-any-way-to-get-rid-of-them/688011/3 "2014-05-08T22:18:30Z")
It doesn’t sound like an infection. More and more websites are using these annoying popovers to ask you to share on FB or elsewhere and/or subscribe. I use FF with Adblock Plus and I’ve been getting more of them lately. I’m not sure how to stop them. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2014, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-annoying-popovers-lately-any-way-to-get-rid-of-them/688011/4 "2014-05-08T22:27:25Z")
According to [Wisegeeks](http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-popover.htm) you just have to put up with the damn things. > [@](#): > > A popover is an overlay which covers the material in a web browser without the need to create a new window. Popovers are also known as overlays. This programming trick is most commonly used for Internet advertising, although there are some other uses for popovers. One of the issues with the popover ad from the point of view of web users is that these ads usually cannot be blocked by ad blocking software, which means that the user is forced to see them. This is, of course, exactly why Internet advertisers like popovers. You might try the NoScript extension though for FF , that could possibly do the trick. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2014, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-annoying-popovers-lately-any-way-to-get-rid-of-them/688011/5 "2014-05-08T23:37:23Z")
Yeah, NoScript will often help. You can also add custom filters to AdBlock to block them after you see them, but that takes a bit of HTML knowledge (namely tracking down the right DIV layer to block). ---
**Author:** ![jerez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c68b51/32.png) [@jerez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerez)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-annoying-popovers-lately-any-way-to-get-rid-of-them/688011/6 "2014-05-09T06:15:14Z")
I’ll get this once in a while **on the SDMB**. It’s not a small window that creeps into view but a series of panels that covers the entire page. It looks like there’s supposed to be an image in each panel and my browser isn’t allowing the images to be seen. I can see what’s behind the panels, but it’s a nuisance nonetheless. There’s no visible means of clicking to make it go away. My solution is to refresh the page. On second “loading,” the panels aren’t there any more. Happens a few times a month, sometimes on consecutive days. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-annoying-popovers-lately-any-way-to-get-rid-of-them/688011/7 "2014-05-09T11:17:10Z")
The No Script seems to help but also does take some refinements, will see how it goes. Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-annoying-popovers-lately-any-way-to-get-rid-of-them/688011/8 "2014-05-09T11:41:46Z")
Do you have any example pages where this happens? ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-annoying-popovers-lately-any-way-to-get-rid-of-them/688011/9 "2014-05-09T12:32:51Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > Do you have any example pages where this happens? No, it is usually something like a link from a site line Cnet, well sometimes Cnet itself does it asking me to take a survey, that one however is very infrequent. I haven’t really paid attention to what sites they are, and with the NoScripts perhaps it will go away and I don’t have to deal with them. But if they do get through I could post it. ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-annoying-popovers-lately-any-way-to-get-rid-of-them/688011/10 "2014-05-09T12:49:35Z")
It seems more than half of the pages I’m taken to when Stumbling have these annoying things pop open, asking me to sign up to the page and/or like on Farcebook. They are rather annoying, hopefully Adblock will come up with a solution soon. ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-annoying-popovers-lately-any-way-to-get-rid-of-them/688011/11 "2014-05-09T15:56:18Z")
As a long term NoScript user, I can say that I have no idea what the OP is talking about. IMHO browsing without NoScript is just stupid. It is both dangerous and highly annoying. ---
**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:** [May 9, 2014, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-annoying-popovers-lately-any-way-to-get-rid-of-them/688011/12 "2014-05-09T16:08:03Z")
> [@jerez](#): > > I’ll get this once in a while **on the SDMB**. It’s not a small window that creeps into view but a series of panels that covers the entire page. It looks like there’s supposed to be an image in each panel and my browser isn’t allowing the images to be seen. I can see what’s behind the panels, but it’s a nuisance nonetheless. There’s no visible means of clicking to make it go away. My solution is to refresh the page. On second “loading,” the panels aren’t there any more. Happens a few times a month, sometimes on consecutive days. You should take a screen shot and report it all in the About This Message Board forum. I don’t think this is something that is supposed to happen on this board. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-annoying-popovers-lately-any-way-to-get-rid-of-them/688011/13 "2014-05-09T16:23:12Z")
I use AdBlock Plus on Firefox and have never seen the things the OP is describing. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-annoying-popovers-lately-any-way-to-get-rid-of-them/688011/14 "2014-05-09T16:46:02Z")
also tools -\> Options -\> Content Block Pop up windows should be checked. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-annoying-popovers-lately-any-way-to-get-rid-of-them/688011/15 "2014-05-09T23:45:48Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > also > > tools -\> Options -\> Content > > Block Pop up windows > > should be checked. Doesn’t help. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2014, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-annoying-popovers-lately-any-way-to-get-rid-of-them/688011/16 "2014-05-10T06:35:37Z")
As I’ve mentioned many times on this board, I run my browser with JavaScript disabled at all times, except when I specifically know that I need it enabled (which happens for things like paying bills on-line, or looking at YouTube videos, I think). I hardly EVER have the kinds of problems described here or in the many other threads about web browsing annoyances. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2014, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-annoying-popovers-lately-any-way-to-get-rid-of-them/688011/17 "2014-05-10T12:57:42Z")
I had one of these that persisted stubbornly no matter what I did. Suggestions by people on this board did nothing. One day, I right clicked on the intruder and then clicked on the “Adblock” option, which gave me a dialog window with the option to permanently block the damn thing. It seems to have worked, as I haven’t seen it since. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2014, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-annoying-popovers-lately-any-way-to-get-rid-of-them/688011/18 "2014-05-10T20:30:38Z")
Are they apple, cherry or strawberry? Oh…“pop ups” ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2014, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-annoying-popovers-lately-any-way-to-get-rid-of-them/688011/19 "2014-05-10T21:10:29Z")
Is there something like Noscript for Chrome? ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2014, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-annoying-popovers-lately-any-way-to-get-rid-of-them/688011/20 "2014-05-10T22:36:54Z")
after a few days I have to say that NoScript sucks, there is so much that it blocks that you may as well go back to rotary phones. I need a better solution. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-annoying-popovers-lately-any-way-to-get-rid-of-them/688011.md?page=2)