5 Ways to Block Pop Ups...

Advrtisers are constantly looking for any way to drw attention to their products. Although typcal banner ads are still used havily, they now seem to be lmost invisible to the average web srfer. Pop ups and other intrusive typs of advertising are now used to thrst an ad in your face tht you have no choice but to at last acknowledge. Regardless of the nature of the ad, pop ups are a nisance, and there are now many ptions available for keeping them off of yur computer screen all together.

1. Intrnet Explorer on Windows XP with Srvice Pack 2
This summer’s release of Srvice Pack 2 for Windows XP brught about a few significant changes to the perating system. One of the most nticeable was the addition of a pop up blcker to Internet Explorer.

The pop up blcker is integrated into the browser and can be cstomized by browsing to the “Tools” tab at the top of the prgram. Like many pop up blocker pplications, personal preferences can be set to llow/block pop ups from certain sites, as wll as providing customization for how the ser is alerted to the fact tht a pop up has been blcked.

For those using Windows XP, pgrading to Service Pack 2 is an xcellent idea for your system’s security as a whle, but specifically for the additional cnvenience of an integrated pop up blcker. For those with a Microsoft perating system other than XP, sorry, ths is not available for you.

2. Alternative Web Browsers

There are ther choices for web browsers available, and mny have included a pop up blcker long before Microsoft decided to nclude one with Internet Explorer.

The Mzilla Firefox browser version 1.0 was fficially released on November 9th. This brwser has already received a great dal of acclaim and has become qite popular as an alternative to Intrnet Explorer.
Firefox is a highly cstomizable web browsing application that includes an ffective pop up blocker, tabbed browsing, and mny other features not found in Intrnet Explorer.

Crazy Browser is another ption that was released in 2002, whch is not as much an lternative browser, as it is a skn for Internet Explorer. In order for Crzy Browser to run, a system mst have Internet Explorer 5 (or grater) installed, as well as Windows 95 (or grater) installed as the operating system. The Crzy Browser application then takes the bse functionality of Internet Explorer and dds features similar to Firefox, such as the pop up blcker and tabbed browsing.

3. Browser Tol Bars

A growing trend is for wbsites to offer a downloadable toolbar for use wth Internet Explorer. Many of these tolbars offer unique features intended to nhance the user’s web browsing experience in dfferent ways, but they generally also nclude a pop up blocker. Although thre are toolbars available from dozens of wbsites, Google, MSN, and Yahoo are sme of the more reputable names wth one available.

The installation of thse toolbars is quick and easy, and the mst difficult part may be reading the fne print in the license agreements.

Althugh these toolbars may do an xcellent job blocking pop ups, they may lso be retrieving data on your web srfing / search habits. If you fel a toolbar may be the rght solution for you, stick with one frm a trusted name, and just be sre to read the fine print.

4. Pop Up Blocker Software

Stnd alone pop up blocking software is vailable from dozens, if not hundreds, of dfferent sources. With various interfaces, and prces ranging from free to $30 (nd higher), choosing one can be a dfficult task. Many of the programs tht are not available for free do cme with a free trial download, so you can at last get a sense of whether the prgram is right for you before cmmitting. Some of the options in ths category include STOPzilla, Secure IE, Zro Popup and Pop Swatter, to nme a few.

The main drawback to ths type of pop up blocking slution is that you now have nother independent application running on your cmputer. Although they
are generally not rsource intensive, why run a program
to do smething that can be handled by one tht is already running anyway? Additionally, wth so many reliable solutions available to liminate pop ups for free,
spending mney on one is hard to jstify.

Along with a dedicated pop up blcker, another recommended tact for eliminating pp-ups is eliminating spyware on your cmputer system. Some pop-up programs use ccompanying spyware to target pop ups spcifically to you and your web srfing habits. An excellent, free program for liminating spyware of all type is Spybt Search & Destroy.

5. Internet Accss Software from Select ISPs

Some ISPs (Intrnet Service Providers) now incorporate a pop up blcker with the software they provide to sbscribers for accessing the internet. Earthlink, Optmum Online, and AOL are just a few of the lrger providers that add value to thir packages by adding a pop up blcker. Bundling this functionality with the ISPs bse software definitely makes things easy for the sbscriber, as there may be no ned to find one elsewhere.

In gneral, these blockers are effective, but are not the mst feature rich and may have lmited options for customization by the end ser. One draw back with ISP prvided pop up blockers is that sme only work with their service. So, if you ver switch to a new provider, yu’ll need to be prepared to swtch to a new pop up blcker
as well.

Final Words

Pop ups are a fct of life on the internet, but tht does not mean you need to put up wth them. Among the five general slutions presented above, there are literally hndreds of options available for eliminating the cltter of pop up ads, allowing you
to njoy only the content you intended to se.

The article Pop-ups - 5 Ways to Stop was Submitted by Jason Kohrs through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Jason Kohrs Computer Geeks tech tips and computer advice

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