Block Those Pop-Ups!

Picture this scenario:  There you are, enjoying your new high-speed, broadband Internet connection - visiting your favorite sites, chatting with friends, checking e-mail - and suddenly, you are getting inundated with pop-up ads, which slow you down and downright annoy you.  “Will they ever stop?” You ask yourself. 

Sound familiar?  This sequence of events is not uncommon among Internet users.  Sure you can change browsers, but somehow, those pesky pop-ups always seem to sneak in.

The Cure for Pop-Up Problems

A pop-up is defined as a small window that appears over your screen image.  They are usually initiated by clicking a link or a mouse rollover.  Pop-up ads are the same concept except the user doesn’t expect them to appear.

Never fear, brave Web warrior, there are solutions to the pop-up problem that may or may not have hijacked your computer.  Even for those of you who have not experienced the wrath of pop-up ads, follow these steps for good measure, and prevent future pop-up frenzies.

Pop-up Blockers to the Rescue!

A good first step is to use your browser’s pop-up blocker on the toolbar.  Check for these on Google and Yahoo.  The second step and the good news is that there is a huge selection of pop-up blocker programs available for download.

Here are a few highly recommended programs for filtering and blocking pop-ups: 

• Filter Gate 5.21 - Filter Gate 5.21 is a four-in-one filtering program.  It removes pop-up advertisements, pop-up windows, protects user privacy and filters adult content.  Filter Gate 5.21 costs $34.95.
• Hitware Pop-up Killer Lite - designed for Internet Explorer 5 and up.  This pop-up blocker removes pop-up and pop-under ads, it will notify you when it closes a pop-up, allows you to keep a list of allowed sites or pop-ups and you can temporarily disable the blocking.  Hitware Pop-up Killer Lite is free.
• Smart Pop-up Blocker - also designed for Internet Explorer.  Smart Pop-up Blocker protects your browser from being changed without you knowing, deletes unwanted cookies, lets you keep an allowed list of sites and won’t close pop-ups that were initiated by you clicking on a link.  This program is also free.
• Pop-up Stopper Free v3.1.1012 - another good pop-up blocker, Pop-up Stopper will notify you when a pop-up is blocked, it can be disabled, contains new ad-blocking technology and comes in three versions, ranging from $14.95 to $29.95.

Get Help Now

Whether you choose to buy a pop-up blocker or download one for free, you will notice a difference in your online experience.  So what are you waiting for?  Don’t let that high-speed connection go to waste - get a pop-up blocker today.