Pop-up Ads - Windows,
Macintosh, and Linux
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What are pop-up ads?
| What is ad-ware/spyware?
| How do I block or remove pop-up
ads/spyware? |
What are pop-up ads?
Many websites and "free" programs support themselves by
selling advertising space. This advertising often is in the form of a "pop-up
ads" or "pop-ups". Pop-ups are tiny windows that appear
seemingly out of the blue. These ads annoy most, if not all, Internet users. You can usually click out of a
single ad or two; however, pop-up ads can, at times, flood your computer.
Closing one ad generates another and then another. Pop-ups can even
appear when the browser is not open or when the user is not connected to the
Internet. These are often generated by what is
commonly referred to as "spyware".
What is
ad-ware/spyware?
Spyware and ad-ware are programs that track a
person's Internet usage reporting information back to the companies that made
the programs. It will sometimes generate pop-up advertising, or do other
annoying things like change a person's homepage to some new page resisting
the users' attempts to change it back. Spyware ranges from mildly annoying
pop-up ads to extremely
malicious, personal information-stealing software. Malicious spyware can track not only browsing habits but
personal information as well i.e., credit card numbers, passwords, bank account
numbers, etc. Some spyware can hijack your computer dialing a
long-distance, possibly an international phone number charging users exorbitant
fees.
How does spyware get on your
machine? Sometimes people install a program thinking it will do
something they want or need, yet they are unaware of what
it is doing in the background. The spyware can also come with another program that
you install. Perhaps a checkbox
went unnoticed for "Would you like to install (some spyware program)
also?" Some websites might pop up a box asking you to install
something (cleverly worded, of course) and you don't realize what it's
doing. You'll need to remove these spyware programs.
How do I block it and/or remove it?
If a person simply doesn't want to
see pop-ups, many browsers include pop-up blocking capability as a standard
feature preventing the ads from well... "popping up". These browsers include, but are not
limited to:
Note: Internet
Explorer 6 (with Service Pack 2) does come with a pop-up blocking feature.
This functionality, however, is only available for Windows XP users with SP2.
Slipstream Web Accelerator:
Slipstream
for Windows
now includes a pop-up blocking feature as well as speeds up your browsing 5 to 6 times faster.
Toolbars:
You should check if your
current browser offers pop-up blocking capability. If it doesn't,
you can always download a browser that does. A couple of the
popular search engines offer a "toolbar" that can be added to the
Internet Explorer browser that have pop-up blocking capability.
Below are links to the most common toolbars:
The Google Toolbar
The Yahoo Toolbar
The Dogpile Toolbar
The Vivisimo Toolbar
Important:
Not all pop-up blockers are good. There are pop-up blockers that
track your usage just like spyware. Always study up on the pop-up
blocker you intend to use.
Note: One thing to
be aware of when using pop-up blockers, though, is that there are good
pop-ups too. For example, when you try to compose a new e-mail message using
Web-based e-mail, a new window pops up. A pop-up blocker, however,
would prevent this.
Pop-up blockers can, at times, interfere with LaunchNet Support as well. You'll want to use
a pop-up blocker that you can turn off and on easily.
Spyware Removal:
Having pop-up blocking
capability doesn't mean you don't have or won't get spyware. You
may want to install a spyware removal program.
Spyware removal programs find
and remove known spyware and some can even prevent spyware from being
downloaded. Because only known spyware is removed, you need to
update the definitions file for the anti-spyware program
periodically just like you would an anti-virus program.
Some of these anti-spyware programs are free and others cost
money. Yet even the purchased versions often include a
free demo to evaluate the software for some time period. A few of the most
reputable and reliable free anti-spyware programs are:
SpyBot-Search
& Destroy
Ad-aware
SpywareBlaster
Note:
Unlike Spybot-Search & Destroy and Ad-aware, SpywareBlaster does not
remove spyware from your system. When updated regularly,
SpywareBlaster prevents much of the known spyware from infecting
your computer.
Important: We do not support these products and take no liability for your use of
them. You may, however, find them extremely helpful. You can also search for spyware
removal programs with your favorite search engine, or check websites such as
www.download.com or
www.tucows.com
to see what spyware removal or pop-up blocking software they have available.
Research the program before installing it. Many spyware removal
programs are spyware.
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