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STOPPING POP-UPS

If you've ever surfed the web, you know what we're talking about.  Those windows that suddenly appear over, under and through the web page you're viewing.  Why these companies do this, or pay for this, or even allow this is beyond the ken of mortal man, however stopping them is relatively straight-forward.

Most modern browsers have built-in pop-up blockers these days.  One of the best ways of dealing with pop-ups is to have a browser that stops them.  And the best browser for stopping pop-ups (among other things) is Firefox.

There are two kinds of pop-ups:  Active-X banners (those are the ones that create pop-ups you can't close) and JavaScript activated windows (which you can close, but they often spawn many more when you do).  

Internet Explorer - the most used browser - has both abilities built in.  Active-X is used to help download and install programs without the user's intervention - which is great for Microsoft, who invented Active-X to do those automatic updates.  But if you are the victim of spyware, it's probably because of Active-X allowing a malicious program to be downloaded and installed without you even knowing it.

Firefox doesn't have the ability to run Active-X at all, so Active-X sites CAN'T do pop-ups on you or automatically download malicious programs if you use Firefox.  But both browsers also do Java, so pop-ups and spyware there are still a possibility.  Yet, one thing Firefox has that Internet Explorer - even IE 7.0 - doesn't is the ability to add well-tested 'add-ons' to the function of the browser.  And three of the best for Firefox are, NoScript, IEView and AdBlock.

NoScript automatically turns off Java for each website you visit UNLESS YOU WANT JAVA TO WORK.  You can then set it to run Java temporarily (while you're at the website for that one instance) or permanently.  Some websites, like banks, merchants, web-based e-mail, etc. require Java to be run, and (usually) can be trusted not to mess with your computer.  NoScript allows you to surf new websites with much greater security.  

In the event you hit a website that can't work with Firefox (and there are some), the IEView add-on allows you to right-click on the non-operating webpage and then open it in a tab within Firefox as an Internet Explorer webpage - which means Active X or Microsoft proprietary components will then work without leaving your browser for another browser window.  When the tab is closed, or you surf away from that website, the Internet Exporer part of the program is also closed.

Finally, AdBlock does exactly what the name implies - it blocks ads from flashing, blinking and running across your page in a distracting, eye-bleeding collage of imagery.  It is able to block a single ad, or ALL ads from the ad server supplying them.  If you like ads, but want to get rid of the annoying ones, AdBlock is the add-on that lets you see what YOU want to see.

If all of this seems like an advertisement for Firefox, it is at least a strong recommendation.  Regardless of the security improvements in IE 7.0 (which are not inconsiderable) Firefox remains far more secure for several reasons, not the least of which is that it doesn't run Active-X and can run on machines NOT running Windows XP or newer operating systems as well. (Unlike IE 7.0 which is restricted to Windows XP and newer operating systems.)

Firefox can be downloaded here:

Adding extensions is explained here: (Note: Although this website explains how to add extensions or add-ons, the add-ons recommended on this site are not necessarily recommended by PCT Computer Services.)

Once you have installed Firefox, click here for NoScript, click here for AdBlock and click here for IEView.

Best of all, Firefox is free of charge.

However, for those unfortunate enough (or stubborn enough) to stick to the older browsers without pop-up blocking options, here are some tips on how to turn Active-X and/or Java off.

Just keep in mind that doing so may disable the tools necessary to use certain web sites that accept on-line payments.  Therefore, you will have to know how to turn the features back on when necessary.

Click the appropriate browser for turning off pop-ups:

Internet Explorer (5.5 and 6.0)      Turn on pop-ups             Turn off pop-ups

Netscape 4.7                                 Turn on pop-ups                Turn off pop-ups

Netscape 7.0                                 Turn on pop-ups                Turn off pop-ups

If your primary browser isn't here, it may be a good idea to upgrade to one of the ones above.  (We don't support Linux as yet, so those of you who use the Mozilla browser are on your own!)

For Internet Explorer users:  Turning pop-ups off is more complicated than turning them back on, but neither is that difficult once it's been practiced a few times.

1.    Click Tools

2.    Click Internet Options.

3.    Click on the tab that says 'Security'.

4.    Click on the Custom Level... button.

5.    Under Active X controls, disable all Active X options. The first one  and the last two should be all you need to disable.  The others should already be disabled.  If not, disable them.

6.    Under Microsoft VM, disable Java

7.    Scroll down to Scripting and disable active scripting.

8.    Click OK (and then Yes to the message asking if you want to do this) then click OK again.

You may now surf with pop-up immunity.

For Internet Explorer users Turn on Pop-ups:

1.    Click Tools

2.    Click Internet Options.

3.    Click on the tab that says 'Security'.

4.    Click Default Level button

5.    Click OK and click OK again.

6.    Click the Refresh button.

(Note:  If you do not want to turn on the Active X animations, which are pop-ups you can't turn off using Alt+F4 or close with the mouse, just enable Java High Security and Active Scripting only and do not use the default level.  Then when you go to turn off pop-ups, you will only need to disable Java and Active Scripting instead of the three Active X controls as well.  No web pages for financial institutions or purchasing, as of 6/2003, require Active X to use their web sites.  This means you can surf all the time with Active X animations turned off if desired.)

You may now surf with caution.

 

Netscape 4.7 to turn off pop-ups:

1.    Click Edit

2.    Click Preferences.

3.    Click Advanced.

4    Click on the check boxes next to Java and JavaScript to Un-check them (Must not have check marks in order to disable them.)

5.    Click OK.

Netscape 4.7 to turn on pop-ups:

1.    Click Edit

2.    Click Preferences.

3.    Click Advanced.

4    Click on the check boxes next to Java and JavaScript to check them (Must have ckeck marks in them to be active.)

5.    Click OK.

6.    Click the Refresh button.

 

Netscape 7.0 to turn off pop-ups:

1.    Click Edit

2.    Click Preferences.

3.    Click Privacy and Security

4.    Click the 'Suppress pop-ups' option.

5.    Uncheck the options to play a sound and to notify you by displaying an icon when a pop-up has been suppressed.

6.    Click OK.

 

Netscape 7.0 to turn on pop-ups:

1.    Click Edit

2.    Click Preferences.

3.    Click Privacy and Security

4.    Click the 'Enable pop-ups' option.

5.    Click OK.

6.    Click the Refresh button.

 

There are many pay and free pop-up killers that do the same thing as following the above instructions and many of them may be more convenient than doing it manually.  However, having another program outside your browser handle this task may permanently disable the ability to use necessary web sites.  This method, while occasionally tedious, can be used for the majority of web browsing and to kill the pop-ups and flashing ads that do more to distract and annoy than attract.  If you don't want to change your browser, these instructions should help you surf the web in greater safety.

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Last modified: November 15th, 2009