Do you surf the internet on a regular basis? Then you must have faced the menace of pop ups at one time or another. Pop ups are those little windows that keep popping up on your screen now and then as you surf through websites. Some pop ups are irritating, but otherwise harmless, and only display advertisements. However, there are also other types of pop ups, which can install spyware in your PC. The safest thing to do is to disable or block pop ups altogether, preventing those from showing up in the first place.
You can block pop ups in various ways. However, some of these ways have just as many cons as those have pros. Here are the most popular ways of blocking pop ups:
- Turning Java script off: Most pop ups utilize code written in Java script in order to determine when to show up. So, if Java script is blocked in the web browser, pop ups cannot get executed. However, since a lot of websites use Java to show important web components and graphical data, turning off Java will deprive you of a lot of the eye candy and usefulness of websites.
- Installing a pop up blocking software: Pop up blocking software can prevent the Java script codes from executing when those start sending out calls for pop ups. Thus, pop ups never get the request to show up at all. There are quite a few of these utilities available, and many of those are free, too.
- Installing a toolbar with pop up blocker: This is a very good option, since most pop up blocker toolbars come with other useful functions as well. The Google toolbar, for instance, comes with the Google search bar, a pop up blocker, and some additional utilities built into it.
- Getting a browser with built in pop up blocker: Some web browsers come with built in pop up blockers. Mozilla Firefox is an example of such browsers. It is free, and comes with a fully functional pop up blocker built into it.
These four options can prevent almost all pop ups that you may come across while browsing the internet. However, be warned that these will also block many other pop ups that you might want to see. For instance, various online games or software utilities that use pop up windows to execute will also be blocked by the pop up blocker.
