F
fc
A lot of ad windows pop up. Is there anyway to block or
uninstall them?
uninstall them?
Install the app
How to install the app on iOS
Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
S
Steve Parry [MVP]
In
try a 3rd party solution such as Popup stopper
http://www.panicware.com/process_download.html?prdid=PSPRO
fc said:A lot of ad windows pop up. Is there anyway to block or
uninstall them?
try a 3rd party solution such as Popup stopper
http://www.panicware.com/process_download.html?prdid=PSPRO
R
Rabbit
You would need to turn off javascript within IE but that is
a difficult task.
Another option would be to get Googles Toolbar which has an
automatic pop-up blocker built in.
A third alternative, and the one that I use, is to get a
copy of Firefox or Mozilla which are alternative browsers
to IE. Firefox is just the browser. No email, chat, etc.
Just a browser. Mozilla is the complete package.
Both are free and have built-in, native support for pop-up
blocking.
I'm using Firebird (the predecessor to Firefox) as I write
this here at work and use it at home as well. Other than a
few sites which don't adhere to the web standards or which
code only for IE, I have no problems.
Both may be found at http://www.mozilla.org
a difficult task.
Another option would be to get Googles Toolbar which has an
automatic pop-up blocker built in.
A third alternative, and the one that I use, is to get a
copy of Firefox or Mozilla which are alternative browsers
to IE. Firefox is just the browser. No email, chat, etc.
Just a browser. Mozilla is the complete package.
Both are free and have built-in, native support for pop-up
blocking.
I'm using Firebird (the predecessor to Firefox) as I write
this here at work and use it at home as well. Other than a
few sites which don't adhere to the web standards or which
code only for IE, I have no problems.
Both may be found at http://www.mozilla.org
E
Evi
My fave popup killer is the freebie EMS Freesurfer mk II
http://www.kolumbus.fi/eero.muhonen/FS/
But my sister in law did have one lot of popups which it couldn't catch. To
get rid of them she turned off Windows Messenger by going to Control Panel,
Administrative Tools, Services.
Right click on Messenger in the list and choose Stop.
Evi
http://www.kolumbus.fi/eero.muhonen/FS/
But my sister in law did have one lot of popups which it couldn't catch. To
get rid of them she turned off Windows Messenger by going to Control Panel,
Administrative Tools, Services.
Right click on Messenger in the list and choose Stop.
Evi
S
Steve Parry [MVP]
Evi said:My fave popup killer is the freebie EMS Freesurfer mk II
http://www.kolumbus.fi/eero.muhonen/FS/
But my sister in law did have one lot of popups which it couldn't
catch. To get rid of them she turned off Windows Messenger by going
to Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Services.
Right click on Messenger in the list and choose Stop.
This type though is indicative of possibly deeper security issues that
mean a firewall should be installed.
F
Frank
B
Bruce Chambers
Greetings --
There are at least three varieties of pop-ups, and the solutions
vary accordingly. Which specific type(s) is troubling you?
1) Does the title bar of these pop-ups read "Messenger Service?"
This type of spam has become quite common over the past several
months, and unintentionally serves as a valid security "alert." It
demonstrates that you haven't been taking sufficient precautions while
connected to the Internet. Your data probably hasn't been compromised
by these specific advertisements, but if you're open to this exploit,
you may well be open to other threats, such as the Blaster Worm that
recently swept cross the Internet. Install and use a decent,
properly configured firewall. (Merely disabling the messenger
service, as some people recommend, only hides the symptom, and does
little or nothing to truly secure your machine.) And ignoring or just
"putting up with" the security gap represented by these messages is
particularly foolish.
Messenger Service of Windows
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;168893
Messenger Service Window That Contains an Internet Advertisement
Appears
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=330904
Stopping Advertisements with Messenger Service Titles
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/using/howto/communicate/stopspam.asp
Blocking Ads, Parasites, and Hijackers with a Hosts File
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm
Oh, and be especially wary of people who advise you to do nothing
more than disable the messenger service. Disabling the messenger
service, by itself, is a "head in the sand" approach to computer
security. The real problem is _not_ the messenger service pop-ups;
they're actually providing a useful, if annoying, service by acting as
a security alert. The true problem is the unsecured computer, and
you've been advised to merely turn off the warnings. How is this
helpful?
2) For regular Internet pop-ups, you might try the free 12Ghosts
Popup-killer from http://12ghosts.com/ghosts/popup.htm, Pop-Up Stopper
from http://www.panicware.com/, or the Google Toolbar from
http://toolbar.google.com/, which is what I use.
3) To deal with pop-ups caused by any sort of "adware" and/or
"spyware,"such as Gator, Comet Cursors, Xupiter, Bonzai Buddy, or
KaZaA, and their remnants, that you've deliberately (but without
understanding the consequences) installed, two products that are
quite effective (at finding and removing this type of scumware) are
Ad-Aware from www.lavasoft.de and SpyBot Search & Destroy from
www.safer-networking.org/. Both have free versions. It's even
possible to use SpyBot Search & Destroy to "immunize" your system
against most future intrusions. I use both and generally perform
manual scans every week or so to clean out cookies, etc.
Bruce Chambers
--
Help us help you:
You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH
There are at least three varieties of pop-ups, and the solutions
vary accordingly. Which specific type(s) is troubling you?
1) Does the title bar of these pop-ups read "Messenger Service?"
This type of spam has become quite common over the past several
months, and unintentionally serves as a valid security "alert." It
demonstrates that you haven't been taking sufficient precautions while
connected to the Internet. Your data probably hasn't been compromised
by these specific advertisements, but if you're open to this exploit,
you may well be open to other threats, such as the Blaster Worm that
recently swept cross the Internet. Install and use a decent,
properly configured firewall. (Merely disabling the messenger
service, as some people recommend, only hides the symptom, and does
little or nothing to truly secure your machine.) And ignoring or just
"putting up with" the security gap represented by these messages is
particularly foolish.
Messenger Service of Windows
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;168893
Messenger Service Window That Contains an Internet Advertisement
Appears
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=330904
Stopping Advertisements with Messenger Service Titles
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/using/howto/communicate/stopspam.asp
Blocking Ads, Parasites, and Hijackers with a Hosts File
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm
Oh, and be especially wary of people who advise you to do nothing
more than disable the messenger service. Disabling the messenger
service, by itself, is a "head in the sand" approach to computer
security. The real problem is _not_ the messenger service pop-ups;
they're actually providing a useful, if annoying, service by acting as
a security alert. The true problem is the unsecured computer, and
you've been advised to merely turn off the warnings. How is this
helpful?
2) For regular Internet pop-ups, you might try the free 12Ghosts
Popup-killer from http://12ghosts.com/ghosts/popup.htm, Pop-Up Stopper
from http://www.panicware.com/, or the Google Toolbar from
http://toolbar.google.com/, which is what I use.
3) To deal with pop-ups caused by any sort of "adware" and/or
"spyware,"such as Gator, Comet Cursors, Xupiter, Bonzai Buddy, or
KaZaA, and their remnants, that you've deliberately (but without
understanding the consequences) installed, two products that are
quite effective (at finding and removing this type of scumware) are
Ad-Aware from www.lavasoft.de and SpyBot Search & Destroy from
www.safer-networking.org/. Both have free versions. It's even
possible to use SpyBot Search & Destroy to "immunize" your system
against most future intrusions. I use both and generally perform
manual scans every week or so to clean out cookies, etc.
Bruce Chambers
--
Help us help you:
You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH
B
Bruce Chambers
Greetings --
I realize that you're trying to help, and that such an intent is
commendable, but please don't post potentially harmful advice.
Disabling the messenger service, Shoot the Messenger! does, is a
"head in the
sand" approach to computer security that leaves the PC vulnerable to
threats such as the W32.Blaster.Worm. Using "Shoot the Messenger" is
as bad as doing nothing. All it does is hide the problem.
The real problem is _not_ the messenger service pop-ups; they're
actually providing a useful service by acting as a security alert. The
true problem is the unsecured computer, and you're only advice,
however well-intended, was to turn off the warnings. How is this
helpful?
Equivalent Scenario: You over-exert your shoulder at work or
play, causing bursitis. After weeks of annoying and sometimes
excruciating pain whenever you try to reach over your head, you go to
a doctor and say, while demonstrating the motion, "Doc, it hurts when
I do this." The doctor, being as helpful as you are, replies, "Well,
don't do that."
The only true way to secure the PC, short of disconnecting it from
the Internet, is to install and *properly* configure a firewall; just
installing one and letting it's default settings handle things is no
good. Unfortunately, this does require one to learn a little bit more
about using a computer than used to be necessary.
Bruce Chambers
--
Help us help you:
You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH
I realize that you're trying to help, and that such an intent is
commendable, but please don't post potentially harmful advice.
Disabling the messenger service, Shoot the Messenger! does, is a
"head in the
sand" approach to computer security that leaves the PC vulnerable to
threats such as the W32.Blaster.Worm. Using "Shoot the Messenger" is
as bad as doing nothing. All it does is hide the problem.
The real problem is _not_ the messenger service pop-ups; they're
actually providing a useful service by acting as a security alert. The
true problem is the unsecured computer, and you're only advice,
however well-intended, was to turn off the warnings. How is this
helpful?
Equivalent Scenario: You over-exert your shoulder at work or
play, causing bursitis. After weeks of annoying and sometimes
excruciating pain whenever you try to reach over your head, you go to
a doctor and say, while demonstrating the motion, "Doc, it hurts when
I do this." The doctor, being as helpful as you are, replies, "Well,
don't do that."
The only true way to secure the PC, short of disconnecting it from
the Internet, is to install and *properly* configure a firewall; just
installing one and letting it's default settings handle things is no
good. Unfortunately, this does require one to learn a little bit more
about using a computer than used to be necessary.
Bruce Chambers
--
Help us help you:
You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH
K
Kevin Davis³
Oh, and be especially wary of people who advise you to do nothing
more than disable the messenger service. Disabling the messenger
service, by itself, is a "head in the sand" approach to computer
security. The real problem is _not_ the messenger service pop-ups;
they're actually providing a useful, if annoying, service by acting as
a security alert. The true problem is the unsecured computer, and
you've been advised to merely turn off the warnings. How is this
helpful?
Don't forget that the Messenger Service would also provide a useful
service to hackers if it is not patched:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/security/bulletin/ms03-043.asp
Setup a firewall first, but if you don't need the Messenger Service,
turn it off. If you need it, patch it. You would also be well
advised to spend $50 and buy a home router.
Be especially wary of people who would insist on having you keep the
Messenger Service on as a "helpful feature" and conveniently
forgetting to inform you that it has a very serious vulnerability that
needs to be patched immediately.
And of particular interest is that Microsoft itself and security
experts are seriously reconsidering the role of the Messenger service:
http://www.infoworld.com/article/03/10/28/HNmessengeroff_1.html
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,113321,tk,dn110703X,00.asp
http://news.com.com/2100-7355_3-5095935.html
http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/11/07/microsoft.popup.reut/index.html
Here's a link where Microsoft actually outright advises the user to
turn off the Messenger Service:
http://www.microsoft.com/WindowsXP/pro/using/howto/communicate/stopspam.asp
Those who would advise not to turn off the Messenger Service for the
less than trivial unintended side benefit of being a warning is
dispensing advice which contradicts the advice of many real security
professionals.
The real problem is _not_ the messenger service pop-ups;
they're actually providing a useful, if annoying, service by acting as
a security alert.
If you were protecting your house and you had one door that nobody
ever used and that door was really loud and squeaky, would you:
A: Keep the door unlocked all the time and actually depend on the
loud squeak of the door to be an integral part of your house alarm
system to alert you of an intruder?
or
B. Since no legitimate people would ever use the door, bar the door
shut so that there was no chance no-one could enter through it?
K
Kevin Davis³
Equivalent Scenario: You over-exert your shoulder at work or
play, causing bursitis. After weeks of annoying and sometimes
excruciating pain whenever you try to reach over your head, you go to
a doctor and say, while demonstrating the motion, "Doc, it hurts when
I do this." The doctor, being as helpful as you are, replies, "Well,
don't do that."
Equivalent scenario:
If you were protecting your house and you had one door that nobody
ever used and that door was really loud and squeaky, would you:
A: Keep the door unlocked all the time and actually depend on the
loud squeak of the door to be an integral part of your house alarm
system to alert you of an intruder?
or
B. Since no legitimate people would ever use the door, bar the door
shut so that there was no chance no-one could enter through it?
E
Evi
I should have told you that my sis-in-law does have an up-to-date virus
check and firewall and that before switching off messenger I ran a complete
check for Spamware using both Adaware and Spybot. Nothing came up but
switching off Messenger got rid of these little horrors very nicely.
Evi
check and firewall and that before switching off messenger I ran a complete
check for Spamware using both Adaware and Spybot. Nothing came up but
switching off Messenger got rid of these little horrors very nicely.
Evi
S
Steve Parry [MVP]
Evi said:I should have told you that my sis-in-law does have an up-to-date
virus check and firewall and that before switching off messenger I
ran a complete check for Spamware using both Adaware and Spybot.
Nothing came up but switching off Messenger got rid of these little
horrors very nicely.
Evi
Which proves that the firewall is misconfigured, which may well be worse
than none at all because it would lull you into a false sense of
security.
B
Bruce Chambers
Greetings --
If there was a firewall installed, and the messenger service spams
were still getting through, then the firewall either needs to be
turned on, configured properly, or replaced. All you've done by
turning off messenger service is hide the problem. Do you also pull
the battery out of a noisy smoke detector, rather than look for the
source of the smoke?
Bruce Chambers
--
Help us help you:
You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH
If there was a firewall installed, and the messenger service spams
were still getting through, then the firewall either needs to be
turned on, configured properly, or replaced. All you've done by
turning off messenger service is hide the problem. Do you also pull
the battery out of a noisy smoke detector, rather than look for the
source of the smoke?
Bruce Chambers
--
Help us help you:
You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH
Ask a Question
Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?
You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.