Ridiculous Popups

  • Thread starter Thread starter Ian Cohen
  • Start date Start date
I

Ian Cohen

I need a good popup blocker compatible with windows xp,
any suggestions?
 
While I agree with the other post that browsers like
Mozilla and Firebird do have adequate pop-up blockers
these browsers simply aren't up to the task for full
fledged surfing as they still lack such things as MS Codes
to display the pages that are written in this. They also
do not have the sophistication to automatically detect
mistakes made by site owners when displaying some video
applications and will instead display them in script. IE
will have a pop-up blocker added in the next Service Pack.
For now tools like SpwareBlaster are excellent. SpyBot
Search and Destroy also has an Immunize feature which
helps. There are also script files out there that can be
added to your drivers\etc file to block many thousands of
pop-up sites. This will be a constant battle for all
computer users. I don't own a program that is designed
solely for pop-ups but use the script program along with
SpywareBlaster and I never get even one pop-up while
surfing with IE6. I do occassionaly use Mozilla and
Firebird as well to keep up with what is new but they are
only backups for me as they have far to many problems for
my taste. Keep smiling.
 
Install the latest version of google toolbar . That has
popup blocker or even you can try system mechanic.
 
-----Original Message-----
I need a good popup blocker compatible with windows xp,
any suggestions?
.
I use Pop-Up Stopper from panicware.com . It works very
well.
 
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 year, 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 almost 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/. Myself, I use Norton Internet Security,
which, in addition to containing Norton Anti-Virus and Personal
Firewall, also blocks many of the pop-up adds on the Internet.

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
http://security.kolla.de/. 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
 

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