Ask The STI Help Desk –
How Do I Get Rid Of Pop-up Windows That Appear When I Am Surfing The Web?
By Sierra Tel Internet & Cornerstone Publishing

June 9, 2005

Question: I keep getting these annoying "pop-ups" and "pop-unders" that appear when I access certain websites. Is there a way of quickly getting rid of these?

Answer: This is a more recent marketing technique used by some online advertisers. When a surfer accesses certain websites, a small pop-up window (or sometimes a pop-under window) appears. (Pop-under windows are windows that appear underneath the web page window the user has requested. Many times the user may not even know it is there until he or she is getting ready to close his or her web surfing session.)

The goal of the pop-up advertiser is to encourage the web surfer to click on the advertiser's window rather than going to the originally requested site. Research has shown that most Internet users consider this form of marketing an annoyance. However, this marketing method must be somewhat effective as online advertisers continue to utilize it.

So how do you prevent these pop-ups? There are some freeware programs available on the Web that will automatically block specific pop-up ads. Google.com has a good one included in their Internet Explorer toolbar. Also, several new web browsers allow users the choice of blocking pop-up ads. For example, Apple's Safari web browser for OS X includes a "Block Pop-up Windows" command.
Alternatively, you can get rid of pop-ups and pop-unders by either clicking on the little box with the "X" in it at the top right corner (left corner on a Mac) of the pop-up or pop-under window. An even quicker, shortcut method is to press the "ctrl" key and then the "W" key on your keyboard on the PC, or the "Command" key and the "W" key on your Mac. This will cause the pop-up or pop-under window to immediately disappear. Give it a try next time one of these annoying windows appears.

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