OT Ad Busters, Popup Stopper Etc...Recommendations Plez!

[beth]

I downloaded a windows update a couple of wks ago and since then I have been swamped with popup ads! Never got them before... What's up with that? Did Microsoft sell me out or what?
Anyway, anyone know of a great popup killer out there that will kill these annoying pests!??

As for Windows updates, I have yet to download any update from windows that I was not seriously sorry I did. Anyone have that experience?

 

[madd catt]

Use norton symantics internet security program, that works.

 

[beth]

Hey, thanks. I was thinking of checking them out since I use their utility program.

 

[kreach]

Try Crazy Browser. It's a free downloadable browser that blocks most pop ups and works off of Internet Explorer plugins.
http://www.crazybrowser.com/

 

[timsedwards]

HiBeth,
I use internet security or firewall and it is very good.
Hmmmm is it Windows XP? Ive always downloaded updates without a problem.
Good luck,
Tim.

 

[beth]

Yeah, its WinXP. Everything ran fine until I started to download their "security updates". Then I get popus, lags, etc.
I use AOL which now has its own popup buster that works pretty well, but the AOL brouser is a lagger in and of itself....thus, mostly I use IE, which has become annoying with all the popups in the last couple of wks.

 

[bigeyedfish]

two things to help clean your machine up
spybot search and destroy - free on download.com
cleans out tracking cookies, browser problems and spyware
try popup stopper by panicware - catches pretty much anything. you can also report ones it misses and they'll update it. also on download.com

 

[clarkiiboi]

Beth, you read my mind.....I just did some kind of update and now I get pop ups in this site and never did before. Just a little bump to get some more ideas. Curious to who uses what and how good it works also.

 

[beth]

Yes, it is aggrevating that a WINDOWS update generates popup ads where I had none before.....is that how Microsoft makes its millions?

 

[brianrish]

Microsoft selling you out?? By Gorge it couldn't be!
Microsoft and sell out mean the same thing, don't they...or maybe it was Microsoft and "trying to control the world with an inferior product"...I never can remember which it is!
I'm a proud Mac user and never have problems with updates or anything.
I personally use the Safari browser, it is a beta for Macs built by Apple. It has a pop-up blocker built in. Haven't seen one since I installed it.
Buy a Mac and solve all of your problems!!
Ok, let's see if these comments start a battle!

 

[demosthenes]

Wouldn't start an argument with me! I only use XP because it came with this computer. I prefer Linux to everything else, but I use what I can get.
PS Beth, it is true. The pop-ups are due to the Windows XP update. I'm not sure if these companies are taking advantage of a Microsoft weakness, of which there are millions, or whether they intentionally allowed the pop-ups. Either way, it's a Microsoft error which will most likely never be fixed. I'd bet the cost of Windows XP ($100 For Those Who Don't Know) that if you looked up on the companies selling pop-up killers that they are in some way a subsidiary of Microsoft. Wouldn't that be a kick in the groin.

 

[beth]

Hey, BigEyedFish, how do these programs work? Are they in the background, or do you have to turn it on, etc.? How complicted is it to install/operate?
I don't want to be in worse shape than I am now.
I should reformat my HD, but don't know how.

 

[fshhub]

http://download.com.com/3000-2366-10...ml?tag=lst-0-1
just install and run, you can tweak it if yo want, but it should automatically start with windows and run in the back ground.
best of all, ITS FREE!!!

 

[beth]

I used to get those stupid grey messages constantly then one of the mods....wamp I think....posted info here on how to fix that. That got fixed. Now what I have is actual ADS that come up every time I go to a web page. The XP update did it. If I can get my pc reformated, I WILL NOT do any more updates.
Mac doesn't have many games, but my next computer [which won't be anytime soon because I just paid a fortune to have this one built] may be apple.

 

[fshhub]

kip, I have adn they are ads, that look like windows erros, just as you have suggested. And turning off messaging does not work for many of them.
I think it may also be cookie related too. It must be, at work on a server with 5 machines, only 1 has that problem.
But the program I mentioned the majority of them.

 

[bigeyedfish]

glad popupstopper helped
search and destroy just cleans out the registry and erases spyware and adware that contribute to the popups. It doesnt run like a service so you have to execute it like a program. i usually run it once a week, you'd be surprised the crap it finds and who's tracking your surfing
p.s. - one more thing, if you notice pop up stopper blocking something you want to show up. just hold down ctrl then click the link and it'll come up.
good luck and happy surfing

 

[beth]

I do get some interference with the ads. The ads are hitting me as soon as I open IE, however as soon as they start they are thrown in to the background. Meaning they don't appear in my active window, but are placed in the Programs toolbar at the bottom of the screen or popup in back of the window I am working in.
The thing that is REALLY BUGGING me is that this started as a result of an MS "critical update. Now mind you, its not like I am itching to do MS updates. I get these "popup" notices from MS telling me to install critical updates [implying if you don't do it, you'll regret it! ] I had been ignoring these but went ahead and did it and bam, here I am with add pollution on my PC. Not to mention extreme sluggishness on startup.
Anyway, I got the instructions to reformat my pc, so I think I will try that, then install a popupstopper.

 

[beth]

Originally posted by BigEyedFish
glad popupstopper helped
search and destroy just cleans out the registry and erases spyware and adware that contribute to the popups.

Don't you have to be computer savy enough with this program to be sure that you are not deleting something you need?? It doesn't really stop the popups, just gets rid of what stuff that is placed in the computer that cause the popups, right? Then you get a list of stuff the program suggests should be deleted, and its up to you to delete it or not, right?

 

[beth]

Ok, I installed popup stopper and it seems to be working! Thanks!
I also installed spybot and it did clean up the registry clutter that the program determined was spyware or whatever, but it didn't stop the popups.

 

[wrassecal]

Beth - Best Thread Ever! I would have never thought to ask about that in here. I downloaded both. I had this wierd, I have no idea what language, --- page that would pop up every time I restarted my computer (no jokes please) and spybot got rid of it. I'd tried everything I could think of. I just could not delete the program.I was scared the kids would be playing games on the computer and accidentally re-start and see that thing! Thank you, I think your question and everyones answers has helped a lot of us.