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Are you annoyed
with pop-ups everywhere?
The first thing to do is to make sure these pop-ups are not
being generated from within. That's right ... many parasites,
adware enabled software downloads and P2P files will create
pop-ups. They do this for various reasons including trying to
entice you into purchasing some other type software such as
pop-up blockers, or "IE cleaners". However the big
trend now is to entice you to run a (in most cases a bogus)
freeware "Anti-Spyware" scan. Don't get fooled by
these tactics .... remove them by scanning
your system for spyware and parasites.
Note:
using a HOSTS file can help
prevent these parasites from infecting your machine in the
future. |
Preventing Messenger
Spam
Next make sure these pop-ups are not "Messenger
Service Spam". Messenger Service is now turned off
(disabled) in XP SP2/Vista/Win7. These pop-ups are generated by the same type sleazy
characters (parasites) however they take advantage of the fact that
the user does not have a Firewall installed or not setup properly. Make sure your system isn't vulnerable with this
one-click
test. A Firewall is a must-have if you are on a broadband
connection.
- Test
Your Shields by Gibson Research
Even Windows XP/Vista Firewall can be "stealth" if setup
properly! [more info]
- Note: you'll find most of the spammers are targeted
(blocked) by the HOSTS file.
Preventing Browser
Pop-ups and Unwanted Web Site Pop-ups
You can prevent many of these browser pop-ups by
using
a HOSTS file and placing many of these 3rd party ad pop-ups in the
"Restricted Zone".
Many of these web site operators try to generate revenue by
bomb-barding you with "click-thru" pop-ups. They use a
variety of tricks such as javascript pop-ups, delayed pop-ups, pop-unders,
and what they call "Show Behind". All this just to generate
a few cents-per-click. You'll find that many of these actually lead to
adware, spyware and parasites installs (hijackers).
| Editors Note: be very careful downloading programs, some are
now adding themselves to the "Allowed sites" list for IE's pop-up blocker.
C2Media/LOP and a few others are known to use this method. At this time
none of the
"Anti-Spyware" scanners detect these unwanted sites in
this location.
If you find any unwanted or unknown sites listed in the
"Allowed sites" list, highlight and click Remove. If you
find these sites return after a reboot, then
scan your system for
adware/spyware.
The "Allowed list" can also be managed via Group Policy
in XP.
Start | Run (type) gpedit.msc (click Ok)
Navigate to: +User Configuration
+Administrative Templates
+Internet Explorer
In the right pane highlight: Pop-up Allow list
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