5. Purchase a 3rd party pop-up blocker. Out of all 5 solution, this is probably the best in terms of combination defense. It will stop pop-up advertising, stop spyware and erase web browsing tracks if used correctly. We recommend Pop-Up Stopper -or- STOPzilla.

• Pros: These 3rd-party anti-popup products effectively block popup ads. They also prevent/erase spyware and adware without having to install separate anti-spyware software. These software products have no advertising on screen.
• Cons: You can get the same functionality from many no-cost popup blockers and anti-spyware.

4. Your ISP likely offers a free 3rd party pop-up blocker. Ask them. Price! They are usually free. Many Internet Service Providers will often offer free software to stop pop-up advertising.

• Pros: Free; these products are often promotional versions of high-quality paid products like Popup Killer or AdsGone.
• Cons: Remember, “you get what you pay for.”

3. Install a Google or Yahoo anti-pop-up toolbar. This is a good and free choice if you are using Windows XP Service Pack 1. If not, search Google for their latest toolbar update. The pop-up blocker is generally packaged in the bar.

• Pros: Both the Google Toolbar and Yahoo Toolbar offer 98% effective pop-up blocking (according to their advertisement), and extra search engine functions all at once.
• Cons: As mentioned, these products have only partially-effective anti-spyware. You will still need to install your own additional 3rd-party anti-spyware software. Also, if you are concerned about digital conspiracies, Google Toolbar does report your web browsing habits back to its home servers in an attempt to do statistical market analysis.

2. Be sure to install XP Service Pack 2 and use the IE Pop-Up Blocker. For security reasons, you should have long since upgraded to Microsoft XP Service Pack 2. As you perhaps know, a “service pack” is really a patch that repairs deficiencies in the software . In this case, Microsoft created XP “SP2″ to patch several security leaks in both Windows and in the IE6 browser.

• Pros: XP SP2 not only plugs 99% of the security holes in your Microsoft computer, but it also adds in some excellent built-in popup blocking to your IE6 browser. The new Integrated IE popup blocker is a favorite amongst most IE users.
• Cons: Installation can cause you headaches if you are unprepared. Also, SP2 will pester you with overly-cautious security messages every 30 seconds until you disable them.

1. Switch to Firefox for your primary browser. This is our top suggestion for browsing the Web without pop-up advertising. The Mozilla Firefox browser not only has integrated popup blocking, but it is also a feature-rich tool for viewing web pages.

• Pros: Firefox browser blocks popups, adware, and cookies. It allows specific popups through, upon your command. Firefox also has outstanding general browsing features, like tabbed pages, slick bookmarking features, integrated Google searching, larger screen viewing than IE, faster page transfers, and better security than IE.
• Cons: About 2% of web pages will not render in Firefox, including ActiveX-intensive pages and some .asp pages.