The Right To Choose - No Pop Ups If You Please (Pop-Up Stopper)

Member Name: kenjohn

Product:	Pop-Up Stopper
Date:	06/08/02 (2057 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Stops pop up windows in their tracks

Disadvantages: Prevents you opening new windows automatically

~ ~ When I conducted a search of the dooyoo and Ciao Categories to discover whether or not this utility was listed at the two sites, I was amazed to find that are only three opinions about it in total.
I say I was amazed, as one of the biggest gripes from members in the time I have been a member both here at dooyoo and over at Ciao has been about those bloody annoying little ‘pop up’ windows that make their mostly unwelcome appearance on the site from time to time.

~ ~ Now I fully realise that one of the main sources of income for dooyoo comes from the amount of advertising that they have about the site, and even more specifically from the number of ‘click through’ responses that these adverts receive from members and visitors. Even more revenue is earned if you happen to join another site, or make an online purchase as a consequence of reading one of the many adverts.
I support both dooyoo and Ciao as best I can by making sure that I click on at least half a dozen banner adverts every day, and where it’s at all possible, I also use the banner ads to make online purchases such as DVD’s, books, ink cartridges for my printers, etc.
I have also joined an online bookmakers (Ladbrokes) through a banner advert, and spent some considerable pennies there, so presumably dooyoo (and Ciao) make additional revenues from these ‘click throughs’. I hope so anyway, as it costs me nothing extra to do things this way, and it’s a way of repaying the two sites for the many hours of pleasure that they have afforded me over the last couple of years.

~ ~ But one form of insidious advertising that I simply cannot stand are these damned little pop up windows. Another form of the same thing is a site that automatically transfers you to one of its other partner sites whenever you click the button to leave it.
At least with a banner advert you have the CHOICE of whether or not you want to click on it, and
aren’t having it literally rammed down your throat every couple of minutes, as is the case with the pop up adverts.

~ ~ So you can imagine my unbridled joy when I discovered this little utility, the ‘pop up stopper’ at some point about a year ago.
It quite simply does just what the name implies, and stops those damned annoying little ads in their tracks. The method is simplicity itself. It just stops your browser from automatically opening any new Windows when you are online.
Now there IS a slight downside to this. You can’t have multiple windows open up automatically when you are reading opinions, as I often do when I am reading in a particular Category, especially the Sports Category here at dooyoo where I carry out the function of Category Guide.
It also means that you can’t automatically load up all your friend’s opinions from your Circle of Friends here at dooyoo, if you happen to have them on email alert status. (as I have)
But this is very simply overcome by either temporarily disabling the utility, (one click) or as I tend to do by holding down the ‘Control’ button on your keyboard whenever you open up a new window.
But to be perfectly frank, I find this no effort whatsoever, and after a while of using the pop up stopper, you tend to find that you instinctively reach for the ‘Control’ button every time you want to open up a new window.
I consider that a very small price to pay in relation to the amount if frustration and hair pulling that I used to have to endure with all those blasted pop ups!!

~ ~ You’ll find this little beauty of a programme at a site called http://www.panicware.com.
It’s a very small download, (under 500K) so even if you have a slow Internet connection, it won’t take you long to download. And it’s compatible with all versions of Windows, and will also run with no problems if you use Netscape. (If you use the
Opera browser, I’m afraid you’ll just have to load it on and see if it works OK, I’m afraid.)
It’s a freeware programme, so no need to worry about you being ‘cut off’ after a certain period of time. There are a couple of other versions available that you have to pay for, and which have a load of extra features compared to the free version. The ‘Pro’ will cost you $19.95, and the ‘Companion’ $39.95, so presumably this is how they make their money. By convincing you that you should invest a few of your spondoolicks in the upgraded versions. But I’m perfectly happy with my free version, thank you very much, and find it perfectly adequate for all my needs, as will most home users.
Once you have it installed, it simply sits there in your System Tray, quietly going about its business.
There are a couple of personal preferences that you can preset. One is to have it load automatically whenever you start up your computer, (I use this) and the other is to have either a visual or sound warning displayed every time it stops a pop up.
Whatever you do, DON’T be tempted to enable either of these functions, as you will be driven to the nearest lunatic asylum in very short order. They are VERY annoying, and almost as bad as the pop ups the programme is designed to prevent.

~ ~ Before I downloaded this programme I used to use another utility called ‘Ad-Alert’, which provides much the same function. However, I find that the ‘Pop Up Stopper’ is much easier to use, and once installed stops practically 100% of all the pop ups, something that sadly couldn’t be said for ‘Ad-Alert’.
Go on. Give it a try. I promise you won’t be sorry. Very highly recommended by the ‘mad cabbie’.

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