Wave Bye-Bye To Pop-Up Advertising (Pop-Up Stopper)

Member Name: wampyrii

Product:	Pop-Up Stopper
Date:	11/08/02 (1785 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Free 'n' Easy

Disadvantages: Those DHTML thingies slip through grrr

Most people have come to appreciate that in order for the internet to carry on thriving there needs to be some means by which site owners get paid for their time and dedication spent in bringing these sites to us. Affiliate schemes, banner advertising etc. are amongst those revenue generating schemes, which most of us can deal with because they aren't too intrusive upon our own browsing experience, but pop-up ads are a different thing entirely for many. Having another window, often a full screen one these days, sometimes with sound and video playback (grrr!) opening up unrequested is not only annoying, but also slows up your browsing experience as well as, it has to be said, seeming to be the cause of the most crashes on my system. Ignoring switching to the Opera browser as a means of combating these things, there are fortunately a number of different pieces of software out there which can be used to suppress these pop-ups and keep them from erm...'popping up'. Of all the ones I've tried, I've found Pop-Up Stopper to be the simplest and most stable of them all which is why I choose to review it here - but you'll find plenty of alternatives if for some reason it doesn't float your boat as you quite expected.

It's a difficult program to talk about to be honest, there really isn't too much to say because it simply does exactly what it's name suggests and nothing more. But here goes:

Pop-Up Stopper is quite a popular program and therefore should be available from all the usual major download sites such as tucows.net or download.com and also from the manufacturer's own site which I'll list at the end of the review. The official site lists 3 versions of Pop-up Stopper with increased functionality depending upon your needs, but personally I find the free version does everything I require of it without delving into the more complex features of the "Pro" and "Companion" versions which allow
extra features such as cookie management and the option to log pop-up statistics...I just want to block them and I'm sure most other private computer users will have the same basic requirements. Obviously this is how Panicware (the producers of the software) make their cash (it's spyware free, requires no registration etc.) but for me, totally unecessary. A full listing of the advanced features of the 'pay for' versions of Pop-up Stopper can be found on the Panicware site, I'm not about to list them here because there are too many, but I'll provide the link at the end once more.

As seems to often be the case with software like this, it supports the two main browsers of Netscape and Internet Explorer (version 4.x and higher in both cases, with the very latest version supporting Netscape 7.x preview) only, whilst offering no functionality for others like the AOL browser or Opera, which from what I'm told has a pop-up suppressor built in anyway so you'd be a little odd if you wanted this too. There is also no option for Mac users other than to look elsewhere because, as sadly often seems to be the case, there is no Mac compatible version as yet and no claims on site that they even consider making one either. I'm unsure about support for operating systems other than Windows, there is no information on this either on the Panicware site or in the documentation, but reading between the lines seems to suggest it's Windows compatible only - but all versions from '95 through to the latest 2000 and XP versions are covered so most home users will be able to take advantage of the software.

So...once you're satisfied you can actually use the software (and the other system requirements are minimal) then it's away you go with the download. The actual installation file is a mere 442k in size for the current version of the free software (ver. 2.9) which means it'll take a couple of minutes at most on even the
slowest of internet connections. You'll be downloading an installation file called popupstopper.exe which when opened will guide you through a fool-proof installation process. It really is very easy to install and even easier to use. Once downloaded, you'll need to close all email programs and browser windows before the installation - this is important if you want the software to work correctly - and then it'll take you by the hand as it guides you through the very few options at your disposal in the "set-up wizard". The options at your disposal are these:

? To start on start-up

You can choose whether you want Pop-up Stopper to automatically start each time you reboot your computer or have it set up so that you have to manually open it each time you want to use it. Personally, I find it such a small and unobtrusive program that I have it running in the background even if the pop-up filtering option is turned off without any noticable loss of system performance as a result.

? Display welcome screen when Pop-up Stopper starts

Umm, why would you want an advert for Panicware each time it starts? A simple checkbox allows you to turn off this 'option'.

? Play a sound whenever a pop-up is prevented

You'll want to turn this off immediately, again a simple matter of unchecking a checkbox, because it'll soon become twice as annoying as having the pop-up windows themselves! Panicware claim this feature allows you to see that Pop-up Stopper is working...but I prefer to let the lack of pop-ups prove it's working myself without an annoying sound accompanying it!

? Flash system tray icon whenever a pop-up is prevented

Again, the same as the above option, but less annoying. A red circle with a slash through it appears each time a pop-up is prevented over the system tray icon for pop-up stopper...it's not annoying, but it's somewhat unneccesary...

? Do
not allow browser pop-up windows

This is the whole point of you downloading this software so initially you will want allow it, although there are times when you want to turn it off which can be done very simply, but more on that later.

That's it, those are your options, so not exactly bursting at the seams with complex little bits and pieces to fox the newbie user or to confuse the techno-bimbo is it? Once installed Pop-up Stopper will add a small icon with a red/grey cross in the middle to your system tray (that bit on the bottom right of your screen next to the system clock) whenever it is running. Usage is then very simple indeed. If the cross is RED then any browser pop-ups will be prevented, if GREY then it is set to allow pop-ups. Double-clicking the icon alternates between these two settings to allow you to turn the program on and off with the greatest of ease. Right-clicking on the icon brings up an options menu allowing you to view help files, change the preferences described above and see the obligatory "About" info. screen which all software comes with. Very simple and very, very easy to use.

One problem you might come across (if you don't read the instructions like me) is that when you try to open a new browser window Pop-up Stopper suppresses it like it would a pop-up advert, so I found myself constantly turning the program off and on to get around this...which works nicely, but is silly when after reading the instructions you find it to be quite unnecessary. *sheepish grin* Holding down the ctrl + shift keys together bypasses the pop-up suppression and allows new browser windows, or wanted pop-up windows to open. Clicking links in emails and on sites which open those links in new browser windows is also a time which you'll find this feature necessary...unless you want to keep turning the software on and off as I did for around 6 months lol!

Of all the pop-up blockers I've tried on the marke
t, this is the best so far, both in terms of ease of use and with the number of pop-ups it prevents. It does not stop ALL pop-ups though I might add, because advertisers are always looking for ways around these types of programs (which encourages me to click the flippin' things even less to be honest) but it does prevent most which is great. I find it to be of particular use when visiting sites like about.com which is quite literally hellish to browse without one and in all truthfulness, a site I wouldn't use without it. Furthermore, I think I can hand-on-heart say it hasn't crashed once in almost a year of use which I think is pretty impressive compared to most freebie programs, so it's certainly a stable piece of software as well. It's definitely something I would recommend anyway as it's small, painless to install, simple to use, stable, very effective and 100% free...what more can you ask for?!


Official Site: http://www.panicware.com

Summary: