If you surf the Internet on a regular basis you probably already know what a pop-up is. Many websites employ pop-ups, which literally pop-up in a separate window, to advertise certain products or services. There is usually one pop-up or so a site, but some websites have several which can be a drain on your computers resources. Pop-ups are programmed using a very simple programming language called JavaScript. JavaScript is specifically designed for use in websites and can be used in conjunction with HTML. There are however, some desirable pop-ups. For instance, some music websites setup their online players in a separate window for easy use. Other websites may ask you to fill in a survey and use a pop-up so you don't have to lose your current place in their website. Many of the advertising types of pop-ups are programmed so that the menu bar is hidden. This means that you can only close the pop-up via your task bar. Some redirect the close button 'X' to their own website. The most annoying type of pop-ups are the ones that open more pop-ups as you close each one. You can end up with literally hundreds of pop-ups and will at the least need to shut down the original browser window, if not the whole computer. Programmers are trying to come up with new pop-up ideas, such as one using Flash technology which can make a pop-up follow your mouse or appear to hover above your original browser window. A type of Malware called Adware can also cause pop-ups on your computer. Adware generates pop-ups containing ads which may or may not be specifically sent to you based on certain browsing habits Many advertisers are now using what are referred to as pop-unders. These advertising windows open without popping up over your active browser window. When you close your active window you may be surprised to see several pop-unders. If you, like almost every other Internet user, loathe the pop-up in whatever form it may come in there are plenty of easy ways to reduce or eliminate them. Make sure you have the most current version of your browser since almost all of them offer a pop-up blocker of some type. Alternately, you can download special utilities that will help prevent them. |
