Block Ads, Defeat Pop-Ups, and STOP Page Hijacking

You're not alone!

Who hasn't surfed the web looking for information only to have their session interrupted by those annoying pop-up windows displaying everything from banner ads to newsletter sign-up's?

Though pop-up windows and other methods of influencing a user's online experiences originally had positive intentions, they now seem only to annoy and manipulate users at every turn.

For anyone who ever felt extremely irritated by online advertising, the following advice should help.

** Pop-Up Ads **

Pop-up windows open new pages in your browser without your permission and, sometimes, without your knowledge.

They slow down your surfing and cause confusion, even for the most experienced surfer.

If you don't want to see pop-up windows in your browser, you should get a free pop-up blocker like the ones that come with the Google tool bar (http://toolbar.google.com) or the Alexa tool bar (http://download.alexa.com).

Either of these free tools "plug in" to your web browser and will stop the majority of pop-ups, including the situations where 5 or 10 pop-up windows fly up on your screen and "attack" you all at once!

** Page Hijacking **

Have you ever surfed along peacefully when all of a sudden you hit your back button and nothing happened?

Click-click-click - no matter how many times you hit the button, it seemed your web browser had been "wheel locked" to a certain site and no amount of effort allowed you to back track.

This nasty little trick, otherwise know as "page hijacking" involves inserting a small bit of code into a web page that disables your browser's "back" button.

To defeat this little nasty just click and hold the down arrow next to your browser's "back" button (on both Internet Explorer and Netscape) to see a list of the last few pages you've browsed.

Click on a link in the history list to free yourself and resume surfing.

Careful though, you may not have been hijacked, you may have been the victim of the next dirty trick.

** Fast Meta Refresh **

A predecessor of the pop-up window, the fast meta refresh trick involves opening one page and almost instantly having your browser redirected to another page.

This tactic, often used by search engine promoters, often leads to wasted time on pages that have little relevance to your search.

It may also entail opening five to ten additional windows, frequently displaying offensive material such as pornography.

Closing all your browser windows and starting over seems the only sure-fire way to defeat this tactic. Hitting your back button to retreat from the problem will usually just cause more windows to appear.

Quick Tip: If you find yourself attacked by multiple pop-up ads, hold down the key and hit the key repeatedly, all the web browser windows on your screen will disappear faster than new ones can pop open.

If you feel a website operator appears to openly abuse visitors with annoying or unscrupulous tactics, feel free to complain to their hosting company or the search engines.

By doing so you might save the next person a whole lot of inconvenience.

(c) Jim Edwards - All Rights reserved - http://www.thenetreporter.com

About The Author:

Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the co-author of an amazing new ebook that will teach you how to use fr-e articles to quickly drive thousands of targeted visitors to your website or affiliate links...

Simple "Traffic Machine" brings Thousands of NEW visitors to your website for weeks, even months... without spending a dime on advertising! ==> "Turn Words Into Traffic"

---

Invasion of the Email Snatchers

They're sneaky. And stealthy. They're quiet and mostly unobtrusive, but... Read More

ANTI-S*P^A#M: Protecting Your Web Sites Email Address(es)

Did you know that there are software programs that view... Read More

Which Spam Filter Is Best For You?

With the number of spam filtering solutions increasing each week... Read More

How Spammers Fool Rule-based and Signature-Based Spam Filters

Effectively stopping spam over the long-term requires much more than... Read More

Phishing for an Identity

Phishing is rapidly becoming on the largest threats to your... Read More

What Exactly is Spam?

Spam, as defined in the context of computers, the Internet... Read More

Beware of the Newest Activity Online: Phishing

No. I'm not talking here about the outdoor activity enjoyed... Read More

Spam eMails Are Not Just Annoying - They Are A Main Distributor Of Viruses

Why is someone from India, Africa, or elsewhere writing you... Read More

Six Tips to Get Rid of Spam Email

1. Ignore Spam EmailDo not open an unsolicited email. Spammers... Read More

Winning the War On Spam

For years I didn't worry much about spam.But lately it's... Read More

CAN-SPAM Basics

I. BACKGROUNDThe CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (Controlling the Assault of... Read More

Spammer Stole My Email Address?

Do you get bounced, or rejected emails sent by someone... Read More

Stop Intrusive Pop-up Ads and Regain Control of Your Online Experience!

Stop intrusive pop-up ads and regain control of your online... Read More

Three Faces of SPAM

Like everybody who will ever read this, I get spam... Read More

How Spammers Fool Bayesian Filters - And How to Stop Them

Effectively stopping spam over the long-term requires much more than... Read More

A Practical Approach to Eliminate Spam

Spam is out of control! I guess that would be... Read More

Is Email Dying?

2004 was really a year when the whole subject of... Read More

Avoiding the Spam Trap: Get Your Message Delivered!

Your message is not being delivered.If you send emails to... Read More

Lockspam Free 3.0 Released!

6 August, 2004: Polesoft Inc., home of Professional anti spam... Read More

How to Write a Privacy Policy

A Privacy Policy can be defined as the policy under... Read More

Spam Filters Explained

What do they do? How do they work? Which one... Read More

Spam - Its Whats For Breakfast

The first thing I do every morning when I wake... Read More

Protecting Yourself With A Porn Filter

The harmful affects of pornography use and addiction are well... Read More

Managing Spam in 2005

In 1998, nearly 10% of all email traffic on the... Read More

Your Dolphin E-mail Caught In Spam Tuna Net?

Let me ask a couple of questions:If (potential) customers sends... Read More

Internet Theft and Fraud

My friends in the web hosting business have recently informed... Read More

Internet Tip of the Week: Cease and Desist

While we all admit that unsolicited commercial email is a... Read More

How To Stop Unwanted Email Spam

You can stop unwanted email spam, you can choose to... Read More

Evict the Spammers from Your Inbox

Block Spam and Other Email Threats From Entering Your Gateway... Read More

How to Fight Back BEFORE Youre Falsely Accused of Spam

A friend of mine received a chilling email message from... Read More

Stop Spam! New Spam Blockers

News last week that Internet service provider Verizon settled its... Read More

The Trouble With Spam Is....

Each day we all face the same challenge. Spam. It... Read More

Internet Tip of the Week: Information Overload

We receive so much information on the Internet, especially via... Read More