Thanks for asking!
You've placed a pretty tall order. No more popups of any sort, ever. For free.
Forever's an awfully long time. What works today might not work
tomorrow, as those who wish to annoy you with pop-up advertising
manage to get around the protection available right this minute. I
recommend you select a pop-up blocker from a source that's likely to
be around for awhile, who'll keep improving their product to keep
ahead of the pop-up bandits, and offer upgrades, whenever technology
improves.
Pop-up Check has created an unbiased evaluation test for the free
pop-up blockers. It analyses the capabilities of each pop-up blocker,
and offers the results in a total rating. I've excerpted the top five
ranking Pop-Up Blockers. See the website chart for the complete
Rankings.
======================================================================
Standard Misc. Capacity
Rank Software Test Test Test Advanced Total
======================================================================
1 PopOops 85 100 100 100 385
1 Google Toolbar 85 100 100 100 385
2 Window Shades 75 100 100 100 375
3 Pop This 90 100 60 100 350
4 Hitware Popup Killer 70 100 80 100 350
5 AskJeeves 70 100 80 100 350
Free Pop Up Blocker | Rankings
http://www.popupcheck.com/pop_up_blocker.asp
Available PoP-Up Blockers are (safely) linked from the Rankings Page.
Okay, some aren't linked. But with those rankings, I doubt whether -I-
would want to download them. Ask me if there's one that interests you,
and I'll locate a safe download link for you.
Pop-up Check evaluates these types of Pop-ups:
"Normal" Pop-ups
Full-screen Pop-ups
Channel-opener Pop-ups
Modeless Dialog Pop-ups
New Browser Window Pop-ups
OnLoad Pop-ups
Unload (Exit) Pop-Ups
The Pop-up Check also tests blockers abilities to interpret a variety
of user initiated events that can add to annoyance if new popups are
allowed, or if desired pop-ups are interpreted incorrectly, and you
can't view your bank balance, or other important information that is
placed in a pop-up by legitimate websites.
See the full range of evaluations and learn about all the different
types of pop-ups your blocker must defeat in order to offer a
pop-up-free browsing experience. Scroll below the Testing Grid to see
the evaluation criteria.
Free Pop Up Blocker Test | Details
http://www.popupcheck.com/freescan/popup/popup_details_standard.asp
Additional Miscellaneous, Capacity, and Advanced Pop-Up checks are also available.
Inline or Floating Pop-Ups
----------------------------------------------------------------------
If you're like me, one of the most annoying Pop-Up's is an Inline
Pop-Up, sneaking in between me and my page without its own window.
They're also known as "Floating Pop-Ups" Grrrr!
"[The] floating popup is what unethical popup testing sites use to
make you believe your popup stopper software is not working. Some
popup testing sites are actually owned by popup stopper developers who
use these non-blockable popups to fail your popup stopper. The idea is
to recommend a popup stopper that 'works' without letting you know
it's really their product! If you suspect this trickery, run your
popup blocker through this test to verify their popup blocking
software is really all it claims to be."
Free Pop Up Blocker Test | Miscellaneous
http://www.popupcheck.com/freescan/popup/popup_test_misc.asp
Actually, this particular "pop-up" is better blocked by Proxomitron,
which has a number of additional benefits as well. Proxomitron offers
a high degree of surfing serenity to even the most web-o-phobic
surfer.
The Webhiker's Guide to Proxomitron
http://www.proxomitron.info/
Browsers with Built-In Pop-Up Blockers
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Some browsers are designed with built-in Pop-Up Blockers. Just like
the standalone software, there are degrees of protecton. In [Pop Up
Blocker Test] order:
Mozilla 1.7
http://www.mozilla.org/
Crazy Browser 1.5
http://www.crazybrowser.com/
Mozilla Firefox 0.9
http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/
K-Meleon 0.8.2
http://kmeleon.sourceforge.net/
Opera 7.23
http://www.opera.com/
I've tried them all. I'm not quite sold on any of them, but for
reasons completely unrelated to pop-up blocking. I use each of these
browsers for different, specialized browsing or data project work at
times. All deliver a satisfactory pop-up blocking experience.
Spyware
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Some Pop-Ups can be generated by spyware. Insidious little parasites
that install themselves without your knowledge or permission,
circumventing your anti-virus or firewall. Just in case any of these
nasties are contributing to your pop-up woes, download and run the
latest versions of these two spyware zappers (free). If you already
have these programs installed, be sure to "Search for Updates" before
running them.
AdAware
http://www.lavasoft.de/support/download
Spybot Search & Destroy
http://security.kolla.de/index.php?lang=en&page=download
After you've disinfected, I always recommend a disk defrag. (Select:
Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk Defragmenter). This
final "good riddance" step adds an additional level of protection
against any fragmented lurkers. It's just like washing out the
trashcan after emptying.
Finally - one last piece of advice. Some firewalls and other programs
also include a Pop-Up blocking feature. If you select a free solution,
turn off all other blocking methods. Some simply do not play well with
others, and can produce miscellaneous, seemingly unrelated, problems.
Search Strategy
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bookmarks
Google Search Terms:
"pop up blocker test"
Proxomitron
I hope this information helps you find the perfect pop-up blocker. If
you have questions about the information or links provided, please
feel free to ask for clarification.
---larre
What do I use, you ask? Google Toolbar, plus Proxomitron :-) With that
combination, I haven't seen a pop-up in.... months? I honestly can't
remember how long it's been. That's a very nice feeling. |
Clarification of Answer by
larre-ga
on
04 Jul 2004 09:10 PDT
Thank you for the tip and kind words. Unfortunately, we are unable to
"answer questions via e-mail" -- all questions are answered publicly
on the Google Answers site. Google Answers Researchers are independent
contractors, rather than Google Answers employees. We work from remote
locations worldwide, and do not have access to your e-mail address.
Your address is associated with your Google Answers account, and as
such, is privately held by Google Answers.
For future reference -- Questions posted in the Ratings/Comment
section of a previous question are often not noticed in a timely
manner. No notification is sent to a Researcher when a rating or
comment is posted. New questions should be posted individually. To
direct a question to a specific Researcher, you must do so in the
question or title itself. There is, of course, no requirement to
choose a Researcher. When no Researcher is specified, newly asked
questions are locked and answered on a first-come, first-served basis.
It's a pleasure to be of service.
---larre
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