Pop ups

snakey_2

Unfortunately for me I am no IT expert. As of late I keep getting annoying pop ups and on the odd occasion a few programs installing themselves on my computer. Last night I decided to sit down and spend an hour trying to sort things up. I deleted all program files that were not relevant, cleared my internet history and cookies. Now most of the problems are sorted, just have a few pop ups....how can I get rid of them? I dont know what other options I have?

Thanks for your time!

LincsLad_3

Congratulations. You have made a start on clearing up some of the mess that most of our PCs accumulate. There is a little more you can do though......

Many popups are a result of 'Adware' or 'Spyware' being installed on your PC, normally without your knowledge or consent. There are programs you can use to check for and remove such items - you will need to make the checks periodically though! Adaware and SpyBot are two of the most recommended bits of Freeware to look for for removal, while SpywareBlaster helps prevent things being installed in the first place.

If you do not already have one installed, you should look at a firewall product such as Zonealarm, Avast, or SyGate - all of which are free for personal use. (The firewall supplied with Windows XP is not well thought of - the ones listed above should serve you better.)

There aer several popup blocker programs available which will help prevent popups occuring (though they will NOT remove the CAUSE of the popups - see above). One of the most effective is the Google Toolbar, which integrates with Internet Explorer and is a useful addition to the browser in any case.

Most of the above is discussed, and links to the various products given, in this thread, which is pinned at the top of the forums for easy reference.

Do ask again once you have had a chance to take a look at the information. There is a lot to take in, but it's worth the effort to keep your PC running smoothly !

Ginger_Whinge

Computer Shopper has MacAfee Quickclean on its cover at the moment, this may help as well

alexj2002

A pop up blocker for internet explorer comes with Windows XP Service Pack 2 if you're running that operating system or the Mozilla Firefox (https://www.mozilla.org) browser has one built in.