How to Stop Microsoft Internet Explorer Pop-Ups

Level of difficulty: Easy

Most computer users often complain about pop-up windows constantly appearing while they are surfing the Web through the Internet Explorer Web browser. These pop-ups can be very annoying. Closing each one at every single time is even more annoying than seeing them popping up and interrupting a user’s Web surfing. A solution to this is simple. This slight annoyance to Web surfing may be avoided by simply installing a pop-up blocker.

Materials Needed:
- Computer
- Windows OS
- Pop-up blocker
- Browser Helper Object or BHO
Step 1
The Windows XP Service Pack 2 has a pop-up blocker. Installing the Service Pack 2 into the system may automatically install the pop-up blocker into the Microsoft Internet Explorer Web browser. There are also other pop-up blockers available for free on the Internet. Opting for a third party pop-up blocker is good as well. Choose wisely when looking for third party pop-up blocking software. There are a lot of malware programs posing as pop-up blockers all over the Internet.
Step 2
Once a pop-up blocker has been chosen, download it from the website.
Step 3
It may then be installed to the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser as a Browser Helper Object.
Step 4
Restart the browser if necessary to run the pop-up blocker.
Step 5
Open the Internet Explorer browser again to check whether the pop-up blocker has been installed successfully. If pop-ups still appear upon surfing the Web, the said pop-up blocker may be false or may be too weak. Consider uninstalling and choosing a different pop-up blocker.
Step 6
If using the Windows XP SP2 pop-up blocker, a user may change the blocker’s settings based on personal preferences.
Step 7
Go to the Tools menu on the Internet Explorer browser menu bar. A pop-up blocker menu item should be available. Point your cursor over that.
Step 8
Other menu items should appear. Choose pop-up blocker settings.
Step 9
A window will appear where the pop-up blocker settings may be changed. The best option is to set the security to medium. The medium setting blocks most automatically executing pop-up windows. The medium setting also does not block a pop-up that executes upon clicking a link on a website. The Windows XP SP2 also plays a sound whenever it has blocked a certain window from opening. An information bar also appears. From there, a user may choose to open the said blocked window. Of course, the user is free to choose low or high security settings as well.