Dear Answer Girl,
My computer is overrun with pop-ups. Is there anything I can do about this? And how can I prevent it in the future?
-Irritated InterneterThe best thing to do when your computer keeps popping up those pesky windows is what I like to call the “Enough Is Enough” method.
It’s only one step, so it’s easy to remember: Simply reach down to your computer’s power button and hold it in until the computer screen goes blank and the crunchy crunch sound stops. Tadaaa! No more pop-ups.
No more annoying ads tempting you to visit the latest in a stream of increasingly graphic “adult entertainment” sites. No more cleverly animated windows moving right across your Yahoo News.
And most of all, no more of those convenient public service type announcements declaring that your computer has spyware installed, just in case you didn’t suspect it. The best thing about the “Enough Is Enough” method is that it is absolutely no-fail.
It is like abstinence, except it really has nothing to do with sex and, instead, everything to do with getting rid of pop-up windows.
Well, let me take that back. If you are getting those “adult” pop-ups mentioned a moment ago, maybe it has a lot to do with sex, after all. But regardless, as long as you leave your computer in the blank screen, no crunchy crunch state, you’ll never have another pop-up again.
Those of you who are not fortunate enough to be able to survive without your computer in the on position, however, will find that the “Enough Is Enough” method just won’t cut it.
No matter how many times you restart, if all you’re doing is restarting, the pop-ups will come right back. So, for all you computer addicts out there, take note that one of the easiest methods for pop-up suppression is the “Let Your Browser Block It For You” approach.
If you use Internet Explorer, there is not an easy-to-find way to do this, although you can try disabling Java or changing your security setting to “High” under Tools, Internet Options, Security, and Custom Level.
Other browsers like Mozilla, Opera and Apple’s Safari web browser have a pop-up block option under their Internet options/preferences menus.
The main problem with this method, though, is that many web sites use pop-ups to give you legitimate information or for navigation. If you block them all, then you may be out of luck.
With all this in mind, the best thing to do is “Cure and Prevent.” That’s right, get rid of the junk that you unknowingly downloaded that is causing this pop-up excess and then quit downloading junk that comes with lovely pop-ups as a side effect.
One way to find out (and get rid of) exactly what kind of adware or spyware is installed is to download a program like Lavasoft’s Ad-Aware. It’s free, easy to use, and within minutes, you can see the list of junk that is currently saved on all kinds of random-sounding places on your computer. Then you can get rid of it, just like that.
I’m sure that other programs exist that do pretty much this same thing, but I named this one because I have used it and can vouch for its effectiveness and usability.
So after you give your computer a good spring-cleaning, quit downloading suspect things. When a little security box comes out, seemingly out of nowhere, and asks if you really want to install “Gator,” click no. When you are installing a newly downloaded program, read the text and uncheck the boxes that add anything that doesn’t sound like EXACTLY what you want.
And it may be a good idea to cut back on those unregulated music downloads. There’s just no telling what kind of crud you may be getting along with the latest clubbin’ hit.
And, even with all this caution, you should still run your anti-spyware program every now and then to get rid of the stuff that slipped in unnoticed.
So there you have it: three wonderful ways to make annoying pop-ups go away. What more could you ask for? Hopefully, lots and lots.
Keep those questions coming to ETSUAnswerGirl@hot-mail.com!

Answer Girl note:
If you are interested in Lavasoft’s Ad-Aware, visit www.lavasoftusa.com for more information and a free download.

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