PC Help: How to block offensive pop-ups

Q Are there any security packages that can police the internet and trace the source of intrusive pop-ups ads, which often contain or link to pornography?

Ideally, a Police button could be included on a toolbar to forward these adverts to people who can trace the source and, at least, stop them from operating.

Tracey Dockree

A Such ads are intrusive, and in many cases offensive or illegal, but the best way to deal with them is often simply to block them. That might sound defeatist, but the nature of the internet means that there isn’t a lot the ordinary user can do to get to the criminals behind illegal sites because they’re often very well hidden.

That said, if you do see an illegal website (broadly, one that contains or links to images of child abuse, or incites racial hatred), it’s worth reporting it to the Internet Watch Foundation, which works with the authorities to track down offenders.

There’s no point reporting adult pornography, no matter how distasteful, as it is legal. You can block pop-up ads in Internet Explorer by clicking on the Tools menu, then Internet Options, then the Privacy tab.

Tick the ‘Block pop-ups’ box and click on OK. Firefox’s blocker is found under Tools, Options, Content. If you still see pop-ups, even when not browsing the web, you have some spyware or adware installed that you should get rid of.

If you have an anti-spyware program installed, update it and then run a full system scan. Otherwise, download Spybot Search & Destroy and Ad-Aware then run both to clean your computer.

To prevent future intrusions, make sure your firewall and anti-virus programs are running and up-to-date.

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