A c t i o n f o r L i b r a r i e s — J a n u a r y 2 0 0 2

The Internet Connection

By Michael Sauers

Pop-Ups No More
It is not often that I find a small utility program that I'm willing to let run on my computers for more than about 10 minutes. Most that I try seem useful at first, but I quickly tire of their use and uninstall them. This one, however, does the trick, does it without undue annoyance and does it well.

The program I'm writing about is Pop-Up Killer made by xFX JumpStart (see the URL at software.xfx.net/utilities/popupkiller). This small program is designed to kill browser pop-up (and pop-under) windows. What really made me like this program is that it's customizable, and it is able to learn.

Most pop-up control programs are all or nothing. Either they allow all pop-up windows, or they deny all pop-up windows. I find these too extreme. But with Pop-Up Killer software, you can instruct the program to kill pop-ups based on keywords or domain names. Conversely, you can exclude certain pop-ups from being killed by either keyword or domain name.

When you first install the program, you are given the option to download a preset, black list. As you surf, the program will keep track of any pop-up windows that open and provide you with a list of all of them. From that list you can decide whether to kill the pop-ups in the future or exclude them from the list in the program.

In the examples below, pop-up windows from any URL containing the word "adserv" and pop-up windows from Gophotos are directed to be killed, while those containing the words "amazon" "bcr" or "nature.com" will still pop open.

screenshot2 screenshot1

The program's learning feature is known as the Smart! Engine. When turned on in preferences, the program attempts to detect new pop-up windows not already in the kill list and kill them unless you turn on the safe mode. In safe mode, when a new pop-up window is detected, the program will ask you if you want it killed or excluded and will remember your answer for future use. The questioning is somewhat annoying at first, but does tend to lessen the more you surf.

There are a few additional features including the ability to detect automatically and then kill GeoCities pop-up windows and limit the total number of open windows at one time.

Pop-Up Killer is fully functional shareware with a $7 registration fee requested.

One other trick
Do you just want to get rid of those x10 camera pop-under windows? There is a link at the x10.com site that sets a cookie on your computer to turn them off for 30 days. However, you can manipulate that link to whatever length you want by adjusting one number. Type the following URL into your browser (www.x10.com/home/optout.cgi?DAY=30), then adjust the day value to the length of time you want. The x10 camera pop-up window will not pop up again for as many days as you have typed.

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