For someone who majors in advertising, I should love to see advertisements. However, when I am surfing the internet, it is really the last thing I want to look at. Luckily, many companies make software designed for people like me. Small programs, usually free, that will stop these ads from coming up on your screen while surfing the Internet are available. I decided to try a few of these out, listen to what others had to say, and come up with a look at which ones you should be using to keep your surfing "pop-up free."

It is important to mention that for my experiment, I took a few fairly popular programs and applied them to Internet Explorer through a high speed internet connection on a computer running Windows XP. If you are one of the people who use AOL to connect or dial-up to connect, I am sorry, but there is no one who can help you. You are in far too deep already. In addition, all of the programs I tested are freeware, meaning you can download them and pay nothing to use them. Keep in mind that some programs out there cost money and do a whole lot more than stop ads. These programs may work even better, so I am currently accepting donations to begin testing these. See my staff page for info on where to send your money!

The first piece of software I tested was Panicware's Pop-Up Stopper. This program works pretty well, but is not flawless. It doesn't block everything, and sometimes it blocks what you don't want it to. For example, when I log onto my bank's web page and I click on the link for internet banking, it doesn't open the new window. Sometimes it does this too with opening a second Internet Explorer window from the desktop as well. An upside to it is that it has a way of apologizing for its faults. If you hold down the Ctrl key when you click a link, it temporarily disables it while the new window opens. However, this gets kind of annoying and it is almost easier not to use the program at all.

Second, I downloaded Pop-Up Defense by CR-Software. This program did not even install. Over 80% of people had a similar problem upon download. This one is out there and it is popular, but it is only known for its inability to work. Do Not download this program.

The third I tried was a program called Finagle. Finagle installs itself as an add-on to Internet Explorer rather than a program to run separately. In essence, you get this little Grinch-looking character added to your toolbar on IE. When you click on him, it brings up the program, which displays as a bar running down the side of your IE window. This program does an okay job, but it isn't completely accurate, and it really is a pain in the butt having the little guy run around your window all day. The toolbars are cluttered enough as it is, and the little green pop-up stopper doesn't do much for clearing that up. It's a cute idea, but it's only for those who really don't use their computer as heavily as I do.

The last freeware pop-up stopper I tried is called Pop-Up Remover. It is made by MPB Software and really does its job. It is pretty much the simplest one out there and the most reliable that I tested. It blocked almost all the ads I didn't want to see. It also didn't block things I did want, such as opening a new window or bringing up the pop-up for my online banking password. It is a very smart program. Pop-Up Remover has settings that will hide it in your desktop tray if you wish. It can easily be disabled in case it does block something you want to see. This is the one you want to download.

I also ran across one that did charge you, but lets you download a 15 day trial first. I wouldn't have even thought about it except that it had tons of extras that sounded too good to be true. For example, it had unwanted cookie blocking and other neat little things. This program is called ZeroAds, and installed with a beautiful user interface. Of course, what do we know about things that seem too good to be true? They usually are. This program was truly unique and amazing, but I unfortunately never got to try it out. On my system with 512mb of RAM, the program killed almost 35% of my CPU while running. The computer became so slow, web pages took up to five minutes or more to load. My computer became a snail. The program ate too much memory and therefore didn't do anything worthwhile.

So lets' recap :

MPB Software's Pop-Up Remover - Five Stars

Finagle - Three stars

Panicware's Pop-Up Stopper - Two Stars

CR-Software's Pop-Up Defense - Zero Stars