PC Tonic

Hmmm..what is a pop-up exactly?
Pop-ups, or rather bad pop-ups, are easily one of the most annoying things that you can relate with computers. A pop-up is any small window that opens on your desktop, though the term mostly refers to the malicious and advertising pop-ups now-a-days. In fact you create pop-ups very often, i.e., when you right click on your desktop to refresh your screen! The bad pop-ups, they are usually aimed at marketing and advertising purposes.

The good and the bad
A safe pop-up will usually notify you of these things:
1.Your antivirus or some other software is out-of-date. The Windows Security Center will also alert you when it does not detect an active antivirus or firewall in your computer.
2.Someone has sent you an instant message [if you are online].
3.A new device has been plugged into your computer.
4.An unknown program is trying to access the internet from your computer [you will get notices like these only if your firewall is turned ON].
5.A virus or spyware has been detected, and whether you want to delete or quarantine it.
6.There is not enough space on your hard disk.
7.Some application cannot run due to certain registry errors.
8.You have been disconnected from the internet.
It is advised NOT to ignore these alerts, and to take immediate measures to fix them.

Malicious pop-ups also have cunningly similar messages, but with certain characteristic differences that will help you pin them down. Some examples are:
1.Windows could NOT detect an antivirus [or antispyware] in this computer. Please proceed to www.xyz.com by clicking on this message to download ABC, the best antivirus of 2007.
[Note that it alerts you like Windows Security Center, but in addition also asks you to DOWNLOAD a particular software!]
2.A virus scan found 1742 viruses on your computer!!! Immediately click on this link to buy AntiVirGear [or any similar bombastic name] and save your computer!
[You can easily notice the similarity of the above two pop-ups - both of them point you to some software site and ask you to download it.]
3.Your registry is in ruins! Proceed to download Dr. RegMaster and speed up your computer by 600%!
[The same thing again - download something and clean your computer.]

You must be much wiser now and I hope that you can identify other malicious pop-ups. Just remember that similar pop-ups may alert you to download media codecs, identity theft protection software etc.
In addition, malicious pop-ups can put you in very uncomfortable positions by displaying undesirable photos right on your desktop.

Ready, steady, GO!!
Now it’s time for drastic action to weed out the pop-ups:
1.Most pop-ups are triggered while surfing the net in your web browser. These can be easily blocked by using newer web browsers like Mozilla Firefox 2, Opera 9, Internet Explorer 7, Netscape 9, Safari etc. All these browsers have their own pop-up blockers turned ON by default and will block the pop-ups for you. However if you are using an older web browser like Internet Explorer 6 and do not want to upgrade, you can download and use a free toolbar with pop-up blocking feature. You should also keep in mind that not all pop-ups are bad, and you have to allow some of them for proper web browsing.
Web Browsers
2.The bad pop-ups that are appear on your desktop, as messages, are usually triggered by spyware. So, it’s always advisable to use an antispyware with real time protection to hunt down the spyware the moment they infect your computer. Spyware Terminator and Windows Defender are two free antispyware that provide real time protection. You can find some more free options in my Antispyware post.
3.There are some pop-ups (or rather the infections causing the pop-ups) that cannot be even removed by any normal antispyware. Such infections are highly dangerous and are given the general name – Smitfraud. All the messages displayed above are Smitfraud messages. To remove Smitfraud infections, you can have a look at my post – Combating Smitfraud.

Mission accomplished!
Finally, your computer is pop-up free and you are non-wacky once more! However, don’t forget to follow these tips to present a pop-up invasion in future:
1.Always use an antispyware with real time protection. Keep it updated.
2.Never visit unknown sites. To be warned of unsafe sites, you can use any of the free safe web surfing tools mentioned HERE.
3.Always download software from safe sites only. Here are some absolutely safe downloading sites:
Download.com
FileHippo
Softpedia
Oh yes, you can check in at the small Freeware Fiesta list of PC Ton!c.
4.Always enable the pop-up blocking feature in your web browser. You can allow certain websites to show their pop-ups as and when required.
5.Don’t open mails from unknown addresses, as these may contain viruses or spyware. If at all you open them, make sure that your antivirus and antispyware are actively running in the background.