How to block pop up ads

Anyone who uses the internet these days will be familiar with pop-up ads, those annoying little boxes that "pop up" while you're surfing the internet and interfere with your overall online experience. They're obtrusive, often irrelevant, slow down websites, and sometimes they're dangerous too. 

That's because some of these pop-ups are used by malicious websites, trying to divert you away from safe sites. By clicking on these "malvertising" (malicious + advertising) pop-ups, you would put yourself at risk of downloading malware, spyware, or other kinds of malicious software that could be a serious problem for your computer. 

These forms of malicious pop-ups don't play by the same rules as most law-abiding and official websites. They are used to trick an unsuspecting internet user into clicking anywhere inside the pop-up window. This is because the hackers that created them have used technology to associate any interaction with a pop-up to generate a malicious command.  This includes clicking on innocent-looking "cancel" or "close" buttons inside of the pop-up. Even worse, some of these malicious ads are so clever you don't even have to click on them for the attack to start. 

Blocking pop-up ads using a browser

So now you know you need to avoid pop-ups at all costs, how do you do this? Many browsers have started to fight back and have introduced security measures to block pop-ups. Let's look at a few ways to block pop-up ads in your favorite browser of choice, and then we'll go one step further and show you how you can use a free, more secure browser to block ads altogether, forever (or as long as you want)!

How to block pop-up ads in Chrome

• First, click on the three vertically stacked dots located in the top right of any Chrome browser window
• Select "Settings" from the Chrome menu that appears
• Search for "pop" in the search bar
• Click "Site Settings" from the list provided from your search (it will be highlighted)
• Scroll to where you see "Pop-ups and redirects" (the word "pop" will be highlighted so you can find it quickly)
• Select the "Pop-ups and redirects" option and slide the toggle next to "Allowed" and you will see this becomes "Blocked"

By default, Chrome sets this to blocked so if you find yours is blocked but you still see pop-up ads you will need to use an ad blocker (jump to the last section). 

How to block pop-up ads in Internet Explorer

• Open Internet Explorer and select the "Tools" icon in the top right that resembles a cog or wheel
• Select "Internet Options" and go to the "Privacy" tab
• Select and turn on the "Pop-up Blocker" from the list, and click "OK"

How to block pop-up ads in Firefox

• Open Firefox and click on the three vertically stacked lines (menu)
• Choose "Settings", then select the "Privacy & Security" panel
• Go to "Permissions", and check the box next to "Block pop-up windows"

You will also see the option to allow for exceptions, where you still want to see pop-ups on certain websites that you whitelist (specify). 

How to block ads using a better browser!

As we promised, here is the easiest way to block all ads, from pop-up and display ads to reels and those pesky autoplay ads that appear out of nowhere. CCleaner Browser will feel just like your regular browser but is faster and also features a built-in ad-blocker (called Adblock). It hosts an impressive list of tools that will provide you with safer, faster, and more private online browsing. 

Here's just some of what's included:

• Adblock - No more ads ever again (unless you choose to whitelist certain sites or you still want minimal ads). Adblock provides complete control over what ads you see (if any) while surfing the internet.
• Anti-Phishing - Blocks malicious websites from accessing and downloading malware, spyware, or any other malicious software onto your PC.
• Anti-Tracking - Prevents websites and data analytics companies from tracking and storing your online activity and data. 
• Anti-Fingerprinting - For an advanced level of internet privacy, this feature disguises your internet browser settings and preferences, such as language or timezone, which hides your digital fingerprint. 
• Privacy Cleaner - Automatically stay on top of cleaning your browser history, cache, cookies, and other junk, helping to protect your privacy. 
• Extension Guard - Blocks malicious or unwanted extensions from being added to your browser extensions library.  

This is by far the best option for removing all ads, is just a download away and can be configured to suit you. We think you'll love the digital freedom and peace of mind that CCleaner Browser will give you.