Popup ads can be very annoying and thankfully most websites are not using this advertising option anymore. While popup ads are not as common these days as they used to be years ago, they haven’t disappeared completely. There are still websites that feature this kind of ads and in some cases, the website owners are not even aware of the fact that their visitors have to deal with them. In addition, this popup ads may not be even an indication of an issue with the websites you visit, but could be the result of malicious adware that has previously infected your machine. The good news is that it is possible to get rid of popup ads in a simple way. You can find a large number of popup and adware blockers available that can help to improve your online browsing experience. There are popup blockers available for every web browser and some options support all web browsers.
Difference between popup blocking and ad blocking
It is important to keep in mind that popup blocking and ad blocking are different things. Popup blockers are designed to prevent websites from sending any form of popup and it can stop adware from displaying popups, regardless if they are ads or something else. Since some websites may use popups for legitimate purposes, you may need to whitelist trusted websites so that their popups are not blocked. Ad blockers on the other hand block every single advertisement on a page, including popups and on-page ads.
Given that the majority of websites rely on on-page advertisements, ad blockers can have a negative impact on their profits. As a consequence of the use of ad blockers, an increasing number of websites are using affiliate links or referrals to survive. Using ad blockers can have an impact on your favorite websites, so if you enjoy their content it is advisable to whitelist them so that they can still use advertisement and earn money, even if you don’t click on the ads.
Opera
Opera web browser stands out for its performance and advanced features. It can block on-page ads, comes with a VPN and can block tracker cookies. Opera offers smart functionality that will ensure that good popups are not blocked, while it effectively stops the ones related to ads and possible malicious content. It uses IP filtering to block the popups that may cause issues, but it can identify the ones that are used for legitimate purposes.
Google Chrome
While Opera has the best built-in browser popup blocker available, Google Chrome is a good option that allows you to whitelist trusted websites. It effectively blocks most popups, although it may not work well in some URLs. Google Chrome also comes with a tracking cookie blocker. Overall, it is a decent solution and while it doesn’t block real ads in some cases, at least it doesn’t block good popups.
Firefox
Firefox is a basic solution that comes with a limited list of options. However, it allows you to block popups and tracker cookies. In addition, you can add URLs to an exception list using an extra feature. It doesn’t stop good popups, but doesn’t work well when it comes to blocking popups in some websites. Firefox doesn’t have the best popup blocker out there and it fails to stop some unwanted popups, but at least it won’t stop good popups from showing up.
Microsoft Edge
Microsoft Edge is designed to allow good popups from appearing, but it can block those that you don’t need to see. It is more effective than Chrome and Firefox when it comes to blocking popups overall, but it has some flaws when it comes to good popups and it can’t load some of the content that you actually need. In addition, it is not possible to adjust the settings for the popup blocker on Microsoft Edge. As a result, it is not possible to add exceptions or manage the strength of the blocker.
Microsoft Internet Explorer
Edge Browser is Microsoft’s latest solution but IE is still available on the new versions of its operating system. The built-in popup blocker offers more features than other browsers and you can manage your preferences when it comes to blocking. You can choose to block only from unsecured websites or block all popups. It is also possible to add exceptions. Although it offers more functions and can give you more control over the settings, this built-in blocker is not infallible and it may not stop all the popups you don’t want to see.
AdBlock
AdBlock is a third-party option that offers remarkable performance and it delivers effective protection against popup blocks. It allows good popups so you won’t have issues with websites that use popups for login purposes and other relevant information. The best thing about AdBlock is that it can customized and you can easily select the options that suit your needs. It supports whitelisting, individualized blocking, custom and preset filters and more. You can even whitelist ads on YouTube. Due to its large selection of features, AdBlock is a great option for getting rid of annoying ads.
AdFender
AdFender supports several functions and claims to be able to block everything including popup, tracking cookies and YouTube ads. It stops unwanted ads, but won’t interfere with good popups that you may need in order to fully use a website. AdFender stands out for offering a great variety of customization options. It is possible to adjust listening port, apply proxy settings, use Tor to browse anonymously and much more. There is a free version available but in order to enjoy all the features that AdFender supports, you need to get the full version of this blocker.
uBlock
While this extension doesn’t have as many customization options as other blockers in the list, it is an effective solution to block ads. You can hide block placeholders, whitelist URLs that you trust and it supports dynamic filter rules. The downside is that it is not possible to modify the strength of the filter. It may not be perfect, but if you prefer not to download a program, this extension can be a good choice.
Ad Muncher
There are several customization options available when you use Ad Muncher so you can tailor the blocker to your own needs. With Ad Muncher, it is possible to prevent tracker cookies, reload data automatically, change the patterns of a website, block advertising options, remove adult content and more. Ad Muncher can stop unwanted popups without getting rid of the popups that you need to access, such as login popups. The only downside is that it can fail to block on-page ads.
