Windows XP Power Hound

Pop-Ups and Cookies

Pop-up windows—those pesky ads that "pop up" in front of Web sites everywhere—are threatening to suck all the fun out of browsing the Web. Fortunately, you can employ some seriously effective pop-up exterminators to stamp them out. This section gives you a few options.

Cookies can also make waves as you surf. In the digital world, cookies are bits of data left on your hard disk by Web sites you visit, sometimes keeping track of preferences you've set up at a site, like your user name and password. But Webmasters can also use them to track your online activities in more Orwellian ways. This section explains how to manage cookies so they're under your control—not somebody else's.

Software that Stops Pop-Ups

For all its sophistication, Internet Explorer has no built-in way to stop pop-ups. Fortunately, you can download software to catch the ads before they spring. Here are two good, free choices.

EMS Free Surfer not only kills pop-ups, but it can also shut down every open Internet Explorer window with a single click, including your main browser window, and it includes an add-in tool that cleans your system cache as well as your list of recently visited sites. You can get EMS Free Surfer at http://www.emsproject.com/FS/Support.htm.

Another option is the Google Toolbar, which adds a very handy Google search box to Internet Explorer. It includes an excellent pop-up killer. You can download the Toolbar from http://toolbar.google.com. For tips on installing and using it, ...