How to stop pop-up ads from popping up

Reporter: Andryanna Sheppard
Published: Updated:
@estrattonbailey / Pexels / MGN

They’re annoying, and they seem to be everywhere. I’m talking about pop-up ads. You know, the small windows or banners that appear in the foreground while you’re browsing a website. They are essentially ads that are intended to grab your attention, but they can be distracting and sometimes dangerous.

“They’re either trying to market you in a positive way and just basically marketing to make a business for themselves, or they’re malicious,” said PCGeeks2Go’s Network Engineer and IT Tech Lincoln Chiappone.

Either way pop-ups can be annoying. Yet one study found the average pop-up conversion rate is about 12 percent. That means that 12 percent of people who see a pop-up end up clicking on it and taking action.

AVOID POP-UPS

If you click on them, it’s possible hackers can snag sensitive personal and financial information, like usernames, passwords, and credit card numbers. Never click “agree,” “ok” “no” or “yes” in a pop-up. If you want to close a pop-up, hit the x or shut down your browser altogether. Also, you can add a pop-up blocker to your browser. For Google and most browsers, the blocking features are found under settings. You should also reject any notification invites.

“Web browsers will ask you if you want to allow notifications, and it’s imperative that you say no,” Chiappone added. “If you say yes, you’re going to allow them to give you notifications even when you’re not on that website.”

Here are some red flags for how to spot malicious pop-ups: The ad asks you for payment to get rid of a virus, it tells you to call a number, it tries to scare you into entering information, or it contains typos and errors. Chiappone says always be skeptical.

“If a pop-up looks like it is real to you, you don’t necessarily have to click on it,” Chiappone noted. “You can always go directly to that website instead. And that’s going to be the safest ways for you to investigate.”

Ivanhoe Newswire contributed to this report

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