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Pop-up ad

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by LGagnon (talk | contribs) at 22:26, 20 August 2004 (changed Category:Spyware to Category:Malware). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

File:Pop-up ads.jpg
Dozens of pop-up ads cover a desktop.

Pop-up ads are a form of online advertising on the World Wide Web where certain websites open a new web browser window to display advertisements. The pop-up window containing an advertisement is usually generated by JavaScript, but can be generated by other means as well. A less intrusive variation on the pop-up window is the pop-under advertisement. This opens a new browser window, but in the background, so as not to interrupt the user's page-view.

For early advertising-supported websites, banner ads were sufficient revenue generators, but in the wake of the dot com crash, prices paid for banner advertising clickthroughs decreased and many vendors began to investigate more effective advertising methods. Pop-up ads by their nature are difficult to ignore or overlook, and are claimed to be more effective than static banner ads. Pop-ups have a much higher click rate than web banner ads do.

Most users regard pop-ups as a nuisance. In the early 2000s, all major web browsers except Internet Explorer (then the most popular browser and still as of 2004) allowed the user to block pop-ups almost completely. In 2004, Microsoft released Windows XP SP2, which added pop-up blocking to Internet Explorer. Many users, however, remain unaware of this ability, or else choose not to use it. Some users install non-Microsoft ad-blocking software instead. Advertisers continually seek ways to circumvent such restrictions. Many of the latest pop-ups are created using Flash and have extensive animation and trickery.

Pop-up ads can also be spawned as a separate process (that is to say, apart from the browser) on the user's local computer. This is typically because of a spyware infestation, or because the user has voluntarily installed Adware.

A particularly common type of pop-up ad exploits the Messenger service in Microsoft's Windows XP operating system. Claims have been made that this type of pop-up has been used to commit extortion. Threats of legal action against the company D Squared Solutions has caused them to stop using this technique.

Browsers that block pop-up ads

Add-on programs that block pop-up ads

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