A widely reported problem in online forums is annoying pop up windows that appear on desktops that may be innocent but can be very dangerous!
A fairly common pop up say's "Warning - Spyware has Been Detected on Your Computer"
Another common message suggests 'how to get rid of pop-up’s' and if you click it promptly proceeds to download even more spyware and adware.
Severe spyware and adware infections can slow you down while you are online, or even prevent you from using your PC.
So, what causes these messages to appear on your desktop and how can you remove them to improve your computers performance.
The first thing to realise is that if your seeing one of these undesirable popups you already have spyware and/or adware on your PC that's causing this behaviour. And some popup windows can contain inappropriate content or can be a way for you to accidentally download potentially dangerous software onto your computer.
Some of the most common places where you can get a spyware or adware infection include:
Even if you are using really good anti-spyware software you should try and avoid all of the above as doing so will greatly reduce your chances of suffering from popups.
Its best to run a good anti spyware program to try and remove this infection. And also run a program that can clean the Windows Registry of any entries that shouldn't be there.
Spyware grows more sophisticated every day. There's more of it, and it's more malicious than ever before. And popups are often part and parcel of a spyware infection. Although free software like AdAware Anniversary Edition can remove a lot of spyware and adware QBS PC Help also recommend the free version of CCleaner which can clear the Windows Registry of junk files, remove temporary files and browser histories. It can also remove start menu run histories and cookies. You can download CCleaner from this website right now!
To see more about tackling Spyware and Adware see our article - Adware and Spyware Removal.
Using the most up to date version of your Internet Browser will certainly prevent most pop ups because the latest versions include pop up blockers as part of the installation package.
We recommend Firefox and Chrome as our browsers of choice.
Another option is to add a toolbar package. A toolbar is usually a browser add-on that increases the functionality of your browser. It's a visible bar that typically docks to the top of your browser window. Most toolbars work with Internet Explorer, Firefox and many of the latest browsers that you can download.
The Google toolbar is totally free and is widely used. This has a built in pop up blocker. It also sports many other useful tools including access to your Google Mail account.
The Alexa Toolbar is also free and has a built in pop up blocker. The Alexa Toolbar has many extra features. You can find out who owns a site and how to contact them. You can discover how popular a site is. You can also get a list of links related to a given site.
The Yahoo! Toolbar is a free toolbar download with free spyware protection and a popup blocker.
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