If pop-up ads have become the bane of your Web surfing experience, relief is here, in the form of a utility from Sunbelt Software called, appropriately, IHatePopups.
Installation and setup of IHatePopups, which shipped in March, were a breeze. Minutes after downloading the program from Sunbelts Web site, I was able to surf the Internet without having to close a litany of self-launching windows. The software runs in the Windows system tray and filters any Web browser that opens without user instruction.
While I chose to turn off the programs sounds, users can be alerted with their choice of sounds every time IHatePopups kills a pop-up.
I could also review the windows that were blocked (see screen). From there, I could override the program to look at the killed pop-ups or add them to a list of allowed sites to prevent future blocking.
IHatePopups supports only Microsoft operating systems and Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher. Web surfers using the Mozilla and Opera browsers should keep in mind that those browsers come with built-in features for killing pop-ups.
An IHatePopups edition with five licenses costs $50, and a 50-license pack costs $448. More information can be found at www.sunbelt-software.com.