Pop-ups are a plague, but not of the “black death” variety. Think of them as the common cold of the Internet. The way they work is deceptively simple. The ads use a code embedded in a Web page you visit, and open a new window automatically while you’re surfing. You don’t have to click on anything.

In a recent study by Bunnyfoot Universality, a UK Internet marketing research company, every participant was at least mildly annoyed by pop-up ads. Most found them annoying, irritating and insulting to their intelligence. And more than half of the people just ignored them.

If pop-ups are universally reviled and mostly ignored, why are they still used?
The answer is simple. More people click on pop-ups than any other kind of ad. Banner ads, the billboard-type ads at the top or sides of a Web page, don’t get clicked on nearly as much as pop-ups.

Building blockers

It’s no surprise that consumers are flocking to pop-up blockers. A year ago, only 1 percent of Internet surfers had installed pop-up blockers. Now, 14 percent of users have them.

Pop-up blockers are typically browser plug-ins, or software that you add to your Web browser, that scan the Web site and disable any code that tries to open a new window.

But, pop-up blockers can’t just ban windows willy-nilly. Some Web sites use pop-up windows for non-advertising purposes. On banking Web sites, for example, pop-up windows are often used to make it easier to look at account information. A good pop-up blocker will have a way to tell the difference between a useful window and an ad.

A few blockers do this automatically, but most have what is called a blacklist or whitelist. A blacklist keeps track of “bad” pop-ups, the ads you don’t want to see. Every time you return to a site, the blacklist remembers the information. A whitelist is similar but keeps track of the windows you want to let through.

A panacea?

As pop-up ads have multiplied, so have the choices in cures. Go to your local software store and you’ll find dozens of programs that claim to block pop-ups. The Web site download.com has 113 blockers available for downloads. Blockers vary in price, and can be free or cost as much as $30.

Although all pop-up blockers work along the same principle, not all are created equal.
Because you’re adding a computer program to your Web browser, there’s a chance the program will affect the way your browser works. E-mail difficulties and frequent Web browser crashes can occur with certain programs.

If the blocker doesn’t have a blacklist or whitelist, you have no way to control what is and what isn’t blocked. You may get cut off from benign pages you visit frequently.

Alas, some pop-up blockers contain adware or spyware. These are extra software programs that may allow companies to poke around on your computer and gather information, sometimes without your knowledge. Spyware tends to be more malicious and harder to find than adware.

It’s hard to find out which blockers have adware and spyware attached to them. Legally, companies are required to tell you in their End User License Agreement (EULA), the block of text most people don’t read that is shown to you before you download a piece of software, but some unscrupulous companies don’t. Also, the language they use in the EULA is made to be confusing. Before you download a blocker, read the EULA thoroughly. Look for words like “additional software,” “third-party,” “share information,” “monitor your Web browsing habits,” which are all code for “spyware.”

“ Your best bet to avoid spyware is not to download programs in the first place,” said Andrew Franceour, MAR network administrator. “If that’s not practical, then use software like AdAware and Spybot to remove the offending programs. These programs can also tell you more about the nastier spyware out there.”

Popped?

There are other signs that pop-ups might be on the way out.

“Although the industry used to measure the effectiveness of advertising by the number of users who clicked on an ad, the industry now focuses more on visibility and brand-awareness,” said Chris Herdt, the advertising production manager at MLive.com, and is the primary person who designs the ads displayed on MLive.

Brand awareness is all about the subconscious. Companies don’t expect you to click on their ad for cola when you see it.

But they expect their ads to help you think positively about their product, so, when you are thirsty, you’ll turn to their brand of cola instead of someone else’s.

Considering the fact that Bunnyfoot’s survey seems to suggest that pop-up ads promote negative brand awareness, advertisers may soon start to shy away from them.
All this talk of pop-ups and blockers may be moot once Microsoft introduces its new version of Internet Explorer. Microsoft has said it will include a pop-up blocker on the new Web browser.

Although Netscape’s Web browser has a built-in pop-up blocker and has had for years, more than 90 percent of surfers use Microsoft Internet Explorer.

If that many people are immune to pop-up ads, they may be eradicated for good.