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Freeware & Shareware
August 2003

Tim Hoke

Tim Hoke is the Sr. Pastor at Faith Presbyterian Church, a long-time member of Alamo PC and an avid computer user who loves to try out new programs, especially shareware and freeware. He gets excited about a good deal. More than that, he enjoys sharing good deals with others.

Why not send him a note about your favorite shareware or freeware programs.

Those pesky popup have been driving me crazy on my home computer. I’ve run Adaware, but that only helped for about two minutes. Before I knew it the popups were appearing everywhere on my screen so much so that I couldn’t access what I entered the Internet for in the first place. So I downloaded Spybot -Search & Destroyer. I just ran it and so far it has made a world of difference! Below please find information copied from the producers of Spybot

Spybot - Search & Destroy can detect and remove spyware of different kinds from your computer. Spyware is a relatively new kind of threat that common anti-virus applications do not yet cover. If you see new toolbars in your Internet Explorer that you didn't intentionally install, if your browser crashes, or if you browser start page has changed without your knowing, you most probably have spyware. But even if you don't see anything, you may be infected, because more and more spyware is emerging that is silently tracking your surfing behaviour to create a marketing profile of you that will be sold to advertisement companies. Spybot-S&D is free, so there's no harm in trying to see if something snooped into your computer, too :)

To see a list of threats that Spybot-S&D can remove, click on “Threats” in the navigation bar at the left. If you want an introduction how Spybot-S&D works, please read the tutorial. If you fear incompability with other software you are using, we can assure you that will not be the case. Still, we have created a compability overview listing some software that compability has been asked for before. Spybot-S&D can also clean usage tracks, an interesting function if you share your computer with other users and don't want them to see what you worked on. And for professional users, it allows to fix some registry inconsistencies and extended reports. A list of features is available if you click on “Features.” Version 1.2 will also offer an immunization option allowing you to block many spyware downloads before they even get on your computer.

There is also another popup blocker that I am trying. It comes with the Google Toolbar that is free from Google. Just go to the Google homepage, click on Google Services & Tools and you will find Google Toolbar. Click on it and you will be given options to install is on your browser. The pop-up blocker in the Toolbar Options menu prevents new windows from automatically opening when you visit a Website. Often times, these new windows display advertising that can interfere with your ability to see the content on the page you're trying to read. When the pop-up blocker intercepts an incoming ad, your cursor changes. The pop-up blocker button displays a count of the number of pop-ups blocked since the last Toolbar installation. To let a pop-up through on a one-time basis, press and hold the CTRL key as you click on a link to navigate to a new page. Sometimes sites communicate useful information via pop-up windows. The pop-up blocker can be told to remember these sites so pop-up windows are allowed to launch. This information is stored on your computer in what's known as a "whitelist" (as opposed to a "blacklist"). The pop-up blocker uses the whitelist to turn itself off when you visit sites whose pop-ups you don't mind viewing. As you find sites that have pop-ups you want to see, click the pop-up blocker button to add that site to your whitelist. (The whitelist is never actually displayed.) Repeat this process as you find Websites where you want to see pop-ups. To completely disable the pop-up blocker, open the Toolbar Options window and clear the checkbox next to pop-up blocker in the Accessories section. The pop-up blocker is available only for Internet Explorer version 5.5 and later. Oh yes, it is free.

You may also want to try Popup Blocker 3.0. It starts automatically when you turn on your computer. It hides in the background and closes pop-up and pop-under windows before they get in your way. If there are popups that you want to see — such as ones that are connected to a link you intentionally click — simply press the "Control" key, click the link, and the window appears. Popup Blocker 3.0 works with Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP.
$19.95
Download

Still another possibility is Zeroads v.1.35 which has a Spyware Monitor that sniffs out the spyware in your system and blocks the pop-ups they produce. Unlike anti-virus programs, ZeroAds is programmed to search for spyware in the deepest recesses of your computer and look for telltale signs of spyware activity like unusual applications connecting to the internet. ZeroAds displays all the spyware it has successfully blocked on its dashboard.
$29.95
Download

My final suggestion this month is Pop-up Stopper Professional 1.55, the only ad-blocker to block all pop-up windows and clean tracking files in every browser on every Internet connection. Pop-Up Stopper Professional blocks, or quickly closes pop-up and pop-under ads in all browsers, including AOL, MSN, Netscape, Internet Explorer, SBC Yahoo, WMConnect, Opera, and many others. Pop-Up Stopper Professional can optionally download free updates. Clean and manage cookies in every browser, from one simple utility. Remove browser history and cache and even clean index.dat files, even for separate AOL users and logins. Panicware's technology allows users to permit pop-up windows from specific Web sites. Preserve bandwidth by blocking pop-up windows before they load. Play one of many sounds when a pop-up window is blocked. This latest version blocks Messenger Service and other annoying desktop windows, and includes a bonus spyware removal scanner with purchase. Free tech support from a company you can trust.
$30.00
Download