PopNot is described by its developer, High-Density Software, as "an intelligent pop-up killer that prevents unsolicited pop-up windows from ever appearing, with no need to set up particular Web sites or keywords." And that, folks, in a nutshell, is exactly what PopNot does! No complicated configurations before you can get the it set up and running. Download it, install it and it goes to work. Even the name is refreshing among pop-up utilities. . . as in "Go now, and Pop Thee Not."

I forget which movie earned Sally Field an oscar, but her first on-stage response (or variations of it) became a cliche almost overnight: "You liked me! You really liked me!" Well, that's the way I feel about PopNot. And while I'm at it, I might as well break another writing rule with respect to cliches (avoid them!) and paraphrase another: "PopNot. . . it takes a licking and keeps on ticking!"

Sure, you say, you've fallen for that claim before. Sometimes the stopper, killer, exterminator, or other appropriately-dubbed software has even worked -- at least for a little while. But eventually the Web ad companies must out-spend and out-develop them. All the ones I tried, at least, just quietly stopped performing. PopNot, however, has been on the market ($19.95 and worth every penny!) for almost three years, so you know it has to be doing something right. I installed it almost 16 months ago and have enjoyed pop-up peace ever since.

If there are Websites whose ads you want to see (really??), you can add them to the "allow" list. This can be done in program "Options" or on-the-fly by right-clicking the tray icon and opting to "disable" or "close".

Most Internet users I know are absolutely frustrated by, if not downright infuriated with, some of the advertising practices on the Internet You know the ones I mean. But let's face it, advertising revenues help pay the bills, finance development of new applications, and, in general,help keep the Internet unfettered. Think for a moment what a government-subsidized Internet might be like. Sends shivers up the spine!

Okay, so we have to live with them. But how many of you can say that those ubiquitous, unexpected, intrusive, irritating pop-up windows don't drive you absolutely bananas sometimes?

Perhaps the nature of my surfing habits exposes me to more pop-ups than most. I enjoy searching for and trying new freeware/shareware programs, especially utilities - I've messed up my operating system so often I finally had a separate OS partition created on my hard drive devoted solely to my "experimentation" endeavors.

As you might suspect, the paths to many of these programs, particularly freeware, are virtual pop-up obstacle courses. It drove me so crazy, I was constantly on the lookout for any application that promised to prevent pop-ups. I tried at least four before finding PopNot. I've deliberately forgotten most of the names, but they all ended with promising verbs like stopper, killer, exterminator and the like.

They all seemed to help at first, but inevitably, each would become less and less effective, apparently out-programmed by the advertising companies with deeper research & development pockets.

I finally broke down and purchased a big-name Internet security program (more than twice the price of PopNot) that included an ad-blocker feature. This one's bound to work, I thought. And it did. . .sort of. . .for a while. From the beginning, however, using it was almost as irritating as the ads. It requires stopping to open a trash can icon, dragging the on-screen ad into it, etc., etc. A lot of clicking and dragging and dropping. But once all the ad-producing URLS have been added, the program recognizes them and blocks them, right? Wrong. You start getting a message to the effect that "You've already trashed this ad, and (obviously I) can't block it anymore. So modify the URL it's coming from and add it again." What?? Unfortunately, as I soon discovered, most pop-ups are produced by just a handful of sites, and there are only so many ways an URL can be "modified."

Back to the drawing board. I remember thinking, as I typed "pop-up ad" in the search box: One last try, then I give up! PopNot was the first (and, thankfully, last) search result I've clicked looking for an effective pop-up stopper. Has it lived up to my expectations? You bet. Actually, after my previous experiences with pop-up blockers, I had no expectations! Not even much hope.

I opened Pop-Up"s configuration window (See Figure 1) only to examine my options, and seldom use the convenient tray icon. The few basic options I chose during installation apparently are dealing with my needs just fine, with no additional effort on my part. However, I couldn't resist one tiny option. Yes, I did want a notification, an audible one, each time a pop-up bit the dust. I chose an unobtrusive little "cracking" sound that reminds me of a distant gunshot. I smile every time I hear it.

IMPORTANT NOTE! Not long after I wrote the above paragraph, I visited the Windows Update site, selected a couple, and was totally puzzled as to why nothing happened when I repeatedly clicked "Download and Install." Finally it dawned on me (it's so easy to forget PopNot's on the job) - Microsoft's license agreement was being shot down so quickly, the screen hadn't even flickered! And as you know, you're not getting anything until you click "Agree." So unless you have Windows Update on automatic, you might want to add the site to the "allow this site's pop-ups" under Options|Websites. AND, be sure to add any other download sites that you use.

System Requirements: Internet Explorer 5.01 or later, Windows 95 or higher. PopNot will not work with browsers other than Internet Explorer.

PopNot is available online for $19.95, with free updates for registered users. Find it, as well as a 15-day evaluation version, on the High Density Software Web site.