Internet Explorer's Pop-up Blocker

Windows XP SP2 installs a pop-up blocker for Internet Explorer. By default, this pop-up blocker is turned on and will prevent pop-up windows from opening on Web sites.

One of the most visable features of the pop-up blocker is an "information bar" that alerts you when a pop-up has been blocked. This information bar appears below the "address bar" at the top of the browser window.

You can use the information bar to configure the pop-up blocker and to allow pop-up windows from a particular site on a temporary or permanent basis.

The first time you use the upgraded Internet Explorer and a pop-up is blocked, a window will appear to alert you to the new features:

If you do not want to see this alert again, click on the box "Do not show this message again" and then click on "OK." (Otherwise this window will appear periodically when a popup is blocked.) You can also click on the "Learn about the information bar" link for help on some of the pop-up blocker's features.

While many pop-up windows are advertisements, some sites have pop-up windows that are necessary to use the site.

There are several ways that you can allow pop-ups

• You can allow pop-ups on a particular site:
  1. Use the information bar
     • Click on the information bar
     • Select "Temporarily Allow Pop-ups" or "Always Allow po-pups from this Site"
       
       
       
       
  2. Use the tools menu
     • Go to Tools
     • Select Pop-up Blocker
     • select "Temporarily Allow Pop-ups" or "Always Allow pop-ups from this Site"
       
       
       
       
• Configure pop-up blocker manually to allow pop-ups from multiple sites
  • Go to Tools
  • Select "Pop-up Blocker"
  • Select "Pop-up Blocker Setttings" and the following window appears

From here you can manually add individual sites, or you can use the wildcard symbol (*) to specify a range within a specific site (ex: *.syr.edu).

In the settings above, all web sites ending in .edu and .gov will allow pop-ups. At SUL, any account that was used to install Windows XP SP2 will have pop-ups enabled for all .edu and .gov sites. If an account, such a generic account, was not used to install XP SP2, it will not have these settings by default. Note that youu cannot input *.gov or *.edu directly from the window above; IE will complain that these values do not represent a valid domain. To add *.edu and *.gov to the "allow pop-ups" list, do the following:

1. Go to the window labeled "Novell-delivered applications"
2. Go to the folder named "Tools and Utilities"
3. Double-click on the "Allow_popups" icon

Now when you open the window above, the *.edu and *.gov values should be listed.

You can also use the above window to turn off the playing of a sound when a pop-up is blocked (if you have sound enabled on your PC) and to turn off the information bar. ITS does not recommend turning off the information bar, since it provides useful information. If you do turn it off, you can go to this window to re-enable it.

If you disable pop-ups on a web site and later want to turn them back on, go to this window, select the web site, and click the "Remove" button.

The filter level setting controls the number of pop-ups that are blocked by default. The default setting of medium blocks pop-ups that occur automatically (no user action required). If you change it to "High," even pop-up windows that you specifically select via a link or button will be blocked. You then need to hold down the "Ctrl" key and click on the link to enable that specific pop-up.

ITS does not recommend setting the filter level to "Lo," since this provides only minimal protection from pop-ups. ITS also does not recommend turning off IE's pop-up blocker. (Note that the Internet Explorer popup blocker is the only popup blocker supported by ITS).