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Firefox Improves Pop-Up Ad Blocking

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the it-makes-me-sad-that-this-is-necessary dept.

BlakeCaldwell writes "The popular open-source browser already contains a pop-up blocker by default, but this does not handle pop-ups launched by plug-ins such as Flash and Java. Mozilla employee Asa Dotzler wrote in his blog last week that Mozilla developers are responding to the increasing number of advertisers that are using plug-ins to launch pop-up ads."

13 of 464 comments (clear)

  1. I've been testing it... by tquinlan · · Score: 5, Informative

    ...and it seems to work very well so far. The sites I've noted that managed to get a popup through even with the normal popup blocker can no longer get them open.

    --
    DBA? Software Engineer? My company is hiring! Click
    1. Re:I've been testing it... by M.C.+Hampster · · Score: 5, Informative

      Using AdBlock combined with a good filterset took care of the Drudge Report for me.

      --
      Forget the whales - save the babies.
  2. It doesn't work by Mr_Silver · · Score: 5, Informative
    Don't want to spoil everyones fun but you should read the comments posted below before you install it.

    In short, it doesn't work particulary well. However, adot has responded and says that those issues will be worked on.

    Having suffered one of those "new generation" of pop ups only about 10 minutes ago, I look forward to seeing this functionality when it's in a more finished state.

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  3. For the impatient by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/nig htly/experimental/popupsdie/

  4. Not really an update by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    This isn't really an update to the popup blocking code in Firefox, it makes the default preferences a little more aggressive.

    In fact, it blocks all popups so that you have to manually whitelist the sites that use legitimate popups.

  5. Half of the problem solved... by Minute+Work · · Score: 5, Informative

    Fight plugins with plugins.
    For the 3 people who aren't aware of the Flashblocker extension yet.
    https://addons.update.mozilla.org/extensions/morei nfo.php?application=firefox&version=1.0&os=Windows &category=Web%20Annoyances&numpg=10&id=433

  6. Blog comments Say It Works Too Universally... by Pants75 · · Score: 5, Informative
    The comments on that blog URL are pretty unanimous in that they say the patch causes FF to block pretty much all pop-ups, even ones you want to occur.

    Might not be the ideal solution who use alot of web applications rather than just surfing.

  7. You could fix this by CastrTroy · · Score: 5, Informative

    You could fix this a long time ago by going to about:config, and changing the value of privacy.popups.disable_from_plugins to "2". I started using this since I've heard of it, and it haven't seen a popup since. I think it's nice that they've enabled this by default, or made it more accessible. They should make more of the settings in about:config accessible in an easier way.

    --

    Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
  8. Other methods by whitehatlurker · · Score: 5, Informative
    While I have been using the Opera popup blocker for some time, I find that it's {easier / better / more portable / other reason here} to use a filtering proxy (e.g. proxomitron or similar).

    They are one stop shopping for blocking the junk that clutters the web.

    --
    .. paranoid crackpot leftover from the days of Amiga.
  9. Re:Counter-counter-attack by happymedium · · Score: 5, Informative

    Advertisers may not be that worried about Firefox in particular. Remember that it still only has 5% market share or so against the IE monolith, thus a smart advertiser would spend more resources exploiting IE. When Firefox becomes more popular, that's when we really have to start worrying.

    However, couldn't there be a definitive end to this battle in which one browser essentially stops popup windows completely? There are only so many ways to load the damn things, after all. I thought (correct me if I'm wrong) that popups have gotten more press in the last month or so because more people started using Flash to open them. That quickly got blocked by a FF extension. The recent renewal of interest in the issue doesn't necessarily mean that popups are impossible to get rid of.

  10. Re:For those to lazy to read the blog by gzearfoss · · Score: 5, Informative

    I find Flashblock to be sufficient for my needs. It allows you to turn it completely on or off, and a whitelist of sites. It replaces flash animations with a button which you can select to play the flash animation.

  11. Proxomitron by sytxr · · Score: 5, Informative

    A very useful windows freeware(non-OSS) that acts as a local proxy server with custom filters to rewrite web sites on the fly on their way to the browser. All Filters are written in a reasonably potent filtering language and new ones can be written and added.

    Possibilities include:
    - some popup blocking
    - convert within-frame links to normal ones
    - convert embedded flash animations or other plugins to clickable links
    - modify header information (referrer, browser name,version , caching meta tags)

    http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=proxomitron&b tnG=Google+Search

  12. Use the adblock extension! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative
    Use the adblock extension, and add a filter to block the intellitext server address. Blocks that garbage everytime for me.

    I'm shocked that so many people use Firefox, but not the Adblock extension. That's the first extension everyone on Earth should install, hell it should be integrated into Firefox!