What are pop-ups?

Pop-ups are small windows in your browser that suddenly appear (pop up) while you’re browsing the web. In the past, they used to appear as totally new windows. Now they often appear in the same window, blocking or obscuring the rest of the content on the page.

It’s well-known that pop-ups are often simply intrusive ads, but can serve other purposes as well. Pop-up windows are used to display notifications with additional information, to play videos or other media, and to serve form or log-in fields, without you needing to open a new window or tab.

Because pop-ups sometimes deliver essential site functionality, like login forms, you may need to allow pop-ups for some sites to work properly. Otherwise, blocking pop-ups is often an easy way to streamline your browsing with no interruption or misdirection at all.

Why are my pop-ups still not blocked?

There are circumstances where even after you’ve turned on your Firefox pop-up blocker, you are still able to see pop-ups popping up. They could be coming from a browser extension or add-on running in the browser.

You can remove the extension from Firefox if there is not much importance. Pop-ups can also be triggered by a key or mouse-click, which may activate a pop-up that was otherwise blocked.

It’s also possible that the pop-up didn’t come from Firefox but from another program, running on the device. Blocking pop-ups in Firefox only blocks Firefox pop-ups from appearing while browsing. Some apps and programs issue pop-up notifications by default. In these cases, identify the program that’s serving the pop-up and adjust its settings to temporarily or permanently disable those pop-ups.

When should I enable pop-ups?

A variety of reasons might require the user to enable pop-ups from time to time. Some websites use pop-ups to open login forms or other form fields or signup forms to allow the main window to remain visible in the browser.

Also, a site’s terms of service or important privacy-related information may appear as a pop-up window.

Some sites allow pop-ups when playing multi-media, and when you click a link to play a video or audio clip, the media may load in a pop-up window.

You can allow all pop-ups in Firefox or enable them only on certain sites as needed. Enabling pop-ups for only some sites will keep unwanted pop-ups blocked while allowing other sites to work normally.

Enable Pop-up Blocker in Firefox Computer

1. Open a new browser window in Firefox and click the hamburger menu (three stacked lines) in the upper-right corner.
2. Choose Settings options from the drop-down menu.
3. Select Privacy & Security from the menu on the left-hand side.
4. Scroll down to the Permissions section and find the setting Block pop-up windows.
   
5. Firefox blocks pop-ups by default, keep the box checked to continue blocking pop-ups in Firefox

Disable Pop-up Blocker in Firefox Browser

 To grant pop-up exceptions to individual websites (because you trust them or don’t want to miss any notifications or messages), click the Exceptions box and customize your list there.

1. Instead of un-checking the box next to Block pop-up windows, as described just above, leave the pop-up blocker enabled and click the Exceptions button to the right of this setting.
2. A window will open with an option to add the address of a website. Type or paste the URL of any website you’d still like to receive pop-ups on.
3. Click Allow below the website URL. The website will appear in the field below with its pop-up status set to “Allow.”
4. Click Save Changes. Pop-ups should now be visible on the sites you’ve added under “Exceptions,” and blocked on all other sites.
   
5. To completely disable the pop-up window blocker in Firefox, then disable the checkbox that says Block pop-up windows.
   

Are pop-ups safe?

Pop-ups are generally safe, depending on the source. But pop-ups can come from a variety of sources, and while many are harmless, others can serve as vehicles for malware. Pop-ups from trusted websites are safe to view and click on. But it is never advisable to click pop-ups from unsafe sites. they more than often lead to malicious sites that might end up stealing your details without even your knowledge.

The most commonly seen safe pop-ups nowadays are those ubiquitous cookie consent notifications. Nowadays, most sites use them to comply with data protection regulations. Other safe pop-ups include sale notifications, email signup forms for newsletters, and media players from reputable websites.

Many pop-ups come in the form of ads. And though these pop-up ads are disruptive and intrusive, they’re usually harmless, they are mostly just simple click baits to direct you to other sites, which are not necessarily harmful. Though, with rarely maliciousness, its always advisable to be cautious at all times on sites we visit.

Some pop-up ads pack a more malicious intent. They come with the false warning that you have a virus or malware on your device. These pop-ups, called scareware, hide malware and try to frighten you into clicking on the ad, thereby downloading an actual malicious component in the process. If you see scareware pop-ups, close the window immediately (using a keyboard shortcut) and get trusted antivirus software to check your device for malware.

If rather than seeing periodic and relatively predictable pop-up ads, you’re instead being bombarded with pop-ups, your device could be infected with adware. In that case, get a robust adware cleaner tool to remove the infection immediately.

Conclusion

Whether you want to avoid pop-ups because they can be annoying, or if you just want to protect your PC from malware, it’s usually the better option to block pop-ups.

But there might be times when you do want to see those pop-ups. Fortunately, you can manage pop-ups to suit your preferences.

If you simply don’t find pop-ups useful anymore, now you know how you can disable them. If you ever change your mind, you don’t have to remember complicated steps since they’re exactly the same for turning them on.