My web browser has a built-in popup blocker, but this often prevents me from seeing important pages that would appear in a separate window. Is there anything I can do?

Internet Explorer features a popup blocker that, by default, is set to the 'Medium' setting so that it blocks most popups. An Information Bar appears though, giving you the option to view the popup anyway, but this extra step, while boosting security, can become a little annoying.

But it is possible to adjust the popup blocker setting:

  1. Open Internet Explorer.
  2. In the 'Tools' menu, select 'Popup Blocker'.
  3. If you want to switch off the 'Popup Blocker' entirely, click 'Turn off Popup Blocker'.
  4. Otherwise, click 'Popup Blocker Settings'.
  5. At the bottom of the page you will see a pulldown menu offering three security levels. 'High' will block all popups. It can be overriden by clicking the 'Ctrl' button while the window opens. 'Medium' blocks most automatic windows. 'Low' allows popups from secure sites.
  6. If your popup blocker is on, and you always want to see popup windows from a certain site, enter its URL in the box 'Address of website to allow', then click 'Add'.

Alternatively, if your browser has no popup blocker, try the following:

Press the Esc key when you see a pop-up appearing on your screen. Sometimes this stops the pesky thing right away.

If the pop-up has already appeared and you're using Microsoft's Internet Explorer, press Ctrl-W to close it quickly. With Internet Explorer and any other browser, Alt-F4 also works.