pop-ups! POP-ups!! POP-UPS!!!

Does your browser look like this when you open a webpage? Do you have lots of pop-ups and strange links when you are online? Here are some helpful hints on how you can have a pop-up free online experience.

Extensions:

While some extensions can be helpful, others can be a huge culprit when it comes to pop-ups. Here is how to find out what extensions you have installed on different web browsers.

• Google Chrome:

        1. In the top right corner of your browser click on the  button

        2. Select More Tools and then Extensions

• Internet Explorer:

        1. In the top right corner of your browser click on the  button

        2.  Select Manage add-ons

• Firefox

        1. Click the    button

        2. Select Add-ons

        3. Select the Extensions panel 

• Safari

        1. Go to the Safari Menu/Preferences

        2. Select the extensions tab

Now that you can see your extensions, look for any that you don't recognize. Culprits can often have strange names and repeating letters. If you find one that you don't remember installing or that doesn't look quite right you can Google it to see if it is indeed a problem. If it is, delete or at least disable it and see if that fixes your pop-up problem.

Viruses/Adware:

Another big cause of pop-ups is viruses and adware. You can clean these off your computer in two different ways.

• Clean up programs: For Windows go to "Add or Remove Programs" and for Macs go to "Applications." Look through your programs and look through them like you did with your browser extensions. Shouldiremoveit.com is a good website to look up possibly malicious programs. If a program has a bad reputation for containing malware or adware and you don't remember installing it, go ahead and uninstall it. If you are unsure about a program you can call or visit the DormNet help desk and we can help you go through your list of programs.

• Run a virus scan: After putting your computer in Safe Mode, run a scan like MBAM or Spybot to clean up viruses and adware. If you do not want to do these scans yourself you can come up to the DormNet help desk and we can check in your computer and run the scans for you.

Other:

If you are still having problems make sure you have restarted your computer. If the problem still persists come visit the DormNet help desk and we will see what we can do.