Number 260 - January 2005
Kill "Pop Ups" with Free Surfer
by Randy Esdon, Big Blue & Cousins, Aug 2002
   This is my latest run at finding good free software that works under Windows XP. This run has led me to a program that stops all of those pop-up screens when surfmg the web with Internet Explorer. It's called EMS Free Surfer MkII and can be downloaded from: http://www.free.surfer.tc/mail.

   The latest version 2.1.0 13 is still in beta format, but runs very well. I've tried several other programs that claim to work under Windows XP, but this is the only program that I found that actually worked consistently for both pop-ups and pop-unders.

   Here are a list of the features that are contained within Free Surfer and a short description of what they do:

   By default Free Surfer starts in 'Natural' mode. This means that it does not in any way interfere with opening new windows. This mode offers pretty good protection against those nasty popups and it's enough for most of us. This means that it automatically removes popups-no kind of list (block-list etc) is required! This mode doesn't try to be 100% rigorous, instead the intelligent fs-20 engine tries to clean all obvious pop ups, and assures the peaceful surf experience without browser chaos in the screen. If you are an Internet 'heavy user' and want to use just one browser at a time, you can switch the mode to 'Strict'. This mode allows new windows only if you press Ctrl or Shift while clicking a link.

  • Terminated Pop-up list:
       Free Surfer adds all terminated pop ups (URLs) to a list. You can surf to these sites by pressing the 'Surf' button. By pressing' Add to allowed', the selected URL can be added to 'Allowed sites list'. To clear the list use the 'Clear' button.


  • Allowed Site List:
       It is also possible to create rules and disable the FS-engine automatically in pre-defmed sites. These rules can be edited from 'ToolslAllowed sites list'. In most cases, it is wise to use parts of an URL; for example if you add the word 'Microsoft', popups are allowed in all sites CURLs) where the string 'Microsoft' can be found. There is no need to use asterisks (*) etc marks.


  • Active browsers list:
       All active browser's URLs currently open in the desktop appear in the " Active browsers list". If some of these are behaving badly, (there is no toolbar any more etc. ..) they can be closed by pressing 'Close browser'.
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  • Panic Button:
       The "Panic" button is very handy (and oh so effective) when you accidentally surf to an "aggressively pop-upped" site (and you have disabled free surfer for some reason). This button closes all browsers currently active in the desktop. You can also access the panic button by right clicking on the free surfer tray icon.


  • "WashBoard",
       A plugin that will allow you to automatically clean out temporary Internet file, cookies, and autocomplete entries, This can be automated to do this at a specific time of the day or after a specified minute after all browsers are closed. You can also manually start it from within Free Surfer to clean instantly.


  • Enhanced sound options:
       Basically this allows you to download and select different sounds to play when a pop up is stopped,

       You can also configure Free Surfer and set the following features:    
  • Start Free Surfer automatically in Strict mode.
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  • Load Free Surfer automatically at startup.
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  • Don't show flash screen when Free Surfer starts.
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  • Speaker Sound on/off.
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  • Silent mode--disables most of the dialogues. Very useful in some annoying sites that use dialogues badly or sites that have Activex-controls,
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  • Lock home page--locks home page, so that scripts can't change it. (There are several sites on the net that try to change your home page.)


    •    Free Surfer currently runs in Windows 98SE, NT, W2K and XP and must have Internet Explorer 5.0.3314 or later installed. Free Surfer doesn't run in Netscape or Opera.

       If you feel that you have a program that does the job of stopping all of your pop-ups but you would like to test it, try using this test site located here:
    www.bysoft.se/sureshot/stopthepop/test.html

       This page will open five pop-ups. These pop-ups will be closed automatically if you are running Free Surfer. Please notice that Free Surfer or whatever "Pop up stopper" program you are using must be running before you enter this page otherwise the pop-ups will not be stopped.
      Number 260 - January 2005