Internet Explorer to block pop-ups

By Simon Aughton

Posted on 11 Nov 2003 at 16:41

The next version of Internet Explorer will include a facility to block pop-up ads, the company confirmed today.

The feature will be included in Windows XP Service Pack 2, which is due to be released next year.

Microsoft spokesman Darin Linnman told News.com that, 'I can confirm SP2 will include an update to IE that adds pop-up blocking.'

However he added the caveat that the decision could be changed. Microsoft has yet to decide whether blocking will be set to 'on' or 'off' as the default.

Pop-up ads are generally viewed with disdain by Internet users, but have been popular with advertisers who have found that they get a higher number of responses than other common forms of Web advertising.

Nonetheless there are some signs that they have accepted that pop-ups days are numbered, with some online businesses finding that demand for them is in decline.

IE remains the only mainstream browser without a blocking feature, though plug-ins such as the Google Toolbar can be used to do the same job.