Specifically, you should never click anywhere in a pop-up window. To protect yourself from serious malware infection, you must be extraordinarily careful about how you close a pop-up window. Even if your browser is set to block pop-ups you're still going to get some because no pop-up blocker is perfect. Most are merely annoying but a significant number- such as the 'Antivirus 2009' pop-up described below-are designed to infect your computer with spyware that makes your computer unusable. When you browse the web with a Windows computer you're sometimes presented with pop-up windows-and 'pop-under' windows that you don't notice until you close your main browser window. IE Security Vulnerability Disable Shockwave Flash Object.Don't Get Phished - Know Where You are Logging In.AntiVirus Software for Personally-Owned Computers.

This way, you can protect your device against browser hijackings. Look for suspicious changes in your browser and revert them.īe careful when installing third-party applications in the future, since hijackers often come bundled with untrusted software. To ensure your browser hasn't been hijacked, check that no suspicious extensions have been added, that no shady search engine is selected as default, and the hijacker hasn't altered the default browser settings. Thus, it is imperative to rule this possibility out. If your browser automatically opens random websites, it may have been hijacked. The hijacker does all this without the users' consent or knowledge.īesides compromising your security, hijackers alter your browser settings and could automatically redirect you to unwanted websites. Upon entering a browser, the hijacker alters its settings, changes the default search engine (to Yahoo, in most cases), changes the default homepage, tracks user activity, and more. A browser hijacker is a malware that targets web browsers and infects them with viruses.

How do i block a pop up on my computer