You need to download some things. First as just as others have been saying...You should get Mozilla or Firefox. Actually both are made by Mozilla. If you are using outlook for your email then you may want to get Mozilla because it does email too...and it is far more secure than outlook. If you just want a browser then go with firefox. If you have been using IE then you could have a lot more problems than popups because IE is a magnet for spyware. It has more bugs than rotten wood piled outdoors. Very dangerous to use. So you should also have a spyware remover. Spybot is for that purpose. It scans for items that Norton does not care about. Norton looks for virus's...and not so much for spyware. Another one you should have is Adaware by lavasoft(free):
http://www.download.com/3000-2144-10045910.html?part=69274&subj=dlpage&tag=button
This is also a good spyware remover. Spybot does not catch everything and neither does adaware....so the two make a good compliment to each other.
Spyware can attach itself to your broswer and cause many bad things to happen with your broswer(Pages altered-redirected). It can also log and send out your personal information and slow your computer to a crawl. If you listen to all the advice you are getting here on FR then you will be way better off.
For spyware, get these:
AdAware - http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/download/
SpyBot - http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/
CWShredder - http://www.siena.edu/antivirus/spyware/cws.asp
All free downloads, easy to use, and rips that crap out by the roots.
For popups, I use a one-two punch. My firewall software (Zone Alarm Pro) has a feature that allows you to block popups that aren't specifically requested by the user. Then there's Mozilla (http://www.mozilla.org/) - it has pretty much the same feature as Zone Alarm, but the browser is free.
I wouldn't bother with any "free" popup blocking software, since there's a good chance that whatever you get is rotten with spyware. Also, I've seen apps like those mess up the funtionality of Internet Explorer.
And if you insist on using IE, you can change your security settings to block third-party cookies and ActiveX controls.
I'm feeling magnanimous, so here's the rundown on how to change them:
In IE, along the top of the window, open the Tools menu.
From there, select Internet Options.
Once you're the Internet Options screen, click on the Security tab along the top.
In Security, click on the Internet icon.
Then click the button that says Custom Level.
You should now be in the Security Settings box, with ActiveX controls and plug-ins at the top. Now enter the following settings:
Download signed ActiveX controls should be checked as Prompt
Download unsigned ActiveX controls should be checked as Disable
Initialize and script ActiveX controls not marked as safe should be checked as Disable
Run ActiveX controls and plug-ins should be checked as Enable
Script ActiveX controls marked safe for scripting should be checked as Enable
Hit OK
Hit OK again.
You should be good to go now.
Enjoy!
Bump for later
If they are those little gray boxes with text in them it means you have a setting in XP that needs changing. Go to the Microsoft web site and do a search on POP UP ADS. It's a 20 second fix.