Elain Brown Tech 07.23.2022 01:Jul AM EDT

How to Stop Legitimate and Malicious Pop-Ups on Windows

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A lot of you might have experienced a pop-up notification interrupting your workflow while casually doing your own thing.

Everyone has had a pop-up interruption at some point. Undeniably, pop-ups can also be such a hassle. However, no matter the hassle, these pop-ups tell you something about your device.

There are multiple reasons why they appear, and there are also different ways to address them. The challenging part here is that you could be experiencing pop-up alerts because of malicious and threatening malware on your device.

On the contrary, these pop-ups could be a notification from your operating system or your downloaded applications. These types of pop-ups may alert you to something important.

How To Disable Legitimate Pop-Ups

According to MUO, when you are trying to discern a pop-up, it is more likely to be legitimate if the pop-up comes from an app that you have already installed on your device.

This could occur immediately after you launch the application, immediately after you launch the application itself, or randomly while the application is running in the background.

Numerous applications in Windows 10 and Windows 11 make use of the built-in notification service to display pop-up windows. If you click on them, you will know what app is alerting the pop-up. From there, you can get information on what is causing it and why it needs attention.

These pop-ups could be to alert you about different things, such as backup problems, software updates, and the lack of storage space. When a notification is legitimate, it is highly advisable to address the root cause.

For example, when your Windows needs an update, all you have to do is click update and finish the process in order to efficiently and successfully get away with the pop-ups.

When you update your device, you first need to make sure that you have ample storage for the update. Or if not, you could clear your storage by deleting unnecessary files and uninstalling software that is rarely used to give you more space.

However, when updating your device, it is important to proceed with caution. Sometimes, these pop-up notifications on your device are just masking themselves as legitimate updates from the software you are using.

How to Stop Malicious Pop-Ups

Most dangerous pop-ups come in two forms: in your browser, or from junk software on your computer.

If you are experiencing a pop-up in a piece of software, this might be because of a virus infecting your system. It is highly recommended to scan your device with anti-malware software and eliminate anything malicious that has been detected.

Additionally, navigate to Settings > Apps > Apps & Features, and look through the list of software that has been installed on your device. Read through the list and uninstall anything that you don't recognize, don't use, or don't trust.

How To Stop Pop-ups on Your Browser

Browser pop-ups can sometimes hamper your efficiency since they can also be disturbing. However, if you are experiencing a noticeable number of pop-ups, this might be because you allowed them in your settings.

If you are using Google Chrome, pop-up windows won't appear on your screen without your permission because Google Chrome is set up that way by default.

The phrase "Pop-up blocked" will appear in the address bar whenever a pop-up window is prevented from opening. However, you also have the option to permit pop-up windows.

According to Google, to change this setting,

Just launch Google Chrome on your device.
Navigate to the top right of the browser, then click Settings.
After that, select Privacy and Security, then head to Site Settings.
Click on any pop-ups or redirects that appear.
With that, you can pick the option that you want to serve as your system's default.

In any browser, may it be Chrome or Edge, or whatever you use. You can usually control, restrict, disable, and enable pop-ups. You can grant your favorite websites to allow them to come through while you are browsing. On the other hand, you can also block these pop-ups if they are ads or spam.