Skip to main content

Pop-ups in Chrome driving you mad? Here’s how to block them

If you spend any amount of time on the Internet, you’re almost guaranteed to have come across annoying advertisements in multiple forms, including pop ups, auto-playing ads, and more. They’re virtually unavoidable, but you can take action to dodge them.

There’s one particular ad blocking browser plugin we love when using Google Chrome, and it works quietly in the background without you having to manipulate it. It’s called Adblock Plus. We’ll show you how to get it up and running, though if you use Firefox, you can follow our guide on how to get an ad blocker for that browser.

How to block pop ups with a Google Chrome browser extension

Adblock Plus
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Start by opening up your Chrome browser. Then make a visit to the Chrome Web Store and the Adblock Plus Extension page. There’s a blue button in the top of the window that says “Add to Chrome.” Click it, and the extension will automatically download.

Adblocker PlusThat’s all there is to it, you’re not required to restart Chrome in order to get Adblock Plus up and running. The extension adds a small red stop sign in the top right corner of your window. At any time you can click on this stop sign to see data about what ads are blocked on the page, how you can unblock pages or entire sites, and how you can change targeted ads in your options.

Some content can’t be consumed with Adblock Plus on, depending on its source and format. If you run into this problem, click on the stop sign icon and uncheck “Enabled on this site” to turn ad-blocking off for the site (it will then change to “Disabled on this site,” but you can turn it back on whenever you want). After that, refresh the page containing the content you want to check out, and it should play normally.

Note that Adblock won’t ensnare every single ad you run into on the net, but in our experience, it caught most of them. Also, there are “whitelist” companies that pay to have their ads unaffected by adblockers. Fortunately, the brands that pay for this rarely use pop-up ads in the first placewe. You’ll have to switch it off to view sites that are extra-serious about monetization.

Alternative: Poper Blocker Pro

Poper Blocker
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Adblocker Plus is an excellent tool, but it’s very comprehensive. If you are looking for a simpler tool that doesn’t affect as many ads and specifically targets popups instead of everything, we highly suggest the extension Poper Blocker. It gives you a quick notification whenever it blocks a pop-up, and allows for the same kind of whitelists and specific site control that Adblocker Plus down. Additionally, the notifications let you to block a popup just once or every time, based on how often you use a site. You can even change the notifications and toolbar settings if you find them intrusive and want the extension to work invisibly so you can get to work, too.

This article was updated November 21, 2016 to include an updated version of the extension and provide an alternative option.

Editors' Recommendations

Konrad Krawczyk
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Konrad covers desktops, laptops, tablets, sports tech and subjects in between for Digital Trends. Prior to joining DT, he…
How to change your language in Google Chrome
Chrome OS

Adjusting your language settings is an easy way to customize Google Chrome. The popular web browser supports a wide variety of languages making it easy to display the browser in your preferred language. If you've never changed them before, you might be wondering where you can find these settings in the Google Chrome menu.

Here is what you need to know about changing your language settings and preferences in Chrome.
Add a new language
Changing the language used in Chrome only takes a few steps, but keep in mind that it only applies to the Chrome interface. For instance, if you change the default language to French, all text within the Chrome interface, such as menus and settings, appear in French. The change does not apply to web content.

Read more
How to block a website

Whether you're looking to protect your kids from sketchy websites or protect yourself from distracting sites while working, sometimes we all need to block a website for our best interests. Balancing privacy, freedom, and controls can be tricky to navigate.

While many laptops come with some parental controls already installed, some are more user-friendly than others. We’ll walk you through exactly how to use the settings and how to use host files and routers to do this.

Read more
How to clear your browser cache

Do you clear your browser cache regularly? If not, you should. Your browser cache is responsible for storing the data of previously viewed websites. While the purpose behind the cache is for quicker loading times of the sites you frequent, it can work against you over time.

Not only can it slow down your browser, but it makes your private info more vulnerable to breaches. For whichever browser you use, here’s how to clear your cache.
Why you might want to clear your cache
Clearing your cache might not be completely necessary, nor need to be done often. However, clearing your browser's cache can prove fruitful for several reasons. First off, purging the stored data in your cache forces your browser to seek and retrieve the most recent webpage elements instead of recycling the same old components, whether they're up to date with the developer's standards or not.

Read more