How to Handle Pop-Up Ads and Spam on Your Phone or Computer

Pop-up ads are windows or boxes that appear over a webpage, sometimes blocking what you are trying to read. They are among the most common and frustrating things people encounter online. Some are merely annoying advertisements. Others are designed to scare you into calling a fake phone number or downloading harmful software.

This guide teaches you how to close pop-ups safely, how to tell the dangerous ones from the merely annoying ones, how to install an ad blocker to stop most of them from appearing in the first place, and how to remove those browser notification alerts that some websites have tricked you into enabling.

The most important rule: never call a phone number in a pop-up

Some pop-ups are designed to look like urgent warnings from Microsoft, Apple, or your internet provider. They may say things like "Your computer is infected," "Your account has been suspended," or "Call 1-800-XXX-XXXX right away." These are scams. They are called "tech support scams" and the FTC has documented thousands of them.

No legitimate company sends you a pop-up telling you to call a phone number. Microsoft does not contact you through your browser. Apple does not call you via a web page. If you see a pop-up with a phone number, the correct response is to close your browser entirely — not to call. If you have any doubt whether the warning is real, call a family member or the company directly using a number from their official website.

Why pop-ups appear

Pop-ups come from a few different sources: 1. Websites that display advertising pop-ups (normal, annoying but mostly harmless) 2. Websites you accidentally allowed to send you notifications (you may have clicked "Allow" on a permission request without realizing what it was) 3. Malicious websites that display fake virus alerts (scams — close and ignore) 4. Software you installed that added a browser extension without your knowledge

An ad blocker handles the first category. Revoking notification permission handles the second. Careful closing handles the third. And knowing what to look for handles the fourth.

What an ad blocker does

An ad blocker is a free browser extension (a small add-on program) that runs quietly in your browser and prevents most ads and pop-ups from loading at all. The most widely trusted free ad blocker is called uBlock Origin. It works in Chrome, Edge, and Firefox on computers. For Safari on iPhone and Mac, the equivalent is called AdGuard. Both are free, maintained by reputable developers, and do not collect your data.

An ad blocker does not block everything — some websites ask you to turn it off to access their content. And you can choose to do so. You can also add websites to a whitelist (an exceptions list) if you want to support a site by letting its ads show.

Sources: FTC.gov Tech Support Scams (https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/tech-support-scams), CISA Phishing Guidance (https://www.cisa.gov/phishing), How-To Geek on uBlock Origin (https://www.howtogeek.com/675095/use-ublock-origin-to-browse-safer/), Apple Support Safari Extensions (https://support.apple.com/en-us/105118).