Disable pop-ups from plug-ins

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Problem:
I have Mozilla/Firefox set to block pop-up windows, but I'm still getting them. How do I block ALL pop-up windows from appearing?

Versions:
Mozilla 1.7.5 or later. Firefox 1.0 or later.

Solution:

You've got to give credit to those advertisers for finding new inventive ways of getting around pop-up blockers. Advertisers have found they can launch new windows from plug-ins such as Macromedia's Flash Player and Java. By default, Mozilla/Firefox does not block pop-ups from such plug-ins, but I expect that will change with later releases. Here's how to tell those advertisers that no means no...

In the address bar, type

about:config

You should see your browser's current configuration settings.

To the right of "Filter:", type

popups

You should see something similar to the following screen shot...

Under the Preference Name column, look for "privacy.popups.disable_from_plugins". Chances are, if you are reading this, it is NOT already there. (If it is listed, skip to step #6.) Right-click on any one of the preferences, and click New > Integer from the pop-up window.

In the "Enter the preference name" window, enter

privacy.popups.disable_from_plugins

Be careful! Any typo will cause cause the browser not to recognize the preference, and you will still get pop-ups! For best results, copy and paste. Then click the OK button.

Set the integer value to 2 and then click the OK button.

That's all there is to it! If you want to modify the value, right-click on the preference, and click Modify in the pop-up menu to change the value. In the table below are all the possible values and what they do...

Value	Effect
0	Let pop-ups initiated by plug-ins through. (Preference disabled.)
1	Allows all through but limits the number of pop-up windows to the value of dom.popup_maximum preference.
2	Block pop-ups initiated by plug-ins except those that have been whitelisted.
3	Blocks all pop-ups initiated by plug-ins including those that have been whitelisted.