popups

An Internet phrase for "pop-up window". The annoying windows that open up randomly when you access a webpage. Most popups can be closed with a simple click of the mouse, but some, such as pornography popups, are programmed to open up more popup windows or pull the user into a pop-up loop, or even disable the user's computer. There are a wide variety of free and commercial software programs available which can block popups. The range of effectiveness varies with each program.