Pop-up blocker settings, exceptions and troubleshooting
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- Revision id: 11450
- Created:
- Creator: David Tenser
- Comment: Updated Windows 7 screenshots and instructions.
- Reviewed: No
- Ready for localization: No
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This document explains all of the settings available in Mozilla Firefox for controlling pop-ups.
Table of Contents
What are pop-ups?
Pop-up windows, or pop-ups, are windows that appear automatically without your permission. They vary in size but usually don't cover the whole screen. Some pop-ups open on top of the current Firefox window, while others appear underneath Firefox (pop-unders).
Firefox allows you to control both pop-ups and pop-unders through the Content panel in the OptionsPreferences window. Pop-up blocking is turned on by default, so you don't have to worry about enabling it to prevent pop-ups from appearing in Firefox.
When blocking a pop-up, Firefox displays an information bar, as well as an icon in the location bar.
When you click either the button in the info bar or the icon in the location bar, a menu is displayed with the following choices:
- (show the blocked pop-up)
Pop-up blocker settings
To access the pop-up blocker settings:
- In the Menu bar at the top of the screen, click and then select or , depending on your macOS version.Click the menu button and select .
- Select the
.
In the content panel:
- Block pop-up windows: De-select this optionpreference to disable the pop-up blocker altogether.
-
The dialog has the following choices:- Allow: Click this to add a website to the exceptions list.
- Remove Site: Click this to remove a website from the exceptions list.
- Remove All Sites: Click this to remove all of the websites in the exceptions list.
: This is a list of sites that you want to allow to display pop-ups.
Note: Blocking pop-ups may not always work and may interfere with some websites. For more information about blocking pop-ups, see What are Pop-ups.
Pop-ups not being blocked
Is the pop-up coming from Firefox?
The pop-up may not actually be coming from Firefox. You can determine where the pop-up is coming from by the appearance of the window.
- If you see the Firefox button in the top left corner of the window, it's a pop-up in Firefox.
- If not, you may have malware on your computer that causes the pop-ups. Scan your computer for viruses and spyware.
Is the pop-up blocker on and enabled for this site?
- In the Menu bar at the top of the screen, click and then select or , depending on your macOS version.Click the menu button and select .
- Select the panel.
- Make sure the Block pop-up windows checkbox is checked.
- To the right of Block pop-up windows, click the button. A dialog will appear that shows all the sites that are allowed to show pop-ups.
- If the site that's opening pop-ups is in the list, select it and press .
- Click Close the Allowed Sites - Pop-ups window.
- Click Close the preferences window.
Is the pop-up shown after a mouse click or a key press?
Certain events, such as clicking or pressing a key, can spawn pop-ups regardless of if the pop-up blocker is on. This is so that Firefox doesn't block pop-ups that websites need to work.
Is it a true pop-up window?
Sometimes ads are designed to look like windows, but really aren't. Firefox's pop-up blocker can't stop these ads.