What is "Popup Blocker (strict)" extension and how does it work?

Popup Blocker (strict) is a restrict popup blocker for Chrome, Opera and Firefox browsers. Basically, all types of external window openings will be paused for user attention. One a window opening is requested, the extension displays a desktop notification for 30 seconds (customizable) and allows you to preview the link and either accept or deny the request. If request is accepted, a popup window that was requested by the page will be resumed.

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What is the meaning of the colors used on the toolbar button?

The "red" is used when the blocker is disabled, and "blue" is used when it is enabled. The window in the background represents the global state, and the window in the foreground represents the current window's state.

• blocker is globally enabled, and protects this tab
• blocker is globally enabled, but does not protect this tab
• blocker is globally disabled, and does not protect this tab
• blocker is globally disabled, but protects this tab

What happens if more than one popup is requested to be displayed by current window?

Popup Blocker (strict) extension displays the list of all requests. If the same URL is requested more than once, a badge number will appear in the notification box. By default, each notification is displayed for 30 seconds which allows you to accept or deny the popup request.

Is it possible to change the notification timeout?

Yes, if the 30-second timeout is not enough for you, go to the options page of the extension and adjust a new period. Note that the time unit is seconds.

What's new in this version?

Please check the Logs section.

Is it possible to change the total number of notifications displayed for a single web page?

Popup Blocker (strict) add-on only displays the last 3 unique requested popups that are requested by each page. If you need the extension to display more notifications, go to the options page and change the number there.

Where can I test the effectiveness of this tool?

Go to http://tools.add0n.com/popup-blocker.html page and run different tests. If you can think of another test that is missed in this page please ping me to append the new test. You are also welcome to push a pull request directory for the test page.

Why popup blocker is not working in my Chrome browser when I am in the incognito mode?

In Chromium browsers, you need to manually activate an extension to have permission to interact with the incognito tabs/windows. Go to "chrome://extensions/" and check "Allow in incognito" for this extension.

What is the meaning of "redirect" button in the popup notification box?

Some websites tend to open links inside a new tab. This is mainly for the cases when you may need to check the new page and get back to the original page. The redirect button disregards the opening of the page inside a new tab and instead opens the page in the current tab (redirects the current tab to the new destination offered by the link). Use this option when you are certain that you are done with the current page. Note that you can always use the back button of your browser to get back to the original page even after the redirection is taken place.

What is the meaning of "background" button in the popup notification box?

This option allows you to open the popup requests in background tabs adjacent to the current tab. For instance, while you are reading an article and website requests a new popup. You can use this option to have the request be opened inside a background tab to prevent distraction.

How can I prevent internal popup blocker of my browser from blocking popups that are allowed by this extension?

As of version 0.1.6, the extension displays up to four buttons in the popup notification box. "allow" option is resuming popup the request meaning there is a chance the popup request gets blocked by your browser's internal popup blocker. However, "redirect" and "background" options are handled by the extension itself (there will be no internal popup blockage anymore for these two options). It is recommended to use these options when applicable.

What are these "Please Wait..." alerts I am getting on some pages after the popup is blocked when this extension is activated?

So some ad scripts try different methods to display their popups. For instance, they use the internal PDF viewer to open links. It is even possible to show alert messages from these PDF documents. These alerts are generated by these scripts. The reason why you don't get them normally is because when the requested popup is issued, there is no need for them to use an alternative method as the first method has already worked out. But if you have this popup blocker, since popup is already blocked, other methods including this PDF method may be used which causes these alerts to be shown.

There is an easy way to prevent these alerts by completely disabling Chrome's PDF viewer. You can do this by opening chrome://plugins/ in a browser tab. Note that no embedded PDF will be shown if this plugin is disabled.

Some websites are redirecting to ad-pages if popup opening is unsuccessful. How can I prevent this?

As of version 0.2.7, there is a new option to prevent page redirection for 2 seconds when a popup is requested. Basically the extension set an unbeforeunload listener for 2 seconds and this prevents any page redirections for this period without user consent.

Note that your browser will display a warning alert indicating "Changes you made may not be saved". This message cannot be altered for security reasons. Because of this nonsense message alert, this option is not enabled by default.

There is a website that draws an invisible overlay div over the entire page and hence I have no access to the notification buttons like "Allow" or "Deny". How can I perform an action in a situation like this?

As of version 0.3.0, there are two new items in the right-click context menu over the toolbar button. You can allow or deny the last action from this menu.

Is there any way to prevent the popup notification to be displayed entirely?

As of version 0.3.0, there is a new option in the options page of the extension to perform the pre-defined action without displaying the notification popup at all. Although it is not recommended, you can activate it!

If this option is activated, for a popup with a valid destination link (a link that has HTTP or HTTPS schemes), the default action will be performed without the notification box is being displayed. So for each new popup domain, you will get the notification just once and for all the subsequent requests the action that is recorded once will be performed.

What is the newly introduced feature "Open shadow window on popup request" which is added to the right-click context menu over the toolbar button?

When a popup is requested by a page, this extension returns a normal JavaScript object instead of the actual window object and records all the actions that are called in the returned object. Some malicious scripts validate the returned window object and if the object is not an actual window they just request a new popup. This loop is not going to be released and hence the user cannot access the website content until a popup is shown. To prevent this, version 0.3.3 introduced a new feature in the right-click context menu to return an actual window object when a script is not releasing the loop. Since this action is not recommended, the actual window returning is only available when a user requesting it from the right-click context menu option.

Another usual trick to prevent users from accessing input elements of a page (like text area) is to inject an invisible element on top of those input elements and when the user wants to click on the input, the invisible element is going to be clicked instead. By activating this option, those invisible elements are also bypassed!

I don't need to get notified when this extension blocks a new popup. I want the extension to block popups, and I get zero notification. Is this doable?

In general, it is not recommended since there will be no visual changes in the page when the user's click results in a popup being generated. Anyhow if you are sure, you can set "Default action when a popup is requested" to "deny request" and check the "Ignore popup notification when possible (not recommended)" option. Don't forget to save your preferences. By adjusting these two preferences, the only visual notification you are going to get is the badge number on the browser action.

What is the meaning of the "Do not block any popup on these pages" list on the options page (version 0.8.0)?

This list includes all the domains that the blocker is disabled on them. It means that any hostname can issue a popup on these pages. The domain itself and all its subdomains are being considered.

What is the meaning of the "Do not block popups from these origins" list on the options page (version 0.8.0)?

This list includes the list of hostnames that can issue popups on any webpage. If you trust a hostname, include it in this list to make sure the popups are not being interrupted.

What is the meaning of the "Do not block these protocols" list on the options page (version 0.8.0)?

By default, the extension blocks any URL. If there are some protocols that you trust and would like the extension to ignore, add them to this list. For instance, add 'magnet:' to allow torrent links to be opened in a browser tab.

Is it possible to only allow the extension to work on selected pages? I don't need the extension to block popups on all websites.

If you are on a Chromium browser, right-click on the action button and limit the access to particular websites from the built-in "This can read and change site data" context menu item.

Some websites issue too many spam popups. I don't want to see the popup notification for these websites. Is it possible?

You can use the "Mute notifications on these hostnames" on the options page to include the hostnames. When a hostname is listed, the extension silently blocks all popups. Use this option with caution since there is no visual indication that a popup is blocked, and you might think something is broken.

What is the meaning of the "Allow page redirection to the following origins" list on the options page (version 0.8.0)?

The extension prevents page redirection when the "Prevent page redirection for 2 seconds after a popup is requested" option is checked. This list contains the destination hostnames that you would like the extension to ignore (not block) when page redirection is requested.