A pop-up is a window that appears when you browse certain Web sites. Most of the time a pop-up window is used for advertising, and sometimes pop-up windows are disguised to look like an error message in Windows to lure you into clicking on the window. The majority of pop-up windows are not important (and mostly just annoying) but sometimes pop-up windows are useful. For example, if you purchase concert tickets through a secure Web site, a pop-up window may appear showing you where your seat is inside the concert hall.

 

 

Internet Explorer has a built-in pop-up blocker that attempts to block all pop-up windows. Sometimes the ones it does block are from legitimate and secure Web sites. The Information Bar (described below) will appear showing you that a pop-up window has been blocked. The pop-up blocker can be disabled when you browse to a particular Web site. To enable pop-ups on a particular Web site, hold the Control key (Ctrl) whenever you click a link on a Web site. This keyboard shortcut will always allow pop-ups on this Web site.