For anyone who uses the Internet, junk mail and pop-up advertisements are impossible to avoid.
There have been a number of programs developed recently for the purpose of eliminating pop-up ads and unwanted e-mail. The verdict is in on how well these programs work, and it seems as though students will have to stick with the simple method of pointing the mouse and clicking to rid their screens of pop-up ads.
"I can't stand it all, to be honest," said Jeff Green, a senior majoring in communication. "I've tried downloading everything to block them, and nothing ever seems to work."
Many students said they have no idea how to rid themselves of pop-up ads, or which programs might assist them.
Sean Adee, a junior computer science major, as well as a computer information technology (CIT) assistant, shared some information that could be of assistance to students.
"The best pop-up blocker is the software provided by Earthlink, but unless you're a member, or know a member, you can't get the software to work," said Adee. "The top free option to stop them is to go to download.com or a similar site and procure freeware that won't allow unauthorized browser pop-up or redirection."
Other students question the logic behind pop-up ads.
"Who created pop-ups anyway? Did they think that people were going to buy something that annoys them?" said Chris Lehman, a junior psychology major.
Although many students agree that pop-up ads are unwanted, their methods of dealing with the ads vary.
"I downloaded a program called SpyBot that scans for pop-ups," said Melissa Bernstein, a sophomore psychology major. "Seriously, I would wake up and there would be about 150 on my screen, which would freeze my computer!"
"They're a real pain," said Sean Murphy, a junior civil engineering major. "In the past, I've used the blocker called Pow."
While some students take an active approach towards getting rid of pop-up ads, others simply take the nuisance as a matter of course.
"I don't use programs, but I probably should because I get too turned on with all the porno websites that come up all the time," said Grant Lingel, a junior psychology major.
"I really dislike them, but I'm often too lazy to download Ad aware or similar programs that rid the computer of spy ware, so I just delete them one by one," said Mike Goldberg, a senior English major.
In addition to pop-up ads, many students are bothered by annoying junk mail in their e-mail accounts. Oftentimes, simply opening a junk mail message is enough for the advertiser to get the user's contact information so that they can send more messages in the future.
Alan Dick, a marketing professor at UB, said that the best way to deal with the problem of unwanted e-mail is to not click anything at all.
"One of the best things to do for e-mail you don't want, where there is a link saying 'click here if you do not want to receive anything further, is just don't click on it,' said Dick. "I try to set filters for e-mail, but it still is not perfect."
According to Adee, one of the primary problems of e-mail filters is that they sometimes block more than junk e-mail.
"Unfortunately the problem with spam (junk mail) is that while trying to block it, you may unintentionally block a legitimate e-mail," said Adee. "So the balance is between eliminating as much as possible, while ensuring you don't miss a legitimate contact."
Dick encourages students to exercise caution in their online activity to avoid running into catastrophes like the recent Blaster Worm virus that infected the UB network this past summer.
"Blaster Worm was a major problem to the student body, as well as being disruptive to businesses," Dick said.
As annoying as unwanted ads are, with filter systems still imperfect, there is no foreseeable end to the bothersome messages. Most students have found a very simple way of dealing with a majority of the nuisances:
"Unless I recognize the name on the e-mail, I won't open it," said Henry Leon, a junior majoring in social science-legal studies.
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
