You need something to stop the pop-ups. I use Ad/Subtract Pro but there are a lot of others. Earthlink provides something free for their customers. There are lots of other software (freeware and shareware and purchase). Ad/Subtract Pro gives you very good control over cookies and the ability to selectively delete them. It can block all ads and a lot of other stuff. If you have Zone Alarm Pro for a firewall it will also block most pop-ups/unders (it's in the custom settings for the privacy options and needs to be turned on. It will also block some other ads). Ad/Subtract regularly updates it’s database of ads which is an important feature in continuing to block ads.
You also need to remove all the spyware from your system. Ad-Aware is free and a great start and it’s free. By itself it’s not enough. To supplement it get Spy-bot which is also free. It finds other types of spyware and nasties (Trojans, dialers, other bots, etc.). They do overlap a bit but they do enough that’s different that you should have both. I also have the paid version of Pest Patrol (the free version will just locate the pests but won’t remove them. You have to do it manually. The paid version cleans them.). This software overlaps both Spybot and Ad/Aware. I have all three and it’s really a bit of over kill. The only advantage is that Pest Patrol has a memory resident function that constantly scans your system to catch spyware and other more serious pests before they can do much.
All of these need to be kept current. I run them in this order: Ad/Subtract to clear unwanted cookies, history and material in my cache. Then Ad-Aware to find cookies that were missed by Ad-Subtract (some are pretty sneaky). Then I run either Spy-bot or Pest Patrol. Usually Spy-bot. I run those weekly. Once a month I run all 3. The reason for running them in this order makes it easier to determine what you want to keep. Ad/Subtract protects the cookies you want to keep (FreeRepublic’s for example since it keeps you logged in. If you wipe it out you have to log in to post.)
I endorse this recommendation.
I use AdSubtract Pro as well as Zone Alarm Pro. I don't use Zone Alarm's cookie blocking because it is all or nothing. I like the customization of AdSubtract. Furthermore, AdSubtract will stop redirects and auto-updates, providing you with a manual switch instead.
I take things one step further. I use the McAfee suite of virus protection called Internet Security. This suite combines their previously separate products VirusScan, Guard Dog, and Firewall. I don't use Firewall, but I love Guard Dog. Guard Dog will alert you if sites are putting cookies on your machine, especially when indirect sites (sites you haven't visited but have banners on the current site) try to put cookies on your machine. Also, Guard Dog will automatically delete cookies for sites not bookmarked when you exit the browser. Furthermore, Guard Dog will alert you when one program tries to launch another program, when personal information (like your name) is being sent across the internet, etc.
You will be surprised at the number of cookies FreeRepublic puts on your computer because of all the imbedded graphics posted on threads. Guard Dog is constantly telling me that MSNBC or some such site is trying to put a cookie on my PC when I open a thread with photos linked from these sites.
-PJ