Re: What does this mean?

OGF, I just disabled my JavaScript, but couldn't view any videos then, so I have had to enable it again.

I did it on Chrome as follows:

1. Go to the top right hand corner of your screen and click on the 3 little black lines in the corner.
2. From the list, select 'Settings'
3. From the drop down list select 'Advanced Settings' (right at the bottom)
4. Next select 'Privacy'
5. Then 'Content Settings'

There you should see the choice of whether you want Java Script or not. Don't forget to click 'Done' after you alter anything.

Re: What does this mean?

It does sound as if it's an advert and could be just ignored. Turning off JavaScript ought to stop it (did it?). If not minding turning JavaScript on and off and want to do so quickly, one of the extensions mentioned in an earlier thread could be used :

http://www.over50sforum.com/showthre...852#post822852

http://www.over50sforum.com/showthre...964#post822964

When turning JavaScript off, some page content may not be seen and/or the site may not function properly. When turned on, all scripts will run, including those that perhaps enable the running of unwanted parts of the page that it may have been preferred not to see.

To be more selective on what is not allowed to run or not, an ad blocker could be used. However, this probably isn't going to do anything to stop any drive-by malware if unfortunate enough to come across it. Also, some sites might detect when ad blockers are in use and won't allow access unless they are turned off (not common as yet but it may be come across sometimes).

There are also other ways of stopping any possibly annoying or dangerous scripts from causing problems without blocking JavaScript and so nobbling site functionality. These are more involved than most people are prepared to take notice of though and aren't always free.

A simple toggle on or off of JavaScript might be found OK.

Re: What does this mean?

Thanks Mups, a brilliant explanation, even I can follow that. That's just what I feared though, in order to stop the pop-ups you also lose something you do want.
Thanks also to Mart and Fender, I think using the 'Add Blocker' might be the better option.

Re: What does this mean?

Add blocker is an excellent program, and its free.


https://chrome.google.com/webstore/d...biglidom?hl=en

Re: What does this mean?

I use Adguard. Not free but it does more:

https://adguard.com/en/welcome.html

I've just been reading about ad-blocking on a security forum (DSLReports). A couple of sites linked to from there describe why ad-blocking can be bad for the Internet.

Interestingly, the sites block access because an ad-blocker is detected (as mentioned in the previous post). One site does it after a certain length of time and the other almost immediately. They both require the ad-blocker to be disabled in order to carry on reading them.

The reputable sites doing this are wired.com and cso.com

Worth noting is that, if the sites are visited with JavaScript disabled, the blocking action doesn't work and the sites can be read.

The Wired.com site is worth a read regarding Internet advertising:

http://www.wired.com/2016/03/heres-h...ng-makes-money

Edit: It is only wired.com that is about Internet advertising. The other one (cso.com) is about something else ..but still restricts access if an ad-blocker is detected.

Re: What does this mean?

Ooh Mart, please don't blind me with too much science, me brain can't cope.
If I install Adblock, how do I do it please - simply.

Re: What does this mean?

It can all get a bit much when all you want to do is use the computer. 'Tis all going on in the background though and it's as well to get to know about it. These things can sometimes surface and make their presence known to the non-techie user.

Installing Adblock is a matter of opening the browser's Tools menu, go to 'More tools' and then 'Extensions'. Click on the 'Get more extensions' link and type 'Adblock' into the Search Bar. Choose 'Ad.Block Plus'. Click the 'Add To Chrome' button.

Better still, search for 'uBlock origin' and install that instead. It's reckoned to be a better ad-blocker than Adblock or Adblock Plus. Lighter on computer resources.

Re: What does this mean?

Thank you Mart. I'll have a look this evening.

Re: What does this mean?

Yep, with JavaScript disabled you lose some website functionality such as text formatting buttons (bold, italics etc) and yes, video clips such as those on Youtube don't run.

So you ask yourself how often do you need those things?

I simply re-enable JavaScript whenever I want to watch a video clip and then disable it again afterward. Let's face it, it isn't difficult to do !