Dexter
5 Jun 2004, 08:23am
Pop-up purveyors are finding ways around popular new filters that aim to stomp them out, the latest sign of an Internet arms race over one of the most effective and controversial Web advertising formats around.
Blocking software typically suppresses a new window. It detects a command known as "openwin" for opening a new window, which would be written into the HTML of a Web page. That command calls on a third-party server to deliver the pop-up or pop-under.
Some new pop-up techniques simply avoid that command, thus subverting blockers that rely on suppressing it. For example, some advertisers are sending pop-ups through a "user initiated command" triggered when people mouse over an object on the page, according to ad executives familiar with the technique.
Mainstream advertising networks and distributors are reluctant to discuss what steps, if any, they are taking to circumvent pop-up blockers, although some admit that they've developed new methods to serve such ads. In addition, some advertisers are busy developing intrusive formats that mimic pop-ups in their ability to grab attention, but that don't surrender control over when and how they're displayed to consumers' Web browsers.
Many ad-delivery companies are now using technology to detect whether or not a computer or visitor has installed a pop-up blocker. If one is detected, it will deliver a floating ad to the page instead. Burst Media, for example, is one company that is experimenting with the overlays.
Source: CNET News (http://news.com.com/Can)
Blocking software typically suppresses a new window. It detects a command known as "openwin" for opening a new window, which would be written into the HTML of a Web page. That command calls on a third-party server to deliver the pop-up or pop-under.
Some new pop-up techniques simply avoid that command, thus subverting blockers that rely on suppressing it. For example, some advertisers are sending pop-ups through a "user initiated command" triggered when people mouse over an object on the page, according to ad executives familiar with the technique.
Mainstream advertising networks and distributors are reluctant to discuss what steps, if any, they are taking to circumvent pop-up blockers, although some admit that they've developed new methods to serve such ads. In addition, some advertisers are busy developing intrusive formats that mimic pop-ups in their ability to grab attention, but that don't surrender control over when and how they're displayed to consumers' Web browsers.
Many ad-delivery companies are now using technology to detect whether or not a computer or visitor has installed a pop-up blocker. If one is detected, it will deliver a floating ad to the page instead. Burst Media, for example, is one company that is experimenting with the overlays.
Source: CNET News (http://news.com.com/Can)