Spyware...

I too hate pop-up ads and spyware...

Now I am not sure that everyone would be interested in this, but I have downloaded the Google Taskbar (free), which includes an automatic popup blocker and had pretty much eliminated ~98% of the popup ads and spyware stuff that attempts to open on my computer. The only unfortunate thing is that you need to let the taskbar monitor the sites you are travelling to (which is supposedly done without sending any personal information from your computer) in order to have access to the toolbar (it is supposedly so that Google can enhance their search engine...).

Since I like Google and think that of the various companies to give information to (like the sites I regularly visit), this is one of the better/more benign ones... So, if you feel comfortable with Google, give it a shot (or give it a shot and then if you don't like it, you can always turn the popup blocker/information collector off or uninstall the Taskbar...)

JMB