Hi,

I have a question about banners. I host several banners on my site. Now I've noticed lately that some banner companies send popups through their banners. I hate popups! Is there any way I can see in the code they give me to put on my site if they can send me a pop-up? The one that did used <APPLET>, all others use Javascript. Are the ones with only Javascript safe, or might they start 'popping' too?
I do my own plain html (notepad ) but I have never done any javascripting, java applets, etc.

Thanks,

The only way you can be sure that a company is not going to serve any popups along with their banners is to host the banner images and the script that rotates them on your own site. This way you have full control.

As soon as you trust another site to serve any of your content, then you will run the risk of them changing banners and the way they deliver the adverts. However, I would expect most reputable companies to tell you about a change like this to their service.

So javascript can be used to make a popup? I also have a few banners that only use IMG with a simple link -those should be safe, of course they aren't rotating either (they're affiliate banners and permanent link exchanges).
Are there any examples of pop-up code to see what it requires?

Exactly. A friend of mine had this same problem. His site boasted no pop ups ever and so imagine his surprise when he started getting angry emails from members about pop ups.

They neglected to tell him of this change of adding pop ups randomly on sites hosting that banner code.

He removed them right away.

Originally posted by manthyra
So javascript can be used to make a popup? I also have a few banners that only use IMG with a simple link -those should be safe, of course they aren't rotating either (they're affiliate banners and permanent link exchanges).
Are there any examples of pop-up code to see what it requires?

Try this generator:
http://javascript.internet.com/gener...up-window.html

It may help you figure out just how easy it is to make an annoying pop-up, in addition to demonstrating what a sample pop-up code looks like. I believe it's also possible to make the pop-up insert cookies into your computer, all using Javascript!

Anyway, there is no real way you can prevent this, and I agree with Tiggy. However, if you are unable to find a willing affiliate program, go with one that is very reputable, such as the ones mentioned in the "Make Money" category on this message board.

the <img> tag is usually safe but javascript and applets
are not. They can do any scripting they want, including popups.

Even the IMG tag can do it though with a bit of craft.

for example I have a hit counter that looks like

<img src=image.asp width=1 hieght=0>

the .ASP script does return an image (by direct binary write)
but nothing would stop me from popping up a window first!

Thanks all!! I will keep a close eye on my remotely hosted banners, even if they're only using IMG tags! Anything that pops windows in my face is gonna get 'popped' right into the trash...

You should also keep an eye on HTML banners

fastadvert.com did this to me. I thought I was
joining a banner exchange! Sure there is a banner
where my code appears, but every time someone visits
that page it pops up a full size browser window!

(It uses javascript and iframe tags.)

They pay 1$ per 1000 banner-impressions. At face value
it looks great but

NOBODY SAID ANYTHING ABOUT POPUS!

In my opinion this is simply dis-honest.

I hate the dishonesty in affiliate programs nowadays. Though this seems like a far more severe case, I always hear stories about pop-up companies suddenly spawning millions of pop-ups. It really is annoying, and the affiliate programs know nothing but to make money. Though we all can understand that they desperately need money due to the fall in the advertising industry, it's just disappointing that they can only turn to dishonesty as a means to make money.