US-based ISP EarthLink has released an upgrade of its access software that will allow web surfers to banish pop-up ads. The new feature of the software is part of the company’s marketing campaign to differentiate itself from competitors AOL and MSN, targeting those who are annoyed by pop-ups and spam.

The control of third party advertising is a contentious issue. Free software from Gator.com became the most high profile of the so-called ad-jacking applications – by effectively replacing one site’s advertising with ads from a rival. Gator stopped this controversial practice.

Gator is still being sued because it controls users’ browsers to launch rivals’ pop-up ads when the users visit particular sites. For example, a Gator user visiting Amazon.com may see a pop-up ad for competitor site Half.com.

Among the arguments of aggrieved web site businesses is that Gator is changing what the user sees when visiting the page. Gator’s argument is that users can and should control what they see – and browsers already give them power to do this, e.g. by disabling graphics.

Earthlink’s approach to blocking all pop-ups is something that free software applications already offer. While upsetting advertisers, it is less likely to result in legal action.

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