SWW's Computer Mailbag Archive

Q. How do I turn off the ads that pop up in America Online?

A. The ads are both time-consuming to click through and have been the subject of a class action lawsuit.* It's possible get turn off those pop up ads with a couple of steps.

• When you are logged into American Online, type in keyword: Marketing Preferences.
• On the screen that will now appear, there are are a variety of options for marketing opportunities presented.
• To turn off the pop up ads, click on the button that says "Pop-up."
• Click on the button that says "Continue" on the next screen. Under the text that explains the ads and the fact that you need to tell AOL your preference once a year, click on "No, I do not want to receive special AOL members-only pop up offers."
• Reset your preference for the other means of communication displayed, too, if you wish to (e.g., phone, mail, etc.)
• In order to more completely eliminate the popups, follow this process for all your screen names.

  *Reportedly, a class-action lawsuit is going forward that alleges that pop-up ads appearing on AOL violate the company's agreement to charge customers only for time spent using its services.

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