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Unless you use a pop-up blocker (discussed more in Prevention), you are familiar with pop-up and pop-under advertisements, and very likely which sites legitimately serve them. Pop ads are important because not only can they be a symptom of infestation, but clicking on a rogue pop-up can lead to an infection or take you to a site where danger lurks.

Most legitimate pop-ups open over your browser when you visit a Web site. If the Web site is legitimate -- The Washington Post, The New York Times and USA Today are all known to serve pop-up ads, for example -- then the advertiser is usually legitimate and well-known as well. If the advertisement doesn't seem to match the content, ask yourself some questions.

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When You See a Pop-Up Advertisement

• Are you online? Do you have a browser open (broadband connection) or have you dialed in to your ISP (dial-up connection)? Ads that pop-up on your desktop or over offline applications such as a word processor are a possible sign of an adware infestation.

• Did you just visit a Web site or open a new Web page? Most legitimate pop-up ads launch when you open a new page.

• What site are you visiting? Who is the advertiser? As mentioned earlier, several major newspaper Web sites use pop-up ads. If you're treading in the dangerous waters of the Web, such as hacker sites and pornography, the pop-ups are more likely to be shady and deceptive and could lead to a site where spyware or adware lurks.

• Do the ads you see seem to be targeting you based on terms you have searched for recently or sites you have been visiting? Sometimes this is good marketing when done within a Web site, but if you keep seeing ads that seem close to your most recent online search, it may be the result of adware or spyware.

If the ad seems suspicious to you, or if it was delivered while you were offline, not surfing the Web or advertises pornography, work at home or get rich quick-type messages, then stay away. In the title bar of a pop-up advertisement on USAToday.com, for example, usually starts with "USAToday.com advertisement" so you know where the ad originated.

If you are getting pop-up advertisements and they remain a mystery after you answer these questions, some type of spyware or adware may be to blame.

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