Electronics

[Montana]

Occasionally I get popup boxes which only have an OK button. Usually saying I won something.  So far I have been able to get rid of them by doing a hard reboot, but I was wondering if there was something I could do to prevent them.

I have ads blocked in Safari settings but that has not kept these ads/spam from downloading anyway. It is scary because they freeze my computer.

Using ios9, iPad3, Safari

[gardensla]

Install Ad Blocker Plus.

It's free, safe and for me, nothing seems to get through.

[glb613]

Clear out your history.  Get into settings, select Safari, clear history and see if it helps. 

[Lilysmom]

ALT, CONTRIL, DELETE all pressed down at the same time.  Choose START TASK MASTER, click on the box you don't want and DELETE.

[Desertdi]

I know there is some kind of "shortcut" for this.......Anybody?     I knew it when I was working......but my mind has slipped................

[dooBdoo]

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@Montana wrote:

Occasionally I get popup boxes which only have an OK button. Usually saying I won something.  So far I have been able to get rid of them by doing a hard reboot, but I was wondering if there was something I could do to prevent them.

I have ads blocked in Safari settings but that has not kept these ads/spam from downloading anyway. It is scary because they freeze my computer.

Using ios9, iPad3, Safari

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Hi, @ Montana!

Since you're using an iPad, some of the suggestions in the responses won't work or aren't applicable.  I've seen what you describe -- and it doesn't always happen with websites we might consider to be likely to cause a problem.  Occasionally there's a redirect and then a popup, and it doesn't allow any escape.   (The programming code in a few websites  overrides your iPad setttings, so the "block pop-ups"  doesn't help.)

Have you tried a double tap of the home button, to see if that will close Safari?  If you do that, then go into Settings-->Safari-->Clear HIstory and Website Data, you'll be back in business.  If the double-tap doesn't work, just a soft reboot will usually get you back to being able to access settings, clear Safari, and fix the problem.

[itsmagic]

I had this happen to me recently on my iPad and couldn't figure out what to do other than reboot which worked. 

[Montana]

@dooBdoo, Hi and thanks for your suggestions.  I will try them the next time the popup happens.

And the strange thing is I am usually on a website I have visited before with no problem.  I searched around and others had the same issue but I did not find a solution.

Again thanks. You are always so helpful.

[ChynnaBlue]

If you are using an iPhone or iPad, usually pressing somewhere outside the box will close a popup. Sometimes the issue is that the website is not sizing to your device and the X is there, but you can't reach it. If that happens, I can usually resolve it by pinching and reducing the size until I can see and press the the X or by reloading the page. Sometimes on the page reload the issue will resolve itself.

[Montana]

@ChynnaBlue, So far I can always see the entire popup box because it is small, but there is only one option - to click on OK; there is never an X. Everything else on my screen is grayed out, except the popup.

Soft reboots do not work.  The hard reboot is the only thing that has worked. I hate when this happens because I am always scared nothing will get rid of it.