Yes Popups for Windows

Who knew there could be so many options for managing pop-ups in Firefox? You'll be happier not knowing rather than trying this complex add-on. Yes Popups' multitabbed options window is confusing from the first look.

The General tab's pull-down menu includes an option to leave current Firefox pop-up blocker settings in place, block, or allow all pop-ups. Selecting the option opens a message, lists the number of open windows, and advises that the program can't work if the number is too high. However, it fails to list that upper limit, but instead offers the option to reset the windows count. If the program advises that the window count is too low, restarting Firefox fixes the issue. It's too bad the app failed to list what is fixed or why it is necessary. More uninformative text lists that if the pop-up filter isn't enabled, the extension won't work properly.

There are no less than four hot keys assigned to actions from a pull-down menu, and many involve pop-up counts and a countdown timer. We got tired just viewing that many different possibilities. The fun doesn't stop there, because you have the option of configuring values for blocking or allowing pop-ups in the Advanced tab. Again, though, the app fails to give decent user guidance for the options.

Testers found the program's final tab the easiest to use. One large button restores settings to the configuration prior to using Yes Popups. In Yes Popups' simplest setup a hot key toggles pop-up blocking on or off. However, there isn't enough information to try every configuration option. This Firefox add-on is free, but there is definitely time cost. The complexity isn't worth dumping Firefox's default pop-up manager.