Cablevision Systems Corp.’s Optimum Online cable-modem service is giving
customers a free tool to block annoying pop-up ads, and they are taking up the
offer at a fast clip.
The service is offering Panicware Inc.’s "Pop-Up Stopper Basic," which
normally retails for $19.95, as a free download to its customers.
The software not only blocks interstitial ads, but it also displays the
number of ads blocked and their site origins. It also lets users choose from a
bank of sounds signaling that an ad has been blocked, and they have the option
to allow pop-ads on certain sites.
It appears to be a hit among Optimum Online customers: So far, Pop-Up Stopper
is averaging 1,800 downloads daily since it was added to the www.optonline.net portal.
"We continue to add new features and product enhancements that make the
area’s best high-speed Internet-access service even better," said Gemma Toner,
Cablevision’s senior vice president of high-speed-data products, in a release.
"This latest addition to our award-winning service will allow users to spend
less time closing out of annoying pop-up ads and more time working, playing or
shopping online."
On a related note, Optimum Online has also debuted Connections, a
monthly electronic-mail newsletter providing information on product updates,
interesting high-speed content sites and new service
announcements.
