Pop-Ups Keep Appearing
Pop-up windows or ads appear repeatedly, sometimes even when no browser is open, or the volume of ads on normal websites has noticeably increased.
Quick answer: Pop-ups appearing constantly, or a sudden flood of ads, usually points to adware or an unwanted browser extension rather than a serious virus — but it's still worth cleaning up properly rather than dismissing it, since some of these programs also track browsing activity.
Likely causes
- Adware bundled with a free program installed at some point, often without you realising
- A malicious or compromised browser extension
- A website itself generating excessive ads (less likely if pop-ups happen outside the browser too)
- In less common cases, more serious malware using pop-ups as one symptom among several
What you can safely check yourself
- Note whether pop-ups happen only in the browser or also when no browser is open — the latter points to a program installed on the computer, not just a website
- Check your browser's extensions list for anything unfamiliar and remove it
- Check installed programs (Settings > Apps) for anything you don't recognise installing recently
When it needs a proper look
If pop-ups continue after removing unfamiliar extensions and programs, or you're not confident identifying what's causing them, a proper malware scan and clean-up is the safer path.