Measure would prohibit adware pop-up ads

Tired of seeing ads pop up out of nowhere while you are using the Internet?

The House on Thursday approved a bill that just might stop those unwelcome pop-up ads.

HB104 by Rep. Steve Urquhart, R-St. George, would outlaw firms from secretly installing what's called "spyware" or "adware" onto your computer, and even if it is there, no one could use the adware software to upload pop-up ads uninvited.

However, HB104 would not stop ads that pop up when you intentionally log on to a site, said Urquhart. For example, if you visit the New York Times' Web site, ads pop up as you browse through the online newspaper. "That's allowed," he said.

But say you are looking at Hawaiian vacation sites and, unknown to you, adware is downloaded to your computer. "You would start to see pop-ups for airlines, for car rental firms," said Urquhart.

It's difficult to make off-shore Internet-using firms obey state laws, said Rep. Wayne Harper, R-West Jordan, but HB104 is a good first step.