If you're on the Win32 platform, then I have some info for you that might be helpfull...

If you're using IE, you can stop popup ads by disabling active scripting.

In IE6 it's located here:
Tools/internet options/security/custom level/active scripting

I don't remember exactly where it is with other versions, but It should be somewhere similar.

If you're using another browser, then I'm not sure exactly, but there should be a similar option.

The only problem with turning off active scripting, is that some elements in sites won't work correctly, such as a button to download a file instead of a link. You can however, turn it back on and refresh the page if you need to. That's what I usually do. It is annoying, but not half as annoying as popups.


As far as your default home page being stuck goes, I would check the registry.

For example, the default home page for IE on my machine is stored in the following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\Start Page

If it's not there, or if you're using a different browser, just do a search in the registry. In your case, do a search for "http://www.cnetadd.com/d.asp?http://www.resnet.wm.edu/~mhmahe/links/links.htm" and you should be able to find it.

Good luck!