When you try to launch a lesson, a yellow information bar appears below the Internet Explorer address bar. The message on the information bar is similar to one of the following:

For "OnDemand Webmail" users, when you try to launch the webmail, nothing appears to happen.

CAUSE

You may have one or more pop-up blockers installed on your workstation. Pop-up blockers will prevent webmail notifications from launching successfully.

Pop-up blockers prevent extra pop-up windows (usually advertisements) from opening in your browser. To block some types of pop-up ads, pop-up blockers disable JavaScript. However, legitimate software applications also use JavaScript. If your pop-up blocker disables JavaScript, it prevents webmail notifications from launching. webmail notifications uses JavaScript and requires it to be enabled.

There are hundreds of pop-up blockers available. Examples of the most common pop-up blockers include:

  • Adobe Reader 7.0 with Yahoo Toolbar
  • Google Toolbar with Pop-Up Blocker
  • MSN Search Toolbar
  • Norton AntiSpam
  • Norton Internet Security
  • Norton Personal Firewall
  • Shockwave Player 10.0.1 with Yahoo Toolbar installed (Internet Explorer on Windows workstations)
  • Yahoo Toolbar with Pop-Up Blocker
  • Windows XP with Service Pack 2 installed
  • ZoneAlarm

SOLUTION

"BUT I KNOW MY POP-UP BLOCKER IS TURNED OFF!"

If your pop-up blocker is turned off and your lesson still won't launch, another pop-up blocker may be running on your workstation without your realizing it. Because pop-up blockers have increased in popularity and are being included for free with toolbars and software, it's common to have three or more pop-up blockers on your computer.

You can verify whether another pop-up blocker is preventing you from running lessons or not by clicking the following link:

http://www.popuptest.com/popuptest1.html

If no pop-up windows display when you run this test, then you still have a pop-up blocker on your workstation and it is turned on.

FIND ALL OF THE POP-UP BLOCKERS ON YOUR COMPUTER

Identifying all of the pop-up blockers you have running can take some time, so you'll need to be patient. Some of the pop-up blockers you are likely to have on your computer include the following:

  • Pop-up blocker with Internet Explorer (if you have Windows XP Service Pack 2 or higher installed on your workstation)

  • Pop-up blockers on the Google, Yahoo, and MSN toolbars

  • Pop-up blockers included with Norton Internet Security and Norton AntiSpam

  • Additional third party pop-up blockers, such as ZoneAlarm, may also be installed. Instead of being on a toolbar in your web browser, these may appear in your System Tray (on the Windows taskbar at the bottom right of your screen).

Hidden toolbars may contain pop-up blockers that are enabled without your realizing it, because you can't see them. To check for hidden toolbars that are not visible on your screen, but are installed behind the scenes, click View > Toolbars in your browser window. A menu similar to the one shown below will display.

In the example below, the Google toolbar is not selected, so the toolbar is hidden - you can't see it in the browser window. However, the pop-up blocker for the Google toolbar is still enabled and functioning... which means it's preventing lessons from launching.

Hidden toolbars

To turn off pop-up blockers on hidden toolbars, select the hidden toolbars. This will enable you to see them in your browser window so that you can turn off the popup blockers.

After you identify all of the pop-up blockers on your workstation, you'll need to decide which pop-up blocker you want to use.

USE ONLY ONE POP-UP BLOCKER

To prevent conflicts, Microsoft recommends that you use only one pop-up blocking program at a time. In general, you can use the pop-up blocker you like the most, and either turn off or uninstall the others.

If Windows XP Service Pack 2 or later and the MSN toolbar are both installed on your computer, Microsoft recommends that you only use the Internet Explorer pop-up blocker (from Windows XP Service Pack 2). Turn off the MSN Search Toolbar pop-up blocker.

Determine which pop-up blocker you are going to use. You'll need to either turn it off each time you want to run Webmail, or configure it to allow pop-ups from your Webmail web site.

All other pop-up blockers that you will not be using should be turned off (disabled) or removed completely (uninstalled) from your workstation.

HOW TO TURN OFF OR CONFIGURE A POP-UP BLOCKER

The procedures to turn off or configure pop-up blockers differ, depending on the pop-up blocker(s) you are using. Look for help files in your pop-up blocker for instructions, or look for menus or buttons on the toolbar that you can click to turn the blocker off.

Other pop-up blockers, such as ZoneAlarm, can be turned off by clicking the pop-up blocker icon on the System Tray at the bottom right of your Windows screen).

The links below provide instructions for turning off or configuring common pop-up blockers.

GOOGLE TOOLBAR

  1. Launch your browser.
  2. Navigate to the web site for your Webmail product. (For example, go to the login page for Webmail Web Learning Network.)

  3. Click the "blocked" button to always allow content from the site:

    The pop-up blocker will remember the site and allow pop-up windows to launch.

Another option is to press and hold the CTRL key down each time you launch Webmail.

More about the Google pop-up blocker

INTERNET EXPLORER AND WINDOWS XP SERVICE PACK 2

If your version of Internet Explorer has a pop-up blocker, you have Windows XP Service Pack 2 or later installed. To run Webmail successfully, you will need to configure both the pop-up blocker and firewall installed by the the Service Pack.

Configure the pop-up blocker

Follow these steps if you see the information bar "Pop-blocked..."

  1. Click the information bar.
  2. Click "Always allow pop-ups from this site." You should now be able to launch lessons successfully.

Follow these steps if you don't see the information bar "Pop-up blocked..."

  1. If you don't see the information bar below your browser's address bar, click Tools > Pop-up Blocker > Pop-up Blocker Settings.
  2. In the Address of Web site to allow box, type the web address for your Webmail web site, and then click Add.
  3. Click Close. You should now be able to launch lessons successfully.

Configure the firewall

Follow the firewall configuration steps in article 27424 - Unable to launch lessons with Windows XP Service Pack 2 installed.

More info

More about the Internet Explorer pop-up blocker

MSN SEARCH TOOLBAR

If you have Windows XP Service Pack 2 or later on installed on your computer, you also have the Internet Explorer pop-up blocker. To prevent possible conflicts, Microsoft recommends that you use only the Internet Explorer Pop-up Blocker, and turn off the MSN Search Toolbar Pop-up Blocker. Microsoft may display the following dialog to prompt you to choose one or the other.

If you see this dialog, choose the Windows XP Pop-up Blocker, then follow the rest of the prompts. The MSN pop-up blocker will be turned off.

If you don't see the prompt to choose a pop-up blocker, or you don't have Internet Explorer, follow the steps below to either turn off or configure the MSN pop-up blocker.

How to turn off the MSN Search Toolbar pop-up blocker

  1. On the MSN Toolbar, click the arrow next to the Pop-up Blocker button, and then click Options.

  2. Clear the Turn on Pop-up Blocker check box.
  3. Click OK.

How to configure the MSN Search Toolbar pop-up blocker

  1. On the MSN Toolbar, click the arrow next to the Pop-up Blocker button, and then click Options.
  2. Under "Allow list", type the web address (URL) of the Webmail web site for which you want to allow pop-up windows.
  3. Click Add.

NORTON ANTISPAM & NORTON INTERNET SECURITY

To run Webmail successfully with Norton Internet Security installed, you'll need to turn off the pop-up blocker and configure the firewall. Follow the steps below for your version of Norton Internet Security.

Norton Anti-Spam & Internet Security 2005

  1. In the main window, on the left side click Norton AntiSpam.
  2. Click Pop-up Blocking > Turn Off.
  3. Follow the instructions to configure the firewall in article 27697 - Unable to connect to CTX.WebmailWEBxx.COM when Norton Internet Security is installed.

NOTE: Norton AntiSpam also has an Ad Blocker, but it does not affect Webmail products. Only the pop-up blocker needs to be turned off when you use Webmail web products.

Norton Internet Security 2004 and earlier

  1. In the main window, double-click Ad Blocking.
  2. Uncheck Pop-up Window Blocking.
  3. Click OK.
  4. Content from the Webmail web site may still be blocked because of information that is stored in your web browser's cache. Clear your browser's cache for the changes to work.

  5. Follow the instructions to configure the firewall in article 27697 - Unable to connect to CTX.WebmailWEBxx.COM when Norton Internet Security is installed.

YAHOO TOOLBAR

Choose one of the following methods to override the pop-up blocker:

  • Turn off the Pop-Up Blocker by clicking the Pop-Up Blocker button and unchecking Enable Pop-Up Blocker.

  • Press and hold the CTRL key while you are launching Webmail . This will override the pop-up blocker and allow Webmail to run.
  • Add Webmail content to your Allowed List by clicking the Pop-Up Blocker button and selecting Always Allow Pop-Ups From.... Then select the site (for example, webmail.trangcorp.com) from the Sources of Recently Blocked Pop-Ups list and click Allow.

If you are unable to configure the pop-up blocker to allow Webmail content, the Yahoo toolbar and pop-up blocker may be running in the background. To check this, right-click on your browser toolbar. If "Yahoo" appears in the menu that displays, select it. The Yahoo toolbar will appear. Either uninstall the toolbar or turn the Yahoo pop-up blocker off. You should then be able to configure the Yahoo pop-up blocker successfully.

More about the Yahoo Toolbar pop-up blocker

ZONEALARM

  1. Right-click the ZoneAlarm icon on the system tray on your taskbar (bottom right of your screen):

  2. Click the option to turn Zone Alarm off (for example, click "Shutdown ZoneAlarm Pro").

To configure the ZoneAlarm firewall to allow Webmail content, see the documentation for your ZoneAlarm product. For user guides or additional help, contact ZoneAlarm Technical Support.

ZoneAlarm Support Center FAQs

HOW TO COMPLETELY REMOVE (UNINSTALL) POP-UP BLOCKER PROGRAMS

You may wish to uninstall one or more pop-up blocker programs that you will not be using.

Some programs require that you remove them completely. Others, like E-Anthology/Stop-Sign, are often installed by file sharing programs like Bear Share or Kazaa. You may want to remove these programs as well, since they use up system resources and make your system vulnerable to adware, spyware, and browser hijacking.

To remove or uninstall a pop-up blocker program, use the Add/Remove Programs utility in Windows. Follow these steps:

  1. Click Start > Settings > Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs.
  2. Look for the name of the program installed (such as Pop-up Begone).
  3. Select the program name, and then click Remove.
  4. Follow any instructions you are given, then close the Control Panel.