Other ways to eliminate pop-up ads from phone and tablet browsers

Several readers say they still find it nearly impossible to eliminate Amazon pop-up ads from their iPhone Safari Web browsers, despite my earlier suggestions (see tinyurl.com/yc2ql2db).

"Sorry, your advice doesn't work," said Franz Kabelka of Columbus, Ohio. "Any other suggestions?"

Yes. The ads appear to be generated by unwanted software on the phone (it's unclear if they are really from Amazon or just use the name to encourage people to click on something.) As a result, readers should try to get rid of the ads by turning off some browser helper programs called "extensions." Extensions weren't affected by my earlier advice.

Desirable extensions add new browser features. Undesirable extensions, which may be secretly installed by some websites, often show pop-up ads.

To find the Safari extensions on an iPhone, open the browser and view any website. At the bottom of the screen, click on the icon that looks like a square with an upward arrow through it. You will see two rows of buttons; the top row consists of "share extensions" and the bottom row contains "action extensions." By scrolling to the right in either row you will find a button with three dots that is labeled "more."

In the top row, click the "more" button to find extensions that are either on (green color next to slider button) or off (white color next to slider button.) If you see a questionable extension, move the slider beside it to the off position. Click "done." Do the same thing in the bottom row. For a list of undesirable iPhone Safari extensions, (see tinyurl.com/lv29448) and scroll down to "removing unwanted extensions."

If that doesn't work, reader Mickey Doughty of Blandon, Pa., said he and his wife solved the problem on their iPhone 8s by downloading the free "1Blocker" security app from the App Store.

Logitech, a maker of computer mice and their software, has offered an alternative fix for the Windows 10 error message that afflicted the mouse of Tom Butler of Reading, Pa. (see tinyurl.com/ybq6zm22). I had suggested disabling the "Logitech Download Assistant" program that updates the mouse software, then relying on manual updates. But a company spokeswoman said it is better to replace an outdated software driver and retain automated updates.

To do that, go to Control Panel and click "device manager." From the resulting list, click the arrow next to "mice and other pointing devices," then highlight "Logitech USB input device." Right-click the device, then choose "uninstall device." In the next menu, be sure to check the box next to "delete the driver software for this device." Click "uninstall." Then install a new driver by highlighting and right-clicking the Logitech device again and choosing "scan for hardware changes."

To make sure the driver was updated, highlight and right-click the Logitech device, choose properties and click the "driver" tab. The new driver is called "USB Input Device" instead of "Download Assistant."