What do you consider the biggest nuisance on the Internet?

According to me the biggest nuisiance were incorrectly coded websites/websites which uses sniffing to block a browser/non standard compliant websites which break in browsers like opera,safari.

Unlike so many others, I really feel that our biggest threat is the government spying on us via the internet. It may seem to be OK to fight against terrorists, but the truth is that they have no real proof that it works. My biggest complaint about this is that, when all of this terrorist activity is under control, the government will not be willing to give up the opportunity to spy on all US citizens

All of the above.

Given the Millions of Dollars that have been stolen through Internet SCAMS, and the damage done to credit ratings, I am surprised that SCAMS fall so low in the poll. While pop-ups, spyware and spam are very annoying, they generally are not going to ruin your financial or personal health. As a person doing myriad on-line transactions, I am constantly bombarded with e-mail posing as financial institutions, and merchants I have done business with asking for the verification of FINANCIAL data. HINT: NEVER ANSWER AN E-MAIL REQUESTING FINANCIAL INFORMATION!! CALL THE FIRM OR INSTITUTION AND VERIFY THAT THEY REQUESTED THE INFORMATION (then if they have, give it to them on the phone and request that they snail mail the request to you in the future). If they say they never requested the information, ask for an e-mail address that you can send the request to, so that they can investigate, and possibly close down the thieves!

I'd love it if somebody can recommend an adblocker that will zap these things & not interfere with wanted site content.

sure spam is a nusiance but not that big a threat unless you answer it and take action that puts you in danger. However, popup ads, if not prevented, they can introduce malware, trojans and the like just by clicking a button to close them. So if these ads are not stopped and you dont have a great spyware scanner/detector installed, you could easily lose you whole installation. Sometimes a button on a popup ad that indicates it will close the ad, will actually install a trojan on your computer and next thing you know, your PC is being visited regularly by a hacker and your information is perused through. If you dont know what you are doing, the internet can eat your PC is a few seconds. I eliminate this kind of threat as a tech at the local PC shop and we have had PC's come in with literally 500+ malicious entities installed and the speed is practically zero. Then, short of a complete reinstall, it can take hours of running not one but two of the best Spyware removers and then one if not two Antivirus scans to get it down to zero threats.

Sure, over the past 4 years I've had my share of headaches while learning.

But now I suffer with no popups, spam (3 accounts), viruses, malware, scams, you name it.

The only problem I have left is website navigation. I'm tired of searching for specific information or items on un-user-friendly websites. What a waste of my time.

Google a review for a camera or video game. Many offerings, many are lies. Click on "Review at xxxx", and then read "There are no reviews at this time". Go back, and the next one doesn't even mention what you are looking for. A simple quest can take hours.

I wasted two hours searching for an internal USB cable. That was after calling around locally. I then went to eBay and purchased one within minutes, for $6. Same with a P4 retention bracket. Hours on the internet, much time on Soyo's site, no go. Local calls, nyet. Minutes on eBay (should'a checked there first), and I got one for cheap.

Trying to find motherboard jumper settings for an older Hewlitt Packard took days in my spare time. They have it buried so deep I doubt I could ever find it again. I don't know how many times I found something easily, then return later to click everything under the sun to see it again.

Go to RadioShack.com to find a specific adapter. Good luck! I would rather drive there.

PC game crashing? Some simple fixes take hours to find through forums.

Ever type a specific term into a website searchbox with 0 results, then find it buried later with the SAME NAME you typed in the first place?

The "information highway" sometimes is just a muddy path through the mountains.

I'm convinced! I'm looking forward to shopping around and comparing all the different manufacturers and configurations so that I can be assured I'm getting a system that completely suits my needs!

Oh wait, you can't do that with a Mac.

Well, when I get my machine, I'm still going to enjoy flipping through pages and pages of every imaginable piece of software out there so that I can find cost-effective ways to get my work done!

Oh wait, you can't do that with a Mac.

Well, at least I'll be able to play all the best games out there on my new Mac!

Oh wait, I wont' be able to do that either with a Mac.

Well, that's OK because at least I'll stil be able to chat with all my friends and swap all of my files back and forth with no troubles!

Oh wait, I won't be able to do that either... not just beacause of the Mac, but because if I buy a Mac and then raise the old/useless Mac/PC debate in a completley irrelevant post it will prove what a loser I am and I won't have any friends left anyway.

Spam is not an internet problem, it is an email problem.

My biggest complaint is popups/unders especially the ones set to show in spite of my setting the browser not to show popups. A close second to these are redirects where you click on a link and then have to surf away from the full screen overlay with some hinky ad on it that takes forever to load and play. mostof the time I hit back and skip whatever the ad was tryint to sell and miss the content. stick in in a side bar. And stop trying to trigger epilepsy with the flashing alerts.

Scams. I've fallen for a few... luckily they didnt do TOO much dammage to my bank account, but it did humilate me.

Do you know what spam is? It is chopped up pieces of the most unsavory parts of a pig. The manufacturers throw in some spices and ersatz nutrients to make it (almost) palatable, whittle it into something that will comform to that little tin can and foist it off on an unsuspecting public. Yes, folks! It's not only good - Ye doggies!!! - but good for you (unless you're a pig, of course). Hey, here's an idea. Why not forward all your spam, of whatever variety, to: www.gwb@whitehouse.com.? By the way, all you FBI, CIA, etc. spooks reading this even as I am writing it, I AM ONLY KIDDING! I'm locked up here at the home and can't do any harm to anyone. Honest to god! JUST KIDDING! And please don't bother my mother any more. One other thing: Spam spelled backwards is maps. Coincidence? You decide.
Jerry Mack
Vice President of Mass Mailing - Citizens for a Spamless Society

I personally hate Spam. But I figure it's the same as the junk I recieve thur US Mail. I just Delete and toss. since I seem too recieve 300-400 aday. Which really shocked me at first because I am so picky about where I go on the net. I have three spam blockers and even they can't seem to catch all that lands in My E-mail. along with the scams which I don't even bother to read or open. I know what they are by the way there worded. So just click check and delete thats what I do. and maybe hope some really wise person will find away to stop the trash completely.Pops ups I don't get at all.
Thanks. jest2050

the dangers of falling for a mock web site desguised as an actual web site scares me. I fell for a fake cictbank web site and had to cancel my account to keep the ******** from using my information I thought I was giving to citibank. if your not sure, use the 800 number on your credit card to confirm your link to a web site.

It is my opinion that you should have had a button for "All of the Above." As all of them are rude interruptions and I would never respond to any of them, or consider whatever they are selling. So just hear me... "down with all of them!!!"

I have tried many ways to be rid of these useless messages that frequently crop up to ask me if I want to continue to see a page, including, the standard suggestion to check and uncheck items under Internet Options. Nothing succeeded.

I have a Dell Dimension PC with Windows ME, but from the number of complaints on Google it appears to be very common annoyance.

Fraudsters infecting P.C.'s with viruses to force the user to purchase software that is both fraudulent and ineffective. This has happened on numerous occasions but I'll be damned if I will give in to these bully boys. Once it took me 3 days to wipe that rubbish from my P.C. but boy did I feel satisfied when I beat them.

I've had pop-ups bounce around my screen!

I also hate the spam that says ''Click here to unsubscribe'' because it's most likely a trick to verify my email address. Some even nearly blast my ears off, no matter what my volume level is set at.

My paranoid side sometimes wonders if it's a veiled ploy by the government to gain more control of the 'net. I push that thought away, though. I still wonder, though.

Pop-ups and spam are my biggest hassle and aggravation

AOL security does an outstanding job in eliminating/ minimizing adware, viruses, popups and spam.
However, the scams keep getting thru - if they weren't so ridicuously funny I would be upset at them.

There are lots of annoyances -- and outright dangers -- on the web, but the one that I fume about the most is websites that won't let me use the back arrow to get out of them, and some of those are perfectly legitimate big-time players. It's really a violation of my web-surfing rights! ;^)

jemd@wcvt.com