This is an addendum to the article I'm a Thief!
If you'd like to be a thief too, and make your Web experience more enjoyable, these free resources serve as a good start. I haven't used all of these tools, so their appearance here doesn't constitute an endorsement by me (not that it would be worth anything anyhow) unless noted.
Earthlink offers a "pop-up blocker" if you're willing to restrict yourself to the Internet Explorer browser.
Guidescope, derived from the Internet Junkbuster proxy (see below).
interMute, Inc., maker of the AdSubtract filtering tool, a Windows-only product.
Junkbusters Corporation, which offers defenses against several kinds of junk marketing (electronic, post, and telephone). Its Internet Junkbuster proxy is available for most popular operating systems, and Windows too, and includes source code. I use this one and like it. Others may prefer a more user-friendly alternative.
Panicware, Inc. Evidently its products run only on Windows systems.
The Proxomitron, for Windows operating systems.
WebWasher, for Linux, MacOS, and Windows operating systems. I use the Windows version of this tool and like it.