We were able to sit down and discuss MSN Premium with Brooke Richardson, Product Manager of the software. Here is an excerpt:

ActiveWin.com: How much of a success do you expect the pop up guard to become?

Brooke Richardson: We’re really proud of the pop-up guard that’s part of MSN Premium. Unlike most pop-up guards that just block pop-ups, we developed our technology to actually enable customers to manage their pop-ups. MSN’s Pop-up Guard is personalized with customized settings, so customers see a more pleasant, uninterrupted online experience while blocking only unwanted pop-up ads. This ensures that they can view the pop-up ads that interest them, such as special offers or coupons. Customers can choose from multiple pop-up settings – they can turn the guard off, set it to block everything except pop-ups from specified sites, or they can choose to filter your pop-ups. If a customer chooses to filter pop-ups they’ll briefly see a tiny thumbnail of a pop-up in the upper right hand corner of their MSN browser. If that pop-up turned out to be something they wanted – including things like a “free shipping” coupon from a company, or a seating chart from a web site that sells concert or theater tickets – the customer can go back and access that pop-up. Anecdotally, customers are telling us they love the flexibility of our pop-up guard. Estimates for pop-up blocker use in the industry range from ~20% usage in early 2004 up to potentially 60-80% usage in early 2005.