AOTOP: Ad Obfuscating Tool for Visual Privacy Protection. The AOTop Tool was designed to combat the ever-increasing volume and frequency of commercial advertisement banners and/or pop-ups appearing unsolicited on your PC screen whether that be via the Browser window or a dedicated ISP window like AOLs. AOTop was designed to function as the visual equivalent of the popular TV/Remote Audio "Mute" button, but in an automated and intelligent way. AOTop accomplishes its feat of covering up Ad or screen content not by removing Ad Content, but instead by covering it up with a customizable Form in a reliable and automated fashion. AOTop only uses Visual Basic and the documented Window?s 32-bit API, so it functions as a well-behaved Windows application. Neither the Internet Proxy 3rd party service or the system component alteration Ad removal methods offer independence, security, privacy, customizability, low cost, the ability to cover up other than Browser Window Ad content, or to cover up MSN or AOL Ad content. Neither of these methods address the concern of Web sites monitoring your PC and detecting that you are blocking their Ad data. Nor do they adequately address the legal issues that present themselves when you consider that these methods, or services, actually target and prevent a list of known advertisers from pushing their content to your PC for a cost to you that would otherwise presumably be potential profit to the advertiser. The AOTop Tool on the other hand, provides independence, security, privacy,customizability, low cost, and extra utility, and it?s not limited just to the Browser window. It works with MSN or AOL and it?s numerous Child windows. Finally, since AOTop doesn?t actually block Ad data, the potential Web site monitoring and legal issues discussed above don?t matter at all.You can always close an AOTop Link Form and interact with the Ad content if you are so inclined.