I agree with Neo,

I don't like the look and feel of IE but that is just a personal thing so I generally use a different browser. People tend to lump all of the Windows security issues and IE security issues in together which is not an equal comparison. Most metrics will point you towards Opera if you want a secure browser, but not to "any non-microsoft browser".

its adware it will allow these pop ups to keep coming i reccomend getting an antivirus and removing the adware

I agree Firefox is much better. With that said the issue with IE ad pop ups has to be due to something else. I use Firefox and I just started getting these IE pop ups yesterday. Not sure why when I'm not even using IE. Anybody know why? I have Norton 360 and I have run all tests I can and everything is fine.

If you have a suspicion that your IE has been compromised by adware there are many products to help you clean this rubbish software from your computer. For Windows XP I'd first try Ad-Aware from Lavasoft.

Ad-Aware @ Lavasoft - The Original Anti-Spyware Company
First choose English as the language.

For those who wonder, first look at:
Free software downloads and software reviews - CNET Download.com for Ad-Aware and look at the number of downloads.
Of those Adware removers which work without going down to the raw O/S (for those serious rootkit infections) IMHO this is a good one.

Btw. If you are a commercial company, please do pay for the software. It helps all of us beat this malware.