I'm not quite sure what jerrymichele meant but in my browser (Firefox 2) there are controls for how it should handle popup windows: allow them, block them completely, or allow them only for specified sites. I use the block-all setting except when I go to one of a handful of sites where popups are a necessary part of navigation.

I tried the "Show New Private Message Notification Pop-up" option briefly (it required enabling popups) but found I preferred the less obtrusive announcement up in the "Welcome" corner.

I never saw the survey popup you mentioned, probably because I haven't had popups enabled for a while.