One of the most annoying aspects of browsing the internet – and not just on the iPhone – is those sites that feature pop-up windows and cookies that make the online experience far less enjoyable or less secure.

And because the iPhone lets you browse the full internet – not just a modified mobile version, you can encounter the same problems and risks of contracting a virus on the iPhone as you can with your PC.

However, like browsing on a PC, there are various things you can do to minimise the risk you run and impact these sites have on your browsing experience.

For a start, blocking pop-up windows is simple by just enabling or disabling Safari’s in-built pop up blocker in the Settings menu. There are also options for disabling or enabling JavaScript and Plug-Ins, as well as the ability to restrict Cookies.

When using these security options, it is wise to remember that for every bad function out to capture your personal data, there are plenty of good programs and sites that require access to these features. For example, switching off JavaScript may restrict your ability to use sites like Facebook, MySpace or Google Docs.

When it comes to Cookies, which are small data files used to identify your browser, the story is much the same. Turning Cookies off will mean you cannot do internet banking or online shopping, but it will stop an online advertiser tracking your browsing history.

Rather than turning Cookies off completely, it’s probably safest to set your iPhone to only accept Cookies from sites you’ve visited. This means that only the sites you actually load on your iPhone will set Cookies and no one else can.

The last thing to remember about safe browsing on the iPhone is to regularly clear out your cache. Not only will it free up some of the phone’s memory, but it will also get rid of any browsing history you have stored.