VWO.com defines push notifications as “clickable pop-up messages that appear on your users’ browsers irrespective of which device they use or which browser they are on.” You may choose to allow push notifications from websites or apps you use regularly to keep you informed of news and updates that you want to know about.
Even the notifications you chose to receive can become annoying if they send more than you expected. However, some go beyond just being annoying. Security expert Brian Krebs says that some firms are paying site owners to install their notification scripts and then selling that access to spammers and other unsavory characters so they can push scam-y offers and more to users whenever they wish.
According to Krebs, a site called Push Welcome advertises that website publishers who sign up for their service can monetize the traffic they receive. They are instructed to add a small script to their webpages that asks visitors to approve the receipt of push notifications. Even the approvals may be misleading, as the approval request may appear to be a CAPTCHA request or a prompt to view a video.
Once a user has approved notifications, Push Welcome’s advertising partners will send out advertising messages, including misleading notices about security risks to the user’s device, prompts to install software, ads for dating sites and erectile disjunction mediations and ads for questionable investment opportunities. To stop notifications in Chrome, Firefox and Safari, follow these steps.
Push notifications may also be delivered courtesy of a malware infection of your device. The malware may get into your system when you install pirated software and other illegitimate content. There have been instances of users downloading fake apps containing malware believing they were the legitimate apps. Here are some signs that you may be getting malicious push notifications from a malware infection:
- Ads appear even when the browser is closed
- The browser home page changes without your permission
- The websites you used to visit without issues are now not displaying properly, or you get redirected to another address
- You get pop-ups advertising fake software or updates, or warnings that you are infected, followed by prompts to install a specific tool (which will actually infect your system with even more malware)
- You see apps and programs installed on your device that you don’t remember installing
There is no magic solution to this problem as there are many different types of malware. A good start is to check your browser’s list of allowed push notifications and disable everything that doesn’t look familiar. Then, scan your computer and clean it up with professional anti-malware software.
