How to remove redirects to and from houstontexansteamstore.com

What is houstontexansteamstore[.]com?

houstontexansteamstore[.]com is a rogue web page sharing common features with critical-alert.info, espublicaldru.info, doswinuba.com and thousands of others. It presents visitors with dubious content and/or redirects them to other untrusted or possibly malicious sites.

Typically, users access websites of this kind via redirects caused by intrusive ads or by Potentially Unwanted Applications (PUAs) already installed on their devices. This software does not need explicit user consent to be infiltrated into systems. PUAs operate by causing redirects, running intrusive advertisement campaigns and by collecting browsing-related information.

houstontexansteamstore[.]com first checks visitors' IP (Internet Protocol) addresses to learn their geolocations. This data is key to determining the website's course of action. To elaborate, whether visitors are redirected elsewhere and/or are presented with dubious materials depends on their geolocations.

Additionally, as is typical of rogue sites, houstontexansteamstore[.]com uses deceptive tactics to trick users into enabling its browser notifications. The web page implies that, to continue, visitors must allow notifications. If these are enabled, houstontexansteamstore[.]com starts running intrusive ad campaigns.

The delivered ads are more than just a nuisance, they are also dangerous. Once clicked, intrusive ads can redirect to dubious/malicious sites and some can even stealthily download/install software. PUAs are a prime example of content infiltrated into systems in this manner.

These unwanted applications can have varied dangerous functionality and these features can be in different combinations. They can force-open harmful pages and run intrusive advertisement campaigns. Furthermore, most PUAs have data tracking capabilities.

They can record browsing activity (URLs visited, web pages viewed, search queries typed, etc.) and collect personal information extracted from it (IP addresses, geolocations and other details). The gathered data is then monetized by sharing with and/or selling to third parties (potentially, cyber criminals).

In summary, the presence of unwanted apps on devices can lead to system infections, financial loss, serious privacy issues and even identity theft. To ensure device integrity and user safety, all suspicious applications and browser extensions/plug-ins must be eliminated immediately upon detection.

Threat Summary:

Name	houstontexansteamstore.com pop-up
Threat Type	Push notifications ads, Unwanted ads, Pop-up ads.
Detection Names	Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal).
Serving IP Address	104.24.125.243
Observed Domains	autodiscover.houstontexansteamstore[.]com; cpanel.houstontexansteamstore[.]com; dgtg.houstontexansteamstore[.]com; gyl.houstontexansteamstore[.]com; mail.houstontexansteamstore[.]com; webdisk.houstontexansteamstore[.]com; webmail.houstontexansteamstore[.]com
Symptoms	Seeing advertisements not originating from the sites you are browsing. Intrusive pop-up ads. Decreased Internet browsing speed.
Distribution Methods	Deceptive pop-up ads, potentially unwanted applications (adware).
Damage	Decreased computer performance, browser tracking - privacy issues, possible additional malware infections.
Malware Removal (Windows)	To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your computer with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. ▼ Download Combo Cleaner To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

PUAs may seem legitimate and harmless, and often tempt users into download/installation and purchase with offers of "useful" functionality, however, the advertised functions are seldom operational. The sole purpose of this unwanted software is to generate profit for the developers.

Rather than delivering any real value, PUAs can cause redirects, run intrusive ad campaigns and collect private information.

How did adware install on my computer?

PUAs are often downloaded/installed together with other products. This deceptive marketing technique of pre-packing regular software with unwanted or malicious additions is called "bundling".

By rushing through download/installation of software (e.g. ignoring terms, skipping steps and sections, using "Quick/Express" settings, etc.) many users risk unintentionally allowing bundled content into their devices. Intrusive advertisements proliferate PUAs as well.

When clicked, the ads can execute scripts to download/install these applications without users' permission. Some PUAs have "official" download web pages from which they can be downloaded.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications

You are advised to research all software before download/installation. Use only official and verified download channels. Unofficial and free file-hosting websites, Peer-to-Peer sharing networks (BitTorrent, Gnutella, eMule), and other third party downloaders commonly offer harmful and bundled content, and are therefore untrusted and should be avoided.

When downloading/installing, read the terms, study all possible options, use the "Custom/Advanced" settings and opt-out of additional apps, tools, features, and so on. Intrusive advertisements typically seem legitimate, however, they can redirect to dubious and malicious sites (e.g. gambling, pornography, adult-dating, and many others).

If you encounter ads or redirects of this kind, inspect the system and remove all dubious applications and browser extensions/plug-ins immediately. If your computer is already infected with rogue applications, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate them.

Appearance of houstontexansteamstore[.]com website (GIF):

Instant automatic malware removal: Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced IT skills. Combo Cleaner is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of malware. Download it by clicking the button below:
▼ DOWNLOAD Combo Cleaner By downloading any software listed on this website you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Quick menu:

• What is houstontexansteamstore.com pop-up?
• STEP 1. Remove spam notifications from Google Chrome
• STEP 2. Remove spam notifications from Google Chrome (Android)
• STEP 3. Remove spam notifications from Mozilla Firefox
• STEP 4. Remove spam notifications from Microsoft Edge
• STEP 5. Remove spam notifications from Safari (macOS)

Disable unwanted browser notifications:

Video showing how to disable web browser notifications:

Remove spam notifications from Google Chrome:

Click the Menu button (three dots) on the right upper corner of the screen and select "Settings". In the opened window select "Privacy and security", then click on "Site Settings" and choose "Notifications".

In the "Allowed to send notifications" list search for websites that you want to stop receiving notifications from. Click on the three dots icon near the website URL and click "Block" or "Remove" (if you click "Remove" and visit the malicious site once more, it will ask to enable notifications again).

Remove spam notifications from Google Chrome (Android):

Tap the Menu button (three dots) on the right upper corner of the screen and select "Settings". Scroll down, tap on "Site settings" and then "Notifications".

In the opened window, locate all suspicious URLs and tap on them one-by-one. Once the pop-up shows up, select either "Block" or "Remove" (if you tap "Remove" and visit the malicious site once more, it will ask to enable notifications again).

Remove spam notifications from Mozilla Firefox:

Click the Menu button (three bars) on the right upper corner of the screen. Select "Settings" and click on "Privacy & Security" in the toolbar on the left hand side of the screen. Scroll down to the "Permissions" section and click the "Settings" button next to "Notifications".

In the opened window, locate all suspicious URLs and block them using the drop-down menu or either remove them by clicking "Remove Website" at the bottom of the window (if you click "Remove Website" and visit the malicious site once more, it will ask to enable notifications again).

Remove spam notifications from Microsoft Edge:

Click the menu button (three dots) on the right upper corner of the Edge window and select "Settings". Click on "Cookies and site permissions" in the toolbar on the left hand side of the screen and select "Notifications".

Click three dots on the right hand side of each suspicious URL under "Allow" section and click "Block" or "Remove" (if you click "Remove" and visit the malicious site once more, it will ask to enable notifications again).

Remove spam notifications from Safari (macOS):

Click "Safari" button on the left upper corner of the screen and select "Preferences...". Select the "Websites" tab and then select "Notifications" section on the left pane.

Check for suspicious URLs and apply the "Deny" option using the drop-down menu or either remove them by clicking "Remove" at the bottom of the window (if you click "Remove" and visit the malicious site once more, it will ask to enable notifications again)

How to avoid browser notification spam?

Internet users should be very skeptical when being asked to allow notifications. While this is a useful feature that allows you to receive timely news from websites you like, deceptive marketers frequently abuse it.

Only allow notifications from websites that you fully trust. For added security - use an anti-malware application with a real-time web browsing monitor to block shady websites that tries to trick you into allowing spam notifications. We recommend using Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows.

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