How to stop a web browser from opening captcha-bros.com?

What is captcha-bros[.]com?

Captcha-bros[.]com is a website that uses a clickbait technique to trick visitors into allowing it to show notifications and opens other questionable websites. There is a great deal of pages like captcha-bros[.]com on the Internet, some examples are news-bobicu[.]cc, typiccor[.]com, and tik-ttok[.]net. Users do not visit pages of this kind intentionally.

Captcha-bros[.]com in detail

It is common for pages like captcha-bros[.]com to be promoted via other dubious websites, untrustworthy advertisements, and potentially unwanted applications (PUAs). Once visited, they load deceptive content and (or) open about two or three other potentially malicious web pages. Either way, these pages cannot be trusted.

It is known that captcha-bros[.]com loads a fake CAPTCHA test (uses a clickbait technique) to trick visitors into clicking the "Allow" button. If allowed, captcha-bros[.]com shows notifications with links to untrustworthy pages, deceptive advertisements in them. For this reason, it is recommended not to agree to receive notifications from captcha-bros[.]com.

At the time of the research, captcha-bros[.]com opened Gearbest website. It is likely that individuals behind captcha-bros[.]com get paid a referral fee when its visitors purchase something on Gearbest page. It is important to mention that captcha-bros[.]com could open untrustworthy websites as well.

It could open pages similar to "IP Address & Personal Information Might Be Exposed", "CONGRATULATIONS, YOU ARE THE VISITOR NO. 1.000.000", "Your Device Is Infected With A Spam Virus", and other pages designed to trick visitors into providing personal information, downloading and installing potentially unwanted applications, etc.

More about potentially unwanted applications

PUAs can be designed to generate online advertisements and gather various information. Usually, they display coupons, pop-up ads, surveys, banners, and other ads designed to open shady, potentially malicious pages or download (or install) unwanted applications by running certain scripts.

Also, PUAs can be designed to gather IP addresses , entered search queries, geolocations, addresses of visited pages, and other browsing-related details. In some cases, apps o this kind are capable of accessing personal information as well. The biggest problem is that gathered data might be misused to generate revenue.

For instance, it could be sold to third parties (potentially cybercriminals), used for marketing purposes, to steal online accounts, make unauthorized purchases. Therefore, any PUAs installed on a browser or operating system should be removed as soon as possible. Typically, users download and install apps of this kind unknowingly.

Threat Summary:

Name	Ads by captcha-bros.com
Threat Type	Push notifications ads, Unwanted ads, Pop-up ads
Detection Names	Fortinet (Malware), Spamhaus (Spam), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
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.

Potentially unwanted applications in general

Potentially unwanted applications can be designed to promote websites like captcha-bros[.]com, generate advertisements and collect various data. Typically, they are useless and can be the culprit of various problems. Most of them are promoted using questionable, deceptive methods. It is advisable not to have any PUAs installed on browsers or computers.

How did adware install on my computer?

Quite often, PUAs are distributed by including them in downloaders and installers for other programs as extra offers. This distribution method is known as "bundling". It is used to trick users into downloading or installing PUAs with other programs that they download or install intentionally.

Typically, unwanted offers can be found and deselected in "Advanced", "Custom", "Manual", or other settings, or by unticking ticked checkboxes. When users do not change those settings before finishing downloads and installations, they agree to download or install included PUAs. Sometimes users cause unwanted downloads or installations by clicking deceptive advertisements.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

Quite often, free programs are bundled with potentially unwanted applications. Therefore, it is recommended to check downloaders and installers for additionally included applications and decline unwanted offers before finishing downloads and installations. Furthermore, files and programs should be downloaded from official pages and via direct download links.

It is not safe to use third-party downloaders (or installers), unofficial websites, Peer-to-Peer networks (torrent clients, eMule), and other similar sources. Also, it is not safe to click ads if they appear on untrustworthy websites (for example, on pages related to pornography, adult dating, gambling). Those ads can open deceptive websites, cause unwanted installations.

Suspicious or unknown extensions, add-ons, or plug-ins installed on a web browser (or browsers) should be removed. Programs of this kind installed on the operating system should be removed too. 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 captcha-bros[.]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 Ads by captcha-bros.com?
• 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.

▼ Show Discussion