How to stop read-the-article.com from showing notifications

What kind of page is read-the-article[.]com?

After examining read-the-article[.]com, our team determined that it is one of the deceptive websites designed to trick visitors into allowing it to send notifications. We also found that read-the-article[.]com redirects visitors to other shady web pages. Most often, users open such pages accidentally.

Read-the-article[.]com in detail

Read-the-article[.]com displays a message instructing visitors to click the "Allow" button to watch the video. This site uses a clickbait technique to lure visitors into permitting it to show notifications - clicking the "Allow" button while on sites grants them permission to send notifications.

Notifications displayed by read-the-article[.]com lure users with promises of viewing leaked videos of celebrities, obtaining quick loans, checking some unread messages, playing audio messages, scanning their computer for malware, etc. These notifications can open potentially malicious websites.

Clicking on these notifications may redirect users to untrustworthy web pages seeking sensitive information, like phishing websites, encouraging them to call fake technical support numbers, pushing them to download malicious software, etc. These notifications may also direct users to harmful websites.

In addition to displaying untrustworthy notifications, read-the-article[.]com can redirect visitors to other pages of this kind. During our research, read-the-article[.]com redirected us to special-trending-news[.]com - a page full of dubious advertisements.

Threat Summary:

Name	Ads by read-the-article.com
Threat Type	Push notifications ads, Unwanted ads, Pop-up ads
Detection Names	N/A (VirusTotal)
Serving IP Address	95.168.170.165
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, false claims within visited websites, 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.

Pages of this type in general

Websites like read-the-article[.]com feature fake CAPTCHAs, video players, loading bars, and other elements with messages asking visitors to click the "Allow" button in order to proceed with a particular action. The goal of these sites is to trick visitors into granting them permission to display notifications.

Users often inadvertently access these sites through untrustworthy advertisements and pages that utilize rogue advertising networks, such as illegal movie streaming pages and torrent sites (and similar pages). Examples of similar websites include downloaderfiles[.]cloud, porptogred[.]com, and starvardsee[.]xyz.

How did read-the-article[.]com gain permission to deliver spam notifications?

Pages gain permission to display notifications only after a visitor clicks the "Allow," "Allow Notifications," or a similar button. No website can display notifications without obtaining the visitor's consent. Therefore, read-the-article[.]com is able to show notifications because it received permission to do so during a previous visit.

How to prevent deceptive sites from delivering spam notifications?

When visiting a suspicious website that asks for permission to show notifications, it is recommended to click the "Block" or "Block Notifications" button or close the site. It is especially important if the website states that clicking the "Allow" button is required to prove you are not a robot, watch a video, download a file, etc.

If you are receiving unwanted notifications, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate them.

Appearance of read-the-article[.]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 read-the-article.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.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Why am I seeing ads (browser notifications) delivered by read-the-article[.]com in the right lower corner of my desktop?

Read-the-article[.]com displays notifications because it has received permission to do so. This permission has been granted by clicking the "Allow" button while visiting read-the-article[.]com.

I have clicked on notification ads, is my computer infected?

Clicking on a notification by itself is not harmful. However, the websites that these ads redirect to may contain malicious content.

Is read-the-article[.]com a virus?

Websites like read-the-article[.]com are not viruses. Usually, their purpose is to promote shady apps, websites, and scams.

Will Combo Cleaner remove read-the-article[.]com ads automatically or manual steps are still required?

Yes, Combo Cleaner will scan your computer and remove permissions granted for read-the-article[.]com. Also, it will block further access to read-the-article[.]com. No additional steps will be required.

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