How to spot deceptive pages like yourshields24.com

What kind of page is yourshields24[.]com?

We have inspected yourshields24[.]com and found that this page shows deceptive messages implying that the visitor's device may be infected and offering antivirus protection. Also, yourshields24[.]com asks for permission to show notifications and opens other web pages. This website targets Android users.

More about yourshields24[.]com

The message displayed on yourshields24[.]com claims that an increasing number of Android applications contain harmful viruses and malware and offers to protect a device with a complete Android antivirus. Additionally, that message says that a security scan is required to check a device.

The use of alarming language is a common tactic used by scammers or individuals behind deceptive marketing campaigns to create a sense of urgency and fear in users. It is important to mention that trusting pages like yourshields24[.]com could potentially lead to the installation of malware or other potentially harmful software onto the device.

Another detail about yourshields24[.]com is that it wants to show notifications. We found that yourshields24[.]com sends notifications to promote various scams and other untrustworthy pages, and potentially malicious apps. One of the notifications from yourshields24[.]com claims that a device is infected with five viruses and urges to remove them immediately.

Notifications from yourshields24[.]com may also include a fake technical support number, which, when called, will connect the user to a scammer posing as a legitimate technical support representative. The scammer may then try to trick the user into paying for unnecessary services or provide access to the user's computer to steal personal information.

Threat Summary:

Name	Ads by yourshields24.com
Threat Type	Push notifications ads, Unwanted ads, Pop-up ads
Detection Names	N/A (VirusTotal)
Serving IP Address	172.67.196.85
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 (Android)	To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your mobile device with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. ▼ Download Combo Cleaner for Android 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.

How users access pages like yourshields24[.]com?

Typically, sites like yourshields24[.]com are promoted via untrustworthy advertisements and websites that use rogue advertising networks (e.g., most torrent sites and illegal movie streaming pages). Users do not visit such pages on purpose. Pretty often, the main purpose of websites like yourshields24[.]com is to lure visitors into agreeing to receive notifications.

How did yourshields24[.]com gain permission to deliver spam notifications?

Websites are not able to display notifications unless the visitor gives their permission. This is usually done by clicking on a button labeled "Allow," "Allow Notifications," or something similar while browsing a webpage. Therefore, if you are receiving notifications from yourshields24[.]com, it is probable that you visited the website and clicked on the button mentioned above.

How to prevent deceptive sites from delivering spam notifications?

When browsing untrustworthy websites, click the "Block," "Block Notifications," or a similar button or close the website altogether. In simpler terms, avoid clicking the "Allow" button when suspicious websites request permission to display notifications.

Appearance of the yourshields24[.]com website (GIF):

A message displayed by yourshields24[.]com:

Security & Privacy
Is Your Device at Risk?
1 alert

Install Protection App
An increasing number of Android Applications contain harmful Viruses & Malware. It is recommended to Protect your Device with a complete Android Antivirus.

Protect This Android
>>
Protection for Android

Device Check
App Security
Security Scan Required to Check Device

Protection Availability
Protection Available for this Device

Marketing Disclosure

Screenshot of the message displayed by yourshields24[.]com:

Another appearance of yourshields24[.]com (desktop version):

Notification from yourshields24[.]com:

Video showing how to eliminate ads delivered by yourshields24[.]com using Combo Cleaner (Windows/MacOS):

Quick menu:

• Introduction
• How to delete browsing history from the Chrome web browser?
• How to disable browser notifications in the Chrome web browser?
• How to reset the Chrome web browser?
• How to delete browsing history from the Firefox web browser?
• How to disable browser notifications in the Firefox web browser?
• How to reset the Firefox web browser?
• How to uninstall potentially unwanted and/or malicious applications?
• How to boot the Android device in "Safe Mode"?
• How to check the battery usage of various applications?
• How to check the data usage of various applications?
• How to install the latest software updates?
• How to reset the system to its default state?
• How to disable applications that have administrator privileges?

Delete browsing history from the Chrome web browser:

Tap the "Menu" button (three dots on the right-upper corner of the screen) and select "History" in the opened dropdown menu.

Tap "Clear browsing data", select "ADVANCED" tab, choose the time range and data types you want to delete and tap "Clear data".

[Back to Table of Contents]

Disable browser notifications in the Chrome web browser:

Tap the "Menu" button (three dots on the right-upper corner of the screen) and select "Settings" in the opened dropdown menu.

Scroll down until you see "Site settings" option and tap it. Scroll down until you see "Notifications" option and tap it.

Find the websites that deliver browser notifications, tap on them and click "Clear & reset". This will remove permissions granted for these websites to deliver notifications. However, once you visit the same site again, it may ask for a permission again. You can choose whether to give these permissions or not (if you choose to decline the website will go to "Blocked" section and will no longer ask you for the permission).

[Back to Table of Contents]

Reset the Chrome web browser:

Go to "Settings", scroll down until you see "Apps" and tap it.

Scroll down until you find "Chrome" application, select it and tap "Storage" option.

Tap "MANAGE STORAGE", then "CLEAR ALL DATA" and confirm the action by taping "OK". Note that resetting the browser will eliminate all data stored within. This means that all saved logins/passwords, browsing history, non-default settings and other data will be deleted. You will also have to re-login into all websites as well.

[Back to Table of Contents]

Delete browsing history from the Firefox web browser:

Tap the "Menu" button (three dots on the right-upper corner of the screen) and select "History" in the opened dropdown menu.

Scroll down until you see "Clear private data" and tap it. Select data types you want to remove and tap "CLEAR DATA".

[Back to Table of Contents]

Disable browser notifications in the Firefox web browser:

Visit the website that is delivering browser notifications, tap the icon displayed on the left of URL bar (the icon will not necessarily be a "Lock") and select "Edit Site Settings".

In the opened pop-up opt-in the "Notifications" option and tap "CLEAR".

[Back to Table of Contents]

Reset the Firefox web browser:

Go to "Settings", scroll down until you see "Apps" and tap it.

Scroll down until you find "Firefox" application, select it and tap "Storage" option.

Tap "CLEAR DATA" and confirm the action by taping "DELETE". Note that resetting the browser will eliminate all data stored within. This means that all saved logins/passwords, browsing history, non-default settings and other data will be deleted. You will also have to re-login into all websites as well.

[Back to Table of Contents]

Uninstall potentially unwanted and/or malicious applications:

Go to "Settings", scroll down until you see "Apps" and tap it.

Scroll down until you see a potentially unwanted and/or malicious application, select it and tap "Uninstall". If, for some reason, you are unable to remove the selected app (e.g., you are prompted with an error message), you should try using the "Safe Mode".

[Back to Table of Contents]

Boot the Android device in "Safe Mode":

The "Safe Mode" in Android operating system temporarily disables all third-party applications from running. Using this mode is a good way to diagnose and solve various issues (e.g., remove malicious applications that prevent users you from doing so when the device is running "normally").

Push the "Power" button and hold it until you see the "Power off" screen. Tap the "Power off" icon and hold it. After a few seconds the "Safe Mode" option will appear and you'll be able run it by restarting the device.

[Back to Table of Contents]

Check the battery usage of various applications:

Go to "Settings", scroll down until you see "Device maintenance" and tap it.

Tap "Battery" and check the usage of each application. Legitimate/genuine applications are designed to use as low energy as possible in order to provide the best user experience and to save power. Therefore, high battery usage may indicate that the application is malicious.

[Back to Table of Contents]

Check the data usage of various applications:

Go to "Settings", scroll down until you see "Connections" and tap it.

Scroll down until you see "Data usage" and select this option. As with battery, legitimate/genuine applications are designed to minimize data usage as much as possible. This means that huge data usage may indicate presence of malicious application. Note that some malicious applications might be designed to operate when the device is connected to wireless network only. For this reason, you should check both Mobile and Wi-Fi data usage.

If you find an application that uses a lot of data even though you never use it, then we strongly advise you to uninstall it as soon as possible.

[Back to Table of Contents]

Install the latest software updates:

Keeping the software up-to-date is a good practice when it comes to device safety. The device manufacturers are continually releasing various security patches and Android updates in order to fix errors and bugs that can be abused by cyber criminals. An outdated system is way more vulnerable, which is why you should always be sure that your device's software is up-to-date.

Go to "Settings", scroll down until you see "Software update" and tap it.

Tap "Download updates manually" and check if there are any updates available. If so, install them immediately. We also recommend to enable the "Download updates automatically" option - it will enable the system to notify you once an update is released and/or install it automatically.

[Back to Table of Contents]

Reset the system to its default state:

Performing a "Factory Reset" is a good way to remove all unwanted applications, restore system's settings to default and clean the device in general. However, you must keep in mind that all data within the device will be deleted, including photos, video/audio files, phone numbers (stored within the device, not the SIM card), SMS messages, and so forth. In other words, the device will be restored to its primal state.

You can also restore the basic system settings and/or simply network settings as well.

Go to "Settings", scroll down until you see "About phone" and tap it.

Scroll down until you see "Reset" and tap it. Now choose the action you want to perform:
"Reset settings" - restore all system settings to default;
"Reset network settings" - restore all network-related settings to default;
"Factory data reset" - reset the entire system and completely delete all stored data;

[Back to Table of Contents]

Disable applications that have administrator privileges:

If a malicious application gets administrator-level privileges it can seriously damage the system. To keep the device as safe as possible you should always check what apps have such privileges and disable the ones that shouldn't.

Go to "Settings", scroll down until you see "Lock screen and security" and tap it.

Scroll down until you see "Other security settings", tap it and then tap "Device admin apps".

Identify applications that should not have administrator privileges, tap them and then tap "DEACTIVATE".

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Why am I seeing ads (browser notifications) delivered by yourshields24[.]com in the right lower corner of my desktop?

In order for a website to send browser notifications, the user must grant permission first. This suggests that you have previously visited yourshields24[.]com and allowed it to send notifications.

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

Clicking on a notification from an untrustworthy page is not harmful, but the websites that these ads redirect to may be malicious.

Is yourshields24[.]com a virus?

Websites like yourshields24[.]com are not viruses. However, they claim that devices are or may be infected to promote legitimate or untrustworthy apps, various scams, and other shady websites.

Will Combo Cleaner remove yourshields24[.]com ads automatically or manual steps are still required?

Yes, Combo Cleaner will scan your computer and remove all the permissions granted for yourshields24[.]com. It will also block all further access to yourshields24[.]com. No additional steps will be required.

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