How to remove Articlesct2.xyz ads

Articlesct2.xyz tricks people into enabling push notifications to generate revenue

Articlesct2.xyz pop-up ads can lead people to dangerous pages. Users can end up on scam sites that try to trick them into providing personal information or downloading PUPs (potentially unwanted programs),^[1] and malware. The site uses social engineering techniques to fool people into allowing push notifications themselves. Users think that they need to complete human verification, to confirm that they are not robots to proceed further.

There are a lot of similar sites to this one. We previously wrote about Centredirect.net, Tophaven2.xyz, and Important-incoming-news.com. The problem is that they are very easy to produce. All the fraudsters need to do is embed a deceptive image and message and configure the push notification settings. That is why hundreds of new pages like this appear every day.

The developers also do not care about user privacy or security so they do not filter the ads that can start showing up on users' screens. In some cases, they even use unsafe advertising networks that display ads leading to adult, gambling websites or scam sites like fake antivirus warnings, Flash Player installers, giveaways, and surveys. 

Articlesct2.xyz in detail

It is uncommon to find pages like this in the search results. Usually, people get redirected from other shady sites that are full of deceptive ads and sneaky redirects. Pages that engage in illegal activities are unregulated, so there is no one in charge to make sure they are safe to use. If users are not careful, they can end up on dangerous pages that could lead to monetary losses, virus infections, or even identity theft.

We noticed that often users land on push notification spam pages by browsing through illegal streaming sites. They look for movies and TV shows to watch for free and get deceived by fake “Download” and “Play” buttons. When users click on them and a page like Articlesct2.xyz opens, they think nothing of it. The messages that users can encounter are:

Type Allow to verify that you are not a robot
Click Allow to watch the video
Download is ready. Click Allow to download your file
Press Allow to verify that you are not a robot

It is easy to see how many people would think that this is a legitimate captcha verification process or that their browser is preventing them from seeing the content so they need to give permission. Such pages target less IT-savvy individuals and they are successful with it.

Nowadays there are plenty of streaming platforms to choose from, and users do not need to go snooping around shady websites anymore. People can pay a small monthly subscription fee and watch as much content as they want. It is not worth it to risk infecting your device, or suffering from other consequences if you do not know the intricacies of online scams.

Block notifications from Articlesct2.xyz

Because push notifications are subscription-based, they can be turned on and off only manually. We have a detailed guide for the most popular browsers below:

Google Chrome (desktop):

1. Open Google Chrome browser and go to Menu > Settings.
2. Scroll down and click on Advanced.
3. Locate the Privacy and security section and pick Site Settings > Notifications.
4. Look at the Allow section and look for a suspicious URL.
5. Click the three vertical dots next to it and pick Block. This should remove unwanted notifications from Google Chrome.

Google Chrome (Android):

1. Open Google Chrome and tap on Settings (three vertical dots).
2. Select Notifications.
3. Scroll down to Sites section.
4. Locate the unwanted URL and toggle the button to the left (Off setting).

Mozilla Firefox:

1. Open Mozilla Firefox and go to Menu > Options.
2. Click on Privacy & Security section.
3. Under Permissions, you should be able to see Notifications. Click Settings button next to it.
4. In the Settings – Notification Permissions window, click on the drop-down menu by the URL in question.
5. Select Block and then click on Save Changes. This should remove unwanted notifications from Mozilla Firefox.

Safari:

1. Click on Safari > Preferences…
2. Go to Websites tab and, under General, select Notifications.
3. Select the web address in question, click the drop-down menu and select Deny.

MS Edge:

1. Open Microsoft Edge, and click the Settings and more button (three horizontal dots) at the top-right of the window.
2. Select Settings and then go to Advanced.
3. Under Website permissions, pick Manage permissions and select the URL in question.
4. Toggle the switch to the left to turn notifications off on Microsoft Edge.

MS Edge (Chromium):

1. Open Microsoft Edge, and go to Settings.
2. Select Site permissions.
3. Go to Notifications on the right.
4. Under Allow, you will find the unwanted entry.
5. Click on More actions and select Block.

Additional safety measures

After an encounter with such a threat, it is strongly recommended to clear your browsers. Websites and web-based applications can use various tracking technologies to collect data like your IP address, geolocation, websites you visit, links you click on, and things you purchase online. All of this is done with the use of cookies^[2] and cache.

These small data files are not inherently bad. Legitimate sites use them to personalize the user experience by showing relevant results, etc. However, they can also be used to generate revenue by selling them to advertising networks, and other third parties. There is an automatic solution to this problem – FortectIntego. This powerful software can stop the tracking and delete the existing information, as well as fix serious system errors with a click of a button.

Unwanted browser behavior can also be caused by PUPs. Sometimes pages like Articlesct2.xyz show up without any user input at all. This can be caused by adware^[3] which is a program that can generate commercial content in the machine without the users' knowledge. Many of them are disguised as “handy” tools so they would be more difficult to identify for average users.

That is why having professional security tools like SpyHunterCombo Cleaner and MalwarebytesMalwarebytes is essential. A PC without an antivirus is like a home without a door. Anti-malware solutions can scan the machine and detect suspicious processes running in the background. Besides, it can prevent such infections by warning users about dangerous files trying to enter the system.

However, if you know what you are doing and which program should be eliminated, you can follow our step-by-step instructions for Windows and Mac machines:

Windows 10/8:

1. Enter Control Panel into Windows search box and hit Enter or click on the search result.
2. Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.
3. From the list, find the entry of the suspicious program.
4. Right-click on the application and select Uninstall.
5. If User Account Control shows up, click Yes.
6. Wait till uninstallation process is complete and click OK.

Windows 7/XP:

1. Click on Windows Start > Control Panel located on the right pane (if you are Windows XP user, click on Add/Remove Programs).
2. In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program.
3. Pick the unwanted application by clicking on it once.
4. At the top, click Uninstall/Change.
5. In the confirmation prompt, pick Yes.
6. Click OK once the removal process is finished.

Mac:

1. From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
2. In the Applications folder, look for all related entries.
3. Click on the app and drag it to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash)

To fully remove an unwanted app, you need to access Application Support, LaunchAgents, and LaunchDaemons folders and delete relevant files:

1. Select Go > Go to Folder.
2. Enter /Library/Application Support and click Go or press Enter.
3. In the Application Support folder, look for any dubious entries and then delete them.
4. Now enter /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders the same way and terminate all the related .plist files.