Madsims.com pop-up ads (spam) - Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge

What is Madsims.com pop-up ads?

Madsims.com tries to trick users with cheap tricks

Redirects to Madsims.com and similar websites might indicate adware infection

Madsims.com pop-ups won't stop showing up on your desktop? Do not worry, as you are not alone, and there are hundreds of other people experiencing the same unwanted symptoms. If you want to find out what these ads are and how to get rid of them, keep reading.

Push notifications are a web browser feature that can be used by any website – it allows websites asking for permission to show notifications. Users are free to decline them or agree to receive them. Most commonly, people subscribe to notifications from websites such as YouTube or Facebook, as they can easily gain access to something they are interested in.

However, Madsims.com is not a fair website, and it uses trickery to make users subscribe – there are plenty of fake messages that might convince users to press that “Allow” button. As soon as they oblige, their screens then start showing intrusive pop-ups at random times; these can come rarely or frequently, although the pop-ups disturb the normal work of users constantly.

Inside these notification prompts, users might be shown links to unsafe sites where they could be tricked into providing their personal information, download dangerous software or subscribe to more pop-ups from similar websites.

Cybercriminals were quick to realize that push notifications can be used to trick people and deliver ads. This way, they can monetize on users' clicks and their exposure to commercial content.

Upon you access a website, your IP address^[1] can be recognized, and so can be your approximate location. This is why you might be seeing the scam messages in your native language. However, this is not the only trick used by crooks.

There are several versions of the scam you might encounter upon the website entry. For example, you might be told that you need to press allow to prove you are not a robot or that the website content is for those who are +18 only. However, the most frequent type of scam you'd see is a still of a video that is about to be played.

The picture strongly reminds a YouTube video, which just makes users trust it even more. You might also see the following notification:

Press “Allow” to watch the video.

But of course, there is no video to watch and not content to explore. This is a common social engineering tactic – people tend to trust notifications or emails that use familiar names. This is why malicious actors use USP,^[2] Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and other familiar names to proliferate scams and spread malware.

Notifications might show you links to malware-laden or scam websites

How to stop notifications from Madsims.com

Many people believe that their systems are infected as soon as they see the intrusive pop-ups being shown non-stop. This is because they are tricked into subscribing to these notifications, hence they don't even remember allowing them in the first place. In other cases, users might click the “Allow” button by accident.

This is very common, and one of the main reasons users don't understand how to remove Madsims.com ads. It is also usually related to the fact that disabling these prompts requires users to dive deep into browser settings. If you are not sure how to do this, proceed with the instructions below:

Google Chrome

• Select Menu > Settings > Advanced.
• Click on Site Settings > Notifications.
• Check the Allow section and find the address of the site.
• Select More Actions and pick Block.

Mozilla Firefox:

• Go to Menu and then select Options.
• Go to Privacy & Security > Notifications > Settings.
• Choose Block after picking this option from the drop-down menu.
• Confirm with Save Changes.

MS Edge (Chromium)

• Go to Menu and pick Settings.
• Select Site permissions.
• Click on Notifications.
• Find the site URL, and click More actions.
• Pick Block.

Safari

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

Check your system for adware

While notification prompts have initially nothing to do with a virus infection, there is a chance that there is adware hiding on your system. Potentially unwanted programs are known to be spread via a technique called software bundling – where several components are compiled into a single installer – hence many users might fail to notice the entry of such apps.

You can remove adware manually if it is not using any obfuscation techniques, and all you have to do is uninstall it as a simple app. Here's the tip if you need help:

Windows

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

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.

However, the adware can be deceptive, and you might not even know which app is causing the unwanted redirects and ads. Therefore, we strongly recommend performing a full system scan with an anti-malware program such as SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner or Malwarebytes. Security software can check for the most stubborn infections and remove them automatically for you.

Adware is not initially considered malicious, although many security experts find it more than just controversial. In fact, many examples of the past show that adware can be particularly dangerous due to users' exposure to unsafe content. For example, those infected are more likely to see fake update prompts for Flash Player or other software or get notifications about the allegedly infected computer (tech support scams).

Previously known examples such as Lenovo's Superfish scandal,^[3] as well as the persistent Wajam or Ask Toolbar, are great examples of how widespread and damaging adware might be – it also might come from legitimate and trusted sources. Thus, if you notice that you are being redirected to Madsims.com, Auriga.link, Servicaetod.top, Boffero.com, and similar insecure websites, there is a high chance your system needs cleaning from adware.

In case you find adware on your machine, keep in mind that you should also clean your web browsers. Otherwise, you might continue being tracked, and ads, redirects, and other unwanted activity won't go away. You can employ automatic tools for this job (FortectIntego, for example), although it can also be done manually.

Below you will find the instructions that should help you get rid of cookies and clean your browsers. The manual process might take a long time, however (especially if you are not that IT-savvy). Note: in some extreme cases, you might have to reset your browsers, so we provide the guide for this process as well.