News-kotofa.cc ads: what it is and how to remove it
News-kotofa.cc is a bogus website that tries to fool people into subscribing push notifications to generate revenue. It tries to convince people that they need to confirm that they are not robots by pressing the "Allow" button.
Facts checked October 6, 2026. Removal steps tested on Windows 11 (26H2) and checked against Microsoft's and the browser makers' current documentation. Sections marked as our earlier report are the original text: they describe the threat as it was then and have not been reviewed since. The 2026 status, the removal steps and the questions are current.
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News-kotofa.cc ads: summary
| Distribution | Shady websites, deceptive ads, redirects, freeware installations |
|---|---|
| NAME | News-kotofa.cc |
| TYPE | Push notification spam; adware |
| SYMPTOMS | Pop-up ads start appearing in the corner of the screen after people click the "Allow" button |
| DANGERS | Ads displayed by the website might be dangerous. Users might suffer from financial losses, disclose their sensitive information to unknown parties or install malware/PUPs on their systems |
| Detection names | No Microsoft detection name is known |
| Removal | Scan the PC with security software to find and remove the malware and anything installed with it. Fortect scans Windows for malware and repairs the system files and settings it damaged. Remove it nowTo use the full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Fortect. The scan is free. |
Show 11 more facts
| Damage | Not recorded in the old report |
|---|---|
| Name | News-kotofa.cc |
| Type | Push-notification spam site |
| Symptoms | Notification spam from a website |
| Evidence | 4 write-ups by security sites; details still limited |
| Domains | news-kotofa.cc |
| Ads shown as | Desktop notifications |
| Browsers | Chrome, Edge and Firefox |
| Installed on the PC | Nothing; a browser notification permission only |
| First seen | 7 February 2022 |
| Facts checked | 6 October 2026 |
What the News-kotofa.cc ads ads look like
Type Allow to verify that you are not a robot
Is News-kotofa.cc ads dangerous?
From our report of Feb 2022 · not reviewed since
News-kotofa.cc makes people enable pop-up ads using deception tactics
News-kotofa.cc is a bogus website that tries to fool people into subscribing push notifications to generate revenue.
It tries to convince people that they need to confirm that they are not robots by pressing the "Allow" button. In reality, they give the site permission to spam them with annoying pop-up ads.
Push notification spam pages often use rogue advertising networks to display ads for them. As a result, links embedded in the pop-ups can lead to dangerous pages that can make people provide their personal information or download PUPs (potentially unwanted programs), and malware.
Sometimes people also start seeing ads promoting adult and gambling sites. If there are other people using the affected machine, especially children, you should take care of the threat as soon as possible as they can be exposed to inappropriate content.
In the past years, push notification spam pages have grown in numbers significantly as they can be quite profitable for fraudsters. If they spread it through the Internet well enough, they can generate revenue with pay-per-click advertising. Such pages appear and disappear every day. We recently wrote about News-cacawu.cc, Theironnews.site, and News-bohima.cc.
You can encounter pages that display deceptive messages like:
All of these messages can remind users of a captcha verification process but there are significant differences. A legitimate captcha verification usually asks users to identify certain objects in pictures, like crosswalks or bicycles. You should never have to choose between "Block" and "Allow" to confirm that you are not a robot or be able to access some type of content.
In order to avoid such pages in the future, do not browse through pages that engage in illegal activities. Such sites are unregulated and full of deceptive ads and sneaky redirects. Illegal streaming platforms are especially unsafe and can easily lead people to push notification spam pages.
From our report of Feb 2022 · not reviewed since
Stop the intrusive pop-ups
Instructions are available for MS Edge, Chrome, Chromium, Mozilla Firefox, and Safari.
You will also need to clear your browsers from cookies and cache to make sure your data is safe.
They are used by almost every website to track your activity. Cookies can be sold to advertising networks and other third parties or hacked by threat actors if the website does not have necessary security protocols in place. Because you were probably browsing through shady sites, this step is essential. We also have an automatic solution for this - .
Besides that, it can fix various system errors, corrupted files, and registry issues.
Google Chrome (desktop):
Google Chrome (Android):
MS Edge (Chromium):
- Open Google Chrome browser and go to Menu > Settings.
- Locate the Privacy and security section and pick Site Settings > Notifications.
- Look at the Allow section and look for a suspicious URL.
- Click the three vertical dots next to it and pick Block. This should remove unwanted notifications from Google Chrome.
- Open Google Chrome and tap on Settings (three vertical dots).
- Select Notifications.
- Locate the unwanted URL and toggle the button to the left (Off setting).
- Open Mozilla Firefox and go to Menu > Options.
- Click on Privacy & Security section.
- Under Permissions, you should be able to see Notifications. Click Settings button next to it.
- In the Settings – Notification Permissions window, click on the drop-down menu by the URL in question.
- Select Block and then click on Save Changes. This should remove unwanted notifications from Mozilla Firefox.
- 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.
- Open Microsoft Edge, and click the Settings and more button (three horizontal dots) at the top-right of the window.
- Select Settings and then go to Advanced.
- Under Website permissions, pick Manage permissions and select the URL in question.
- Toggle the switch to the left to turn notifications off on Microsoft Edge.
- Open Microsoft Edge, and go to Settings.
- Select Site permissions.
- Go to Notifications on the right.
- Under Allow, you will find the unwanted entry.
- Click on More actions and select Block.
From our report of Feb 2022 · not reviewed since
More from our earlier report on News-kotofa.cc
- is a maintenance tool that should be used after the removal is complete to get rid of any remaining damage and optimize the machine
Check your browser and PC
- Address:
news-kotofa.cc
How to remove News-kotofa.cc ads
How to stop News-kotofa.cc notifications
Do this in every browser you use, and in every profile inside it: each keeps its own list of sites allowed to send notifications.
Nothing has to be uninstalled for the notifications themselves.
Which browser shows the ads?
Step 1: Remove news-kotofa.cc from Chrome's notification list
Open More (the three dots) > Settings > Privacy and security > Site settings > Notifications, or paste
chrome://settings/content/notificationsinto the address bar.Under Allowed to send notifications, open the menu next to
news-kotofa.ccand choose Remove or Block, and do the same for any other address you do not recognise.Next to Not allowed to send notifications, click Add and enter news-kotofa.cc, so the site cannot ask again. The menus are the same in Chrome on Windows 11 and Windows 10, and each Chrome profile keeps its own list.
Chrome on Windows 11: Settings > Privacy and security > Site settings > Notifications. Full procedure with screenshots: Stop website notifications and pop-ups
Step 1: Remove news-kotofa.cc from Edge's notification list
Edge stores its own permission list, separate from Chrome's, and it is often the browser behind these pop-ups on Windows 11 and Windows 10.
Go to Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Site permissions > All permissions > Notifications, or paste
edge://settings/content/notifications. Removenews-kotofa.ccfrom Allowed, then add it under Not allowed to send notifications. Notifications that show the Edge logo come from this list.
Edge on Windows 11: Site permissions > All permissions > Notifications. Full procedure with screenshots: Stop website notifications and pop-ups
Step 1: Remove news-kotofa.cc from Firefox's notification permissions
In Firefox the permission sits in Settings > Permissions and data > Notifications (in older versions Privacy & Security > Notifications > Settings). Select
news-kotofa.ccin the list, click Remove Website, and confirm with Save Changes.Firefox only shows these notifications while it is open, so if they stopped after closing Firefox, this is the browser to clean. The steps are the same on Windows 11 and Windows 10.
Firefox on Windows 11: the Notification Permissions window. Full procedure with screenshots: Stop website notifications and pop-ups
Then, whichever browser you use
Step 2: Scan the PC if you downloaded anything from the ads
Most people who only saw the notifications can skip this step. If a notification or the page it opened made you download or run a file, delete the file and run a full scan, then a Microsoft Defender Offline scan.
In Windows 11 and Windows 10 open Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Scan options, select Microsoft Defender Antivirus (offline scan) and click Scan now. The PC restarts and the scan takes about 15 minutes, so save your work first.
Windows 11: Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Scan options. Full procedure with screenshots: Run a Microsoft Defender Offline scan
More removal instructions
For programs installed on the PC and older browsers. Open the one you need.
Remove adware from your system
If you notice an increased amount of commercial content like pop-ups, banners, surveys, and others, or you often get redirected to strange websites, you may have adware installed in your system. If the symptoms did not completely disappear after completing the first step there is a big chance you are infected with a PUP. They are most commonly spread on unofficial sites that distribute freeware.
Because the owners of these pages provide programs for free, they need to make money in other ways, so they include additional programs in the installers that perform tasks in the background. People do not notice that other files were installed because they normally rush through the installation process. If you want to avoid PUAs, follow these steps:
It is unclear which app could be causing the problems, so we suggest using or anti-malware tools that can automatically scan your machine and eliminate it completely. If you know what you are doing and want to do it yourself, here are the guides for Windows and Mac machines:
To entirely remove an unwanted app, you need to access Application Support, LaunchAgents, and LaunchDaemons folders and delete relevant files:
- Always choose "Custom" or "Advanced" installation methods and go through all the steps.
- Read the Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy
- The most important part is checking the file list and seeing if there is anything that you do not need. If you see them, just untick the boxes next to the names.
- 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.
- Click on Windows Start > Control Panel located on the right pane (if you are Windows XP user, click on Add/Remove Programs).
- In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program.
- Pick the unwanted application by clicking on it once.
- At the top, click Uninstall/Change.
- In the confirmation prompt, pick Yes.
- Click OK once the removal process is finished.
- From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
- In the Applications folder, look for all related entries.
- Click on the app and drag it to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash)
- Select Go > Go to Folder.
- Enter /Library/Application Support and click Go or press Enter.
- In the Application Support folder, look for any suspicious entries and then delete them.
- Now enter /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders the same way and terminate all the related .plist files.
Do not let government spy on you
The government has many issues in regards to tracking users' data and spying on citizens, so you should take this into consideration and learn more about shady information gathering practices.
Avoid any unwanted government tracking or spying by going totally anonymous on the internet.
You can choose a different location when you go online and access any material you want without particular content restrictions. You can easily enjoy internet connection without any risks of being hacked by using VPN.
Control the information that can be accessed by government any other unwanted party and surf online without being spied on. Even if you are not involved in illegal activities or trust your selection of services, platforms, be suspicious for your own security and take precautionary measures by using the VPN service.
Backup files for the later use, in case of the malware attack
Computer users can suffer from data losses due to cyber infections or their own faulty doings.
Ransomware can encrypt and hold files hostage, while unforeseen power cuts might cause a loss of important documents. If you have proper up-to-date backups, you can easily recover after such an incident and get back to work. It is also equally important to update backups on a regular basis so that the newest information remains intact - you can set this process to be performed automatically.
When you have the previous version of every important document or project you can avoid frustration and breakdowns. It comes in handy when malware strikes out of nowhere. Use for the data restoration process.
Questions about News-kotofa.cc ads
How do I stop notifications from news-kotofa.cc?
Remove its permission in the browser. The bottom line of each notification names the browser, so open that browser's notification settings and look under Allowed. Remove news-kotofa.cc and any other site you do not recognise.
In Chrome and Edge this is under the site settings for notifications; in Firefox it is under Settings, Permissions and data, Notifications. Do this in every browser profile, because each one keeps its own list.
Restart the browser and wait a few minutes. If a message still arrives, read its bottom line again: the sending address can differ from the site you remember, and that is the entry still left in the list.
The news-kotofa.cc notification said my PC is infected. Is it true?
No. Notifications from news-kotofa.cc are adverts written to look like system messages. A website cannot scan your files, so it has no way to know whether your PC is infected; it shows the same warning to everyone who allowed its notifications. Real Windows Security messages name Windows Security in the bottom line, not a browser and a website.
If you want to be sure, open Windows Security from the Start menu and run a quick scan there. Then remove news-kotofa.cc from the browser's notification settings so the fake warnings stop arriving. Do not call any number or buy anything the notification or its page suggests.
What is News-kotofa.cc?
News-kotofa.cc is a push-notification spam site, a kind of adware. It earns money by showing desktop notifications, and each view, click or redirect pays whoever runs it. It is not something people usually choose; it arrives through a free download, a fake button or a misleading prompt.
News-kotofa.cc does not encrypt files or take control of Windows, but its ads are sold to anyone, including scam operators, so they can lead to fake virus warnings and unwanted downloads. The steps in this guide remove it from Windows and from each browser.
Why does news-kotofa.cc keep showing up?
There are two possible reasons. If it appears as desktop notifications, a browser on this PC was given permission to receive them from news-kotofa.cc, usually through a misleading prompt. That permission stays until you remove it in the browser's site settings.
If it appears as tabs or redirects, an ad on a site you visit is opening it, or an extension or program on the PC is. Test a private window: if news-kotofa.cc never appears there, an extension is the likely cause. The plan above covers each case.
Do I have to change settings in every browser?
Only in the browsers that allowed news-kotofa.cc, but checking all of them takes a minute and is worth it. We saw the notifications in Chrome, Edge and Firefox. Chrome and Edge keep their notification lists under site settings, and Firefox under Privacy & Security > Permissions.
Remove news-kotofa.cc and any other unfamiliar site from each list, then turn off new notification requests if you do not need them. Remember that every browser profile has its own list, so a second profile can keep the messages coming after you clean the first.
Are the pop-ups I see really from News-kotofa.cc?
Compare them with the details in the table above. News-kotofa.cc produces desktop notifications, and the clearest sign of it is notifications from news-kotofa.cc. Other adware looks similar, so check the name of the sending site at the bottom of a notification, the address in the tab that opened, or the newest entries on the extensions page.
If those match, this guide fits. If you see a different name, the same kind of steps apply, but remove the item you actually find rather than guessing.
Can I turn off the pop-ups in Windows settings instead?
You can hide them, but that is not the fix. In Windows 11, Settings > System > Notifications lets you switch off notifications for a whole browser, which silences the spam together with every useful notification from that browser.
The site keeps its permission and can still send messages when you switch them back on. It is better to remove the specific site in the browser's own notification settings and block new requests. That stops the messages at the source and leaves the rest of your notifications working.
My scan found nothing, but the ads continue. Why?
Because the source may not be a file a scanner looks for. Browser notifications are a permission stored in the browser, and many adware extensions are not flagged because they come from an official store.
Some ad-supported programs are only reported if you enable detection of potentially unwanted apps. So a clean scan does not mean the job is done. Check each browser's notification permissions and extension list by hand, and turn on Potentially unwanted app blocking in Windows Security before scanning again.
Is it safe to click Block or Allow on a notification prompt?
Clicking Block is safe; it only tells the browser not to show notifications from that site. Clicking Allow is not dangerous to your files either, but it gives the site a channel to your desktop that spam sites abuse at once.
The prompt itself is part of the browser, so you can trust its buttons. What you cannot trust is the text on the page around it. If a page explains why you must click Allow, choose Block or close the tab.
Will Fortect remove News-kotofa.cc?
No program removes News-kotofa.cc itself, because there is nothing on the PC to remove: the notifications come through a permission saved in the browser, and only the browser's settings take it away, as the steps above show.
What Fortect can do is check the rest of Windows. Its free scan looks for malware, unwanted programs and damaged system files, which is useful if you clicked the ads, downloaded something from the pages they opened, or are not sure what else changed on the PC.
If the scan finds nothing and the notifications stopped after you removed the permission, this problem is solved. Use Microsoft Defender as a second opinion whenever you have downloaded files from pages like these.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Potentially unwanted program (read October 6, 2026)
- Kaspersky: What are Cookies? (read October 6, 2026)
- Malwarebytes: Adware (read October 6, 2026)
- Google Chrome Help: Use notifications to get alerts (no longer online) (read October 6, 2026)
- FTC: How to recognize, remove and avoid malware (read October 6, 2026)