How to remove Nyseafaring.xyz ads

Nyseafaring.xyz sends pop-up ads instead of sports news

Nyseafaring.xyz is a fake website that is disguised as a legitimate news outlet. The page specifically targets sports fans by saying “Get The Latest Sports Updates From Around The World.” A prompt at the top of the page appears asking users if they want the page to send them push notifications.

Originally, push notifications were created just for this reason – to provide users with the latest news, updates, offers, and other valuable information. Some individuals came up with a way to abuse this function, and instead of providing content, they act as middlemen between users and advertisers.

The creators of the page generate revenue every time users click on these pop-up ads.^[1] Unfortunately, the links embedded in the notification windows can lead to dangerous sites where users are vulnerable to various social engineering techniques. Users can accidentally download PUPs,^[2] or malware and suffer from financial losses.

Users rarely visit pages like this on their own. People are usually redirected to Nyseafaring.xyz by already shady sites. These websites often engage in illegal activities, like illegal streaming platforms. Pages like this are filled with deceptive ads and sneaky redirects. Users should always confirm the legitimacy of the websites they visit. The Internet is far from a safe place and various types of deceptive schemes are quite common.

Push notification spam has become an increasing problem, especially when the pandemic started, as people spend more time online. Fraudsters saw an opportunity in that and took it. Today, there are thousands of websites very similar to this one, that prey on peoples' trust and inability to identify online threats. Other bogus pages use even more aggressive deception techniques to fool users into subscribing to notifications.

If you look in the picture above, you can see the Privacy Policy tab of the page in question. You can barely read the text in it. This is done on purpose to make the users less likely to read it and just exit it. What you can find there, is the information the website can gather about you and how it can be used.

The good news is that push notifications are based on a subscription model, users can opt-out of it any time by going to their browser settings. Below you will find a manual guide on how to take care of your Chrome browser. Instructions for MS Edge, Chromium, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and Safari are available at the end of this post.

Remove unwanted notifications from Google Chrome (desktop):

1. Open Google Chrome browser and go to Menu > Settings.
2. Scroll down and click on Advanced.
3. Locate 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.

Remove unwanted notifications from 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).

Why you should clean cookies

If blocking ads via browser settings worked for you, after that, we recommend taking care of your browser by clearing cookies and cache.^[3] They are used by almost every website to track your activity. Because you probably were browsing through shady sites, this step is essential. We also have an automatic solution for this if you do not want to do it yourself – FortectIntego.

Data gathered with the use of cookies can later be sold to advertising networks that use it to create user profiles and algorithms that will personalize ads shown to you to make you more likely to buy. Besides that, cookies are stored on the client's device, so that can clutter space and make it perform worse, causing speed issues. Also, blocking the notifications from the sites, does not stop the cookies from doing their thing. All the websites you visited by clicking on links in the pop-ups can still see your activity.

Clear cache and web data from Chrome:

1. Click on Menu and pick Settings.
2. Under Privacy and security, select Clear browsing data.
3. Select Browsing history, Cookies, and other site data, as well as Cached images and files.
4. Click Clear data.

What is adware?

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. Adware is a potentially unwanted program that is most commonly spread on unofficial freeware distribution sites. Owners of these types of sites still need to make money, to at least cover the costs, so they include additional programs in the installers and do not disclose that.

These apps perform tasks in the background and often people do not notice that other files were installed because they normally rush through the process and do not pay attention to it. If you want to avoid PUAs, always choose “Custom” or “Advanced” installation methods and go through all the steps. 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.

Because it is unclear which app could be causing the problems, we suggest using SpyHunterCombo Cleaner or MalwarebytesMalwarebytes 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 directions for Windows and macOS:

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 entirely 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 suspicious entries and then delete them.
4. Now enter /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders the same way and terminate all the related .plist files.