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What is Special-for.me ads?

Special-for.me pop-ups might prevent you from performing your daily tasks on the PC

Special-for.me is a malicious website that uses fraud to make users subscribe to notifications

Not all websites are created to be useful or informative to users, as there are plenty of crooks out there who are willing to use fraudulent statements to reach their goes of easy monetization. This is one of the main reasons scam websites are being produced at such a high rate nowadays, and users come across them while browsing the web on Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, MS Edge, or another web browser. Special-for.me is one of the websites that you rather not meet online – it is designed to scam users into subscribing to notifications.

You probably did not access the site deliberately, but instead, it appeared right in front of you after being redirected from somewhere else. Less secure websites, such as torrents or gambling, commonly fail to protect visitors well enough or are deliberately created for the purpose of spreading malicious content. Redirects usually happen after a link is clicked, although automatic scripts can also be used.

Once on the page, users are shown a fraudulent message which encourages them to click the “Allow” button – this is the main goal of the scammers. Those unfamiliar with these types of tricks might get fooled or confused due to the familiar requests seen on legitimate websites.

If users get tricked, they are soon exposed to pop-ups that show up at random times. They might also be dangerous, as links might lead to malicious websites. This article will explain how to deal with the scam and how to get rid of the annoying pop-ups.

Adware might be causing the unwanted redirects

before we proceed with the removal instructions, we would like to warn you about potential adware^[1] infection, as it could be one of the reasons why you encounter scams more often than usual. Adware is a potentially unwanted program commonly spread via software bundling^[2] technique, which is far from a fair distribution practice.

In most cases, users rush through the installation steps of freeware they download from third-party websites. Third-party websites are well aware of that – this is why they create bundled software installers and deliberately hide optional components (it is one of the monetization methods for “free software” sites).

In order to avoid unwanted software, always pay attention to the installation process of new apps – remove all the ticks from pre-ticked boxes, watch out for misplaced buttons, read the fine print, and, most importantly, always pick the Advanced/Custom settings when available to stay in control.

Since you might not know that adware is installed on your machine, you should take immediate steps to check for it. You can check the installed applications and browser extensions list if you know that you have recently installed a suspicious program on your device. However, the best way to go around this is to perform a full system scan with SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner, Malwarebytes, or another reputable security software. It would also check for malicious programs running in the background without your knowledge.

If malware or adware is found, we strongly recommend you remove it immediately and then perform a full system scan with FortectIntego repair and maintenance tool. It can clean your browsers (otherwise, you can refer to the manual instructions at the bottom of this post) and fix any damage caused by the infection.

Crooks use various fake messages to convince users to the press the Allow button

Remove Special-for.me notifications from your screen

Many users look for Special-for.me removal instructions after scanning their machines with anti-malware and finding out that it did not help. In fact, most are sure that they have been infected with a virus only because the push notifications are so intrusive and show up at random times.

In reality, the push notification feature itself is not malicious by itself, although deceptive websites might use it to deliver information that is not secure at all. This can be easily reversible, as long as you know how to prevent these notifications from being shown. Below you will find the step-by-step guide that should help you remove Special-for.me pop-ups once and for all.

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 the 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 the 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 the 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.

Internet Explorer:

1. Open Internet Explorer, and click on the Gear icon at the top-right of the window.
2. Select Internet options and go to the Privacy tab.
3. In the Pop-up Blocker section, click on Settings.
4. Locate web address in question under Allowed sites and pick Remove.

How to recognize a scam

There are thousands of websites that specialize in fraud. The main goal is to mislead users and make them perform actions that they otherwise wouldn't – be it downloading a malicious file, disclosing their sensitive information, or subscribing to services that are generally useless.

While push notification scam sites are relatively common (they are really easy to produce), they are nowhere near as dangerous as the examples mentioned above. The main goal of crooks is to expose users to commercial content and make them click on links or purchase goods. It is also important to note that some of these links might be dangerous and result in the exact same issues we just mentioned.

Plenty of users fall for the scam because they are unaware of what they are dealing with. The reason for this is social engineering^[3] tricks that are commonly employed by scammers. Here is an example message you might encounter after accessing the Special-for.me site:

Click Allow to leave this page

it is implied that the only way to leave the page is by pressing the “Allow” button. Alternatively, users are told that they can watch a video or that they need to confirm they are not robots (similar to captcha verification). In other words, scam authors always try to convince people that the prompt does something else.

Be more careful when pressing on links in the future, employ powerful security software and ad-block, and always be aware that scam websites are relatively common online.

You may remove virus damage with a help of FortectIntego. SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner and Malwarebytes are recommended to detect potentially unwanted programs and viruses with all their files and registry entries that are related to them.