Viralupdatestoday.com - Jan 2021 update

What is Viralupdatestoday.com?

Viral Updates Today virus is a suspicious site that demands to enable notifications which appear on computers as often as on mobile devices

The website asks to allow notifications to be shown in a deceptive manner

Viral Updates Today virus is a fraudulent website that tries to use social engineering tricks in order to make users enable push notification feature. Once done, users are then spammed with various pop-ups from Viralupdatestoday.com page that promote suspicious services, fake updates, or other potentially unwanted programs. Android is the main system that the threat targets with redirects and push notifications, according to the number of user reports online^[1] and questions sent to our support team.

This is a browser-based threat, and Viral Updates Today is not considered to be malware even though many people call it like that due to intrusive behavior and commercial pop-ups, general persistence on the machine. Main purpose os to generate revenue and redirect the traffic, not damage the machine or obtain money directly from the person. People tend to believe that the website is only one to blame, but exiting the page is not the solution since the PUP running in the background is responsible for all the redirects and push notifications.

If suspicious redirects get ignored, it cannot pose any significant risks, although deceptive websites as these are known to load various scripts from other domains, which might infect the computer automatically – without user interaction – if certain conditions are met. Besides, those who get frequent redirects to various phishing and scam sites, are highly likely to be suffering from the adware^[2] infection.

Upon entry to Viral Updates Today site, willingly or redirected out of nowhere, visitors can usually see either a pop-up with a suggestion to enable the additional content or a video loading that is not showing properly and a claim that to view it, they need to follow the steps in a message:

www.viralupdatestoday.com says:

Please click ALLOW to continue watching!

This is a typical trick that is used by many similar sites, such as Apushnotification.com, Pushlommy.com, System-sms.com, Tsyndicate.com, and many others. While the looks of these sites may vary, their goal is the same – to make users enable notifications that their screens can be spammed with ads. This behavior guarantees the authors' profits but might end up badly for the end-users.

Such techniques are especially successful when the redirect appears on mobile devices because it is even more difficult to exit the window without clicking on anything possibly malicious. The app is common on Android devices, so when you encounter such redirect, try to exit the pop-up and get antivirus application as soon as possible to end the behavior and terminate this PUP. If you believe that adware has already managed to find its way on your device, follow the guide below with all the steps for Android OS. Adware is usually the reason for suspicious browser redirects Ads can be unsafe and lead to sites that are deemed inappropriate, claim that the system is outdated or infected with viruses, and needs the “remedy” tool or ask users to provide their personal information, such as credit card details. Without a doubt, experts advise staying away from pop-ups, as any interaction might result in money loss, installation of PUPs/malware, and even identity theft.

Fortunately, you can remove Viral Updates Today and disable ads, notifications, unwanted redirects by scanning the machine, or a mobile phone with anti-malware software. Also, accessing settings panel on your web browser allows you to reset changed notification settings – check the instructions below.

Note that the appearance of the suspicious notifications and redirects indicate adware infection. The ad-supported software is usually not as harmful as trojans, rootkits, or ransomware, but it might put users' online security at risk due to the content that they get exposed to and ad-tracking functionalities.

Besides, adware is also known for its tracking activities – it often gathers various information about infected users and sends it to unknown parties. In some cases, personal details like name, email, home address, etc., can be leaked. Thus, PUP removal should be performed as soon as possible to avoid possible data leak.

To find out whether your machine is infected with adware, you can check our manual PUP elimination guide below or scan your machine with anti-malware software, although both methods can be used simultaneously. After that, you should also run a scan with FortectIntego and reset all the installed browsers for best results. Antivirus programs can also be compatible with Android OS, so check the Play Store or sites of official developers to get such an application for the PUP elimination.

Viralupdatestoday.com might load scripts and download malicious payload automatically

Beware of software bundles and prevent unwanted notifications from being shown on your screen

In most cases, adware and other potentially unwanted programs are delivered with the help of a technique called software bundling.^[3] It allows freeware and shareware developers to add optional components to the main installers and deliberately try to hide them so that more users would install them without realizing it. This way, adware, and other PUPs managed to infect millions of users' computers over the years.

To prevent being a victim of software bundling, you should follow these tips provided by experts:^[4]

• employ reputable security software and keep it updated – many anti-malware solutions have a built-in scanner for PUPs, so they can prevent the entry in the first place;
• if possible opt for official download sources instead of third-party ones;
• when installing freeware/shareware, be attentive: watch out for pre-ticked boxes, fine print text, misleading offers, displaced buttons, and similar tricks;
• make sure ToS and Privacy Policy is provided;
• when prompted, opt for Advanced/Custom installation settings.

To avoid suspicious notifications that are not related to adware but rather the exploitation of legitimate web browser features (push notifications), make sure you never allow them in the first place. Sites that promise to unblock the content after allowing push notifications are scams, and you should never trust them.

Instructions for Android users affected by Viral Updates Today adware

Although this is the potentially unwanted program that causes many issues with the machine, including slowness and installed programs or disabled functions, the most annoying and difficult to tackle is a symptom of continuous push notifications. You cannot be sure that one click on a pop-up or browser window is not leading you to the malware-laden page, so try to avoid clicking on suspicious banners and browser windows entirely.

However, this is one of many sites that can be categorized as adware and Android virus. You can read about the particular threat more on our site. To spare your time, here are the most important steps you need to know and try:

• Press the power button for a few seconds and tap the Power off option when the menu appears on the screen. Then reboot the Android OS to Safe Mode by choosing such an option and pressing OK.
• When in Safe Mode, locate Settings and click on Apps or Application manager. Find any suspicious apps and uninstall them here.
• You can turn off the function that allows installing any applications from unreliable sources, so go to Settings and Security to find the option.
• A factory reset is a way to renew the OS entirely. Go to Settings and locate Privacy, then Factory reset options. Tap the Backup&reset option to protect the data.
• Reset the device and check if the virus is still annoying you.

Get rid of the intrusive ads and adware

How easy Viral Updates Today removal is will depend on your computer configuration, browser settings, IT skills, and whether you have adware installed on your computer. Unfortunately, the latter is often true, but inexperienced users are unaware of it at all. Thus, if you want to explore your computer and learn how to find unwanted applications, check the instructions below – we provide a step-by-step guide for Mac and Windows operating systems.

However, if you do not want to tamper with the installed software, you can also remove adware by employing security software and performing a full system scan – note that different AVs are using different databases, so one might detect the adware app, while others might not. For that reason, you can employ multiple security programs if you are not sure.

Finally, you do not need to remove any programs if you enabled notifications and did not click on anything else after that. Here's how to do it on major browsers:

Google Chrome

• Go to Menu > Settings
• Scroll down and pick Advanced
• Under Privacy and security, click Site Settings > Notifications
• You should find Viralupdatestoday.com under Allow section
• Click More Actions and then select Block

Mozilla Firefox:

• Choose Menu > Options
• Pick Privacy & Security section and then go for Notifications
• Select Settings and find the unwanted URL
• Click on the drop-down menu and pick Block
• Save Changes

MS Edge:

• Select More and pick Settings
• Choose View advanced settings
• Click Advanced
• Click Manage permissions
• Find the relevant entry and turn off notifications

Safari:

• Go to Safari > Preferences…
• Under Websites tab, select Notifications
• Select the suspicious address and then choose Deny.

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.