Fake virus alerts overwhelm authorities: combat them by disabling push notifications

“Your computer is damaged by suspicious programs!” This notification usually is not a virus – it’s a scam. But you might get malware if you click on it. Authorities are flooded with reports from people who receive similar pop-ups.

The Swiss National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said it regularly receives reports from people who have received pop-up messages on their web browsers claiming that their computer is infected with a virus or has other serious security issues.

Scammers send fake virus alerts to trick users into opening pop-ups, downloading malware, or sharing sensitive information.

“We regularly receive reports from people who, having seen such fake warnings, believe that their device is infected,” NCSC explains.

For the twenty-third week in a row, NCSC received over 1,000 reports on cyber incidents. In nine out of ten cases, it was either a fraud attempt, spam, or phishing.

During week 24, the centre received 22 actual hacking reports and only six reports attributed to the actual malware category.

Just a single change in the web browser setting can eliminate the fake virus notification. However, fake virus alerts can still appear as malicious ads.

How to distinguish a fake virus notification?

Fake virus alerts do not come from the operating system, antivirus software, or any other trusted source. They’re actually coming from malicious websites that send push notifications to users’ browsers.

“This type of alert often appears as an unintentionally enabled push notification for a website, or as a pop-up when you visit a compromised, infected, or untrustworthy site,” the NSCS explains.

“The intended purpose of push notifications is to alert you to new content on a website; however, in the cases reported to us, they are being misused to spread fake warnings.”

These notifications are designed to scare users into clicking on the proposed mitigation method – either downloading and installing an antivirus tool, PC cleaner, or submitting personal information to receive technical support.

“In reality, it's either malware or, at the very least, spyware that monitors your activity and sends information back to the scammers. Another common tactic is to urge you to call a fake support hotline,” the NSCS warns.

This later leads to tech support scams with fraudsters trying to sell expensive unnecessary faux repairs, gain remote access to the system, and pressure into revealing sensitive personal data.

Notifications can appear on mobile phones and computers. Malicious websites initially ask for permission to send notifications, so they can later show annoying pop-ups.

NCSC recommends users always check if they’re using a web browser when they receive fake virus alert – this is the first sign to be suspicious, as genuine security alerts do not appear this way.

“Never click on links in these warnings, never enter personal information on the pages they lead to, and never download any files. Don’t call any phone numbers shown in the alert,” NCSC said.

It’s best to close the tab or the browser completely. If the browser doesn’t respond, use Task Manager to force it to close.

Ultimate solution - blocking notifications from websites

While caution is advised and it is important not to enable unwanted push notifications from suspicious websites, sometimes accidents happen. Authorities recommend disabling push notifications in browser settings.

“If a site asks for permission to send you notifications, click 'Block' or 'Never allow'. Only allow push notifications from websites you fully trust”

On Google Chrome, do the following:

1. Click on the three dots in the top right corner (menu) and go to Settings.
2. Select Privacy and security, then click Site settings.
3. Scroll down to Notifications.
4. Here you can choose “Don’t allow sites to send notifications” to completely disable this functionality.
5. Alternatively, check the list under Allowed to send notifications. If you see any suspicious or unfamiliar websites, click on the three dots next to the site and choose Block or Remove.

To block notifications on Apple Safari (macOS):

1. Go to Safari in the menu bar and select Settings.
2. Click on the Websites tab.
3. Select Notifications in the left-hand menu.
4. Unselect “Allow websites to ask for permission to send notifications” if you don’t want this functionality.
5. Check the list of websites. If you see suspicious websites, select them and click on Remove Website or Block.

You can check guides to disable push notifications on other browsers here. Make sure you keep your applications, operating system, antivirus system, and other tools updated.