My recent jag of spam site sleuthing unveiled a nasty one: Check-it-out-first.com. This site, which masquerades as something else, tries to trick you into subscribing to its push notifications.
Obviously, what you’re signing up for isn’t useful or even real. Once you’ve given the green light, your device is hit by an endless wave of annoying pop-up ads. These aren’t just any pop-ups — they’re obnoxious and likely link to shadier places on the internet if clicked. The prompts on Check-it-out-first.com use cleverly disguised lures that make it seem like you’re opting in for a normal online service. In reality, though, it’s just a ploy to push ads that are not only irrelevant but also potentially dangerous.
Here’s what more we know about this fake website.
What is Check-it-out-first.com?
Check-it-out-first.com is a site that tricks visitors into accepting push notifications that they don’t want. It does this by throwing up bogus browser errors and then suggesting that you “Allow Notifications” to fix them. Once users fall into the trap and click “allow,” the site bombards their systems with obnoxious pop-up ads 24/7 — whether their browsers are open or not.
Key characteristics:
Deceptive Push Notifications: Fake system warnings and alerts coerce users into enabling push notifications on their devices.
Unwanted Pop-up Ads: If Check-it-out-first.com is allowed to send notifications to your device, it will serve obnoxious ads through them.
Pop-up Blocker Circumvention: By coercing users into enabling push notifications, Check-it-out-first.com can get around browser pop-up blockers.
Why am I seeing these ads?
If out of nowhere a boatload of Check-it-out-first.com pop-ups hits your screen, then odds are good you accidentally enabled push notification permission for the site. The site uses a number of tactics to make this happen, including fake error pages, hidden notification prompts, redirects, software bundling and social engineering.
Steps to Remove Check-it-out-first.com Pop-up Ads
Knowing how to fight back is crucial. Experts suggest following these steps in order to successfully remove Check-it-out-first.com’s influence from your system: Revoke the site’s permission to send you notifications through your browser settings, run a deep scan of your system with reputable antivirus software to find and kill any malware that may be lurking on it, practice safe browsing techniques and habits to avoid future incidents and consider installing ad-blocking or anti-tracking tools as an added layer of protection from similar threats in the future.
Remove Permission for Push Notifications
Withdraw access to Check-it-out-first.com in your browser settings to halt additional notifications.
For Windows:
- Using System Settings:
- Go to Settings > System > Notifications & actions.
- Scroll down to the Notifications section.
- Find the browser (e.g., Chrome, Firefox) and turn off notifications.
- Using Registry Editor (Advanced Users):
- Press
Win + Rto open the Run dialog, typeregedit, and press Enter. - Navigate to
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPushNotifications. - Change the value of
ToastEnabledto0.
- Press
For macOS:
- Using System Preferences:
- Open System Preferences > Notifications.
- Select the browser from the list (e.g., Safari, Chrome).
- Uncheck Allow Notifications.
For Android:
- Using App Settings:
- Go to Settings > Apps & notifications > See all apps.
- Find your browser and select it.
- Tap on Notifications and toggle them off.
- Using Notification Settings:
- Swipe down to open the notification shade.
- Long-press the notification from the browser.
- Tap on Turn off notifications.
For iOS:
- Using Settings:
- Open the Settings app.
- Go to Notifications.
- Find and select the browser (e.g., Safari, Chrome).
- Toggle off Allow Notifications.
Using Third-Party Software:
- Ad-blockers and Privacy Extensions:
- Install ad-blockers or privacy extensions like uBlock Origin, AdBlock Plus, or Privacy Badger.
- These can help in blocking unwanted notifications and pop-ups.
- Firewall Applications:
- Use firewall applications to block internet access for browsers when not in use, which can help in reducing notifications.
For Linux:
- Using GNOME Settings:
- Open Settings > Notifications.
- Find the browser and turn off notifications.
General Method:
- Editing Hosts File:
- This method can block specific websites from sending notifications by editing the hosts file.
- Add entries to the hosts file to block notification URLs.
Scan Your PC for Malware
Use tools like Malwarebytes (recommended), AdwCleaner, ESET Online Scanner, Sophos HitmanPRO, and Adware Removal Tool by TSA to thoroughly scan and clean your system.
Combo Cleaner
Combo Cleaner is a cleaning and antivirus program for Mac, PC, and Android devices. It is equipped with features to protect devices from various types of malware, including spyware, trojans, ransomware, and adware. The software includes tools for on-demand scans to remove and prevent malware, adware, and ransomware infections. It also offers features like a disk cleaner, big files finder (free), duplicate files finder (free), privacy scanner, and application uninstaller.
Follow the installation instructions to install the application on your device. Open Combo Cleaner after installation.
- Click the "Start scan" button to initiate a malware removal scan.
- Wait for Combo Cleaner to detect malware threats on your computer.
- When the Scan is finished, Combo Cleaner will show the found malware.
- Click "Move to Quarantine" to move the found malware to quarantine, where it can't harm your computer anymore.
- A malware scan summary is shown to inform you about all threats found.
- Click "Done" to close the scan.
Use Combo Cleaner regularly to keep your device clean and protected. Combo Cleaner will remain active on your computer to protect your computer from future threats that try to attack your computer. If you have any questions or issues, Combo Cleaner offers a dedicated support team available 24/7.
Enjoy your adware-free computer. Thanks for reading!