Wholefreshstories.com Pushes Intrusive Ads
During our examination of unreliable websites, our researchers came across the fraudulent webpage wholefreshstories.com. This site is specifically designed to engage in browser notification spam and redirect users to various, often dubious or malicious, websites.
The majority of visitors to wholefreshstories.com and similar webpages reach them through redirects facilitated by sites utilizing deceitful advertising networks. It's important to note that the content displayed on rogue websites may vary based on the visitor's IP address or geolocation.
Upon accessing wholefreshstories.com, we encountered misleading instructions and a continuously loading progress bar fluctuating between 98% and 99%. The page featured the following message: "Click the Allow button to subscribe to the push notifications and continue watching." These instructions suggest that users need to enable wholefreshstories.com to show browser notifications in order to resume viewing online content.
After clicking the "Allow" button on wholefreshstories.com, we were redirected to the promotional page of Your Errors Plug adware.
Rogue websites exploit their notification feature to conduct intrusive advertising campaigns. These advertisements predominantly endorse online scams, unreliable or harmful software, and potential malware.
How Can Clicking 'Allow' on Unfamiliar Pages Infect Your Browser?
Clicking 'Allow' on unfamiliar pages can lead to browser infections through a mechanism known as browser notification abuse. Here's how this process works:
Deceptive Requests:
Untrustworthy websites often display deceptive messages prompting users to click the 'Allow' button. These messages may claim to be necessary for accessing content, viewing videos, confirming age, or other seemingly innocuous reasons.
Browser Notification Feature:
The 'Allow' button is associated with the browser's notification feature, designed to provide users with timely updates from websites. However, scammers exploit this feature for malicious purposes.
Notification Spam:
Once the 'Allow' button is clicked, the website gains permission to send browser notifications. Malicious sites abuse this permission by bombarding users with unwanted and intrusive notification spam.
Redirection to Malicious Content:
After granting permission, users might be redirected to other pages, potentially leading to malicious or phishing sites. These pages can host scams, fake software downloads, or further attempts to deceive users.
Social Engineering Tactics:
Scammers often use social engineering tactics to trick users into allowing notifications. Messages may claim that notifications are required to access content, watch videos, or continue browsing, creating a false sense of necessity.
Infection with Adware or Malware:
Clicking 'Allow' on unfamiliar pages can lead to the delivery of adware or malware. Notifications may display fake alerts, advertisements, or prompts that, when interacted with, initiate the download and installation of malicious software.
Unwanted Ad Campaigns:
Malicious notifications can be used to run intrusive advertising campaigns. Users may be exposed to ads promoting scams, questionable products, or services, leading to potential financial harm or unwanted software installations.
Browser Settings Modification:
Some malicious websites may attempt to modify browser settings, such as the default search engine or homepage, to redirect users to sponsored or malicious content.
To avoid these risks, it's crucial to exercise caution when encountering unfamiliar websites. Be skeptical of messages asking you to click 'Allow' for seemingly unnecessary reasons. If you mistakenly click 'Allow' and start receiving unwanted notifications, you can revoke the permission in your browser settings.
