FAQ
Browser hijacks
Step-by-step help to turn off unwanted website notifications and restore a homepage or search engine that changed on a computer or phone.
FAQ
Browser hijacks
Use this URL in emails so it opens this section.
Why am I getting pop-ups that are not from SOS TECH?+
Those are browser notifications. A website asked for permission, someone clicked Allow, and the browser now shows toasts even when you are on another page. They are not an SOS TECH alert, and they are not proof the computer is infected. Block new requests and remove the sites that already have permission. The steps for Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari are on this page.
How do I turn website notifications off?+
Use the browser you have open. Block new notification requests, then remove every site that is already allowed. The steps below cover Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari, iPhone, and Android.
Work through the browser you actually use. When the list of allowed sites is empty and new requests are blocked, the toasts stop. Do not install a cleaner that a pop-up recommended.
Google Chrome on a computer
- Click the three-dot menu, then Settings. Or paste
chrome://settings/content/notificationsinto the address bar and press Enter. - If you used the menu: Privacy and security → Site settings → Notifications.
- Choose Don’t allow sites to send notifications. That stops the “this site wants to send notifications” prompt.
- Under Allowed to send notifications, click the three-dot menu beside each site and choose Remove. Keep going until that list is empty. Sites you still want, such as your email, can be allowed again later from the site itself.
- Close every Chrome window and open it again.
Microsoft Edge on a computer
- Click the three-dot menu, then Settings. Or paste
edge://settings/content/notificationsinto the address bar and press Enter. - If you used the menu: Cookies and site permissions → Notifications.
- Turn off Ask before sending.
- Under Allow, click the three-dot menu beside each site and choose Remove until none are left.
- If a toast still appears on the Windows desktop, open Windows Settings → System → Notifications and turn notifications off for Microsoft Edge.
Firefox on a computer
- Click the menu button, then Settings. Or paste
about:preferences#privacyinto the address bar and press Enter. - Scroll to Permissions. Next to Notifications, click Settings.
- Click Remove All Websites.
- Check Block new requests asking to allow notifications.
- Click Save Changes, then restart Firefox.
Safari on a Mac
- In the menu bar, open Safari → Settings. On an older Mac that menu says Preferences.
- Open the Websites tab, then Notifications in the left column.
- Select each site in the list and click Remove, or set the menu on the right to Deny.
- Uncheck Allow websites to ask for permission to send notifications.
- Quit Safari with Safari → Quit Safari, then open it again.
iPhone or iPad
- Open the Settings app → Notifications.
- Scroll for website names you do not recognize and turn Allow Notifications off for each one.
- In Safari, open a site that is still noisy. Tap the page menu (the icon at the left of the address bar), then Website Settings, and set Notifications to Deny.
Android, in Chrome
- Open Chrome and tap the three-dot menu → Settings.
- Tap Site settings → Notifications.
- Turn off Notifications so sites cannot ask again.
- Open each site still listed under Allowed and tap Clear & reset, or Remove.
My homepage or search engine changed. What now?+
Put the search engine and homepage back yourself, then remove extensions you did not install. If the old page returns after a restart, reset that browser. The steps below are separated by browser.
A changed homepage or search box is usually an extension or a search engine the browser was told to use. Put the search engine back first, then remove anything you did not install. Skip any download that offers to clean the browser for you.
Google Chrome on a computer
- Paste
chrome://settings/searchinto the address bar and press Enter. Or open the three-dot menu → Settings → Search engine. - Set “Search engine used in the address bar” back to Google, Bing, or whichever one you chose yourself.
- Click Manage search engines and site search. Remove any engine you do not recognize, especially one that was added recently.
- Paste
chrome://settings/onStartup. Choose Open the New Tab page, or a page you typed yourself. Remove any startup page you did not add. - Paste
chrome://settings/appearance. If Show home button is on, check the address beside it and change it if it points somewhere unexpected. - Paste
chrome://extensions. Turn off, then Remove, every extension you do not recognize. Pay attention to anything that says it can change your search engine or new tab page. - If the old page comes back after a restart: three-dot menu → Settings → Reset settings → Restore settings to their original defaults → Reset settings. Bookmarks and saved passwords stay. Extensions are turned off.
Microsoft Edge on a computer
- Paste
edge://settings/searchand set the address-bar search engine back to the one you use. - Open Manage search engines and delete any engine you do not recognize.
- Open the three-dot menu → Settings → Start, home, and new tabs. Set the new-tab page and the home button to a page you trust, and remove extra pages under “Open these pages.”
- Paste
edge://extensionsand remove extensions you did not install. - If it returns: Settings → Reset settings → Restore settings to their default values. That does not delete favorites.
Firefox on a computer
- Paste
about:preferences#search. Set Default Search Engine back to the one you want. - Lower on that page, under Search Shortcuts, remove any one-click engine you do not recognize.
- Paste
about:preferences#home. Set Homepage and new windows, and New tabs, to Firefox Home or a page you typed. Clear a custom address you did not choose. - Paste
about:addons. Open Extensions and remove anything you did not install. Check Themes as well if the browser looks unfamiliar. - If it returns: menu → Help → More troubleshooting information → Refresh Firefox. This keeps bookmarks and passwords and removes added extensions.
Safari on a Mac
- Safari → Settings → Search. Set Search engine back to the one you use.
- Safari → Settings → General. Check Homepage, “New windows open with,” and “New tabs open with.” Change any address you did not set.
- Safari → Settings → Extensions. Turn off, then uninstall, anything you do not use.
- If the page returns after a restart, open System Settings → General → Login Items and remove a program you do not recognize. That program is often what puts the page back.
If the homepage changes again after a reset, a program outside the browser is still installed. That is worth a call to (603) 556-4055. Contracted clients are first in line. Do not pay a website that says it already scanned the computer.
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