Equaffism

Equaffism.com is a rogue website that relies on fake scenarios and misleading messages to take advantage of its visitors. More specifically, the website uses a tactic called push notification spam to bombard victims with unwanted pop-up ads even when their browsers are closed. Equaffism.com achieves this by tricking victims into subscribing to its push notifications. One of the messages utilized by the site creates the impression that visitors must pass a CAPTCHA check by stating - 'Click Allow to confirm that you are not a robot.'

Once a victim has subscribed to the Equaffism.com notifications, they will start receiving spam pop-ups directly on their device. These pop-ups can be for a variety of unwanted content, including adult sites, online web games, fake software updates, and unwanted programs. These pop-ups can be intrusive and annoying and can even lead to further issues. Indeed, users could be presented with ads for intrusive PUPs (Potentially Unwanted Programs) or taken to various online scams, fake giveaways, phishing schemes, tech support scams, etc.

Why Rogue Sites Like Equaffism Exploit Browsers’ Push Notifications Feature

The use of push notification spam is a particularly insidious tactic because it bypasses the user's browser settings and can be difficult to remove. Victims may find that even after uninstalling the browser and clearing their cache, the pop-ups continue to appear. This is because the subscription to Equaffism.com's push notifications is saved on the server and can be reactivated after the browser is removed.

Instead, users can stop unwanted push notifications generated by rogue websites by adjusting their browser settings. Most modern browsers, including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Safari, allow users to manage push notifications on a site-by-site basis.

To do this, users can go to their browser settings and look for the section labeled "Notifications" or "Site settings." From there, they can view a list of sites that have requested permission to send push notifications and choose whether to allow or block each one.

If a user wants to block push notifications from all sites by default, they can usually find an option to turn off notifications entirely or to block them from sites that haven't been explicitly granted permission.

Make Sure to Spot Fake CAPTCHA Checks

A fake CAPTCHA check can be identified by several signs that indicate it is not a legitimate verification process. These signs may include:

• No challenge: A real CAPTCHA check presents the user with a challenge to complete, such as identifying letters or numbers in an image. A fake CAPTCHA check may skip this step and simply ask the user to click a button or provide personal information.

• Poor design: A legitimate CAPTCHA check typically has a clear and consistent design that is easy to recognize. A fake CAPTCHA check may have poor graphics or use different styles on different pages.

• No validation: A real CAPTCHA check validates the user's response to ensure it is correct. A fake CAPTCHA check may not perform any validation or may accept any input as valid.

• Unnecessary personal information: A fake CAPTCHA check may ask the user to provide personal information that is not needed for verification purposes, such as their email address or phone number.

• No change in behavior: A real CAPTCHA check typically changes the behavior of the site or application, such as by allowing the user to access a protected resource. A fake CAPTCHA check may not have any effect on the site's behavior and simply serve as a distraction or a way to collect information from the user.

Users must be aware of these signs and to be cautious when presented with a CAPTCHA check that does not seem legitimate.