Stop Smscoldne.xyz redirects

Smscoldne.xyz is a questionable website with no content that aims to trick you into allowing ads on your desktop. It misuses a legitimate browser feature, which is why you’ll see a browser alert saying “Smscoldne.xyz wants to show notifications” as soon as you enter the website. We don’t recommend allowing it to show notifications because you could be exposed to highly unreliable content. The site itself isn’t safe, its notifications won’t be either.

 

 

Even if sites like Smscoldne.xyz misuse it, the feature is legitimate. It can also be pretty useful. As long as a site you want to give permission to is safe, you can allow it to show notifications. If there is a site you frequent and wish to see more of its content, you can allow its notifications on your desktop. What the notifications show depends on what the site usually posts. For example, if you give a news website permission, alerts with important news would be shown on your desktop. If you give a travel site permission, it would show alerts with new travel destinations or discounts. When you get sick of the notifications, you can simply revoke that permission. If you don’t know what to do, use the directions provided at the end of the report.

Sites like Smscoldne.xyz often misuse these kinds of features for their own benefit. Oftentimes, these kinds of sites pretend to be news, entertainment, video game, etc. but don’t actually contain any content at all. Smscoldne.xyz only has an image and directions showing how to allow the site to show notifications. As soon as you’re redirected to the site, a browser alert will appear saying “Smscoldne.xyz wants to show notifications”. Clicking “Allow” will essentially allow the site to spam your desktop with ads. Considering that the site is not safe, allowing it to show notifications is not a good idea. The ads it displays could expose you to all kinds of questionable content, including scams and ever malware. So the sooner you revoke its permission, the better.

If there’s no obvious reason why you may be redirected to Smscoldne.xyz, your computer may be infected with adware. It’s a minor but very annoying infection, removing which would stop the redirects completely. However, you should also install an adblocker program to block all random redirects, especially if you frequent high-risk websites.

What triggers random redirects?

Depending on how often the redirects occur and when they happen, the solution to stopping them is different. If you’re redirected when browsing high-risk websites, the sites are likely at fault. Some websites are considered to be high-risk because of the ads they host. For example, sites with pornographic or pirated content are considered to be high-risk because clicking on anything on those sites will trigger redirects. If you want to stop the redirects, you need to install an adblocker program. But if the redirects seemingly happen randomly even when visiting safe sites, your computer likely has an adware infection. If adware is the issue, removing it would stop the redirects.

In case you’re wondering how you picked up an adware infection, it probably came attached to a free program you installed. Adware, browser hijackers, and similar infections are often added to freeware as extra offers in what’s known as the software bundling method. The extra offers are permitted to install alongside programs automatically and without needing explicit permission. The offers are technically optional but because they are initially hidden, many users simply do not notice them. But preventing the offers from installing is very easy, as long as you pay attention when installing free programs.

During program installation, you will be asked to choose between Basic (Default) and Advanced (Custom) settings. The installation window will recommend that you use Default settings but if you follow this advice, all added offers will be hidden from you and permitted to install automatically. However, Advanced settings will make all added offers visible. You will also be given the option to deselect what you do not want. It’s generally recommended to deselect all offers, even if they seem useful at first sight. Software bundling is a very deceptive installation method, and programs that use it should not be permitted to install on your computer. If you allow their installations, you will only fill your computer with junk programs. And infections like adware can be quite persistent and difficult to get rid of once installed. It’s much easier to just deselect a couple of boxes when installing free programs.

Smscoldne.xyz removal

You’re most likely being redirected when browsing high-risk websites. If that’s the case, install an adblocker program to block all intrusive advertisements and random redirects. We also recommend scanning your computer with anti-virus software in case an adware infection is what’s triggering the redirects. Getting rid of adware is easiest using anti-virus programs because they do everything automatically. Removing the adware would immediately stop the redirects.

If you have given the site permission to show you notifications, we strongly recommend you revoke it. And the sooner you do it, the better. If you don’t know what to do, you can use the directions provided right below. In addition to Smscoldne.xyz, you should also remove all other questionable sites from the list.

• For Mozilla Firefox: Open menu (the three bars top-right corner) -> Options -> Privacy & Security. Scroll down to Permissions, press on Settings next to Notifications, and remove Smscoldne.xyz and any other questionable website. You can permanently turn off these notification requests by checking the “Block new requests asking to allow notifications” box in the same Notifications settings.
• For Google Chrome: Open menu (the three dots top-right corner) -> Settings -> Privacy and security -> Site Settings. Click on Notifications under Permissions, and remove Smscoldne.xyz and any other questionable website. You can stop these notification requests permanently by toggling off “Sites can ask to send notifications”.
• For Microsoft Edge: Open menu (the three dots top-right corner) -> Settings -> Cookies and site permissions -> Notifications. Review which sites have permission and remove Smscoldne.xyz and any other questionable website. You can permanently turn off these notification requests by toggling off “Ask before sending”.