How to Stop Spam Notifications from Your Browser

The Problem

Notifications sliding in from the bottom-right of the screen — fake virus warnings, "your PC is infected", betting offers, adult content — are not a virus. They are web push notifications from sites you granted permission to, usually by clicking Allow on a prompt that was deliberately disguised as a captcha, a video player, or an age check.

Because they use Windows' own notification system, they appear even when the browser looks closed, which is exactly why people mistake them for malware. Revoking the permission stops them completely.

Symptoms

• Alerts appear in the corner of the screen with a site name underneath.
• They claim your PC is infected, your antivirus expired, or you have won something.
• They continue when no browser window is open.
• They started after clicking Allow on a "click Allow to confirm you are not a robot" prompt.

Step 1: Identify Which Site Is Sending Them

1. When a notification appears, read the small text at the bottom — it names the site and the browser.
2. Or open Settings → System → Notifications and look at the app list. Notifications from a website are grouped under the browser.
3. Note the site name; you will remove it specifically in the next step.

Step 2: Revoke Notification Permission in Chrome

1. Open Chrome and go to:

   chrome://settings/content/notifications
   

2. Under Allowed to send notifications, click the ⋮ next to each site you do not recognise → Remove.
3. Scroll up and set the default to Don't allow sites to send notifications. This stops every future prompt.
4. If you want prompts but quieter, choose Use quieter messaging instead.
5. Restart Chrome.

Step 3: Revoke Them in Edge and Firefox

1. Edge: go to

   edge://settings/content/notifications
   

   Remove every unwanted entry under Allow, then turn off Ask before sending.
2. Firefox: open

   about:preferences#privacy
   

   Scroll to Permissions → Notifications → Settings, remove the sites, and tick Block new requests asking to allow notifications.
3. Do this in every browser installed, including ones you rarely open — the spam often comes from the one you forgot about.

Step 4: Turn Off Windows Notifications for the Browser as a Backstop

1. Open Settings → System → Notifications.
2. Find the browser in the list and turn it off entirely if you never want notifications from it.
3. This is a blunt instrument — it also blocks legitimate notifications from sites like your calendar or email, so prefer Steps 2 and 3 where you can.
4. While you are here, turn off Windows' own promotional prompts: untick Get tips and suggestions when using Windows and, under Additional settings, Suggest ways to get the most out of Windows.
5. Related: fix Windows 11 notifications not working if you have the opposite problem.

Step 5: Check for Extensions and Programs Behind Them

If notifications persist after revoking every site, something else is generating them.

1. Check installed extensions: chrome://extensions, edge://extensions, about:addons. Remove anything unfamiliar.
2. Open Settings → Apps → Installed apps, sort by Install date, and uninstall recent programs you do not recognise.
3. Check Task Manager → Startup apps for unfamiliar entries: disable startup programs.
4. Run a scan: Windows Security → Virus & threat protection → Scan options → Full scan. Also run a free Malwarebytes scan, which catches adware that antivirus classes as merely unwanted.

Step 6: Check the Browser's Sync

If you use Chrome or Edge sync, permissions travel between your devices.

1. Repeat Step 2 on every device signed in to the same browser account — phone included.
2. On Android, permissions live in Chrome under Settings → Site settings → Notifications.
3. Otherwise a phone with the permission still granted can re-sync it back to the PC.

Step 7: Learn to Recognise the Trick

The prompt is designed to look like something else. The genuine Chrome or Edge prompt always appears at the top-left, under the address bar, and names the site.

Treat these as a hard no:

• "Click Allow to confirm you are not a robot"
• "Click Allow to continue watching / to download the file"
• "Press Allow to close this window"
• Any age-verification or captcha that needs a browser permission

Anything genuinely important on the web works without notification permission. When in doubt, click Block — nothing legitimate breaks.

Step 8: Reset the Browser If Settings Will Not Stick

1. Chrome: chrome://settings/reset → Restore settings to their original defaults.
2. Edge: edge://settings/reset. Firefox: about:support → Refresh Firefox.
3. Bookmarks and saved passwords survive; cookies and site permissions are cleared, which is the point.
4. Then clear the rest: clear browser cache and cookies.

What Not to Do

• Never click the notification itself, not even to dismiss it. Use the X, or right-click → turn off notifications for that source. Clicking through is how a fake alert becomes a real infection.
• Never call a phone number shown in one of these alerts. That is a tech support scam.
• Don't install a "notification blocker" extension. The browser setting already does this and costs nothing.
• Don't pay for the "antivirus" being advertised. No real security product markets itself through browser push notifications.

Still Not Working?

If notifications continue after every site permission is revoked and both scans come back clean, check whether a second browser is running in the background — Edge often is on Windows 11. Also check Settings → Apps → Startup for a browser launching at sign-in with a background process.

As a final check, look for a PWA or "installed" web app: chrome://apps in Chrome, and Settings → Apps → Installed apps in Windows, where installed sites appear as normal programs.

If the prompts keep returning, the source is usually an extension rather than a site — audit every extension you have installed and remove anything you do not recognise.