prizestash.com is a deceptive website for two reasons. First of all, it displays a scam that claims visitors have won a Bank of America gift card worth $1,000. It also tries to trick users into allowing ads on their desktops. It does that by misusing a legitimate browser feature that allows sites to ask for permission to show notifications on users’ desktops. This is why you get a browser alert saying “prizestash.com wants to show notifications” as soon as you enter the site.
The prizestash.com website is currently displaying a scam that intends to steal users’ personal information. The site claims that you can get a $1,000 Bank of America card. If you engage with the scam, you will be asked to provide your personal information. The site also prompts the browser to show you an alert saying “prizestash.com wants to show notifications”. While this feature is legitimate, prizestash.com is misusing it for spamming ads. Thus, if you click “Allow”, ads will start appearing on your desktop. It’s important to note that while many of these ads will be annoying, some may direct you to harmful content like scams and malware. If you’ve already allowed notifications, it’s best to refrain from clicking on them and to revoke that permission as soon as you can. You can easily revoke these permissions if your browser’s settings. Instructions on how to do this can be found at the end of this report.
What is causing you to get redirected to sites like prizestash.com?
If you find yourself frequently being redirected to questionable websites like prizestash.com, the redirects are likely triggered by the sites you visit. Many websites, especially those featuring adult content or pirated materials, often use aggressive advertising strategies to generate revenue. That means bombarding users with redirects and ads when users click on anything. However, a decent adblocker program can help block these ads and redirects.
If you notice regular redirects, it might be a sign that your computer has adware installed. Adware can increase the number of ads you see and trigger frequent redirects. However, adware is typically not a severe issue and often enters your system through a method known as software bundling. This controversial method allows programs to be installed without your explicit permission, which is why programs that use it are often flagged as a potential threat by many anti-virus programs.
Software bundling involves adding adware, browser hijackers, and similar programs as optional extra offers to popular free programs. These extra offers are hidden in settings that users don’t check, making it easy to overlook them. Unless you manually deselect these offers during installation, they will be installed along with the main application without your knowledge.
When installing programs, you can choose which settings you want to use. While Default settings will be recommended by the installation window, these settings conceal the added offers, allowing their automatic installation. To avoid this, opt for Advanced (Custom) settings, which will clearly display all offers and allow you to remove any that you do not wish to install.
Given the issues associated with software bundling, it’s best to not install programs that use this method. Allowing these installations will clutter your system with junk, some of which may be challenging to remove later.
How to stop prizestash.com redirects
The redirects to prizestash.com are probably happening because of certain websites you are visiting. Using a reliable adblocker program will resolve the issue as the redirects will be blocked. If these redirects are caused by adware, it would be necessary to remove the infection. We recommend running a scan on your computer with an anti-malware tool because of this.
If you have allowed the site to send you notifications, you can easily revoke this permission through your browser’s settings. If you need assistance navigating those settings, you can find detailed instructions below. Additionally, you can choose to disable this feature completely if you prefer not to receive notification requests in the future.
- Mozilla Firefox: Open the menu (the three bars at the top-right corner), click Options, then Privacy & Security. Scroll down to Permissions, press Settings next to Notifications, and remove prizestash.com and any other questionable websites from the list. It’s possible to permanently turn off push notification requests by checking the “Block new requests asking to allow notifications” box in the same Notifications settings.
- Google Chrome: Open the menu (the three dots top-right corner), then Settings, then Privacy and security, then Site Settings. Click on Notifications under Permissions, and remove prizestash.com and any other questionable websites from the list. It’s possible to permanently turn off push notification requests by toggling off “Sites can ask to send notifications”.
- Microsoft Edge: Open the menu (the three dots top-right corner), then Settings, then Cookies and site permissions, then Notifications. Review which sites have permission and remove prizestash.com and any other questionable websites from the list. It’s possible to permanently turn off push notification requests by toggling off “Ask before sending”.
Site Disclaimer
2-remove-virus.com is not sponsored, owned, affiliated, or linked to malware developers or distributors that are referenced in this article. The article does not promote or endorse any type of malware. We aim at providing useful information that will help computer users to detect and eliminate the unwanted malicious programs from their computers. This can be done manually by following the instructions presented in the article or automatically by implementing the suggested anti-malware tools.
The article is only meant to be used for educational purposes. If you follow the instructions given in the article, you agree to be contracted by the disclaimer. We do not guarantee that the artcile will present you with a solution that removes the malign threats completely. Malware changes constantly, which is why, in some cases, it may be difficult to clean the computer fully by using only the manual removal instructions.