rankcaptcha.top is an empty website that pushes a social engineering scam to trick users into allowing ads on their screens. This is done by misusing a legitimate browser feature that allows sites to ask for permission to show notifications on users’ screens. This is why you will see a browser alert saying “rankcaptcha.top wants to show notifications” as soon as you get redirected to the site. If you give it permission, it will strat spamming ads on your screen. This could lead to you being exposed to dangerous content, including scams and malware.
It should be noted that the feature for websites to display notifications is entirely legitimate. You can enable a website to display notifications as long as it is safe. You may even find the feature useful. If you enable notifications on a travel website, for instance, it would display updates about new travel destinations, blog entries, deals, etc. A news website would show important news on your screen. If you click on the notifications, you would be taken directly to the content. It’s easy to revoke the permission to show notifications if you grow tired of them. If you don’t know how to do it, use the directions provided at the end of this report.
It should come as no surprise that websites like rankcaptcha.top abuse this feature to spam users with spammy adverts. You won’t see any content on the site, besides an image of a robot and instructions saying you need to click “Allow” on the “rankcaptcha.top wants to show notifications” to prove you’re not a robot. The website is pretty questionable, so its notifications (aka ads) would be much worse. Instead of showing some kind of useful content, rankcaptcha.top will spam potentially dangerous ads. You could be exposed to various scams and even malware if you interact with them. So if you have given it permission, the sooner you revoke it, the better.
To identify the cause of your redirects, we recommend running a virus scan on your computer. If adware were to be the source of the redirects, removing it would stop them. Install an adblocker tool to prevent redirects when you visit risky websites if adware isn’t the issue.
If you’re redirected regularly, your computer may be infected with adware
The websites you visit are typically what cause the redirects to websites like rankcaptcha.top. Some sites can expose visitors to questionable ads as well as redirects, and visiting them without an adblocker program would be a mistake. This is especially the case with sites that have pornographic and/or pirated content. Fortunately, an adblocker program easily solves this.
Redirects can occasionally be triggered by an adware infection on the computer. You would be redirected frequently regardless of the website you are on if it is adware. Fortunately, it’s a rather minor infection that mainly focuses on exposing users to ads. Software bundling is the method used by these infections to install because it essentially allows them to sneak past users and install without explicit permission. What likely happened in your case is adware was attached as an extra offer to a free program you installed, and because you did not deselect it, it was able to install alongside the program. These offers are technically optional but you need to manually deselect them to prevent their installation. The fact that the offers are hidden in settings most users don’t use only hinders this. This is why the method is quite controversial.
You need to pay attention to the process if you want to stop unauthorized installation. You need to use Advanced (Custom) settings when given the choice rather than Default. Although the installation window will recommend you to use Default settings, following this advice is not recommended because these settings will conceal all offers, allowing their automatic installations. The offers will be visible if you choose Advanced settings, and you can reject the ones you don’t want. Generally, we advise deselecting every offer because you won’t benefit from any of them. Once fully installed, these offers can be quite difficult to get rid of, and it’s much easier to just deselect a few boxes during installation.
How to stop rankcaptcha.top ads?
You may need to scan your computer with an anti-virus program if you’re redirected on a regular basis. Adware can be quite tricky to identify and remove manually so it’s much easier to just use an anti-virus program. The redirects would immediately stop as soon as you remove the adware. It’s also a good idea to install an adblocker program to prevent redirects, especially when you browse high-risk websites.
Finally, if you have given rankcaptcha.top permission to show notifications, we strongly recommend you revoke that permission. It’s not difficult to do in your browser’s settings. You can use the instructions provided right below if you don’t know what to do. If you notice any other questionable website on the list of sites with permission, you should remove it/them as well. And keep in mind that only legitimate sites should be given permission. Otherwise, your screen will always be spammed with ads.
- 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 rankcaptcha.top 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 rankcaptcha.top 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 rankcaptcha.top 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.