How to remove Special-message.online pop-ups (Virus removal guide)

What is Special-message.online?

There are many scam websites on the Internet and Special-message.online is one of them. It is a misleading web page that uses the browser notification feature to trick unsuspecting users into subscribing to push notifications. Although push notifications cannot harm the users directly, scammers use them to display annoying advertisements, promote adware bundles, and encourage the users to visit unsafe web-sites.

The Special-message.online website says that you must subscribe to notifications in order to download a file, access the content of the web-site, enable Flash Player, watch a video, connect to the Internet, and so on. Once you press ALLOW, then your browser will be configured to display pop-up adverts in the lower right hand corner of the screen.

Threat Summary

Name	Special-message.online pop up
Type	spam push notifications, browser notification spam, pop-up virus
Distribution	PUPs, adware software, suspicious popup advertisements, social engineering attack
Symptoms	pop-up ads in bottom right corner of screen your web browser settings has modified without your permission pop-ups ads are loaded without your request your internet browser slows to a crawl
Removal	Special-message.online removal guide

How does your computer get infected with Special-message.online pop ups

Security researchers have determined that users are re-directed to Special-message.online by adware or from malicious ads. Adware’s basic purpose is to display ads. These advertisements are often presented as in-text links, pop-ups or push notifications. Clicks on the ads produce a monetary payoff for the software producers. Adware can work like Spyware, since it sends confidential information such as searches and trends to advertisers.

Usually, adware software gets into computers as part of a bundle with freeware, sharing files and other unsafe applications. The adware creators pay software makers for distributing adware within their applications. So, third-party programs is often included as part of the setup file. In order to avoid the install of any adware software: choose only Manual, Custom or Advanced installation option and disable all optional software in which you are unsure.

Remove Special-message.online notifications from web browsers

If you are in situation where you don’t want to see push notifications from the Special-message.online web page. In this case, you can turn off web notifications for your web browser in Windows/Apple Mac/Android. Find your internet browser in the list below, follow guide to remove browser permissions to display push notifications.

Google Chrome:

• In the top right hand corner of the Chrome window, expand the Chrome menu.
• Select ‘Settings’, scroll down to the bottom and click ‘Advanced’.
• At the ‘Privacy and Security’ section click ‘Site settings’.
• Click on ‘Notifications’.
• Locate the Special-message.online URL and get rid of it by clicking the three vertical dots on the right to the URL and select ‘Remove’.

Android:

• Open Google Chrome.
• In the top right hand corner, find and tap the Chrome menu (three dots).
• In the menu tap ‘Settings’, scroll down to ‘Advanced’.
• In the ‘Site Settings’, tap on ‘Notifications’, locate the Special-message.online site and tap on it.
• Tap the ‘Clean & Reset’ button and confirm.

Mozilla Firefox:

• In the right upper corner of the screen, click the Menu button, represented by three bars.
• Choose ‘Options’ and click on ‘Privacy & Security’ on the left hand side.
• Scroll down to ‘Permissions’ section and click ‘Settings…’ button next to ‘Notifications’.
• Select the Special-message.online domain from the list and change the status to ‘Block’.
• Click ‘Save Changes’ button.

Edge:

• Click the More button (three dots) in the top-right corner of the Edge.
• Click ‘Settings’. Click ‘Advanced’ on the left side of the window.
• Click ‘Manage permissions’ button under ‘Website permissions’.
• Disable the on switch for the Special-message.online URL.

Internet Explorer:

• Click the Gear button on the top-right corner of the window.
• When the drop-down menu appears, click on ‘Internet Options’.
• Select the ‘Privacy’ tab and click ‘Settings under ‘Pop-up Blocker’ section.
• Find the Special-message.online and click the ‘Remove’ button to delete the domain.

Safari:

• Click ‘Safari’ button on the left-upper corner and select ‘Preferences’.
• Select the ‘Websites’ tab and then select ‘Notifications’ section on the left panel.
• Check for Special-message.online domain, other dubious URLs and apply the ‘Deny’ option for each.

How to remove Special-message.online ads (removal tutorial)

The adware software is a form of malicious software that you might have difficulty in deleting it from your computer. Happily, you’ve found the effective Special-message.online ads removal instructions in this article. Both the manual removal solution and the automatic removal method will be provided below and you can just choose the one that best for you. If you have any questions or need help then type a comment below. Certain of the steps will require you to restart your PC or close this web site. So, read this guide carefully, then bookmark this page or open it on your smartphone for later reference.

To remove Special-message.online pop ups, use the following steps:

1. Remove Special-message.online notifications from web browsers
2. Manual Special-message.online pop-ups removal
   • Delete recently added PUPs
   • Remove Special-message.online popups from IE
   • Remove Special-message.online from Mozilla Firefox by resetting browser settings
   • Remove Special-message.online pop up advertisements from Google Chrome
3. Automatic Removal of Special-message.online pop-ups
4. Stop Special-message.online ads

Manual Special-message.online pop-ups removal

This part of the blog post is a step-by-step guidance that will show you how to remove Special-message.online advertisements manually. You just need to carefully complete each step. In this case, you do not need to install any additional tools.

Delete recently added PUPs

First method for manual adware removal is to go into the MS Windows “Control Panel”, then “Uninstall a program” console. Take a look at the list of programs on your personal computer and see if there are any suspicious and unknown apps. If you see any, you need to uninstall them. Of course, before doing so, you can do an Net search to find details on the program. If it is a potentially unwanted program, adware or malicious software, you will likely find information that says so.

Make sure you have closed all web-browsers and other programs. Next, remove any unrequested and suspicious programs from your Control panel.

Windows 10, 8.1, 8

Now, click the Windows button, type “Control panel” in search and press Enter. Choose “Programs and Features”, then “Uninstall a program”.

Look around the entire list of applications installed on your computer. Most likely, one of them is the adware that causes multiple unwanted pop-ups. Select the questionable application or the program that name is not familiar to you and delete it.

Windows Vista, 7

From the “Start” menu in Microsoft Windows, select “Control Panel”. Under the “Programs” icon, choose “Uninstall a program”.

Select the dubious or any unknown apps, then click “Uninstall/Change” button to uninstall this undesired program from your computer.

Windows XP

Click the “Start” button, select “Control Panel” option. Click on “Add/Remove Programs”.

Select an undesired application, then click “Change/Remove” button. Follow the prompts.

Remove Special-message.online popups from IE

If you find that Microsoft Internet Explorer internet browser settings such as new tab, default search engine and startpage had been replaced by adware responsible for Special-message.online popup advertisements, then you may return your settings, via the reset browser procedure.

First, open the Internet Explorer, then press ‘gear’ icon . It will open the Tools drop-down menu on the right part of the internet browser, then click the “Internet Options” like below.

In the “Internet Options” screen, select the “Advanced” tab, then click the “Reset” button. The Internet Explorer will show the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” prompt. Further, click the “Delete personal settings” check box to select it. Next, press the “Reset” button as displayed on the image below.

After the process is finished, click “Close” button. Close the Internet Explorer and restart your device for the changes to take effect. This step will help you to restore your browser’s default search provider, new tab and home page to default state.

Remove Special-message.online from Mozilla Firefox by resetting browser settings

This step will help you remove Special-message.online ads, third-party toolbars, disable harmful extensions and restore your default startpage, new tab and search provider settings.

First, start the Mozilla Firefox. Next, press the button in the form of three horizontal stripes (). It will display the drop-down menu. Next, click the Help button ().

In the Help menu click the “Troubleshooting Information”. In the upper-right corner of the “Troubleshooting Information” page click on “Refresh Firefox” button as displayed on the image below.

Confirm your action, click the “Refresh Firefox”.

Remove Special-message.online pop up advertisements from Google Chrome

Reset Chrome settings will help you to completely reset your web browser. The result of activating this function will bring Google Chrome settings back to its default state. This can remove Special-message.online popups and disable harmful extensions. When using the reset feature, your personal information like passwords, bookmarks, browsing history and web form auto-fill data will be saved.

First run the Chrome. Next, press the button in the form of three horizontal dots ().

It will display the Chrome menu. Select More Tools, then click Extensions. Carefully browse through the list of installed extensions. If the list has the extension signed with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following guide: Remove Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy.

Open the Google Chrome menu once again. Further, click the option called “Settings”.

The web browser will open the settings screen. Another solution to show the Chrome’s settings – type chrome://settings in the web browser adress bar and press Enter

Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the “Advanced” link. Now scroll down until the “Reset” section is visible, as shown in the figure below and click the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.

The Chrome will show the confirmation prompt as displayed in the figure below.

You need to confirm your action, press the “Reset” button. The web-browser will start the process of cleaning. Once it’s complete, the web browser’s settings including new tab, search engine and start page back to the values which have been when the Google Chrome was first installed on your device.

Automatic Removal of Special-message.online pop-ups

Is your Windows device hijacked with adware software? Then do not worry, in the following guidance, we are sharing best malware removal utilities which can get rid of Special-message.online pop up advertisements from the Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer and Firefox and your computer.

How to get rid of Special-message.online pop up ads with Zemana AntiMalware (ZAM)

You can download and use the Zemana Anti-Malware for free. This anti malware tool will scan all the registry entries and files in your computer along with the system settings and internet browser addons. If it finds any malicious software, adware or malicious extension that is causing redirect in your web browsers to the Special-message.online then the Zemana AntiMalware will remove them from your PC completely.

Download Zemana AntiMalware (ZAM) from the following link. Save it to your Desktop.

After the download is complete, close all windows on your PC. Further, run the install file called Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup. If the “User Account Control” prompt pops up similar to the one below, press the “Yes” button.

It will display the “Setup wizard” which will allow you install Zemana Anti-Malware (ZAM) on the device. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.

Once installation is finished successfully, Zemana Anti-Malware (ZAM) will automatically run and you may see its main window like below.

Next, click the “Scan” button to begin scanning your computer for the adware software related to the Special-message.online pop-up ads. This procedure can take some time, so please be patient. While the Zemana Anti-Malware (ZAM) program is checking, you can see how many objects it has identified as threat.

Once finished, Zemana AntiMalware (ZAM) will show a list of found items. In order to delete all items, simply click “Next” button.

The Zemana Anti Malware (ZAM) will delete adware that causes pop-ups. When the procedure is finished, you may be prompted to restart your PC system.

Remove Special-message.online ads from web-browsers with Hitman Pro

In order to make sure that no more harmful folders and files linked to adware are inside your computer, you must use another effective malware scanner. We recommend to use Hitman Pro. No installation is necessary with this tool.

Visit the page linked below to download HitmanPro. Save it to your Desktop so that you can access the file easily.

Once the download is finished, open the file location and double-click the Hitman Pro icon. It will launch the Hitman Pro utility. If the User Account Control prompt will ask you want to start the application, press Yes button to continue.

Next, press “Next” for checking your computer for the adware that causes the annoying Special-message.online pop ups. This process may take quite a while, so please be patient. During the scan Hitman Pro will look for threats present on your computer.

When HitmanPro is complete scanning your device, HitmanPro will show you the results such as the one below.

Review the scan results and then press “Next” button. It will show a dialog box, click the “Activate free license” button. The HitmanPro will remove adware that causes multiple annoying popups. Once that process is done, the utility may ask you to restart your PC.

Remove Special-message.online pop-up ads with MalwareBytes Anti Malware

We suggest using the MalwareBytes Anti-Malware which are completely clean your computer of the adware. The free tool is an advanced malicious software removal program created by (c) Malwarebytes lab. This application uses the world’s most popular anti malware technology. It’s able to help you remove unwanted Special-message.online pop up advertisements from your internet browsers, PUPs, malicious software, browser hijackers, toolbars, ransomware and other security threats from your PC system for free.

Installing the MalwareBytes Free is simple. First you’ll need to download MalwareBytes on your computer from the following link.

When the downloading process is complete, close all windows on your computer. Further, start the file named MBSetup. If the “User Account Control” prompt pops up as displayed on the image below, click the “Yes” button.

It will display the Setup wizard that will help you setup MalwareBytes Anti Malware on the computer. Follow the prompts and don’t make any changes to default settings.

Once installation is finished successfully, click “Get Started” button. Then MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) will automatically start and you can see its main window as shown below.

Next, click the “Scan” button to perform a system scan for the adware that causes pop-ups. This procedure can take quite a while, so please be patient. While the tool is scanning, you can see count of objects and files has already scanned.

Once MalwareBytes AntiMalware completes the scan, MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) will display a screen that contains a list of malware that has been detected. Review the scan results and then press “Quarantine” button.

The MalwareBytes will remove adware responsible for Special-message.online advertisements. Once that process is complete, you can be prompted to restart your computer. We suggest you look at the following video, which completely explains the process of using the MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) to remove browser hijackers, adware software and other malicious software.

Stop Special-message.online ads

Use ad-blocker application such as AdGuard in order to stop advertisements, malvertisements, pop-ups and online trackers, avoid having to install harmful and adware browser plug-ins and add-ons which affect your computer performance and impact your PC system security. Surf the Internet anonymously and stay safe online!

Please go to the following link to download AdGuard. Save it on your MS Windows desktop.

After downloading it, run the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” screen as displayed below.

Follow the prompts. After the install is done, you will see a window as displayed in the figure below.

You can click “Skip” to close the installation program and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” button to see an quick tutorial which will help you get to know AdGuard better.

In most cases, the default settings are enough and you do not need to change anything. Each time, when you start your computer, AdGuard will start automatically and stop undesired ads, block Special-message.online, as well as other harmful or misleading web-pages. For an overview of all the features of the application, or to change its settings you can simply double-click on the AdGuard icon, which can be found on your desktop.

Finish words

Now your PC should be free of the adware that causes multiple intrusive pop ups. We suggest that you keep Zemana AntiMalware (ZAM) (to periodically scan your PC for new adwares and other malicious software) and AdGuard (to help you stop unwanted popup ads and harmful websites). Moreover, to prevent any adware, please stay clear of unknown and third party applications, make sure that your antivirus program, turn on the option to scan for PUPs.

If you need more help with Special-message.online ads related issues, go to here.