2023 Annual Visitor Survey POP-UP SCAM (Virus removal guide)

What is 2023 Annual Visitor Survey SCAM?

2023 Annual Visitor Survey is a survey scam that invites unsuspecting users to participate in a survey and win a prize. It mainly targets computer users, although in some cases it may also targets users of Android phones, iPhones and iPads. Survey scams take many forms such as a website, call, email, text, social media post or an online ad. Their goal is to get users to call a number or click on a malicious link to a fake survey site, often offering “free” rewards such as smartphones, cash, gift cards, tech gadgets or travel as bait.

Scammers use different ways to promote Survey scams, usually WhatsApp, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and other social networks. In addition, 2023 Annual Visitor Survey can be promoted through deceptive ads, as well as Adware and potentially unwanted applications (PUAs).

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• What is 2023 Annual Visitor Survey SCAM?
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2023 Annual Visitor Survey Scam in detail

2023 Annual Visitor Survey says that you have a chance to win an Apple iPhone 11 Pro simply by taking a survey and answering a few simple questions. After answering the questions, you will be redirected to another phishing website containing a form that you must fill out with your personal data. The information collected in this way can be used to make fraudulent purchases and unauthorized transfers, to sell to criminals on the dark web, or other malicious purposes. Moreover, the criminals behind this scam can use stolen email addresses and phone numbers to send spam and malspam (spam emails containing malware or links to malware).

VirusTotal flagged a “2023 Annual Visitor Survey” page as malicious, malware and spam:

This scam is used primarily to steal the victims’ sensitive information, such as credit card details and personal identification numbers. Sometimes this scam is used to trick users into signing up for a “free trial” offer that’s actually an expensive subscription to products that users did not agree to buy.

Text presented in the “2023 Annual Visitor Survey” scam message:

Dear Chrome user,

You are today’s lucky visitor for: January 4, 2023

Please complete this short survey and to say “Thank You” we’ll give you a chance to get an Apple iPhone 11 Pro!

2023 Annual Visitor Survey
Browser Opinion survey
January 4, 2023
Congratulations!

You’ve been personally selected to take part in our 2023 Annual Visitor Survey! Tell us what you think of Chrome and to say “Thank You” you’ll receive a chance to get an Apple iPhone 11 Pro!
Question 1 of 4:
How often do you use Chrome?

Often scammers try not only to collect as much information as possible about their victims, but also to trick victims into allowing push notifications. Scammers use push notifications to promote ‘free’ online games, prize & lottery scams, malicious browser extensions, por*n websites, and fake downloads.

Here are some examples of the spam notifications:

To summarize, 2023 Annual Visitor Survey is a SCAM. It can lead to malware infection, loss of data, financial losses, theft of personal information and other serious problems.

Threat Summary

Name	2023 Annual Visitor Survey Scam
Type	survey scam, social engineering, phishing, fraud
Associated web-sites	satsakenap.live, histheyole.live, lifealsosen.live, aigigpace.live, absstarne.live
Distribution method	spam email campaigns, social networks, deceptive ads, adware and potentially unwanted applications
Symptoms	unwanted ads, fake security warnings, fake system messages, pop-up errors, spam notifications
Damage	malware infection, loss of personal data, disclosure of confidential information, financial losses
Removal	2023 Annual Visitor Survey removal guide

Examples of such scams

The “2023 Annual Visitor Survey” scam is not the only scam on the Internet that aims to deceive users into providing financial and/or personal information or to send money directly to the attacker. We have already reported other similar scams such as T-Mobile Customer Reward Program, Chrome search contest 2022, Win SAMSUNG GALAXY S22, Congratulations Dear Amazon Customer, Loyalty Program.

Where did “2023 Annual Visitor Survey” pop-ups come from

As mentioned above, the 2023 Annual Visitor Survey pop-ups are caused by Adware, malvertising (malicious advertisements), push notifications, followed by software downloads and redirects. Browser (push) notifications are originally developed to alert the user of recently published news. Cyber criminals abuse ‘push notifications’ by displaying unwanted ads. These ads are displayed in the lower right corner of the screen urges users to play online games, visit scam pages, install malicious browser add-ons & so on.

Adware is a term that originates from ‘ad software’. In many cases, ‘adware’ is considered by many to be synonymous with ‘malware’. Its purpose is to generate profit for its developer by serving unwanted advertisements to a user while the user is browsing the Internet.

Typically, adware ends up on personal computers bundled with freeware, malicious downloads, fake updates, shared files, and other unsafe software downloaded by users from the Internet. To avoid installing any adware: choose only the option of manual, custom or advanced installation and disable any third-party applications that you are not sure about.

How to protect against the 2023 Annual Visitor Survey scam

To avoid becoming a victim of scammers, it is important to always keep in mind:

• No one has ever received prizes promised by “survey scams”.
• Never trust “survey scams”, don’t click links and buttons they contain, it can be dangerous for you and your computer.
• Legitimate surveys do not require the disclosure of confidential, personal or financial information.
• Use the official website of the company sponsoring the survey to verify that the survey is legitimate.
• Close the “2023 Annual Visitor Survey” pop-up as soon as it appears on your computer screen. Scammers can prevent you from closing it in various ways. In such cases, close your browser using Task Manager or restart your computer. If the next time you launch the browser, it prompts you to restore the previous session, abandon it, otherwise this scam will reopen on your screen.
• Use an ad blocker when browsing the internet. It can block known scam sites and protect you from scammers.

How to get rid of “2023 Annual Visitor Survey” pop-ups (Adware removal guide)

We can help you remove “2023 Annual Visitor Survey” pop-ups from your browsers without the need to contact an IT technician. Just follow the removal instructions below. If you find it difficult to get rid scam pop-ups on your browser, feel free to contact us for help in the comments section below. Some steps will require you to restart your computer or exit this page. So, read this guide carefully and then bookmark this page or open it on your smartphone for future reference.

To remove 2023 Annual Visitor Survey, follow the steps below:

1. Remove spam notifications
2. Check the list of installed software
3. Remove 2023 Annual Visitor Survey pop up scam from Google Chrome
4. Remove 2023 Annual Visitor Survey from Mozilla Firefox
5. Remove 2023 Annual Visitor Survey pop-ups from Internet Explorer
6. Automatic Removal of Adware
7. Stop 2023 Annual Visitor Survey pop-ups

The step-by-step guide will help you manually remove “2023 Annual Visitor Survey” pop-ups from your computer. If you have little experience in using computers, we advise that you use free adware removers listed below.

Remove spam notifications

If you are receiving spam notifications, then you have previously clicked the “Allow” button. Below we will teach you how to turn them off.

Google Chrome:

• Click on ‘three dots menu’ button at the top-right corner of the Google Chrome window.
• Select ‘Settings’, scroll down to the bottom and click ‘Advanced’.
• At the ‘Privacy and Security’ section click ‘Site settings’.
• Click on ‘Notifications’.
• Locate a malicious site and click the three vertical dots button next to it, then click on ‘Remove’.

Android:

• Open Chrome.
• Tap on the Menu button (three dots) on the top right corner of the screen.
• In the menu tap ‘Settings’, scroll down to ‘Advanced’.
• In the ‘Site Settings’, tap on ‘Notifications’, locate a scam URL and tap on it.
• Tap the ‘Clean & Reset’ button and confirm.

Mozilla Firefox:

• In the top right corner, click the Firefox menu (three bars).
• In the drop-down menu select ‘Options’. In the left side select ‘Privacy & Security’.
• Scroll down to ‘Permissions’ section and click ‘Settings…’ button next to ‘Notifications’.
• Find suspicious URLs, click the drop-down menu and select ‘Block’.
• Click ‘Save Changes’ button.

Edge:

• Click the More button (three dots) in the top-right corner of the window.
• Scroll down, locate and click ‘Settings’. In the left side select ‘Advanced’.
• In the ‘Website permissions’ section click ‘Manage permissions’.
• Disable the on switch for scam domains.

Internet Explorer:

• Click the Gear button on the top-right corner of the browser.
• Select ‘Internet options’.
• Click on the ‘Privacy’ tab and select ‘Settings’ in the pop-up blockers section.
• Locate a scam site and click the ‘Remove’ button to delete the site.

Safari:

• Go to ‘Preferences’ in the Safari menu.
• Select the ‘Websites’ tab and then select ‘Notifications’ section on the left panel.
• Find a scam site and select it, click the ‘Deny’ button.

Check the list of installed software

The adware removal process is generally the same in all versions of Windows from 11 to XP. First you need to check the list of installed software on your computer and remove all unused, unknown and suspicious software.

Windows 7	Windows 8
Click ‘Start’. In the Start menu select ‘Control Panel’. Find and select ‘Programs and Features’ or ‘Uninstall a program’. Select the program. Click ‘Uninstall’.	Press and hold Windows key and hit X key. Select ‘Programs and Features’ from the menu. Select the program. Click ‘Uninstall’.
Windows 10	Mac OS
Press and hold Windows key and hit X key. Select ‘Programs and Features’ from the menu. Select the program. Click ‘Uninstall’.	On the top menu select ‘Go’, then ‘Applications’. Drag an unwanted application to the Trash bin. Right-click on the ‘Trash’ and select ‘Empty Trash’.

Remove “2023 Annual Visitor Survey” pop-ups from Google Chrome

This step will show you how to restore your original Chrome browser settings. This can remove rogue pop-ups and fix some browsing issues, especially after adware infection. However, your topics, bookmarks, history, passwords, and web form autofill data will not be deleted.

1. First start the Google Chrome and click Menu button (small button in the form of three dots).
2. It will show the Google Chrome main menu. Choose More Tools, then press Extensions.
3. You will see the list of installed add-ons. If the list has the extension labeled with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following guide: Remove Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy.
4. Now open the Chrome menu once again, click the “Settings” menu.
5. You will see the Google Chrome’s settings page. Scroll down and click “Advanced” link.
6. Scroll down again and click the “Reset” button.
7. The Chrome will display the reset profile settings page as shown on the image above.
8. Next press the “Reset” button.
9. Once this process is done, your web browser’s home page, newtab and search engine by default will be restored to their original defaults.
10. To learn more, read the blog post How to reset Chrome settings to default.

Remove “2023 Annual Visitor Survey” from Mozilla Firefox

Resetting Mozilla Firefox will remove redirects to the “2023 Annual Visitor Survey” scam, fix changed settings, disable malicious extensions, and restore security settings altered by adware. However, your saved passwords and bookmarks will not be changed, deleted or cleared.

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

Confirm your action, click the “Refresh Firefox”.

Automatic Removal of Adware

The guide above is tedious and may not always help you remove adware and rogue pop-ups completely. Here I will tell you the automatic way to completely remove adware from your PC. Zemana, MalwareBytes, and Hitman Pro are anti-malware utilities that can find and remove all kinds of malware, including adware that causes scam pop-ups.

Remove 2023 Annual Visitor Survey scam with MalwareBytes

We recommend using MalwareBytes AntiMalware, which will completely clean your computer of adware. The free utility is an advanced malware removal application developed by (c) Malwarebytes Lab. This program uses the world’s most popular anti-malware technology. It can help you remove adware, PUPs, malware, hijackers, toolbars, ransomware and get rid of “2023 Annual Visitor Survey” pop-ups for free.

1. Visit the page linked below to download the latest version of MalwareBytes for Microsoft Windows. Save it directly to your Desktop.
   
   

   Malwarebytes Anti-malware
   326464 downloads
   Author: Malwarebytes
   Category: Security tools
   Update: April 15, 2020
   
2. When the download is done, close all software and windows on your computer. Open a directory in which you saved it. Double-click on the icon that’s named MBsetup.
3. Choose “Personal computer” option and click Install button. Follow the prompts.
4. Once setup is finished, press the “Scan” button to perform a system scan for adware and other malware. A system scan can take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your personal computer. While the MalwareBytes Anti Malware utility is scanning, you can see how many objects it has identified as being infected by malware.
5. After MalwareBytes completes the scan, it will open you the results. In order to remove all threats, simply click “Quarantine”. After finished, you can be prompted to restart your PC system.

The following video demonstrates how to use MalwareBytes to remove browser hijackers, adware and other malware.

Remove “2023 Annual Visitor Survey” pop-ups with Zemana

Zemana Anti Malware is a free malware removal tool for Windows OS that allows you to find and remove adware and other unwanted programs such as PUPs, malicious internet browser add-ons, browser toolbars.

1. First, visit the page linked below, then click the ‘Download’ button in order to download the latest version of Zemana.
   
   

   Zemana AntiMalware
   164113 downloads
   Author: Zemana Ltd
   Category: Security tools
   Update: July 16, 2019
   
2. Once you have downloaded the install file, make sure to double click on the Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup. This would start the Zemana installation on your PC.
3. Select installation language and press ‘OK’ button.
4. On the next screen ‘Setup Wizard’ simply click the ‘Next’ button and follow the prompts.
   
5. Finally, once the install is finished, Zemana Anti-Malware will open automatically. Else, if does not then double-click on the Zemana icon on your desktop.
6. Now that you have successfully install Zemana, let’s see How to use it to remove 2023 Annual Visitor Survey pop-ups from your computer.
7. After you have opened the Zemana AntiMalware, you will see a window as shown on the image below, just press ‘Scan’ button to perform a system scan with this tool for adware.
   
8. Now pay attention to the screen while Zemana Anti-Malware scans your PC.
   
9. After the scan is finished, Zemana will show a screen that contains a list of malicious software that has been detected. In order to remove all items, simply click ‘Next’ button.
   
10. Zemana may require a restart computer in order to complete the malware removal process.
11. If you want to permanently delete adware from your personal computer, then click ‘Quarantine’ icon, select all malicious software, adware, potentially unwanted applications and other items and press Delete.
12. Reboot your computer to complete the removal process.

Remove “2023 Annual Visitor Survey” pop-ups from browsers with HitmanPro

HitmanPro is a free removal tool. It removes potentially unwanted applications, adware, browser hijackers, and malicious browser extensions. It will detect and remove adware causing “2023 Annual Visitor Survey” pop-ups. Hitman Pro uses very small computer resources and is portable program. What’s more, Hitman Pro adds another layer of malware protection.

First, click the following link, then click the ‘Download’ button in order to download the latest version of HitmanPro.

When downloading is done, 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 run the program, press Yes button to continue.

Next, press “Next” . Hitman Pro will scan through the whole computer for adware software, the scan can take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour. When a threat is found, the count of the security threats will change accordingly. Wait until the the scanning is finished.

As the scanning ends, it will open the Scan Results like below.

Once you have selected what you want to remove from your PC press “Next” button. It will open a dialog box, click the “Activate free license” button. Hitman Pro will remove adware related to scam popups and move the selected threats to the Quarantine. Once the clean-up is finished, the tool may ask you to restart your device.

Stop “2023 Annual Visitor Survey” pop-ups

Use an ad blocking program like AdGuard to stop unwanted ads, malvertisements, pop-ups and online trackers, avoid installing malware and adware browser add-ons that affect your PC performance and impact your PC security. Browse the World Wide Web anonymously and stay safe online!

Visit the following page to download AdGuard. Save it on your Windows desktop.

After downloading it, double-click the downloaded file to launch it. The “Setup Wizard” window will show up on the computer screen as displayed on the image below.

Follow the prompts. AdGuard will then be installed and an icon will be placed on your desktop. A window will show up asking you to confirm that you want to see a quick tutorial as shown in the figure below.

Press “Skip” button to close the window and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick guidance which will allow you get to know AdGuard better.

Each time, when you start your computer, AdGuard will start automatically and stop unwanted advertisements, block “2023 Annual Visitor Survey” scam, as well as other malicious or scam sites. For an overview of all the features of the program, or to change its settings you can simply double-click on the AdGuard icon, that is located on your desktop.

To sum up

We hope this article helped you learn more about the 2023 Annual Visitor Survey Scam and avoid the scammers’ tricks. If you have questions or additional information for our readers, please leave a comment.