Bob the Cyber-Guy’s Cyber Safety Tip — #119

If a Website Forces You to “Allow Notifications,” Walk Away

You’ve probably seen this pop-up:

“Click ALLOW to continue”
“Enable notifications to verify you’re not a robot”

That is not normal — and it’s not required to view a website.

What’s really going on?

When you click Allow, you’re giving that site permission to:

• Send fake security alerts

• Push scam ads directly to your screen

• Imitate antivirus warnings

• Deliver nonstop pop-ups even when your browser is closed

This trick is especially common on:

• Fake download sites

• “Breaking news” clickbait pages

• Streaming or coupon sites

• Pages reached from social media links

The safe rule

✔️ Legitimate websites do NOT require notification permission to function.
✔️ Verification never requires browser notifications.

What to do instead

• If a site demands notification permission → close the tab

• Never click Allow unless you specifically want updates from that site

• If you already clicked Allow by mistake:

  • Go into your browser settings

  • Find Notifications

  • Remove anything you don’t recognize

 Cyber-Bob’s plain-English truth

If a website pressures you to click Allow, it’s not helping you —

it’s setting you up. 

(I created the prompt, ChatGPT created the information.)