How do you defeat malicious ads like this?

[Nanako]

This ad came up earlier in a new window, while browsing some of the slummier parts of the internet. Adblock was disabled at the time, since it came up through one of those obnoxious sites that demands you disable your adblocker before you can do anything. However even WITH adnauseum enabled, this ad still seems able to take over the browser. Adblocker is not stopping this thing.

So this obviously fake ad claims you have a virus, demands details, etc.
Any attempt to close that dialog box just makes it come up again instantly. It steals focus from the window, and prevents you clicking the X button in the corner, or from clicking any UI element except that. It also plays loud obnoxious audio which you can't mute (because the mute button is also a UI element in firefox) and prevents you switching to other tabs

It doesn't seem to install any malware, its main purpose is just hijacking the browser.
The only way i've found to deal with this is to open the task manager and terminate firefox's process via the details panel (end task though the main area doesn't even work, the ad prevents it from shutting down normally

This strategy is far from optimal, shutting down the browser like that frequently causes some loss of data, even if firefox keeps a list of pages you were on

So i'd like some advice on dealing with this kind of malicious advert. Are there some browser addons i can use to fight this kind of thing, and prevent an ad from taking control?
Why doesn't firefox prevent it from creating popups after you click cancel enough times? Is there an extension to add some kind of limit on those?

Avoiding the scummy websites that have these kind of ads isn't an option. I've encountered this kind of thing in many parts of daily browsing, and avoiding it is simply not possible with my browsing habits. So i need weapons or tactics to deal with it

If anyone would like to test out their own security measures, the ad in question can be found here

WARNING: MALICIOUS LINK. CLICK AT YOUR OWN RISK
[malicious link removed]

Post any advice that comes to mind

 

[Mr5oh]

For one just don't visit sites that require you to turn off ad-blocking? I don't. It's none negotiable. I don't turn off my ad-blocking for anyone. Second what are you using to block ads? I find a lot of sites block things like adblock plus, but won't notice if you are using a hosts file. Not to mention I can use a hosts file on my PC, tablet, phone etc.

Some sites still complain about this though, if that's the case, using things like NoScript will kill most everything else. However killing all JavaScript breaks a lot of functionality on various webpages, so be prepared for that. However if you block scripts, flash, and even HTML5 video, you will stop most of this junk. You can also stop all the auto play media in browser configuration (about:config), such as Firefox. Again though this will stop all autoplay, even in sites that you may want autoplay such as YouTube.

 

[JalYt_Justin]

I get popups like this sometimes. Usually task manager can end the situation pretty quickly for when I need a specific site that doesn't allow adblocking. Either that or ALT-F4. Try to avoid using that site often if it requires you to disable adblock, since apparently the sites that do that love to put pop-up ads like that whenever you click something.

 

[kasiourasg]

Two things come to mind.

1: You're just browsing on some very suspicious websites and that's why you get so many stupid ads.

2: You're infected with adware.

In the first case, just use your ad blocker and try to stay away from these websites.

In the second case, use an Anti-Malware program such as MalwareFox. It should handle all of your malicious programs.

 

[rgd1101]

Two things come to mind.

1: You're just browsing on some very suspicious websites and that's why you get so many stupid ads.

2: You're infected with adware.

In the first case, just use your ad blocker and try to stay away from these websites.

In the second case, use an Anti-Malware program such as MalwareFox. It should handle all of your malicious programs.

Why not the original zemana instead of the clone/rebrand malwarefox?

 

[Nanako]

@kasiourasg, @Mr5oh
Yes i'm visiting shady websites which have this kind of malicious stuff. No i'm not going to stop. Avoidance is not an option. I have my own reason for visiting certain sites which provide certain irreplaceable services. The malware is something i just have to deal with.
Some parts of the internet are a warzone. Thats an unfortunate truth. I'm not going to avoid visiting them. I made this thread to get advice on what kind of armor to wear to safely make it through that warzone

Since making this thread, i've discovered a strict popup blocker: https/addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/popup-blocker/
This addon has been remarkably effective at stopping most, but not all, shady things.
It has some flaws, some bugs, and sadly it doesnt work in the new firefox quantum (which i refuse to update to at this point, and at least not until it has more addons).
So this blocker is a temporary solution and i still need more ideas

 

[santiano]

Two things come to mind.

1: You're just browsing on some very suspicious websites and that's why you get so many stupid ads.

2: You're infected with adware.

In the first case, just use your ad blocker and try to stay away from these websites.

In the second case, use an Anti-Malware program such as MalwareFox. It should handle all of your malicious programs.

Why not the original zemana instead of the clone/rebrand malwarefox?

I agree with kasiourasg that the browser is hit by some malicious website which carries these weird ads and possesses unwanted links. You must not respond to or visit suspicious websites and links.

 

[COLGeek]

This sort of dangerous browsing should be done with a browser running in a sandbox or via a browser running from a Live Linux distro. Everything would be isolated from your system and storage devices.

Otherwise, by not separating the risky behavior from the system, you will get infected at some point.

 

[kasiourasg]

Two things come to mind.

1: You're just browsing on some very suspicious websites and that's why you get so many stupid ads.

2: You're infected with adware.

In the first case, just use your ad blocker and try to stay away from these websites.

In the second case, use an Anti-Malware program such as MalwareFox. It should handle all of your malicious programs.

Why not the original zemana instead of the clone/rebrand malwarefox?

It's just the one that I've been using (got if before knowing that it was a rebrand) and I don't see any reason to not recommend it. If a tool works for me, then I recommend it to other people who might need it as well. Simple as that.