Stop unwanted website notifications in Chrome, Edge and Firefox

A banner that says “Your PC is infected” can look like a Windows warning. If it arrives through a browser, it may be a website notification from a site you once allowed. Microsoft notes that Edge can still show a website’s notifications when the browser is closed. The message alone does not tell you whether a threat exists, so do not click its link, call a number in it, or install a “cleaner” it recommends. First identify which app sent it.

Work out what kind of alert you saw

On Windows 11, press Windows + N to open Notification Centre and look for the app associated with the alert. If it is Chrome, Edge or Firefox, block the website’s notification permission in that browser. If it is another app, use Windows’ notification settings for that sender.

A website notification can appear outside the tab where you granted permission. A pop-up is different: it opens in the current browser window, a new window or another tab. Changing notification permissions will not stop a separate pop-up or redirect. Microsoft’s Edge guide explains this distinction; Chrome’s notification guide also links to separate pop-up controls.

Block the site in your browser

Use the browser named as the sender. If you use more than one browser, a permission change in Chrome does not change the settings in Edge or Firefox.

Chrome

1. Select More (⋮) > Settings > Privacy and security > Site settings > Notifications.
2. Under Allowed to send notifications, find the site and change its notification permission to Block.
3. If the site is not listed but is still asking for permission, use Add beside Not allowed to send notifications, enter the site’s domain, then select Add.

Google documents both the site-specific controls and the option to block a domain from the Notifications settings. Chrome’s instructions also offer Use quieter messaging for future permission requests. That hides interruptive prompts; it does not replace blocking a site you have already allowed.

Microsoft Edge

1. Select Settings and more (⋯) > Settings.
2. Open Privacy, search, and services > Site permissions > All sites.
3. Select the site, find Notifications, and choose Block.

You can also open the site’s information panel from the left of its address bar and set Notifications to Block. These steps follow Microsoft’s Edge instructions .

Firefox

1. Select Menu (☰) > Settings > Privacy & Security.
2. Under Permissions, find Notifications and select Settings.
3. Select the site and set its status to Block, then choose Save Changes.

Firefox distinguishes Block from Remove Website: removing a permission lets the site ask again later, while blocking it prevents another request. Choose Block if you do not want that site to prompt you again. See Mozilla’s Firefox notification guide .

When Windows settings are the better fit

If you want to silence every notification from a browser, or the sender is an app rather than a website, open Start > Settings > System > Notifications. Under Notifications from apps and other senders, select the relevant app and turn its notifications off. Windows also lets you change banners, sounds and Notification Centre behaviour for that app. Microsoft’s Windows guide lists these controls.

This Windows switch silences the app’s notifications; it does not remove a website’s permission inside the browser. For one unwanted site, block that site in the browser and leave useful notifications from other sites alone.

Check that the alert stops

Return to the same browser’s notification settings and confirm the site is blocked. You can dismiss any old card from Notification Centre separately; clearing a card does not change the site’s permission.

If another alert appears, note the app shown in Notification Centre and check that browser’s site permissions. If the alert opens a tab or window instead, review that browser’s pop-up and redirect controls. If Windows names another app, adjust that app’s notification setting rather than blocking every website.

The menu paths above follow the browsers’ and Windows’ published support instructions. Labels can vary with updates or device policies; the key is to block the site permission that sent the alert, or mute the named app when you want to silence it entirely.