"elevationmap.net" - Is this Malware?

Question

"Elevationmap.net" - This looks like Malware and I do not know an easy way to get rid of it

Is it, and how do I get rid of it?

Screenshots - see end.

How I found it

I bing'ed "elevation map london" and got
"London, City of London, ... - Elevation Map"
at <possibly dangerous>
https://elevationmap.net/london-city-of-london-greater-london-gb-1020340069

I went to that url.

What I found

I did not get a useful elevation map.

Instead, I got messages in my Notification Area.
For screenshots, see below.
Like them?  I did not.

And would downloading the "virus updates" have helped?

I do not even want to try it.

How to get rid of it?

Eventually, I restored a system backup.

Is there an easier way?

I would like to know.

I tried...

Rang Microsoft Support.

They suggested...

 - install AdBlock

 - scan with MSERT (Microsoft Safety Scanner)

I did both.  Malware still there.

I also scanned the System partition with a more thorough Microsoft Malware Scanner.

No Joy.

Is this known Malware, and how do I get rid of it?

Any Ideas?

Three Screenshots of my Notification Area...

Answer 1

Those weren't malware and in fact you already knew they were displayed in the notification area, so that should have been your clue that these were simply notifications that you likely allowed when a popup requested your permission to send them in the future.

Another clue is the highlighted option to "Manage Notifications" that is clearly displayed in the upper right corner of each of those snapshots you provided, since that should have taken you to the same set of app notifications discussed on the following page that describes these action center settings in the Windows 10 Settings app.

Change notification settings in Windows 10

I went to that page URL for elevationmap . net you provided and though I didn't receive the typical popup to "allow", my much more strict security and privacy settings in the Microsoft Edge browser was apparently blocking these, since it indicated that popup notifications had been blocked in the browser address section.

If you wish, you may also set the same option in the Edge browser; Settings - Privacy, search, and services - changing the default Balanced selection to Strict as I have done. Though this setting may also block some items you might prefer to allow, it's functionally almost the same as installing an ad blocker extension, since it doesn't allow most websites to even request things like displaying notifications as I mentioned above.

The other option is to simply be much more careful with how you answer or respond to any popup requests from Windows in the future, since as in this case how you respond can have significant effects on how your computer operates.

Rob

Answer 2

This is one of the many things that confuse the average consumer in terms of their computer security, since they will typically view anything they don't prefer that happens as "malware" when in truth it's often their own misunderstanding of the need to better pay attention and control the actions they take that result in undesired consequences.

The ability for websites or apps to place notifications on the Windows display was first added to Windows 8, but as few had that version most consumers have first experienced these with Windows 10.

Though I agree with many that these alert center app notifications are often annoying, as the following Bing search displays with several articles discussing them and how they're controlled, in most cases that's all they truly are.

https://www.bing.com/search?q=windows+10+notifications+annoying

Though some less reputable websites take advantage of the consumer's lack of understanding to trick them into accepting these notifications by making it appear they must select the "Allow" option in order to proceed, that's again not truly malware, though the trickery itself is abuse and reason enough for such sites to be blocked or at least display a SmartScreen warning in some cases.

The content of the notifications themselves which appears to be your concern only rates as malware if they actually contain or deliver true malicious code. In the specific case you displayed in your recent post, the content may again be undesired, but this was received because a selection to Allow was made in the past. That still doesn't make it malware, simply an erroneous selection that resulted in its delivery.

I'm not defending the content or the website, only the fact that the PC user needs to think before they click or they'll end up dealing with issues such as this or even worse, which is how 90% of those receiving such items including true malware end up here in the first place.

All you need to do if you start to receive something similar again is to use the instructions on that previous link I provided to change notification settings in order to reverse the specific website's ability to deliver them.

If you also believe that a website is delivering either malicious software or phishing for personal information, in the Microsoft Edge browser you may select the 3 dots (...) menu at the upper right - Help and feedback - Report unsafe site. Within the 'Report a website' page that appears make the appropriate selections and then click Submit.

However, submitting websites as malicious that don't contain such items will likely just gain a bad reputation for misreporting, leading to future reporting being either ignored or at least handled less urgently.

Rob

Answer 3

To "Rob Koch",

Looking for a map of elevations in London I went to "elevation.net".

You say,

"Those weren't malware and in fact you already knew they were displayed in the notification area, so that should have been your clue that these were simply notifications that you likely allowed when a popup requested your permission to send them in the future."

The screenshot below shows what I got.  I did not ask for it.

It is obviously malware and because you say it is not I think you wrote it or you are defending someone who wrote it.  Take it out of our lives.  Clean up "elevation.net".

That's not malware???

Answer 4

Boules,

Thanks for your suggestions.

Resetting my browsers - I guess you mean "Delete History, etc" - might have cleared the problem.  I may try that next time.

Well, I restored a backup and don't want to go back into the problem.

I hope "elevationmap.net" is reported.

Thanks again,

Hedake

Answer 5

Any new programs or browser extensions that you need to disable or uninstall?

Did you reset your browsers?

Suggest scan with AdwCleaner - Free Adware Cleaner & Removal Tool | Malwarebytes

Or

See https://malwaretips.com/blogs/malware-removal-guide-for-windows/  You may not need Hitman Pro (available as a thirty day trial if needed) but note the suggestion to reset your browsers.

Regards…

http://blog.emsisoft.com/2015/01/27/top-10-ways-pups-sneak-onto-your-computer-and-how-to-avoid-them/