Your computer has been compromised: How to remove the alert

by Aleksandar Ognjanovic

Troubleshooting Expert

May 13, 2018

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While roaming the many worlds of the internet, you’ve probably bumped into one or more treacherous prompts. Sometimes they’re connected to a website you’re trying to access and other times they come with the malicious software. These are mostly phishing scams and hijackers, and they are not really dangerous. At least until you comply with their terms. One of the many prompts comes with the “Your computer has been compromised” message.

Today, we took our time to explain what’s the reasoning behind such pop-ups and help you protect from these vicious attacks. Make sure to check the explanation below for the in-depth insight on the matter.

False alarm:’ Your computer has been compromised’ pop-up in Windows 10

How to recognize the phishing scam with no trouble

Online phishing scammy pop-ups are rather easy to confirm. When you know that not a single system of Big Five (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and Linux) will inform you about the virus within the browser, you’re halfway through. Not a single prompt about possible infection or critical system error will ever come from within a browser.

• READ ALSO: Windows tech support scams are on the rise, says Microsoft

Especially if this pop-up warning looks like it’s produced for Windows 98 and written in broken English. Furthermore, Microsoft (or any other service, for that matter) won’t ask you for your personal data or force you to call a number in order to repair your PC. Which, bare with me, isn’t broken. These are all traits of the scam pop-up messages which plague a lot of users.

Every seasoned user will avoid them with ease, but a lot of uninformed users will fall for it. In addition, they are followed by the complete blockage of the browser’s UI, so there’s the scare effect in play, too. Some users might fall for it and that’s where they can get in a lot of trouble. But, don’t worry, below we explained how to remove them and, more importantly, how to protect in the future.

• READ ALSO: In the age of no privacy, scam VPN services are on the loose

How to remove scam pop-ups, adware, and browser hijackers

Firstly, when the pop-up message with frightening information appears – stay calm. Don’t worry, it won’t affect you in any way whatsoever if you just let it be. On the other hand, if you comply and follow the link or call the phone number, things can get serious. Just close the browser by pressing Alt + F4 or from a Task Manager (Ctrl + Alt + Delete) where you can terminate the process.

After that, you should perform 3 actions which are well-known cleaning practices. The first one concerns checking for third-party tool’s presence in the list of the installed programs. The second requires the installation of a third-party anti-PUP tool (PUP = Potentially Unwanted Program). And, finally, then and only then we can move to relieving your browser (or browsers) of possible leftovers.

• READ ALSO: New Internet Explorer zero-day exploit sneaks malware into PCs

Follow these instructions to inspect the Control Panel for unwanted third-party presence:

1. In the Search bar, type Control and open Control Panel.
2. Click on the “Uninstall a program” under Programs.
3. Remove all unknown or misplaced entries from the list. Just right-click on the application and choose Uninstall.
4. Use IObit Uninstaller or another third-party uninstaller to remove the remaining files.
5. Restart your PC.

Now, follow these steps to download and run Malwarebytes AdwCleaner:

1. Download Malwarebytes AdwCleaner, here.
2. Run the tool and click Scan Now.
3. Wait until the tool scans your system and click Clean & Repair.
4. After the cleaning procedure ends, restart your PC.

Finally, here’s how to reset your browser to factory settings:

1. Google Chrome
   1. Click on the 3-dot menu and open Settings.
   2. Expand the Advanced settings.
   3. Scroll to the bottom and click Reset settings.
   4. Click Reset.
2. Mozilla Firefox
   1. Open the hamburger menu and click Help.
   2. Choose Troubleshooting Information.
   3. Click on the “Refresh Firefox” button.
   4. Click Refresh.
3. Microsoft Edge
   1. Open Edge.
   2. Press Ctrl + Shift + Delete.
   3. Check all the boxes and click Clear.

After that, you should be in the clear and can access the browser without any pop-ups to bother you. But, in order to protect from reoccurring scam messages, we recommend resuming reading.

• READ ALSO: Review: Bitdefender Internet Security 2018

How to protect in the future

Finally, resolving the matter at hand doesn’t exclusively mean it won’t reappear after some time. In order to address this, we can only recommend avoiding suspicious sites and running good internet-based antivirus protection. In addition, anti-pop-up tools or AdBlockers are a must. You can choose where to disable the AdBlocker later on, in order to support the content creator. But, in general, stick with it around suspicious websites.

With that said, we can conclude today’s article. We hope it was a good and informative read. In case you have any questions or suggestions concerning the “Your computer has been compromised” prompt in Windows 10, make sure to tell us in the comments section below.

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