Remove “Windows Virus Warning” Pop-up

“Windows Virus Warning” is a pop-up that purported to be a valid warning of legitimate program. In reality, this is a fake web site that tries to deceive computer users. It issues fake warnings and alerts prompting visitors to call a number and seek for technical support. Be aware that programs and services offered are not free. “Windows Virus Warning” was created to scam computer users and steal money through fraudulent online transactions.

When your browser is redirected to “Windows Virus Warning”, or pop-up appears as you browse the Internet, it may mean that your computer is infected with malicious code. In contrary, your PC may be clean and the appearance of “Windows Virus Warning” pop-ups was just caused by an infected web site you are viewing. Remember that site “Windows Virus Warning” is malicious. Thus, you must avoid it to keep your computer safe and away from adware or malware threats.

If “Windows Virus Warning” files are executed, you may instantly acquire unwanted codes that may cause changes on the computer. Moreover, add-ons and extensions brought by this site can do modifications on the browser that causes pop-up ads, redirects, home page hijacking, and other unsolicited actions. On the other hand, if you call the provided number, your phone account will be billed with unexpected amount. The message you will see from this malicious pop-up reads:

Windows Virus Warning!
Identity theft and hacking possibilities.
Contact emergency virus Support now.
0-800-368-9245

In order to prevent “Windows Virus Warning” attack, you must take extra caution when visiting web sites particularly unknown ones. As much as possible, avoid downloading unfamiliar freeware or shareware that are commonly the carrier or adware and other malicious programs.

Screenshot of Windows Virus Warning

To completely remove “Windows Virus Warning” adware and stop the pop-up ads, you may have to scan the PC with legitimate security tools and virus removers. Removing any relevant software also helps eliminate unwanted items on the computer.

"Windows Virus Warning" Removal Procedure

Below is a systematic instruction that is very useful in getting rid of the potentially unwanted program (PUP) from compromised Windows computer. Aside from removing the malicious browser extension, this guide is also helpful in deleting browser hijacker and pop-ups.

In order to totally eliminate the threat, it is vital to follow the process in exact manner.

Step 1 : Delete Suspicious Browser Extension

Most adware and unwanted programs use an application called a "browser extension" to be able to take over the settings of internet applications. Therefore, we highly recommend checking and removing the extension that is closely related to "Windows Virus Warning". If it is not present, look for and delete any suspicious browser extension.

Remove Suspicious Extension from Google Chrome

1. Open your Google Chrome browser.

2. Type chrome://extensions/ in the address bar and press Enter on the keyboard.

Chrome URL

3. Find suspicious or any relevant entry and remove it from the Google Chrome browser.

Uninstall the Unwanted Extension from Mozilla Firefox

1. Open the Mozilla Firefox browser.

2. Type about:addons in the address bar and press Enter on the keyboard.

Firefox URL

3. Choose Extensions from the sidebar menu.

4. Look for an object that pertains to "Windows Virus Warning" and remove it from the browser.

After deleting the malicious browser extension, it is expected that pop-ups and other troubles will be gone from the internet browser.

Remove Malicious Items from Microsoft Windows and Edge Browser

1. On your keyboard, press Windows Key + R and then, type the appwiz.cpl command.

2. The Program and Features window will open. Arrange the list in a chronological manner, with recently installed applications on top. To do this, click on the 'Installed On' column.

Add-Remove Malware

3. Select Unwanted Programs or a recently installed unwanted entry. Then, click on Uninstall to remove it from the Windows system.

If "Windows Virus Warning" is still present on the browser and there are still pop-ups, another option is to remove the adware from the browser settings.

4. Open the Microsoft Edge program.

5. Input edge://extensions/ in the URL bar and press Enter on the keyboard.

6. Look for and Remove or Disable suspicious entries from the Installed Extensions area. Additionally, delete the same object from the Search Providers section by executing the Hijacker Removal Procedure for Edge.

7. Close the window and restart Microsoft Edge.

Step 2 : Scan the PC with Combo Cleaner for Windows

Combo Cleaner is a trusted PC security and optimization tool equipped with powerful virus and malware detection engine. This program can get rid of pop-up and redirect adware like "Windows Virus Warning" through this procedure.

1. Download the application from the following page:

2. Save the file to your preferred location.

3. Double-click the downloaded file CCSetup.exe and install with the default settings.

CC for Windows Installation

4. At the end of the setup process, click Finish to run Combo Cleaner.

5. The tool will update the signature file, please wait for this process to complete.

6. To begin checking for threats like "Windows Virus Warning", click on the Start Scan button. Wait for this scan to finish.

CC for Windows Start Scan

7. At the end of the scan process, click on Remove all threats to delete "Windows Virus Warning" pop-up and redirect including all malicious objects from the computer.

Free features of Combo Cleaner for Windows include Disk Cleaner, Big Files finder, Duplicate files finder, and Uninstaller. To use antivirus, privacy scanner, and to delete identified threats, users have to upgrade to a premium version.

Please continue with the succeeding removal procedures if your are comfortable to manually get rid of the threat and malicious items linked with it.

Step 3 : Scan and Delete Adware with AdwCleaner

In addition to the procedure, we suggest scanning the computer with AdwCleaner tool. Possibly, there are some traces of "Windows Virus Warning" on the browser that was not deleted during the preceding steps. This tool will scan the computer and check for presence of malicious applications as well as invalid browser entries that produces hijacking, redirects, and pop-ups.

1. Follow the link below to download the tool called AdwCleaner.

2. When the download has completed, please close all running programs on the computer especially browsers affected by "Windows Virus Warning" pop-up.

3. Browse the location of the downloaded file and double-click on adwcleaner_Ver.exe to start running the tool. Then, click on Scan button.

AdwCleaner

4. AdwCleaner searches the computer for malicious programs, extensions, plug-ins, adware, and any items that may be associated to "Windows Virus Warning". It will also check for suspicious entries on browser settings that is associated with the hijacker.

5. Clean or Remove all suspicious and harmful items identified after the thorough scan.

6. After the cleanup procedure, rebooting the computer is required to finalize the removal of detected threats.

Check if your internet browser application is no longer being bothered by "Windows Virus Warning" pop-up. If the browser hijacker still persists, please continue with the steps below to reset internet programs to default settings.

Optional : Reset Internet Browser Program

Cleaning your internet browser from clutter and unwanted add-on/extension is a must when dealing with "Windows Virus Warning". The procedure below discusses on resetting various browsers to their default state.

Restore Google Chrome to Default Settings

Resetting Google Chrome to its default settings is helpful in deleting hard-to-remove extensions. This method is highly advisable to perform if you have difficulty removing unwanted extensions.

1. Open the Google Chrome internet browser.
2. On the address bar, type chrome://settings/reset and press the Enter key.
3. Click on Reset Settings on the sidebar and choose Restore settings to their original defaults.
4. On the confirmation window, click the Reset settings button to clear all malicious entries.
5. Close the existing tab and restart Google Chrome. That should have removed the malicious extension and associated objects.

Reset Mozilla Firefox to Default

This section describes how to remove unwanted extensions from Firefox that may be related to "Windows Virus Warning". This process can fix many browser issues by restoring Firefox to factory settings without affecting your essential information (bookmarks, browsing history, passwords, and Internet cookies) on the browser. If you desire to remove only a specific extension, please see the manual removal of add-ons from Firefox.

1. Input the string about:support on the Firefox web address and press Enter on the keyboard.
2. You will now see the Troubleshooting Information page of Mozilla Firefox.
3. You will notice a section in the upper-right corner of the screen stating, Give Firefox a tune-up. Click the Refresh Firefox button.
4. If a confirmation window appears, click Refresh Firefox to continue.
5. Firefox browser will close and start the resetting process. When done, it will display a list of restored data. "Windows Virus Warning" should be gone by now. Click Finish to open a fresh version of Firefox.

Restore Microsoft Edge to Default Settings

1. Open the Microsoft Edge browser.
2. On the address bar, please input edge://settings/reset and press Enter on the keyboard.
3. Once you are on the Reset Settings page, click on Restore settings to their default values.
4. A confirmation window will appear; click on the Reset button to continue.

Your data, like favorites, bookmarks, and history, will remain in the browser. However, this process will delete add-ons by "Windows Virus Warning" and other unknown objects.

Originally published onMar 21, 2015 at 00:49

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