Critical Alert From Windows pop-up error – How to remove [Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge]

The adware usually affects only the Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer and MS Edge by changing the browser’s settings or installing a harmful addons. Moreover, possible situations, when any other web browsers will be affected too. The ‘ad supported’ software will perform a scan of the PC system for browser shortcuts and modify them without your permission. When it infects the web-browser shortcuts, it will add the argument such as ‘http://site.address’ into Target property. So, each time you start the web browser, you will see an annoying Critical Alert From Windows web-site.

The guide below explaining steps to get rid of Critical Alert From Windows pop-up scam problem. Feel free to use it for removal of the adware that may attack Chrome, IE, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge and other popular internet browsers. The steps will help you delete ad supported software and thereby clean your internet browser from all annoying advertisements.

How to remove Critical Alert From Windows fake pop up error

Most often adware requires more than a simple uninstall through the use of Windows Control panel in order to be fully removed. For that reason, our team created several removal solutions which we’ve summarized in a detailed instructions. Therefore, if you have the undesired Critical Alert From Windows popup advertisements on your machine and are currently trying to have it removed then feel free to follow the guide below in order to resolve your problem. Some of the steps below will require you to close the web page. So, please read the guidance carefully, after that bookmark or print it for later reference.

How to remove Critical Alert From Windows popup without any software

If you perform exactly the guide below you should be able to remove the Critical Alert From Windows pop up from the Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer and Edge internet browsers.

Uninstall Critical Alert From Windows associated software by using Microsoft Windows Control Panel

The process of ad supported software removal is generally the same across all versions of MS Windows OS from 10 to XP. To start with, it is necessary to check the list of installed programs on your computer and uninstall all unused, unknown and suspicious programs.

Windows 8, 8.1, 10

First, click Windows button , then click Search . Type ‘Control panel’and press Enter like below.

After the ‘Control Panel’ opens, press the ‘Uninstall a program’ link under Programs category as shown in the figure below.

You will see the ‘Uninstall a program’ panel as shown below.

Very carefully look around the entire list of programs installed on your PC system. Most likely, one or more of them are responsible for the appearance of pop-up advertisements and browser redirect to the intrusive Critical Alert From Windows web site. If you have many programs installed, you can help simplify the search of malicious applications by sort the list by date of installation. Once you have found a suspicious, unwanted or unused program, right click to it, after that click ‘Uninstall’.

Windows XP, Vista, 7

First, click ‘Start’ button and select ‘Control Panel’ at right panel as shown below.

Once the Windows ‘Control Panel’ opens, you need to press ‘Uninstall a program’ under ‘Programs’ like below.

You will see a list of programs installed on your system. We recommend to sort the list by date of installation to quickly find the programs that were installed last. Most likely they responsibility for the appearance of popup ads and web-browser redirect. If you are in doubt, you can always check the application by doing a search for her name in Google, Yahoo or Bing. After the program which you need to remove is found, simply click on its name, and then click ‘Uninstall’ as shown on the screen below.

Fix infected browsers shortcuts to remove Critical Alert From Windows redirect

When installed, this ‘ad supported’ software may add an argument such as “http://site.address” into the Target property of the desktop shortcut for the Google Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer and MS Edge. Due to this, every time you start the internet browser, it will show an annoying ad web-page.

To clear the web browser shortcut, right-click to it and select Properties. On the Shortcut tab, locate the Target field. Click inside, you will see a vertical line – arrow pointer, move it (using -> arrow key on your keyboard) to the right as possible. You will see a text like “http://site.address” which has been added here. You need to delete it.

When the text is removed, click the OK button. You need to clean all shortcuts of all your browsers, as they may be infected too.

Remove Critical Alert From Windows fake pop up error from Google Chrome

Reset Chrome settings is a easy way to delete the adware, harmful and adware extensions, as well as to restore the web browser’s newtab page, home page and search provider by default that have been changed by adware which cause misleading Critical Alert From Windows fake popup error to appear.

1. First, start the Chrome and click the Menu icon (icon in the form of three horizontal stripes).
2. It will display the Google Chrome main menu, click the “Settings” menu.
3. Next, click “Show advanced settings” link, which located at the bottom of the Settings page.
4. On the bottom of the “Advanced settings” page, click the “Reset settings” button.
5. The Google Chrome will show the reset settings prompt as shown on the screen above.
6. Confirm the web browser’s reset by clicking on the “Reset” button.
7. To learn more, read the blog post How to reset Google Chrome settings to default.

Remove Critical Alert From Windows from Firefox by resetting web browser settings

Resetting your Mozilla Firefox is first troubleshooting step for any issues with your web browser program, including the redirect to Critical Alert From Windows web-page.

Click the Menu button (looks like three horizontal lines), and press the blue Help icon located at the bottom of the drop down menu as shown below.

A small menu will appear, click the “Troubleshooting Information”. On this page, press “Refresh Firefox” button as shown on the screen below.

Follow the onscreen procedure to revert back your Firefox web-browser settings to its original state.

Get rid of Critical Alert From Windows popup from IE

The IE reset is great if your web-browser is hijacked or you have unwanted addo-ons or toolbars on your browser, that installed by an malware.

First, open the Internet Explorer, click ) button. Next, click “Internet Options” as shown on the image below.

In the “Internet Options” screen select the Advanced tab. Next, click Reset button. The IE will display the Reset Internet Explorer settings dialog box. Select the “Delete personal settings” check box and click Reset button.

You will now need to reboot your system for the changes to take effect. It will delete Critical Alert From Windows fake pop up error, disable malicious and ad-supported internet browser’s extensions and restore the IE’s settings like new tab page, start page and search engine by default to default state.

Get rid of unwanted Scheduled Tasks

Once installed, the adware can add a task in to the Windows Task Scheduler Library. Due to this, every time when you launch your computer, it will open Critical Alert From Windows undesired web site. So, you need to check the Task Scheduler Library and delete all malicious tasks that have been created by adware.

Press Windows and R keys on the keyboard simultaneously. This opens a dialog box that titled as Run. In the text field, type “taskschd.msc” (without the quotes) and click OK. Task Scheduler window opens. In the left-hand side, click “Task Scheduler Library”, as shown in the figure below.

Task scheduler

In the middle part you will see a list of installed tasks. Please choose the first task, its properties will be show just below automatically. Next, click the Actions tab. Pay attention to that it launches on your PC system. Found something like “explorer.exe http://site.address” or “chrome.exe http://site.address”, then remove this malicious task. If you are not sure that executes the task, check it through a search engine. If it is a component of the unwanted applications, then this task also should be removed.

Having defined the task that you want to remove, then click on it with the right mouse button and choose Delete as on the image below.

Delete a task

Repeat this step, if you have found a few tasks that have been created by ‘ad-supported’ program. Once is complete, close the Task Scheduler window.

Use free malware removal tools to completely delete Critical Alert From Windows fake pop-up error

Manual removal is not always as effective as you might think. Often, even the most experienced users can not completely get rid of ‘ad supported’ software that causes web browsers to show misleading Critical Alert From Windows fake popup. So, we suggest to check your system for any remaining malicious components with free adware removal software below.

Delete Critical Alert From Windows pop-up with Zemana Anti-malware

You can delete Critical Alert From Windows fake popup error automatically with a help of Zemana Anti-malware. We recommend this malware removal utility because it can easily remove hijackers, potentially unwanted software, adware which redirects your internet browser to Critical Alert From Windows web page with all their components such as folders, files and registry entries.

1. Please download Zemana Anti-Malware to your desktop by clicking on the following link.
   
   

   Zemana AntiMalware
   164099 downloads
   Author: Zemana Ltd
   Category: Security tools
   Update: July 16, 2019
   
2. At the download page, click on the Download button. Your web browser will open the “Save as” dialog box. Please save it onto your Windows desktop.
3. When the download is finished, please close all applications and open windows on your computer. Next, run a file called Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup.
4. This will run the “Setup wizard” of Zemana Anti Malware onto your personal computer. Follow the prompts and don’t make any changes to default settings.
5. When the Setup wizard has finished installing, the Anti Malware will open and show the main window.
6. Further, click the “Scan” button . This will start scanning the whole PC to find out ad supported software that causes multiple misleading Critical Alert From Windows alerts and pop ups. This task may take some time, so please be patient. While the tool is scanning, you can see number of objects it has identified either as being malware.
7. After finished, it will show a list of found items.
8. Next, you need to click the “Next” button. The utility will start to get rid of ad-supported software that cause misleading Critical Alert From Windows pop up scam to appear. After that process is complete, you may be prompted to reboot the computer.
9. Close the Zemana Anti-Malware and continue with the next step.

How to automatically get rid of Critical Alert From Windows with Malwarebytes

Remove Critical Alert From Windows pop-up manually is difficult and often the adware is not completely removed. Therefore, we recommend you to use the Malwarebytes Free which are completely clean your PC. Moreover, the free program will help you to remove malware, potentially unwanted applications, toolbars and hijackers that your PC system can be infected too.

Download Malwarebytes on your PC system from the link below. Save it on your Windows desktop or in any other place.

Malwarebytes Anti-malware
326454 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020

After the downloading process is finished, close all software and windows on your PC system. Double-click the install file called mb3-setup. If the “User Account Control” dialog box pops up as shown below, click the “Yes” button.

It will open the “Setup wizard” that will help you setup Malwarebytes on your computer. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.

Once setup is finished successfully, press Finish button. Malwarebytes will automatically start and you can see its main screen as on the image below.

Now press the “Scan Now” button for checking your computer for the ad-supported software that causes web-browsers to show misleading Critical Alert From Windows pop up scam. A scan can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the number of files on your PC and the speed of your computer. While the utility is checking, you can see how many objects it has identified either as being malware.

After that process is finished, it’ll open a screen that contains a list of malware that has been found. Make sure all items have ‘checkmark’ and press “Quarantine Selected” button. The Malwarebytes will remove ad-supported software that causes internet browsers to open misleading Critical Alert From Windows fake pop up error and move items to the program’s quarantine. Once the process is done, you may be prompted to restart the machine.

We recommend you look at the following video, which completely explains the procedure of using the Malwarebytes to remove ad-supported software, browser hijacker and other malware.

If the problem with Critical Alert From Windows popup is still remained

AdwCleaner is a free portable program that scans your PC for ad supported software which made to show misleading Critical Alert From Windows pop-up within your web browser, PUPs and browser hijacker infections and allows remove them easily. Moreover, it will also allow you remove any malicious web browser extensions and add-ons.

Download AdwCleaner tool by clicking on the link below. Save it to your Desktop so that you can access the file easily.

AdwCleaner download
225298 downloads
Version: 8.4.1
Author: Xplode, MalwareBytes
Category: Security tools
Update: October 5, 2024

Once downloading is done, open the file location and double-click the AdwCleaner icon. It will run the AdwCleaner utility and you will see a screen as shown on the image below. If the User Account Control dialog box will ask you want to show the application, click Yes button to continue.

Next, click “Scan” for scanning your PC system for the adware that developed to show misleading Critical Alert From Windows pop up within your internet browser. This procedure may take some time, so please be patient. While the tool is checking, you can see how many objects and files has already scanned.

After the checking is complete is finished, you’ll be shown the list of all found threats on your personal computer as shown below.

Make sure all threats have ‘checkmark’ and click “Clean” button. It will open a dialog box. Click “OK” button. The AdwCleaner will start to remove ad-supported software which shows misleading Critical Alert From Windows popup on your PC system. When that process is done, the tool may ask you to restart your PC system. After reboot, the AdwCleaner will display the log file.

All the above steps are shown in detail in the following video instructions.

Run AdBlocker to block Critical Alert From Windows and stay safe online

Enabling an ad blocker application like AdGuard is an effective way to alleviate the risks. Additionally, ad blocking applications will also protect you from harmful advertisements and web pages, and, of course, stop redirection chain to Critical Alert From Windows and similar web pages.

Installing the AdGuard ad blocking program is simple. First you’ll need to download AdGuard by clicking on the following link.

Adguard download
26655 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018

Once the download is finished, double-click the downloaded file to run it. The “Setup Wizard” window will show up on the computer screen like below.

Follow the prompts. AdGuard will then be installed and an icon will be placed on your desktop. A window will show up asking you to confirm that you want to see a quick instructions as shown on the image below.

Click “Skip” button to close the window and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick instructions that will assist you get to know AdGuard better.

Each time, when you start your PC system, AdGuard will start automatically and block pop-ups, web sites such Critical Alert From Windows, as well as other harmful or misleading sites. For an overview of all the features of the program, or to change its settings you can simply double-click on the AdGuard icon, that is located on your desktop.

How can you prevent your system from the attack of Critical Alert From Windows popup

Many applications made to show lots of intrusive advertisements within your machine’s internet browser. So, when you installing free software, carefully read the disclaimers, select the Custom or Advanced installation mode to watch for optional software that are being installed, because some of the programs are potentially unwanted applications such as this adware which displays misleading Critical Alert From Windows fake pop-up on your machine.

Finish words

Now your computer should be clean of the ad supported software that causes multiple misleading Critical Alert From Windows alerts and popups. Delete AdwCleaner. We suggest that you keep Zemana Anti-malware (to periodically scan your computer for new malware, browser hijackers and ad-supported software) and AdGuard (to help you block intrusive pop-up advertisements and malicious web sites). Moreover, to prevent ad-supported software, please stay clear of unknown and third party applications, make sure that your antivirus program, turn on the option to detect PUPs (potentially unwanted programs).

If you need more help with Critical Alert From Windows pop-up scam related issues, go to our Spyware/Malware removal forum.