How to remove “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” pop-up [Microsoft Support Scam]

The “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” pop-up is a misleading advertising that designed in order to force you into calling the fake Microsoft Support Service. If you are faced with the fact that your web-browser is constantly redirected to the misleading “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” page and filled with a variety of ads and banners, then your system is infected with an ‘ad-supported’ software (also known as adware). It has been installed on many personal computers around the world without users permission, so you are one of many. Most probably, you don’t even know how and where this adware has got into your computer. In the step by step guide below, we will explain all the general features of ad-supported software and its typical behavior on the computer, as well as effective solutions for manually removing it from your PC.

“Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” is a misleading advertising

As well as unwanted web-browser redirects to “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk”, the ‘ad supported’ software can gather your Net surfing activity by recording URLs visited, IP addresses, browser version and type, cookie information, Internet Service Provider (ISP) and web sites visited. Such kind of behavior can lead to serious security problems or confidential data theft. This is another reason why the adware that causes browsers to open misleading “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” fake alerts, is classified as potentially unwanted application (PUA).

The adware can alter the settings of the Chrome, IE, Firefox and Microsoft Edge, but often that a malicious software such as this can also infect all types of internet browsers by changing their desktop shortcuts. Thus forcing the user each time start the browser to see the unwanted “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” web site.

We strongly suggest that you perform the steps below which will assist you to remove “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” pop up warnings using the standard features of Windows and some proven free applications.

Remove “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” pop up warnings

When the ad supported software gets installed on your computer without your knowledge, it is not easy to remove. Most commonly, there is no Uninstall program which simply delete the adware that causes misleading “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” pop up on your internet browser from your computer. So, we recommend using several well-proven free specialized utilities such as Zemana AntiMalware (ZAM), MalwareBytes Free or AdwCleaner. But the best solution to delete “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” popup will be to perform several manual steps, after that additionally run antimalware tools.

To remove “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk”, complete the steps below:

1. Manual “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” pop-up warnings removal
   • Delete ad supported software through the Windows Control Panel
   • Disinfect the internet browser’s shortcuts to delete “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” redirect
   • Remove unwanted Scheduled Tasks
   • Remove “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” from Mozilla Firefox by resetting internet browser settings
   • Remove “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” fake alerts from Chrome
   • Delete “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” popup scam from Microsoft Internet Explorer
2. Remove “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” fake alerts with free software
   • Delete “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” pop up scam with Zemana Anti-malware
   • Scan and free your computer of adware with Malwarebytes
   • Use AdwCleaner to remove “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” pop up from browser
3. Run AdBlocker to stop “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” and stay safe online
4. How can you prevent the “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” pop-up warnings
5. Finish words

Manual “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” pop-up warnings removal

Most common adware may be uninstalled without any antivirus apps. The manual adware removal is step by step instructions that will teach you how to remove the “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” popup scam.

Delete ad supported software through the Windows Control Panel

First method for manual adware removal is to go into the Windows “Control Panel”, then “Uninstall a program” console. Take a look at the list of apps on your computer and see if there are any dubious and unknown software. If you see any, you need to uninstall them. Of course, before doing so, you can do an Internet search to find details on the application. If it is a potentially unwanted program, adware or malicious software, you will likely find information that says so.

Carefully browse through the list of installed applications and get rid of all dubious and unknown programs. We recommend to press ‘Installed programs’ and even sorts all installed applications by date. Once you have found anything questionable that may be the ad supported software which cause misleading “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” popup warnings to appear or other potentially unwanted application (PUA), then choose this program and press ‘Uninstall’ in the upper part of the window. If the dubious program blocked from removal, then run Revo Uninstaller Freeware to fully delete it from your computer.

Disinfect the internet browser’s shortcuts to delete “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” redirect

The adware which cause misleading “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” pop up warnings to appear, can hijack various Windows shortcuts on your desktop (most often, all web browsers shortcuts), so in this step you need to check and clean them by removing the argument such as http://site.address/.

Right click to a desktop shortcut for your infected web browser. Select the “Properties” option. It will display the Properties window. Select the “Shortcut” tab here, after that, look at the “Target” field. The adware that causes multiple misleading “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” alerts and pop ups can replace it. If you are seeing something similar to “…exe http://site.address” then you need to remove “http…” and leave only, depending on the web browser you are using:

• Google Chrome: chrome.exe
• Opera: opera.exe
• Firefox: firefox.exe
• Internet Explorer: iexplore.exe

Look at the example as shown below.

Once is done, click the “OK” button to save the changes. Please repeat this step for internet browser shortcuts that redirects to an undesired web-sites. When you’ve finished, go to next step.

Remove unwanted Scheduled Tasks

Once installed, the ad supported software can add a task in to the Windows Task Scheduler Library. Due to this, every time when you launch your PC, it will show “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” intrusive web page. So, you need to check the Task Scheduler Library and get rid of all malicious tasks that have been created by ‘ad-supported’ software.

Press Windows and R keys on the keyboard simultaneously. This shows a prompt that titled with Run. In the text field, type “taskschd.msc” (without the quotes) and press OK. Task Scheduler window opens. In the left-hand side, press “Task Scheduler Library”, as displayed on the screen below.

Task scheduler

In the middle part you will see a list of installed tasks. Please select the first task, its properties will be show just below automatically. Next, press the Actions tab. Pay attention to that it launches on your PC. 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 apps, 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 select Delete like below.

Delete a task

Repeat this step, if you have found a few tasks that have been created by malicious application. Once is finished, close the Task Scheduler window.

Remove “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” from Mozilla Firefox by resetting internet browser settings

Resetting your Firefox is good initial troubleshooting step for any issues with your internet browser application, including the redirect to “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” page.

Start the Firefox and press the menu button (it looks like three stacked lines) at the top right of the browser screen. Next, click the question-mark icon at the bottom of the drop-down menu. It will show the slide-out menu.

Select the “Troubleshooting information”. If you’re unable to access the Help menu, then type “about:support” in your address bar and press Enter. It bring up the “Troubleshooting Information” page as on the image below.

Click the “Refresh Firefox” button at the top right of the Troubleshooting Information page. Select “Refresh Firefox” in the confirmation prompt. The Firefox will begin a procedure to fix your problems that caused by the adware that cause misleading “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” pop up scam to appear. When, it is complete, click the “Finish” button.

Remove “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” fake alerts from Chrome

Reset Google Chrome settings is a simple way to delete the adware, malicious and adware extensions, as well as to recover the internet browser’s start page, newtab page and search engine by default that have been modified by adware that shows misleading “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” popup scam on your system.

Open the Chrome menu by clicking on the button in the form of three horizontal dotes (). It will show the drop-down menu. Select More Tools, then press Extensions.

Carefully browse through the list of installed add-ons. If the list has the addon labeled with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following guide: Remove Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy otherwise, just go to the step below.

Open the Google Chrome main menu again, click to “Settings” option.

Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the “Advanced” link. Now scroll down until the Reset settings section is visible, as displayed on the image below and press the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.

Confirm your action, press the “Reset” button.

Delete “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” popup scam from Microsoft Internet Explorer

By resetting Internet Explorer browser you return your web browser settings to its default state. This is first when troubleshooting problems that might have been caused by adware which cause misleading “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” pop up scam to appear.

First, start the Internet Explorer, then click ‘gear’ icon . It will display the Tools drop-down menu on the right part of the browser, then click the “Internet Options” as shown in the figure below.

In the “Internet Options” screen, select the “Advanced” tab, then click the “Reset” button. The Internet Explorer will show the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” dialog box. Further, click the “Delete personal settings” check box to select it. Next, press the “Reset” button as displayed on the screen below.

When the process is done, click “Close” button. Close the Microsoft Internet Explorer and reboot your PC for the changes to take effect. This step will help you to restore your internet browser’s home page, new tab and default search provider to default state.

Remove “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” fake alerts with free software

Many antivirus companies have designed applications that allow detect adware and thereby get rid of “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” from the Chrome, Firefox, IE and Microsoft Edge internet browsers. Below is a a few of the free programs you may want to run. Your PC system can have lots of potentially unwanted programs, ad-supported software and hijackers installed at the same time, so we recommend, if any unwanted or harmful application returns after restarting the computer, then boot your PC into Safe Mode and run the anti malware tool again.

Delete “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” pop up scam with Zemana Anti-malware

You can remove “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” pop up automatically with a help of Zemana Anti-malware. We recommend this malware removal utility because it may easily remove hijackers, PUPs, ad-supported software which redirects your web browser to “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” web page with all their components such as folders, files and registry entries.

1. Download Zemana AntiMalware (ZAM) from the link below.
   
   

   Zemana AntiMalware
   159596 downloads
   Author: Zemana Ltd
   Category: Security tools
   Update: July 16, 2019
   
2. At the download page, click on the Download button. Your internet browser will display the “Save as” dialog box. Please save it onto your Windows desktop.
3. When the download is done, please close all programs and open windows on your PC system. Next, run a file named Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup.
4. This will start the “Setup wizard” of Zemana Anti-Malware onto your computer. Follow the prompts and don’t make any changes to default settings.
5. When the Setup wizard has finished installing, the Zemana Free will open and open the main window.
6. Further, click the “Scan” button . Zemana Anti-Malware (ZAM) utility will start scanning the whole PC system to find out adware that designed to show misleading “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” popup warnings within your internet browser. While the Zemana Anti Malware program is scanning, you can see how many objects it has identified as threat.
7. After the checking is finished, Zemana AntiMalware will show a list of all threats found by the scan.
8. Review the report and then click the “Next” button. The utility will remove ‘ad supported’ software that shows misleading “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” pop up scam on your computer and move items to the program’s quarantine. When the cleaning process is finished, you may be prompted to restart the computer.
9. Close the Zemana Anti Malware (ZAM) and continue with the next step.

Scan and free your computer of adware with Malwarebytes

You can remove “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” pop-up warnings automatically with a help of Malwarebytes Free. We suggest this free malicious software removal tool because it can easily remove browser hijacker infections, adware, PUPs and toolbars with all their components such as files, folders and registry entries.

Download MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) by clicking on the following link. Save it on your Windows desktop.

Malwarebytes Anti-malware
317780 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020

Once the download is finished, run it and follow the prompts. Once installed, the MalwareBytes Anti Malware will try to update itself and when this task is done, press the “Scan Now” button . MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) utility will start scanning the whole PC to find out adware which causes misleading “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” pop up on your web-browser. Depending on your computer, the scan can take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour. While the MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) utility is scanning, you can see how many objects it has identified as being affected by malicious software. Review the scan results and then press “Quarantine Selected” button.

The MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) is a free application that you can use to get rid of all detected folders, files, services, registry entries and so on. To learn more about this malicious software removal tool, we suggest you to read and follow the steps or the video guide below.

Use AdwCleaner to remove “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” pop up from browser

AdwCleaner is a free removal utility. It removes potentially unwanted software, ad-supported software, browser hijackers and undesired internet browser extensions. Video tutorial available here. It’ll scan for and remove ad supported software which shows misleading “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” fake alerts on your computer. AdwCleaner uses very small machine resources and is a portable program.

1. Download AdwCleaner from the following link. Save it to your Desktop.
   
   

   AdwCleaner download
   220808 downloads
   Version: 8.3.2
   Author: Xplode, MalwareBytes
   Category: Security tools
   Update: April 28, 2022
   
2. Select the file location as Desktop, and then click Save.
3. When the downloading process is complete, start the AdwCleaner, double-click the adwcleaner_xxx.exe file.
4. If the “User Account Control” prompts, click Yes to continue.
5. Read the “Terms of use”, and click Accept.
6. In the AdwCleaner window, click the “Scan” to begin checking your machine for the ad-supported software that causes web browsers to open misleading “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” pop-up. This procedure can take quite a while, so please be patient. While the AdwCleaner program is scanning, you can see how many objects it has identified as threat.
7. After the scan get completed, you can check all threats found on your machine. All found threats will be marked. You can remove them all by simply click “Clean”. If the AdwCleaner will ask you to reboot your computer, press “OK”.

The few simple steps shown in detail in the following video.

Run AdBlocker to stop “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” and stay safe online

It is also critical to protect your web browsers from malicious web-sites and ads by using an ad-blocker program like AdGuard. Security experts says that it will greatly reduce the risk of malicious software, and potentially save lots of money. Additionally, the AdGuard can also protect your privacy by blocking almost all trackers.

1. Download AdGuard program by clicking on the following link. Save it on your MS Windows desktop or in any other place.
   

   Adguard download
   25676 downloads
   Version: 6.4
   Author: © Adguard
   Category: Security tools
   Update: November 15, 2018
   
2. Once downloading is finished, launch the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
3. When the installation is finished, press “Skip” to close the installation program and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial that will help you get to know AdGuard better.
4. In most cases, the default settings are enough and you do not need to change anything. Each time, when you launch your machine, AdGuard will start automatically and block pop-ups, web-sites such “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk”, as well as other harmful or misleading web-pages. For an overview of all the features of the program, or to change its settings you can simply double-click on the icon named AdGuard, which can be found on your desktop.

How can you prevent the “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” pop-up warnings

The adware is bundled within various free programs. This means that you need to be very careful when installing apps downloaded from the Internet, even from a large proven hosting. Be sure to read the Terms of Use and the Software license, select only the Manual, Advanced or Custom setup option, switch off all additional modules and applications are offered to install.

Finish words

Now your computer should be clean of the adware which shows misleading “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” pop up on your machine. Delete AdwCleaner. We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you block unwanted popups and unwanted malicious web pages) and Zemana (to periodically scan your computer for new malware, browser hijackers and ad supported software). Make sure that you have all the Critical Updates recommended for Windows OS. Without regular updates you WILL NOT be protected when new ad-supported softwares, malicious programs and ad-supported software are released.

If you are still having problems while trying to delete “Your Data Is At A Serious Risk” fake alerts from your web-browser, then ask for help in our Spyware/Malware removal forum.