Q. Internet Security Alert pop ups. Now my computer has pop up scam every few minutes. It keeps coming up automatically. I did some searching on the Net and cannot seem to find the information needed to remove it manually. How to get this off my computer. If anyone has any hints would be great!
The full text of the Internet Security Alert pop up is:
Internet Security Alert : Your Computer Might Be Infected By Harmful Viruses. Please Do Not Shut Down or Reset Your Computer. The following data might be compromised if you continue: 1. Passwords 2. Browser History 3. Credit Card Information 4.Local Hard Disk Files. These viruses are well known for identity and credit card theft. Further action on this computer or any other device on your network might reveal private information and involve serious risks. Call Windows Technical Support
A. “Internet Security Alert” pop up is a fake error. It says that the computer is infected by virus and that some users’ data (passwords, browser history, credit card information and so on) is compromised. The main purpose of this scam is to force you into calling a fake Windows Technical Support trying to sell unnecessary virus removal service. Some research has shown that users can be redirected to the “Internet Security Alert” scam from malicious ads or by potentially unwanted applications and adware.
How can Adware be dangerous to your system? Adware can make big problem to your PC system. Adware sometimes called ‘ad-supported’ software is harmful program which displays a large amount of ads in form of popups, discount offers, promos or even fake alerts on the web browser. Adware can seriously affect your privacy, your computer’s performance and security. Adware software can be installed onto your system unknowingly (it is frequently web-browser extension).
Does adware software steal your privacy information? Adware software can be used to collect lots of marketing-type data about you such as what websites you are opening, what you are looking for the World Wide Web and so on. This privacy information, subsequently, may be sold to third party companies.
Adware mostly comes on the system with free programs. In most cases, it comes without the user’s knowledge. Therefore, many users aren’t even aware that their PC has been hijacked by PUPs and adware. Please follow the easy rules in order to protect your machine from adware software and PUPs: do not install any suspicious software, read the user agreement and select only the Custom, Manual or Advanced install method, don’t rush to click the Next button. Also, always try to find a review of the application on the Net. Be careful and attentive!
Threat Summary
| Name | Internet Security Alert scam |
| Type | Tech Support Scam, adware, PUP (potentially unwanted program), popups, pop-up scam, pop-up virus |
| Symptoms |
|
| Removal | Internet Security Alert removal guide |
Adware software is usually written in ways common to malware, spyware and hijackers. In order to remove adware and thereby delete Internet Security Alert pop ups, you will need execute the steps below or run free adware removal utility listed below.
How to Remove Internet Security Alert pop up scam (removal guide)
We recommend opting for automatic Internet Security Alert pop ups removal in order to delete all adware software related entries easily. This method requires scanning the machine with reputable anti malware, e.g. Zemana Anti-Malware (ZAM), MalwareBytes Free or Hitman Pro. However, if you prefer manual removal steps, you can follow the instructions below in this blog post. Read it once, after doing so, please print this page as you may need to exit your browser or restart your computer.
To remove Internet Security Alert pop-ups, perform the following steps:
- How to delete Internet Security Alert popup without any software
- How to remove Internet Security Alert scam with free software
- Run AdBlocker to stop Internet Security Alert popups
- To sum up
How to delete Internet Security Alert popup without any software
The steps will help you remove Internet Security Alert pop-up. These Internet Security Alert removal steps work for the IE, Chrome, Edge and Firefox, as well as every version of operating system.
Remove potentially unwanted software using Microsoft Windows Control Panel
Some potentially unwanted programs, browser hijacking apps and adware can be removed by uninstalling the free software they came with. If this way does not succeed, then looking them up in the list of installed applications in Windows Control Panel. Use the “Uninstall” command in order to remove them.
- If you are using Windows 8, 8.1 or 10 then click Windows button, next click Search. Type “Control panel”and press Enter.
- If you are using Windows XP, Vista, 7, then press “Start” button and press “Control Panel”.
- It will display the Windows Control Panel.
- Further, click “Uninstall a program” under Programs category.
- It will show a list of all software installed on the machine.
- Scroll through the all list, and remove questionable and unknown applications. To quickly find the latest installed programs, we recommend sort programs by date.
See more details in the video guide below.
Get rid of Internet Security Alert scam from Microsoft Internet Explorer
If you find that Internet Explorer internet browser settings such as search provider, newtab page and startpage had been modified by adware software that causes Internet Security Alert scam, then you may revert back your settings, via the reset internet browser procedure.
First, run the IE. Next, press the button in the form of gear (
). It will show the Tools drop-down menu, click the “Internet Options” such as the one below.
In the “Internet Options” window click on the Advanced tab, then press the Reset button. The Internet Explorer will display the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” window as on the image below. Select the “Delete personal settings” check box, then press “Reset” button.
You will now need to restart your personal computer for the changes to take effect.
Remove Internet Security Alert pop ups from Mozilla Firefox
If Mozilla Firefox settings are hijacked by the adware, your web browser displays annoying popup ads, then ‘Reset Mozilla Firefox’ could solve these problems. It’ll save your personal information such as saved passwords, bookmarks, auto-fill data and open tabs.
Start the Mozilla Firefox and press the menu button (it looks like three stacked lines) at the top right of the internet browser screen. Next, click the question-mark icon at the bottom of the drop-down menu. It will open the slide-out menu.
Select the “Troubleshooting information”. If you are 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 displayed in the figure below.
Click the “Refresh Firefox” button at the top right of the Troubleshooting Information page. Select “Refresh Firefox” in the confirmation prompt. The Mozilla Firefox will begin a process to fix your problems that caused by the Internet Security Alert adware software. When, it’s done, press the “Finish” button.
Remove Internet Security Alert popup scam from Google Chrome
Use the Reset browser utility of the Chrome to reset all its settings like newtab page, startpage and search engine by default to original defaults. This is a very useful utility to use, in the case of web-browser redirects to annoying ad web pages like Internet Security Alert.
Open the Chrome menu by clicking on the button in the form of three horizontal dotes (
). It will display the drop-down menu. Choose More Tools, then click Extensions.
Carefully browse through the list of installed extensions. If the list has the extension labeled with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following instructions: Remove Google Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy otherwise, just go to the step below.
Open the Chrome main menu again, press 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 shown below and click the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.
Confirm your action, click the “Reset” button.
How to remove Internet Security Alert scam with free software
It’s not enough to remove Internet Security Alert scam from your web-browser by following the manual steps above to solve all problems. Some the adware software related files may remain on your personal computer and they will restore the adware even after you get rid of it. For that reason we recommend to use free anti malware tool like Zemana, MalwareBytes and HitmanPro. Either of those programs should can search for and remove adware software responsible for Internet Security Alert pop-ups.
Run Zemana Anti Malware (ZAM) to get rid of Internet Security Alert pop-up
Zemana Free is a free utility that performs a scan of your machine and displays if there are existing adware, browser hijackers, viruses, worms, spyware, trojans and other malware residing on your computer. If malware is found, Zemana Anti-Malware (ZAM) can automatically remove it. Zemana Free does not conflict with other anti-malware and antivirus software installed on your system.
Download Zemana from the following link.
164979 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
When the download is complete, close all apps and windows on your personal computer. Double-click the install file named Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup. If the “User Account Control” prompt pops up like below, click the “Yes” button.
It will open the “Setup wizard” which will help you install Zemana Free on your PC. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
Once setup is complete successfully, Zemana Free will automatically start and you can see its main screen as displayed in the figure below.
Now click the “Scan” button for scanning your personal computer for the adware software related to the Internet Security Alert pop ups. This process may take quite a while, so please be patient.
Once that process is complete, Zemana will open a list of found threats. Review the results once the tool has done the system scan. If you think an entry should not be quarantined, then uncheck it. Otherwise, simply click “Next” button. The Zemana Anti-Malware will start to remove adware that cause pop-up scam. When that process is done, you may be prompted to restart the personal computer.
Remove Internet Security Alert pop up from browsers with Hitman Pro
HitmanPro is a malware removal utility that is created to detect and terminate browser hijacker infections, potentially unwanted applications, adware and questionable processes from the PC that has been infected with malicious software. It’s a portable program which can be run instantly from Flash Drive. HitmanPro have an advanced system monitoring tool which uses a whitelist database to block questionable tasks and programs.
- Installing the Hitman Pro is simple. First you’ll need to download HitmanPro from the link below. Save it directly to your Windows Desktop.
- Once the downloading process is complete, double click the HitmanPro icon. Once this tool is opened, press “Next” button to perform a system scan for the adware that causes Internet Security Alert scam in your web browser. This task may take some time, so please be patient. During the scan HitmanPro will search for threats present on your PC.
- When the scan get finished, HitmanPro will create a list of unwanted apps and adware. Review the scan results and then click “Next” button. Now click the “Activate free license” button to start the free 30 days trial to delete all malware found.
How to automatically remove Internet Security Alert with MalwareBytes
Trying to delete Internet Security Alert pop up scam can become a battle of wills between the adware infection and you. MalwareBytes Free can be a powerful ally, removing most of today’s adware, malicious software and PUPs with ease. Here’s how to use MalwareBytes Free will help you win.
Visit the page linked below to download the latest version of MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) for Windows. Save it directly to your Microsoft Windows Desktop.
327223 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
Once the downloading process is complete, close all windows on your system. Further, run the file called mb3-setup. If the “User Account Control” dialog box pops up as displayed on the screen below, click the “Yes” button.
It will show the “Setup wizard” which will help you install MalwareBytes Free on the personal computer. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
Once setup is finished successfully, click Finish button. Then MalwareBytes Free will automatically run and you may see its main window as shown below.
Next, press the “Scan Now” button to perform a system scan for the adware that causes Internet Security Alert pop up scam in your web-browser. Depending on your computer, the scan may take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour. When a malicious software, adware or potentially unwanted apps are detected, the number of the security threats will change accordingly. Wait until the the checking is finished.
When MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) has finished scanning your system, a list of all items found is prepared. Review the scan results and then press “Quarantine Selected” button.
The MalwareBytes Free will remove adware software responsible for Internet Security Alert scam and move items to the program’s quarantine. After that process is finished, you may be prompted to restart your system. We advise you look at the following video, which completely explains the procedure of using the MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) to get rid of hijackers, adware and other malware.
Run AdBlocker to stop Internet Security Alert popups
By installing an ad-blocker application like AdGuard, you’re able to block Internet Security Alert, autoplaying video ads and delete lots of distracting and intrusive ads on web-pages.
AdGuard can be downloaded from the following link. Save it directly to your Microsoft Windows Desktop.
26883 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
After downloading it, double-click the downloaded file to start it. The “Setup Wizard” window will show up on the computer screen as shown on the image 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 tutorial as shown below.
Press “Skip” button to close the window and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial that will help you get to know AdGuard better.
Each time, when you start your computer, AdGuard will start automatically and stop undesired advertisements, block Internet Security Alert scam, as well as other harmful or misleading web sites. For an overview of all the features of the application, or to change its settings you can simply double-click on the AdGuard icon, that may be found on your desktop.
To sum up
Now your PC should be clean of the adware software which cause intrusive Internet Security Alert popup. We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you block unwanted popups and annoying malicious web-pages) and Zemana Free (to periodically scan your machine for new malicious software, browser hijackers and adware software). Make sure that you have all the Critical Updates recommended for Windows OS. Without regular updates you WILL NOT be protected when new browser hijackers, malicious applications and adware are released.
If you are still having problems while trying to get rid of Internet Security Alert scam from your web browser, then ask for help here.
