Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

POP-UP WARNING THAT SECURITY & PRIVACY BREACHED

  • 2 replies
  • 2 have this problem
  • 17 views
  • Last reply by LADYSINGER

more options

I was on a website, clicked onto a link & immediately got a huge flashing pop-up with print & audible warning that my computer was locked, & to call a certain number immediately. Couldn't close this page, & was unable to close Mozilla Firefox, & had to use force shut down.

I waited a couple minutes & then turned my computer back on, ran Malwarebytes scan & clean, then scanned again. Also ran Avast Premier, & no problems were detected.

Is there anything more that I need to do, or can I rest easy?

I was on a website, clicked onto a link & immediately got a huge flashing pop-up with print & audible warning that my computer was locked, & to call a certain number immediately. Couldn't close this page, & was unable to close Mozilla Firefox, & had to use force shut down. I waited a couple minutes & then turned my computer back on, ran Malwarebytes scan & clean, then scanned again. Also ran Avast Premier, & no problems were detected. Is there anything more that I need to do, or can I rest easy?

Chosen solution

Hi LADYSINGER, it sounds like an especially obnoxious ad to persuade you to access their paid tech support service. It doesn't sound like you downloaded and ran/opened/installed any files. In that case, I think you're probably fine.

There are a few different page designs these companies use. In one of them, pressing the Esc key several times quickly in a row will break the sign-in/reload cycle so you can close the tab normally. Others might behave differently.

Read this answer in context 👍 1

All Replies (2)

more options

Chosen Solution

Hi LADYSINGER, it sounds like an especially obnoxious ad to persuade you to access their paid tech support service. It doesn't sound like you downloaded and ran/opened/installed any files. In that case, I think you're probably fine.

There are a few different page designs these companies use. In one of them, pressing the Esc key several times quickly in a row will break the sign-in/reload cycle so you can close the tab normally. Others might behave differently.

more options

I'm so thankful to you, jscher2000, for your input. I've since found their url from my internet history & reported this incident to Google.