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

Is "Windows Activation Technologies" some sort of scareware?

more options

A number of times while working in mozilla.org, a message has popped onto my screen with "Windows Activation Technologies" written across the top bar. Under that is a back button and next to that a yellow star followed by the Windows Activation Technologies given again. The message says, in bold, "This computer is not running genuine Windows." Below that it says, "To use Windows without interruption, this computer needs to be running genuine Windows. Off to the right of that is a little sign on a black background rectangle that says "ask for genuine Microsoft Software." The paragraph below the first one says, "With genuine Windows you have access to all Windows updates and can be confident that your Windows software has the latest security and reliabiliy enhancements from Microsoft." Below that, in a rectangle with a line around it, it says in bold, "Resolve online now. Below the rectangle an underlined link says Read the privacy stateme3nt online. Then at the very bottom left are these characters: 0x8004fe22. There's a "Cancel" button on the bottom right.

Since I know that I purchased "genuine" Windows," I'm assuming this is scareware hoping I'll click on that link, which I don't intend to. Have other Firefox readers been receiving this window with its notice?

I made a print screen shot of it, but I'm not sure how to display that here. I suppose I could email it to a responder.

A number of times while working in mozilla.org, a message has popped onto my screen with "Windows Activation Technologies" written across the top bar. Under that is a back button and next to that a yellow star followed by the Windows Activation Technologies given again. The message says, in bold, "This computer is not running genuine Windows." Below that it says, "To use Windows without interruption, this computer needs to be running genuine Windows. Off to the right of that is a little sign on a black background rectangle that says "ask for genuine Microsoft Software." The paragraph below the first one says, "With genuine Windows you have access to all Windows updates and can be confident that your Windows software has the latest security and reliabiliy enhancements from Microsoft." Below that, in a rectangle with a line around it, it says in bold, "Resolve online now. Below the rectangle an underlined link says Read the privacy stateme3nt online. Then at the very bottom left are these characters: 0x8004fe22. There's a "Cancel" button on the bottom right. Since I know that I purchased "genuine" Windows," I'm assuming this is scareware hoping I'll click on that link, which I don't intend to. Have other Firefox readers been receiving this window with its notice? I made a print screen shot of it, but I'm not sure how to display that here. I suppose I could email it to a responder.

All Replies (4)

more options

please contact a reputable local pc repair shop to resolve this, this has nothing to do with firefox

more options

This is off topic for this forum, but three articles you may wish to read are

  1. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/971033
  2. http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2506535
  3. http://social.microsoft.com/Forums/is/genuinewindows7/thread/9eba17fc-1a62-4856-b8ab-53fceecf2418

Note each article is on a forum; or has a related linked forum; where you may be able to discuss the topic.

Also note if you visit the following site it should help you decide whether the message is genuine

more options

To Tylerdowner: I know that the message I got had nothing to do with Firefox. The person who replied to me after you has alerted me to the fact that I was off topic in bringing it up. I was wondering whether scareware had somehow planted itself on Mozilla, and whether ofhers with a Firefox browser might have encountered it in the same place.

Before I go to a repair shop, I'll try the suggestion of the next responder on a Microsoft site.

Thanks for answering. I sure hope it isn't the repair shop as my budget is very limited!

CuriosityCat

Modified by CuriosityCat

more options

John99: I appreciate your alerting me to the fact that my question was off-topic. I'll have to be more careful about that in the future. Your suggestions about places to go for discussions of this are very helpful, and I intend to pursue them all. Right while I was giving the first responder a reply, that thing that looked like scareware to me came to screen again, and since the only place I've had it show up was in Mozilla, I wrote about it in this forum.

Modified by CuriosityCat