So you are browsing the web with Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, or Firefox and get a popup scam that says your computer is infected with a virus, malware, etc., or that there are numerous other issues with your computer and gives a number to call. These are pages created as a scare tactic for you to call and allow a scammer to get access to your system and info.
These are not an actual threat to the system and can be easily removed by following these steps:
1. Open Task Manager on your PC, to do this, Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc at the same time on your keyboard.
2. Select your internet browser (Edge, Chrome, Firefox, etc.) from the list in Task Manager, click on it, and then select End Task
3. Now the pop-up scam should be gone from the screen. There are a couple more steps to make sure that this pop-up does not reappear the next time you open your browser.
4. Press the Windows (or Start) key on your keyboard and the letter R at the same time to open a Run utility.
5. In the Run utility, type the command that corresponds to the browser you were using, then click OK once typed in:
chrome www.microcenter.com
firefox www.microcenter.com
microsoft-edge:www.microcenter.com
6. A new browser window will now open to microcenter.com, depending on your settings though, the scam pop-up may also reload in the background or in another tab.
NOTE: Your browser may also prompt you to "Restore" previous tabs, do not click on this, or it will reload the same page.
7. Close the browser normally, by clicking the X in the top right corner.
If prompted, select to close all windows. Once completed, you can now open your browser normally, the pop-up will not reappear.
