Virus alert request to remove timeline

The purpose of most fake virus alerts is to intimidate or scare you into clicking a link. The irony, of course, is that until you click the link, there is no virus on your computer. After you click it, there may be. They will warn you that your computer has a virus and that you need to click a link and download software to get rid of it. Unless you have antivirus software running on your computer, every virus alert you see is fake.

If you do have AV software running, the only real alerts will be in a window displayed by your software. Web page or browser tab pop-ups are always fake. Ignore it and close the window or browser tab. Consider whether you want to continue using a website that displays such warnings.

These fake virus alerts are often adverts, paid for by cybercriminals who want you to download their malware onto your computer.

Any site that hosts such adverts is putting you and your computer at risk. Then re-open it without reloading all the tabs that were open in the previous session. If there are, bring them to the front and close them. But do take steps to check your Mac or PC for malware. If you have an antivirus tool installed, use that to scan your computer. If not, there are several good ones available to download for free.

You can use one of those to carry out a scan. Some AV applications will also remove malware free, others require that you pay for a full version of the software before they will remove anything.

CleanMyMac X has a regularly-updated database of malware and when it scans your Mac, it compares what it finds with that database.

If you're on a Mac, follow these instructions to remove any malware that may be causing the pop-up to appear. We have more information about these "tech support" scams malware in our Knowledge Base.

If you're seeing this on a free streaming site, keep in mind that these types of websites are notorious for serving malware and opening pop-ups and "pop-unders" along with free TV and movie programming.

These ads can be very difficult to block. AdBlock like other ad blockers is not an anti-malware program. It can provides some malware protection by blocking malicious ads, but it can't prevent malware from being installed. Thank you,. Get Email Updates.

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