Your Hard drive will be DELETED – a scam which is trying scare its victim into thinking that he or she is infected with Zeus virus
Your Hard drive will be DELETED is a fake warning designed by tech support scammers to scare their victims. In this case, they are trying to convince their victims into thinking that they are infected with Zeus virus. In reality, this cyber threat is no longer active and is used only in scams like this one.
Zeus virus scams include:
- Windows Detected ZEUS Virus;
- You Have A ZEUS Virus scam;
- Windows Defender Alert: Zeus Virus;
- Security Update Error scam.
Technically, Your Hard drive will be DELETED if you close this page error and other scams that have been mentioned above are caused by adware which can be installed together with free programs as a useful component. Once installed, it modifies computer system and starts disturbing the PC user by displaying the fake pop-up message every time he or she launches web browser. Don't be scared to close these pop-ups because your hard drive is not going to be deleted because of that.

Typically, the fake Your Hard drive will be DELETED if you close this page error says that computer is infected with the serious infection or is dealing with similar problems. Additionally, scammers inform their victim that the only way to fix the system is to use the Toll-Free HelpLine 1-844-680-1071 to contact Microsoft technicians. Please, do NOT use this number! Otherwise, you can end up with the increased telephone bill or may even be tricked into downloading malware to your system.
Typically, the web page, looking as a Blue Screen of Death (BSoD), claims:
WARNING!
Your Hard drive will be DELETED if you close this page. You have a ZEUS virus! Please call Technical Help Desk. Call Toll-Free: 1-855-999-9246 To Stop This Process
Are you sure you want to leave this page?0x000314CE VIRUS_DETECTED_WITHOUT_CANCELLING_PENDING_OPERATIONS
Hard Drive Safety Delete Starting In 4:36
To STOP Deleting Hard Drive Call: 1-855-999-9246ERROR CODE: 0x000314CE
Please contact technical support Toll Free: 1-855-999-9246
To immediately rectify issue and prevent data loss
This scareware is similar to numerous Tech Support Scam viruses that have been spread recently. As soon as you click “Leave this page,” you are redirected to another phony site that poses as Windows Support page. This is yet another phishing website which is trying to trick users into calling tech support scammers and asking them for their “help.”
Typically, these scammers are trying to convince inexperienced PC users into buying unnecessary services or products that are supposedly made to help them fix their computers and make i them function normally. Besides, they can sign their victims for useless services, so there is no need to deal with this scam and postpone Your Hard drive will be DELETED removal.
In reality, all what you need to do is to run a trustworthy malware removal tool, for instance, FortectIntego, to remove Your Hard drive will be DELETED virus from your web browser. Please do not try to locate and delete this malware yourself because it can hide itself under safely-looking filenames and you might accidentally delete wrong files when trying to do good for your computer.
Infiltration techniques used by this fake error
As we have already mentioned, this scam is closely related to adware which can hijack the system during the installation of the freeware/shareware. When you download such programs from the Internet, keep in mind that optional components can also be installed in a bundle as one of components. Fortunately, you can prevent them during the installation procedure.
To avoid installing this malware, we highly recommend you to stay away from Default and Standard installation settings when setting up new programs on the computer system. If you are ready to install the program that you need, download it via Custom or Advanced settings only. Besides, keep the distance from emails coming from unknown sources – they can be malicious!
Remove Your Hard drive will be DELETED scam from the system
To remove Your Hard drive will be DELETED scam from your computer, you should accept help from real IT experts by running one of anti-malware programs that we provided below. All you need to do is to install the program, update it and run a full system scan. In case this malware attempts to block your anti-malware software or prevents you from accessing its download page, try rebooting your computer to Safe Mode with Networking first.
Alternatively, you can rely on the fellowing Your Hard drive will be DELETED removal guidelines:
Uninstall from Windows
Uninstall from Windows 10/8:
- Type Control Panel into the Windows search box and open the result.
- Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.

Uninstall from Windows 7/XP:
- Click on Windows Start > Control Panel (Windows XP users should click on Add/Remove Programs).
- In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program.

Remove the unwanted program:
- In the Programs and Features window, look for any recently installed suspicious entries, select them, and click Uninstall.
- If User Account Control appears, click Yes to confirm, then complete the removal.

Delete from macOS
Remove the unwanted application:
- From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
- In the Applications folder, look for any suspicious entries, then drag them to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash).

Delete leftover files and folders:
- Select Go > Go to Folder.
- Enter /Library/Application Support and remove any suspicious folders related to the unwanted program.
- Repeat the same check in the /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders, deleting any suspicious entries.

- Finally, empty the Trash to permanently remove the leftovers.
Reset Internet Explorer
Remove dangerous add-ons:
- Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top-right corner of the browser
- Pick Manage Add-ons.
- You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for suspicious plugins. Click on these entries and select Disable.

Change your homepage if it was altered:
- Open IE and click on the Gear icon.
- Select Internet Options.
- In the General tab, delete the Home page address and replace it by your preferred one (for example, Google.com).
- Click Apply and then select OK.

Delete temporary files:
- Press on the Gear icon and select Internet Options.
- Under Browsing history, click Delete...
- Select relevant fields and press Delete.

Reset Internet Explorer:
- Click on Gear icon > Internet options and select Advanced tab.
- Select Reset.
- In the new window, check Delete personal settings and select Reset.

Remove from Microsoft Edge
Delete unwanted extensions from MS Edge:
- Select Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and pick Extensions.
- From the list, pick the extension and click on the Gear icon.
- Click Remove.

Clear cookies and other browser data:
- Click on the Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and select Settings > Privacy, search, and services..
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- Select Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files. (apart from passwords, although you might want to include Media licenses as well, if applicable) and click on Clear.

Restore new tab and homepage settings:
- Click the menu icon and choose Settings.
- Then find On startup section.
- Click Remove next to any suspicious startup page.
Reset MS Edge if the above steps did not work:
- Press on Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
- Click on More details arrow at the bottom of the window.
- Select Details tab.
- Now scroll down and locate every entry with Microsoft Edge name in it. Right-click on each of them and select End Task to stop MS Edge from running.

Instructions for Chromium-based Edge
Delete extensions from MS Edge (Chromium):
- Open Edge and click select Settings > Extensions.
- Delete unwanted extensions by clicking Remove.

Clear cache and site data:
- Click on Menu and go to Settings.
- Select Privacy, search and services.
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- Under Time range, pick All time.
- Select Clear now.

Reset Chromium-based MS Edge:
- Click on Menu and select Settings.
- On the left side, pick Reset settings.
- Select Restore settings to their default values.
- Confirm with Reset.
- This will disable extensions and reset startup pages but will not delete bookmarks, saved passwords, or browsing history.

Remove from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
Remove dangerous extensions:
- Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click on the Menu (three horizontal lines at the top-right of the window).
- Select Add-ons.
- In here, select the unwanted extension and click Remove.

Reset the homepage:
- Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
- Choose Settings.
- Under Home, set your preferred homepage and new tab settings.
Clear cookies and site data:
- Click Menu and pick Settings.
- Go to Privacy & Security section.
- Scroll down to locate Cookies and Site Data.
- Click on Clear Data...
- Select Cookies and Site Data and Temporary cached files and pages, then click Clear.

Reset Mozilla Firefox
If clearing the browser as explained above did not help, reset Mozilla Firefox:
- Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click the Menu.
- Go to Help and then choose Troubleshooting Information.

- Under Give Firefox a tune up section, click on Refresh Firefox...
- Once the pop-up shows up, confirm the action by pressing on Refresh Firefox.

Remove from Google Chrome
Delete malicious extensions from Google Chrome:
- Open Google Chrome, click on the Menu (three vertical dots at the top-right corner) and select More tools > Extensions.
- In the newly opened window, you will see all the installed extensions. Uninstall all suspicious extensions related to the unwanted program by clicking Remove.

Clear cache and web data from Chrome:
- Click on Menu and pick Settings.
- Under Privacy and security, select Clear browsing data.
- Select Browsing history, Cookies and other site data, as well as Cached images and files.
- Click Clear data.

Change your homepage:
- Click menu and choose Settings.
- Look for a suspicious site in the On startup section.
- Click on Open a specific or set of pages and click on three dots to find the Remove option.
Reset Google Chrome:
If the previous methods did not help you, reset Google Chrome to eliminate all the unwanted components:
- Click on Menu and select Settings.
- In the Settings, scroll down and click Advanced.
- Scroll down and locate Reset and clean up section.
- Now click Restore settings to their original defaults.
- Confirm with Reset settings.

Delete from Safari
Remove dangerous extensions:
- Open Safari, click Safari in the menu at the top-left of the screen, and select Preferences.
- Go to the Extensions tab, look for any suspicious entries, and click Uninstall to remove them.

Clear history and website data:
- Click Safari in the menu and pick Clear History.
- Set Clear to all history and confirm with Clear History.

Reset Safari:
- Click Safari in the menu and select Preferences > Advanced.
- Enable Show Develop menu in menu bar.
- From the menu bar, click Develop and select Empty Caches.

Was this guide helpful?
4 comments