“Hard Drive Is Not Accepted” scam wants to make you believe that your sensitive data was stolen

“Hard Drive Is Not Accepted” pretends to be a legit security warning about virus attack. This error message shows up in a pop-up on the malicious website. Usually, users are redirected to this site by unknown adware[1] which spreads in software packages. Thus, to stop redirects to this site, users have to find and eliminate this potentially unwanted program (PUP).
Authors of the “Hard Drive Is Not Accepted” virus wants to scare people into calling a fake Microsoft tech support line at 888-886-7703. Nevertheless, the error claims that it’s a toll-free number; it might be a lie. However, an overcharged phone call is the least problem.
People standing behind “Hard Drive Is Not Accepted” tech support scam might be willing to get your credit card data or other sensitive information by offering to purchase a useless security software to clean the non-existent virus. Additionally, they might convince you to install remote access program and let “technicians” to fix the problem. In this case, you would give full access to your PC for cyber criminals; and this situation might end up pretty bad.
When users are redirected to “Hard Drive Is Not Accepted” website, they receive two pop-ups which urge to call the fake support line. One of them says:
Hard Drive is not accepted.
The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable! Please call Support Now! Call Toll-Free: 888-886-7703 To find the right solution.
Another one provides more information about virus attack and claims that some of the sensitive information might be compromised by criminals:
RDN/Trojan.worm!055BCCAC9FEC Infection
Call Microsoft Technical Support Immediately at 888-886-7703The following data will be compromised if you continue:
1. Passwords
2. Browser History
3. Credit Card InformationThe virus is well known for complete identity and credit card theft. Further action through this computer or any computer on the network will reveal private information and involve serious risks.
Call Microsoft Technical Support Immediately at 888-886-7703
However, “Hard Drive Is Not Accepted” is a fake security alert.[2] Microsoft or antivirus programs do not provide security alerts in a browser. What is more, phone support line should always seem suspicious because Microsoft does not offer help using this communication channel.
Thus, once you end up on this website, you should just close browser’s tab without any consideration. Your computer is only infected with an adware program which can be easily removed with anti-malware tool. For “Hard Drive Is Not Accepted” removal, we suggest using FortectIntego.
If you want to remove “Hard Drive Is Not Accepted” adware manually, you can do it as well. This PUP might be installed on your PC or one of your web browsers. The guidelines at the end of the article will help you to find and eliminate this cyber threat.

Be cautious during freeware installation to avoid similar problems in the future
The adware which is responsible for spreading “Hard Drive Is Not Accepted” scam spreads bundled with various freeware packages. It might be promoted as useful extension or program and trick you into agreeing to download it. However, this PUP might get installed silently as well.
The hijack might occur when you choose Quick/Standard installation settings that do not openly disclose about additional third-party downloads. Thus, to avoid unpleasant surprises, you should always use Custom/Advanced settings and follow the installation carefully.
Methods to stop “Hard Drive Is Not Accepted” support scam from showing up on your browser
If you want to remove “Hard Drive Is Not Accepted” malware manually, you should check our instructions below. They will show the places where adware might hide and explain how to get rid of it properly.
However, researchers from UdenVirus[3] note that sometimes manual adware removal fails due to its ability to hide its components deeply in the system. For this reason, it’s better to opt for automatic “Hard Drive Is Not Accepted” removal and let professional security software to wipe out them all.
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.

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