Trojan Spyware Alert (scam) - Free Guide
Trojan Spyware Alert Removal Guide
What is Trojan Spyware Alert?
Trojan Spyware Alert is a fake notification that plays audio in order to intimidate users and make them call the alleged tech support
Trojan Spyware Alert is a scam made to trick users into paying money for useless services
You might encounter phishing[1] and scam websites at any time while browsing the web on Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or any other browser. Trojan Spyware Alert is a typical tech support scam that tries to exploit users who are less familiar with computing – its main goal is to scare users by showing them misleading information.
As soon as users land on one of the malicious pages that host the scam, they can see several pop-ups that use Microsoft's logos and other attributes the could easily make people think the message is actually legitimate. The Trojan Spyware Alert is meant to make people believe that their systems are infected with spyware/malware.[2]
According to the message, access to the computer has been blocked “for security reasons,” and users need to contact technical support to remediate the situation. During this time, users are bombarded with various warnings and a loud sound that sometimes also comes with a video.
The truth is that this is entirely staged, and there is nothing legitimate about this message. Your computer is unlikely to be infected, and it is also not blocked. Those who do get tricked into calling the provided number might later suffer from various damages, including financial losses or even malware infections.
If you are experiencing browser redirects to suspicious websites frequently, it could be a sign of adware infection, and you should make sure that your system is cleaned from it to stop the intrusive activity. If you have contacted the Trojan Spyware Alert scam authors, we will explain how to resolve the situation and minimize potential damages.
name | Trojan Spyware Alert |
---|---|
Type | Tech support scam, fake alert, phishing |
Imitates | Microsoft Support website |
Scam message | Access to PC allegedly disabled for security reasons |
Scam phone numbers | 1-(866)-993-1836, 1-(877)-570-9733 (might vary) |
Symptoms | Redirects to suspicious websites that show pop-ups, play sounds, and threaten with malicious messages |
Risks | If you call the fake tech support, you might be tricked into sending crooks money or allow access to your PC remotely, which could lead to malware infections |
Removal | Perform a full system scan with SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner, Malwarebytes or another reliable anti-malware to check for infections; if you have provided remote access to your PC, change all your passwords; if you have paid money, call your bank |
System fix | To check and fix any corrupted Windows files, use the powerful FortectIntego system repair tool |
How the scam operates
Trojan Spyware Alert is not the only tech support scam that we have seen over the years. In fact, phishing pop-ups and messages of other kinds frequently impersonate Microsoft (“Microsoft Warning Alert,” “Pornographic virus alert from Microsoft“) or any other popular tech companies such as Google (“Google Chrome Critical Error“). It is very important to note that all these companies have nothing to do with phishing websites, and crooks are only using their names in order to make their scheme more believable.
In this instance, you are dealing with a very common tech support scam. It uses typical scaremongering tactics and claims that the device has been infected by malware. The main goal of it is to catch visitors by surprise – immediately upon the site entry, users are presented with dozens of pop-ups, which are accompanied by a loud sound. Here's one of the messages within one of the pop-ups you might see:
Trojan Spyware Alert – Error Code #0x898778
Access to this PC has been blocked for security reasons.
Contact Windows Support: 1-(866)-993-1836
The message tries very hard to imitate a legitimate warning. It uses a structure of a real Windows error code (even though this particular numerical combination does not exist) and also shows icons and other attributes related to Windows and Microsoft. Ignore all these messages at once.
If you are unable to leave the page in a regular way, press Win + Shift + Esc on your keyboard to open the Task Manager and shut down the tour browser's process at once. You should ignore all the warnings about computer infections, although you definitely should follow the steps in the next section to ensure your device is clean.
As soon as users enter a malicious page, users are bombarded with dozens of pop-up windows
Whatever you do, do not call the provided number. If you did contact crooks already, please follow the tips at the bottom of this post.
Check your device for adware
As we already mentioned, users typically encounter phishing and scam sites accidentally. Usually, they get redirected after clicking a booby-trapped link residing on websites that are not considered secure by any means. For example, illegal software distributors or video streaming sites are plagued by malicious ads, fake links, and phishing messages.
You should always be aware that high-risk sites can be the main reason why you end up installing malware on your system. Thus, if you frequent such places, we recommend you stop the activity altogether, as it poses a security risk.
Likewise, users might encounter browser redirects due to different reasons. Application or a browser extension categorized as adware might cause users to land on malicious sites, as well as increase the number of various ads they are exposed to during the web browsing sessions.
More aggressive adware might be difficult to detect, as it can hide its active window or now show up in the installed program list. If you would rather avoid the steps below and want a more effective and quick result, you can instead employ SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner or Malwarebytes anti-malware software to remove all the malicious software from your system at once. Alternatively, proceed with the steps below.
Check for extensions
Potentially unwanted applications can either be installed on the browser or system. The good news is that browser extensions are less likely to impact your computer drastically (even though they can make your web browsing a total nightmare still), and they are usually very easy to remove. If you have not health with browser extensions before, you can use the manual instructions.
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 the suspicious plugins that might be related to the unwanted program by clicking Remove.
Mozilla Firefox
- Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click on the Menu (three horizontal lines at the window's top-right).
- Select Add-ons.
- In here, select the unwanted plugin and click Remove.
MS Edge (Chromium)
- Open Edge and click select Settings > Extensions.
- Delete unwanted extensions by clicking Remove.
MS Edge (legacy)
- 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 on Uninstall at the bottom.
Uninstall unwanted programs
As mentioned, adware might be installed on the system level as an application. Thus, check the installed apps section:
- Enter Control Panel into Windows search box and hit Enter or click on the search result.
- Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.
- From the list, find the entry of the suspicious program.
- Right-click on the application and select Uninstall.
- If User Account Control shows up, click Yes.
- Wait till uninstallation process is complete and click OK.
Finally, keep in mind that malware could start showing you intrusive ads as well, and it is almost impossible for a regular computer user to eliminate it properly. Therefore, if you haven't found anything suspicious by using the methods described above, rely on security software instead.
Note: if malware or adware has been found on your system, you should use the FortectIntego repair tool to remove the damage that could have been caused by the infection. This would prevent your system from crashing or suffering from other issues in the future.
Victim of a Trojan Spyware Alert scam? How to recover
There are plenty of people that are ready to harm others for their own benefit – the sheer amount of malware and scams created constantly shows that this is true.[3] There are plenty of users who are less familiar with scams and how they operate, hence they fall victims every day. The unfortunate part is that the most vulnerable social groups, such as the elderly, are frequently targeted.
If you were unfortunate enough to get tricked by the fake message and called the provided fake tech support number, you should get ready for consequences. You can take certain measures to reduce the impact of this, however. Keep in mind that the negative consequences only apply if you have allowed remote access to your computer during the call, provided your personal information, or paid for fake services.
- If you paid for whatever crooks came up with (usually their “services”), you should contact your bank and explain the situation;
- In case crooks accessed your PC remotely, scan your computer for infections – they might have planted malware on your device;
- If you provided personal details to crooks, such as passwords, change them immediately. Also, monitor your online banking for illegal transactions;
- Employ powerful security and ad-blocking software that would protect you from online scams and malware.
How to prevent from getting adware
Choose a proper web browser and improve your safety with a VPN tool
Online spying has got momentum in recent years and people are getting more and more interested in how to protect their privacy online. One of the basic means to add a layer of security – choose the most private and secure web browser. Although web browsers can't grant full privacy protection and security, some of them are much better at sandboxing, HTTPS upgrading, active content blocking, tracking blocking, phishing protection, and similar privacy-oriented features. However, if you want true anonymity, we suggest you employ a powerful Private Internet Access VPN – it can encrypt all the traffic that comes and goes out of your computer, preventing tracking completely.
Lost your files? Use data recovery software
While some files located on any computer are replaceable or useless, others can be extremely valuable. Family photos, work documents, school projects – these are types of files that we don't want to lose. Unfortunately, there are many ways how unexpected data loss can occur: power cuts, Blue Screen of Death errors, hardware failures, crypto-malware attack, or even accidental deletion.
To ensure that all the files remain intact, you should prepare regular data backups. You can choose cloud-based or physical copies you could restore from later in case of a disaster. If your backups were lost as well or you never bothered to prepare any, Data Recovery Pro can be your only hope to retrieve your invaluable files.
- ^ Phishing. Wikipedia. The free encyclopedia.
- ^ Definition of 'Spyware'. Economic Times. Business-focused newspaper.
- ^ John Leyden. Cyber scams and ransomware booming amid Covid-19 lockdowns – Europol. The Daily Swig. Cybersecurity news and views.