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  • Active
  • Severity: High
  • Malware
  • Windows, Mac
  • Verified · Apr 2021

How to remove “Windows Defender Alert: Zeus Virus” Tech Support Scam

A step-by-step removal guide for affected devices. Follow the verified procedure below — most readers complete it in under 10 minutes.

Gabriel E. Hall · Passionate web researcher

Zeus virus detected is a fake error message that tries to make users call a bogus tech support service

Windows Defender Alert: Zeus Virus is Zeus virus scam claiming that Zeus virus is detected on the machine. In reality, the error message that resembles legitimate Windows alerts is entirely fake – it appears inside the Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer or another browser, instead of a full, locked screen as it is typical to the real error reports from Microsoft.

However, one might ask why Windows Defender Alert: Zeus Virus notifications are appearing seemingly out of nowhere? The answer is adware – these potentially unwanted programs usually enter machines without notifying their owners and modify web browser settings in order to insert banners, in-text links, pop-ups, and other commercial content during web browsing sessions.

However, while some ads might be not more than an inconvenience, the malicious redirects are the ones that link users to Zeus Virus scam sites. In reality, their computers are not infected with the notorious Zeus virus – banking malware[1] that began to spread around the internet in 2007 and affected more than 74,000 FTP accounts of NASA, ABC, Amazon, and other high-profile corporations, as well as infected thousands of regular users worldwide.[2]

Fortunately, the malware was terminated in 2011, but malicious scammers keep claiming that the computer is damaged and Zeus virus detected on the system with the help of adware campaigns.

Name Windows Defender Alert: Zeus Virus
Type Closely related to adware
Can be found on Rogue pages, in software packages
Relations made with  Zeus virus. Gladly, this cyber threat is no longer active
Prevention Use original installers, avoid rogue sites
Detection FortectIntego can detect the PUP
Removal  Use automatical tools for the removal

Typically, when a potentially unwanted program (PUP) enters a computer, it causes unwanted ads and redirects to sponsored websites. However, it can also initiate redirects to phishing websites that show Zeus virus detected messages[3] and fake security warnings used for stealing users' money.[4] Nevertheless, you might infect your computer system with dangerous malware if you do not get rid of the rogue application on time.

One of such warnings is Windows Defender Alert: Zeus Virus scam, which can appear even when you visit a legitimate site. To scare unaware PC users, it uses a blue background, also identified as a Blue Screen of Death (BSoD), and similar elements. Keep in mind that Windows Defender would never use BSoD to warn its user about malware. Also, it doesn't open alerts via a web browser in such an intrusive way.

Typically, the Zeus virus scam claims:

*******************************************************
RDN/YahLover.worm!055BCCAC9FEC infection
*******************************************************
Windows Defender Alert: Zeus Virus Detected In Your Computer !!
Please Do Not Shut Down or Reset Your Computer.

The following data will be compromised if you continue:
1. Passwords
2. Browser History
3. Credit Card Information
4. Local Hard Disk Files.

This 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 Department (Toll Free)

The number which is provided in this scam is (888) 252-1520. However, it has been changed for several times, so you can be asked to call another number to reach “Microsoft technicians”. Keep in mind that these people are scammers who are ready to do anything to swindle your money.

Zeus virus detected scam

For that, they create such alerts as Zeus virus detected scam which mimic Microsoft. Their aim is to initiate the sense of urgency and trick the victim into calling the scammers who can either sign up him/her for useless services or infect the target computer with malware. In this case, you can lose your personal information with only one call.

If you noticed such messages on your screen, you should remove Zeus virus scam without wasting your time. When dealing with Tech support scams, we recommend using FortectIntego.

Scammers that wait for victims to call them are ready to tell all kinds of lies. People who are hiding behind Windows Defender Zeus Virus alert are on prey for easy targets – if the victim gets convinced to call the scammers, it is likely that he/she will follow their commands as well. This might lead to unwanted consequences, for example, unexpected money losses.

First of all, the developers who spread Windows Defender Zeus Virus ask what picture is displayed on the user's computer screen. This way, they understand what kind of tech support scam program the victim was infected with. Then, they tell the victim to go to particular computer folders, press keyboard keys and do other things that are useless. These tasks are used just to confuse the victim.

Zeus virus detected fake alert

Finally, they announce that the problem is very serious and urge the victim to buy an overpriced security software pack or, even worse, they suggest “helping” the user remotely. If the victim provides remote access to the computer system, scammers can easily infect it with the desired virus, e. g., ransomware, a trojan horse[5] or another dangerous program. To avoid contact with scammers and keep your computer safe, users should perform the Zeus virus scam removal.

Malware related to Zeus virus

Zeus trojan

Zeus Trojan virus is one of the most prevalent data-stealing malware samples that was disabled in 2016. It is also known as  Zbot Trojan and Gameover Zeus. Once installed, it was used to collect sensitive information by recording user's keystrokes. It was able to operate behind the user's back for weeks, months or even years.

All information collected by Zeus Trojan was transferred to its Command & Control center. This center has also been used to receive commands from virus developers. 

Zeus Panda virus

Zeus Panda virus has also been categorized as a banking Trojan as its main targets are financial information and logins. While this virus operates the same way as previously described Zeus Trojan, the phrase “Zeus Panda virus” was introduced because this virus was created on the same code as an infamous Trojan horse. At the moment, Zeus Panda tries to avoid Russian-speaking countries, so it has been speculated that the virus hails from these countries. 

Nevertheless, Zeus Panda virus is also incorporated in Zeus virus scam, so watch out for bogus messages within web browsers that claim the infection.

Zeus Virus scam

Terdot virus

Terdot virus is the newest malware related to Zeus virus. Just like the previous ones, this threat seeks to take over people's personal information. However, its main targets are social media credentials. It has been reported that the virus seeks to steal users' Yahoo, Gmail, and Microsoft live.com login information.

Deceptive programs are distributed using different methods

NoVirus experts[6] report that tech support scams distribute malware using software bundling, malicious spam, and other techniques. Luckily, victims can prevent installing such malicious programs quite easily. Usually, all that the user needs to do is to avoid opening shady email attachments and installing freshly downloaded software the right way.

Wondering what is the right way to install computer programs? Let us clear this out for you. Sadly, many people believe that it is enough to hit the “Next” button several times and then click “Finish” to complete the process. Sadly, such way of installation is likely to grant several potentially unwanted programs a permission to enter the computer system unnoticed

For this reason, we always recommend reading Privacy Policy and Terms of Use documents and adjusting the installation settings the right way. To do that, select Custom or Advanced settings instead of Default or Standard ones. All that is left to do is to deselect unwanted apps and extensions suggested to you.

Zeus Virus scam - fake Tech support messages

Remove Windows Defender Zeus virus alert

If the described pop-ups emerge on your screen on a daily basis, do not delay the Zeus virus detected removal. To eliminate the virus, choose a decent anti-malware program that will do all the work for you. Before that, you should quit your web browser and eliminate the scam from your desktop.

If you want to fix this error manually, you can remove Zeus virus scam with the help of steps given below.  However, you will have to find all programs that are showing this annoying pop-up on your computer. Make sure you are careful enough to follow every step in the right order to remove “Windows Defender Alert: Zeus Virus” fake alerts completely.

Uninstall from Windows

Uninstall from Windows 10/8:

  1. Type Control Panel into the Windows search box and open the result.
  2. Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.Uninstall from Windows 10/8

Uninstall from Windows 7/XP:

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

Remove the unwanted program:

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

Reset Internet Explorer

Remove dangerous add-ons:

  1. Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top-right corner of the browser
  2. Pick Manage Add-ons.
  3. You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for suspicious plugins. Click on these entries and select Disable.Remove add-ons from Internet Explorer

Change your homepage if it was altered:

  1. Open IE and click on the Gear icon.
  2. Select Internet Options.
  3. In the General tab, delete the Home page address and replace it by your preferred one (for example, Google.com).
  4. Click Apply and then select OK.Reset IE homepage

Delete temporary files:

  1. Press on the Gear icon and select Internet Options.
  2. Under Browsing history, click Delete...
  3. Select relevant fields and press Delete.Clear temporary files from Internet Explorer

Reset Internet Explorer:

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

Remove from Microsoft Edge

Delete unwanted extensions from MS Edge:

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

Clear cookies and other browser data:

  1. Click on the Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and select Settings > Privacy, search, and services..
  2. Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
  3. 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.Clear Edge browsing data

Restore new tab and homepage settings:

  1. Click the menu icon and choose Settings.
  2. Then find On startup section.
  3. Click Remove next to any suspicious startup page.

Reset MS Edge if the above steps did not work:

  1. Press on Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
  2. Click on More details arrow at the bottom of the window.
  3. Select Details tab.
  4. 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.Reset MS Edge

Instructions for Chromium-based Edge

Delete extensions from MS Edge (Chromium):

  1. Open Edge and click select Settings > Extensions.
  2. Delete unwanted extensions by clicking Remove.Remove extensions from Chromium Edge

Clear cache and site data:

  1. Click on Menu and go to Settings.
  2. Select Privacy, search and services.
  3. Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
  4. Under Time range, pick All time.
  5. Select Clear now.Clear browser data from Chroum Edge

Reset Chromium-based MS Edge:

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

Remove from Mozilla Firefox (FF)

Remove dangerous extensions:

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

Reset the homepage:

  1. Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
  2. Choose Settings.
  3. Under Home, set your preferred homepage and new tab settings.

Clear cookies and site data:

  1. Click Menu and pick Settings.
  2. Go to Privacy & Security section.
  3. Scroll down to locate Cookies and Site Data.
  4. Click on Clear Data...
  5. Select Cookies and Site Data and Temporary cached files and pages, then click Clear.Clear cookies and site data from Firefox

Reset Mozilla Firefox

If clearing the browser as explained above did not help, reset Mozilla Firefox:

  1. Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click the Menu.
  2. Go to Help and then choose Troubleshooting Information.Reset Firefox 1
  3. Under Give Firefox a tune up section, click on Refresh Firefox...
  4. Once the pop-up shows up, confirm the action by pressing on Refresh Firefox.Reset Firefox 2

Remove from Google Chrome

Delete malicious extensions from Google Chrome:

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

Clear cache and web data from Chrome:

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

Change your homepage:

  1. Click menu and choose Settings.
  2. Look for a suspicious site in the On startup section.
  3. 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:

  1. Click on Menu and select Settings.
  2. In the Settings, scroll down and click Advanced.
  3. Scroll down and locate Reset and clean up section.
  4. Now click Restore settings to their original defaults.
  5. Confirm with Reset settings.Reset Chrome 2

Delete from Safari

Remove dangerous extensions:

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

Clear history and website data:

  1. Click Safari in the menu and pick Clear History.
  2. Set Clear to all history and confirm with Clear History.Clear history from Safari

Reset Safari:

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

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