“Your browsing history showed visits to unsecured websites” scam (fake) - Free Guide

What is “Your browsing history showed visits to unsecured websites” scam?

“Your browsing history showed visits to unsecured websites” is a fake message that tries to convince users that their phones have been infected

Scams always seek to trick users who are less familiar with their operations

“Your browsing history showed visits to unsecured websites” is a message that people usually receive on their phones, this includes Android, iOS, or other operating systems. Nonetheless, if you are using a phone app on your PC or Mac, you might also encounter this fake alert at some point. Besides, the scam is related to the “Your system is infected with (3) viruses” fake message, which is also present on different platforms. Here is the full text of the message:

Your browsing history showed visits to unsecured websites. You now have (3) virus on your device. Clean your phone [link] ASAP

You should never click the link that is provided in the message, as you might end up on all sorts of malicious websites. The main purpose of the scam is to make people download and install potentially unwanted software, as well as malware.

Crooks are using typical social engineering^[1] tricks in order to make sure that users download and install software they offer so they can monetize on the practice. This, however, can greatly compromise user security and cause privacy issues to those that click the promoted links.

If you have encountered the “Your browsing history showed visits to unsecured websites” scam, you should not immediately jump to conclusions and believe what's said because it's 100% fabricated, but you should also not dismiss the probability of device infection. We explain below how to remediate the issue successfully below.

Online fraud has been prevalent for many years now, probably for as long as the internet existed. With the help of fake messages, cybercriminals can achieve their goals much easier, as there are plenty of people who are unaware of the tactics that they use. As a result, they end up being infected with malware, disclosing their personal passwords or banking details, and losing money to various schemes.

These attacks are conducted by unfair people who join an affiliate marketing scheme to sell their products online and use the allocated online space for their promotions. Unfortunately, they do it in a malicious manner by trying to scare users that their systems are infected, and the “Your browsing history showed visits to unsecured websites” scam is just one of many that are spread around the internet.

For example, we have previously explained the peculiarities of “Windows 10 May Be In Danger,” “Critical Framework Error,” “Pornographic virus alert from Microsoft,” and many others. The main goal of these fake alerts is to intimidate visitors by stating fake facts – they usually focus on virus infections and password theft. Basically, everything that people would be scared of while browsing the web.

Combined with a threatening message with a well-known company name such as Microsoft or Google, the scam manifests itself and some users believe that what's said to them is true. Unfortunately, this usually doesn't end well for them, so it is important to know more about these scams to avoid harsh consequences such as malware infection or personal data disclosure to unsolicited parties.

The text message includes the link to a potentially dangerous website

Recovery

Let's be clear – If you have received a “Your browsing history showed visits to unsecured websites” SMS or encountered the message elsewhere, it does not mean that your system is infected, as it is all fake. Nonetheless, it is important to make sure that your device is secure and does not have adware^[2] or other types of malware installed on it that might be the cause of redirects to malicious websites and similar behavior.

1. Scan your device with security software

First of all, you should employ powerful security software, such as SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner or Malwarebytes, and perform a full system scan. The deep scam can ensure that no malicious processes are running in the background and cause you to see malicious websites that you otherwise wouldn't. This step is particularly vital if you downloaded and installed software promoted through the link you clicked within the fake message.

It is important to note that you are more likely to encounter malicious ads or redirects on high-risk sites, such as torrents, illegal video streaming, gambling, and similar. Thus, we recommend you avoid websites that would increase the risk of encountering malicious content in the first place. Likewise, employing an effective ad-blocker can prevent malicious ad scripts from being executed, although these apps might also cause problems in some cases (for example, they might break display elements of some websites).

2. Look for unwanted browser extensions

Browser extensions are commonly employed on desktop versions of web browsers to customize the browsing experience. Unfortunately, not all of these extensions are useful or even secure. Since adware, browser hijackers, and other unwanted software are commonly introduced into the system in a deceptive manner, you might not even know you have these apps installed in the first place. Thus, check for unwanted add-ons as follows:

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.

MS Edge

• Open Edge and click select Settings > Extensions.
• Delete unwanted extensions by clicking Remove.

Safari

• Click Safari > Preferences…
• In the new window, pick Extensions.
• Select the unwanted extension and select Uninstall.

Note: if you want to look for the installed programs on the system level, check the instruction at the bottom of this post.

3. Clean your browsers

It does not matter whether or not you clicked the link or downloaded something, as long as you performed a full system scan with security software, your device should be secure. Nonetheless, anti-malware is not capable of removing data that is related to your browser settings. For example, there are some components that are stored within the AppData folder on a Windows PC, and these are being renewed thanks to the changes by certain programs or browser extensions.

Therefore, it is important to make sure that your browsers are cleaned from various caches, cookies, and other web data. This would also remove the trackers from various third parties that could have accumulated over time – those from PUPs or websites you constantly visit. Besides, removal of these caches would also reduce the risk of session hijacking^[3], which could occur under particular circumstances.

If you want, you could employ a FortectIntego repair and maintenance utility to do this. Alternatively, proceed with the following steps:

Google 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.

If you are using Chrome on a mobile device, tap the three vertical dots, select Settings > Privacy and Security and select Clear browsing data.

MS Edge

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

Safari

1. Click Safari > Clear History…
2. From the drop-down menu under Clear, pick all history.
3. Confirm with Clear History.

If you are using Safari for iPhone, go to Settings > Safari and tap Clear History and Website Data.

Once you have completed these steps, you can be sure that your device is now secure and virus-free. In the future, remember to never click any links on suspicious messages you randomly get on your phone, computer, or any other device connected to the internet.

You may remove virus damage with a help of FortectIntego. SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner and Malwarebytes are recommended to detect potentially unwanted programs and viruses with all their files and registry entries that are related to them.