What is “Windows Health is Critical” Scam? And how does it work?
“Windows Health is Critical” acts like a tech support scam used to deceive you into thinking that your computer is infected with some kind of a harmful virus. This scam alert is identified as a malicious program associated with phishing websites. You may be redirect to these kinds of websites when you click suspicious ads or links. One of the reasons why it is considered as a scam is that it opens on any web browser which never happens on genuine Blue Screen of Deaths error in Windows. So if you encounter this kind of blue screen on your browser, it means that you are currently attacked by a fake scam alert.
The deceptive scam alert will tell you that a problem has been detected on your computer and then shows you a suspicious-looking list of the supposed error codes to make it believable. It then suggests that you contact what seem to be a tech support number, +46101388486. Always keep in mind that you should never contact phone numbers provided from scam alerts like this since you might be getting yourself to even more trouble if you do so.
How does this scam spread?
You can end up with the “Windows Health is Critical” scam from phishing websites that you are often redirected to whenever you use suspicious search engines. These type of search engines display suspicious links and ads that reroutes you to suspicious contents and of course, the scam alert. Such programs can be injected unto your computer during installation of another unwanted program you’ve downloaded from suspicious sites.
To get rid of the “Windows Health is Critical” scam, be sure to check out the removal instructions below:
Step 1: Close the browser that displayed the “Windows Health is Critical” alert.
Step 2: Open Windows Task Manager by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc at the same time.
Step 3: Go to the Processes tab and look for any suspicious processes.
Step 4: Right-click on the files, click Open File Location and then scan them using a reputable antivirus program such as SpyRemover Pro. After opening their folders, end their processes and delete their folders. If the virus scanner fails to detect something that you know is suspicious, don’t hesitate to delete it.
Step 5: Open Control Panel by pressing the Windows key + R, then type in appwiz.cpl and then click OK or press Enter.
Look for any suspicious program responsible for the scam and then Uninstall it.
Step 6: Hold down Windows + E keys simultaneously to open File Explorer.
Step 7: Go to the directories listed below and delete everything in it. Or other directories you might have saved the file related to the “Windows Health is Critical” alert.
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%USERPROFILE%\Downloads
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%USERPROFILE%\Desktop
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%TEMP%
Step 8: Look for any suspicious executable file that may have cause the scam alert.
Step 9: Right-click on it and click Delete.
Step 10: Remove the adware/malware responsible for the scam from your browsers by resetting them.
Google Chrome
1. Launch Google Chrome and open its menu by pressing Alt + F.
2. Click Settings.
3. Click Show advanced settings located at the bottom part of the page.
4. Click the Reset settings.
5. And then click the Reset button.
Mozilla Firefox
1. Start Mozilla Firefox.
2. Press Alt+H .
3. Find Refresh Firefox a t the top and click on this button.
4. In the confirmation window, click Refresh Firefox again.
Internet Explorer
1. Launch Internet Explorer.
2. Tap Alt+T and click Internet Options.
3. Click on the Advanced tab and then click Reset.
4. Mark the box next to Delete personal settings.
5. Click Reset.
Step 11: Perform a full system scan using SpyRemover Pro. To do so, follow these steps:
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Turn on your computer. If it’s already on, you have to reboot it.
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After that, the BIOS screen will be displayed, but if Windows pops up instead, reboot your computer and try again. Once you’re on the BIOS screen, repeat pressing F8, by doing so the Advanced Option shows up.
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To navigate the Advanced Option use the arrow keys and select Safe Mode with Networking then hit Enter.
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Windows will now load the Safe Mode with Networking.
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If done correctly, the Windows Run Box will show up.
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Type in explorer http://www.fixmypcfree.com/install/spyremoverpro
A single space must be in between explorer and http. Click OK.
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A dialog box will be displayed by Internet Explorer. Click Run to begin downloading SpyRemover Pro. Installation will start automatically once download is done.
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Click OK to launch SpyRemover Pro.
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Run SpyRemover Pro and perform a full system scan.
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Register SpyRemover Pro to protect your computer from future threats.