Computer "frozen": I have received an email notification that my computer has been frozen, infected

  • 18 July 2017
  • 5 replies
  • 159 views

I have received an email that my computer has been infeted by a virus, that it has been "frozen" and that I must call a 1-800 number in order to obtain the process to unfreeze my computer.  Indeed the email message cannot be removed without dialing the 1-800 number.  How should I proceed to unfreeze my computer without dialing the 1-800 number?

5 replies

Userlevel 7
Welcome to our Community, @!
Our Support Team has responded to the ticket you opened. Here is their response below.

Occasionally a browser window may pop up with a "virus" message, instructing to call a phone number for support. These popups are usually caused by clicking on an advertisement, clicking on a third party link in Facebook, or clicking on a spam email. In rare circumstances the popup can be caused by unwanted software installed on your computer called "adware" (please see below to determine if adware is present). These messages are only an advertisement to a third party offering unnecessary technical support and do not harm your computer. Please do not call the phone number listed! 

To read more about this, please click here.

If you ever encounter a popup page in the future, you can close it with the steps below: 

1) Hold Ctrl+Alt+Esc on your keyboard and release. 
2) Click the internet browser you use, such as "Google Chrome" or "Internet Explorer" or "Firefox" and click "End task". 

Note: You may also restart your computer as well. 

If you are using Windows 10 and Microsoft Edge, follow the steps below instead: 

1) Hold Ctrl+Alt+Delete on your keyboard and release. 
2) Locate "Microsoft Edge", click on it and click "End task". 
3) Hold down the Windows Key + R 
4) In the box type "iexplore.exe" and click "ok". 
5) This will open Internet Explorer. 
6) Download the link below: 
http://download.webroot.com/FixEdge.zip
7) Open the zip file, and double click on "FixEdge.reg". 
😎 Click "Run". 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Symptoms of adware: 

- Redirects to other content when browsing 
- Advertisement overlays 
- Technical Support popups 

If you suspect you do have adware, please follow the steps below: 

1. Download Webroot's log-gathering utility from the following link: 

http://download.webroot.com/wsalogs.exe

2. Save the file to your Desktop (or the preferred Download folder of your web browser). 

3. Once it has finished downloading, double-click the wsalogs.exe file on your Desktop to run it. 

4. In the box labeled "Email:", enter the same email address you used for this support site. 

5. Click the "Go!" button to begin the log gathering process. 

Expect the utility to take between 1 to 10 minutes to gather the necessary information. 

Your privacy is very important to us. All information gathered is in accordance with Webroot's Privacy Policy and will only be used to expedite the identification and resolution of the issue reported. You can view our Privacy Policy here.

Regards, 
Webroot Support Team
Nice work, @! Keep up the great job.:)
Thank you for your personal interest.
 
Tim Garvey
Hi Tim, (@)

Just to add to the great info JP posted. I would recommend installing an adblocker in your browser. This will help to prevent unwanted ads and these fake types of wanings.
Here are some that many of us here in the Community use and recommend:

For Internet Explorer Ad Block Plus: https://adblockplus.org/
 
For Firefox uBlock Origin: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ublock-origin/?src=ss or Privacy Badger: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/privacy-badger-firefox/

 
Google Chrome uBlock Origin: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ublock-origin/cjpalhdlnbpafiamejdnhcphjbkeiagm?hl=en or Privacy Badger: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/privacy-badger/pkehgijcmpdhfbdbbnkijodmdjhbjlgp

Hope this info helps, ;)

BD
Userlevel 7
@ wrote:
Nice work, @! Keep up the great job.:)
Really appreciate it, Jon! :robotlol:
 


 
Great tips with the ad-blockers as well :robotwink:

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