Getting infected with malware is never good. Your machine behaves weirdly, your data is at risk and it’s going to cost you time and in some cases even money to remove.

Lately, there have been many reports of users getting pop-ups from Microsoft informing users that there is a dangerous virus-infested pornographic content on their machines. So what’s this pop-up about? Is it dangerous, or is it just another irritating scam? How do you remove it from your machine? Read on to find out.

Also read: Ransomware vs Malware vs Spyware

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How did I get Pornographic Virus Alert from Microsoft?

The pornographic error from Microsoft is just a low-level tech support scam caused by a potentially unwanted program otherwise known as a PUP.

The scam is targeted towards extracting money from unsuspecting people. The malware is often bundled together with freeware installers. This helps the distributor makes a few extra bucks by selling their users out. 

Once the PUP is installed on the target machine, it shows up fake error messages on your machine. In this case, the program takes over your browser and displays error messages like ‘We have locked this computer for your security’ or You have been browsing unsafe pornographic websites.’

The error message will almost always terminate with a phone number supposed to help you reach Microsoft’s tech support team, but as you can probably guess, it sends you towards the scammers instead. 

Once you call the number, a scammer will pick the phone up, pretending to be a Microsoft tech support agent and making you pay for a special malware remover tool that’ll remove the pop-ups and delete your browser history and restore your browser to normal operation.

This, of course, is a complete lie and the only thing that they’re after is your money. Under no circumstance should you call the number that these Microsoft pornographic virus alert pop-ups tell you to as it’ll only land you in more trouble.

Also read: How to fix YouTube playback error?

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How to remove the Pornographic virus alert from Microsoft?

Fortunately enough, getting rid of the pornographic virus alerts from Microsoft is rather easy. Here are three methods you can follow to clean your machine. 

Remove any recently installed programs and PUPs

The first thing you should do is remove any recently installed programs if the pop-ups force your browser in the fullscreen mode and not let you change windows, press Ctrl + Alt + Delete to start the task manager.

Now under the Processes tab, close any active processes for your browser.

Once you’ve done this, we can move on to removing any PUPs that might have sneaked their way onto your machine. 

Step 1: Press Windows Key + X to open the quick access menu and click on Apps and Features. 

Step 2: Sort the programs by Install date. 

Step 3: Go through the list and remove any suspicious-looking programs by clicking on them and pressing the Uninstall button. Remove any recently installed programs regardless. 

Also read: How to fix ‘DISM error 87’ on Windows 10?

Reset browser settings

Since the pornographic virus alert malware takes over your browser, it’s recommended that you reset your browser back to its default settings.

Step 1: Head over to chrome://settings/reset. Click on Restore settings to their original defaults.

Step 2: Chrome will show you a warning prompt. Click on Reset Settings, and your browser will reset to default settings. 

Also read: How to fix ‘Instagram Signup Blocked’ error?

Use anti-malware to scan your PC

Once you’re confident that you’ve removed the PUP and restored your browser to stock, make sure you run a scan on your PC using good anti-malware and quarantine or remove all files it detects. 

You can use anything from Malwarebytes to Windows Defender to run a thorough scan on your PC and remove any traces of the Microsoft pornographic virus alerts malware that might still be on your machine. 

Also read: How to fix ‘Instagram Won’t Let Me Login’ error?