COMPUTER BLOCKED Scam - How to remove

COMPUTER BLOCKED pop-up alert that appears on your web browser is nothing more than a cheap attempt to scam you. Even though it is categorized as a computer virus, it can’t cause a lot of problems if you deal with it the right way.

The Internet is a dangerous playground and you can get scammed in a variety of different ways. However, pop-up scams like “Computer Blocked” scam can be very aggressive and trick a lot of naive users. Most of the time those scam messages are well crafted, thus it might be just enough for a regular user to fall for this deceit.

Also, if you are experiencing this pop-up constantly, i.e. it appeared on your web browser more than once, it is a clear sign that your computer has been infected with some kind of malware and you should solve this problem. We are here to help you both indicate the problem and then successfully remove it from your computer.

Can scammy pop-ups like COMPUTER BLOCKED steal your money?

So obviously that messages like this are created with only one goal – to swindle money from innocent users by telling them something that is not true, scaring them. Most of the time cybercriminals try to convince users that they have some kind of problems with their computer or software. One of the most popular methods is to claim that some application needs to be updated.

In this case, hackers behind COMPUTER BLOCKED scam will tell you that your computer has been blocked and you need to take certain actions to solve this problem. Don’t worry – your computer is not blocked and you should not follow instructions that they are suggesting. There are plenty of scam viruses like this and a lot of them claim some kind of problems with a computer, such as  this error # 268D3-XC00037 scam described in Microsoft Community forum.

The number one rule regarding this situation is not to follow instructions they provide you. If you have any doubt that the message displayed to you sounds questionable, google the question first. It is also recommended to get to know scam pop-ups better, take a look at a couple of examples: Google Chrome Critical ERROR, Your Battery Is Damaged By Viruses pop-up, Would Like To Use Your Computing Power scam.

Why are you experiencing COMPUTER BLOCKED scam pop-ups?

While intentions of this scam message are clear and obvious, the origins of this virus might be complicated to indicate. There are two scenarios that are most likely to happen:

1. You can accidentally visit a website that has been hacked or intentionally selected to display this message;
2. Your web browser or computer is infected with some kind of browser hijacker or adware that push this pop-up.

Either way, the technique used by COMPUTER BLOCKED scam will be the same – they try to convince you to call a specific number because your computer has been blocked as a result of suspicious activity. Original text:

Windows Firewall has detected some suspicious activity from your IP address and network connection has been blocked temporarily.
To get it unblocked you need to call on Microsoft Technical Support Desk.
Microsoft Safety & Security Center: +1-844-392-7021
Ring now to get it fixed toll free: +1-844-392-7021

Do not restart the device, this may cause serious damage to the system and network address. Don’t worry, Microsoft brings this free
for you. Please do not shutdown or restart your computer, doing that ay lead to data loss and failure of operating system, hence
non bootable situation resulting complete data loss. Contact administrator department to resolve this issue on toll free
+1-844-392-7021 Official US Local Microsoft Support

Actually, it’s a textbook example of a tech support scam. Even though technical support scam campaigns used to be carried out by making cold calls to users of Windows OS and offering them to fix something or install some kind of software, those crooks don’t bother to call anymore. The tables have turned and instead of calling you, they simply launch pop-up scam campaigns and try to make users call them.

What happens if you follow instructions provided by this pop-up scam?

If you do believe that your computer is really blocked and you call +1-844-392-7021 or +1-844-392-7021, they are going to try to sell some kind of software to you or simply offer paid technical support that would solve the problem, even though it does not exist in reality.

They also tell you not to restart or shut down the computer simply because they do not want to lose a customer. That’s a common technique used by malware similar to COMPUTER BLOCKED scam. By the way, a lot of users might be confused and think that notorious YOUR COMPUTER HAS BEEN BLOCKED virus and COMPUTER BLOCKED scam are the same, but it’s not true. Both of those infections are distributed using different methods and they act differently.

Manual removal of COMPUTER BLOCKED virus

As we have already mentioned, you might be experiencing this scam message for two different reasons – either you were unlucky enough to visit a website that displays this pop-up, or your computer/web browser is infected with some kind of malware that push this message to you constantly.

It is important to identify roots of this scam pop-up and you can do it manually, here’s how:

1. Try to monitor whether those ads appear only on a certain website, or do they follow you wherever you go?
2. As suggested by which.co.uk,  scam messages usually look amateurish and might feature some language errors. Also, if there are a lot of bright, flashing colors that try to grab your attention, it might be a sign of a scam attempt – legitimate companies never use things like this.
3. If the pop-up message encourages you to do something (e.g. call a specific number, pay for something or install some kind of software), google provided information first. In this case, the obvious move would be to google that phone number before calling it.
   
4. If this message constantly appears on your web browser and features other bad signs described above, try to install some ad-blocking application or extension on your web browser and see if it helps you.
5. Navigate to the extensions section on your web browser and look for browser extensions that are active, but you are not familiar with them. Deactivate and remove them, then monitor whether COMPUTER BLOCKED pop-ups are still active.

Automatic removal/prevention of scam pop-ups

In case you have performed manual instructions and it seems like COMPUTER BLOCKED pop-up is not just an unfortunate accident that accidentally appeared on your web browser, you need to bring out the big guns in order to remove this infection. The easiest way to achieve that is to scan your computer with a reliable anti-malware application.

We recommend to use Spyhunter alternatively.

Both of these applications feature a huge database of latest malware and viruses, therefore it will be able to successfully detect and remove the infection from your computer. In case you don’t like either one of those programs, feel free to take a look at our reviews page and select other anti-malware tools that will completely fulfill your needs.