Microsoft Help Desk Tech Support Scam - How to remove

Microsoft Help Desk tech support scam is a rogue program, which belongs to Rogue.Tech-Support-Scam and Trojan.Tech-Support-Scam families. The application is also classified among pop-ups, since besides appearing on the lock screen, it does also display a pop-up warning. It is one of the viruses, which developers try to make illegal money from forcing the victims to buy fake security software showing them fake security warnings. These alerts look frightening as they prevent the affected user from accessing his PC. And, only because of this, users can feel obligated to call the provided phone number. But, there is no need to do that, not only because the message, displayed by Microsoft Help Desk technical support scam, is a false warning, but also for the reason that the restriction of accessing your PC can easily be bypassed.

The Analysis of Microsoft Help Desk Tech Support Scam

Microsoft Help Desk tech scam covers the desktop with the following message in the blue background, stating that Windows system malfunctions and you need to reboot your PC:

A problem has been detected and windows has been shutdown to prevent damage to your computer.

DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LES_OR_EQUAL

Contact your system administrator or technical support group for further assistance.
For Contact us Toll Free +1-888-496-5150

If this is the first time you’ve seen this stop error screen, restart your computer, If this screen appears again,
follow these steps:

Check to make sure any new hardware or software is properly installed. If this is a new installation,
ask your hardware or software manufacturer for any windows updates you might need.

If problems continue, disable or remove any newly installed hardware or software.
Disable BIOS memory options such as caching or shadowing. If you need to use Safe Mode to remove or disable components,
restart your computer, press F8 to select Advanced Startup Options,
and then select Safe Mode.

Technical information:

*** STOP: 0x00D1 (0x00C,0x002,0x00,0xF86B5A89)

*** gv3.sys – Address F86B5A89 base at F86B5000, DateStamp 3dd9919eb

Beginning dump of physical memory

Physical memory dump complete.

Contact your system administrator or technical support group for further assistance.
For Contact us Toll Free +1-888-828-6971

The notification further declares that, if the same blue screen with the same alert appears after you have restarted your computer, you need to contact supposedly Microsoft technical support group by the free phone +1-888-828-6971 to solve the issue. In fact, this is a mere falsehood, as the scammers perfectly know that you will be shown the formidable screen after the reboot of the system. In the notification the title of the Windows company is written in the lower case. And this spelling mistake persists through the whole of the message. This is a warning itself, which suggests that you are being scammed. In addition to this the note is full of other mistakes, especially, the ones which are grammar-related. Moreover, it does not state the concrete issue.

On the other hand, the pop-up window, which appears on the bottom right corner of the screen is a little more specific but not to the point as to tell you exactly what 5 viruses are plaguing your computer’s system:

Microsoft Security Essentials detected 5 potential threats that might compromise your privacy or damage your computer. Microsoft Security Essentials wasn’t able to block virus.
Helpline: +1-888-828-6971

The pop-up tells you that Microsoft Security Essentials failed to protect your PC. What is more, on the top right corner of the screen you are provided with the Microsoft Help Desk logo, which is, actually, a button.

When having been clicked, this button minimizes the screen of the false warning, opens your browser and redirects you to www.fastsupport.com.

In this way, you get access to your computer and can initiate the removal process of Microsoft Help Desk scam.

How to Remove Microsoft Help Desk Scam from Your PC?

Microsoft Help Desk tech support scam is vulnerable to the following anti-malware software: Spyhunter or Hitman. It can also be eliminated from the system manually. The guide, which explains how to do that is located below this post.

Microsoft Help Desk application has been ascribed to trojans not without a reason. It gets installed on your computer along with other free software. If you do not go to the Advanced settings, you are completely unaware of this fact. By the way, the latter mode of installation provides you with the functionality of removing the prepended rogueware. Additionally, this malware can be hidden onto compromised websites, corrupted advertisements, etc.

Manual removal of Microsoft Help Desk pop-up

How to remove Microsoft Help Desk Tech Support Scam using Windows Control Panel

Many hijackers and adware like Microsoft Help Desk Tech Support Scam install some of their components as regular Windows programs as well as additional software. This part of malware can be uninstalled from the Control Panel. To access it, do the following.

• Start→Control Panel (older Windows) or press Windows Key→Search and enter Control Panel and then press Enter (Windows 8, Windows 10).
• Choose Uninstall Program (if you don't see it, click in the upper right next to "View by" and select Category).
• Go through the list of programs and select entries related to Microsoft Help Desk Tech Support Scam . You can click on "Name" or "Installed On" to reorder your programs and make Microsoft Help Desk Tech Support Scam easier to find.
• Click the Uninstall button. If you're asked if you really want to remove the program, click Yes.
• In many cases anti-malware programs are better at detecting related parasites, thus I recommend installing Spyhunter to identify other programs that might be a part of this infection.

How to remove Microsoft Help Desk Tech Support Scam from macOS

Delete Microsoft Help Desk Tech Support Scam from your applications.

1. Open Finder.
2. In the menu bar, click Go.
3. Select Applications from the dropdown.
4. Find the Microsoft Help Desk Tech Support Scam app.
5. Select it and right-click it (or hold the Ctrl and click the left mouse button).
6. In the dropdown, click Move to Bin/Trash. You might be asked to provide your login password.

TopRemove malicious extensions from Internet Explorer

• Press on the Gear icon→Manage Add-ons.
  
• Go through Toolbars and extensions. Remove everything related to Microsoft Help Desk Tech Support Scam and items you do not know that are made not by Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Oracle or Adobe.
  
• Close the Options.

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

If you are still experiencing any issues related to Microsoft Help Desk Tech Support Scam, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Press on the Gear icon->Internet Options.
  
• Choose the Advanced tab and click on the Reset button.
  
• Select a “Delete personal settings” checkbox and click on the Reset button.
  
• Click on the Close button on the confirmation box, then close your browser.
  

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.

TopRemoving Microsoft Help Desk Tech Support Scam from Chrome

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Google Chrome window. Select “Settings”.
  
• Click “Extensions” on the left menu bar.
• Go through the extensions list and remove programs you do not need, especially similar to Microsoft Help Desk Tech Support Scam. Click on the trash bin icon next to Microsoft Help Desk Tech Support Scam or other add-ons you want to remove.
  
• Press on the “Remove” button on the Confirmation window.
  
• If unsure, you can disable them temporarily.
  
• Restart Chrome.

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

If you are still experiencing any issues related to Microsoft Help Desk Tech Support Scam, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on Chrome’s menu button (three horizontal lines) and select Settings.
  
• Scroll to the end of the page and click on the Reset settings button.
  
• Click on the Reset button on the confirmation box.
  

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.

TopRemoving Microsoft Help Desk Tech Support Scam from Firefox

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Mozilla window and select the “Add-ons” icon (or press Ctrl+Shift+A on your keyboard).
  
• Go through Extensions and Addons list, remove everything Microsoft Help Desk Tech Support Scam related and items you do not recognise. If you do not know the extension and it is not made by Mozilla, Google, Microsoft, Oracle or Adobe then you probably do not need it.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings If you are still experiencing any issues related to Microsoft Help Desk Tech Support Scam, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Mozilla Firefox window. Click on the Help button.
  
• Choose Troubleshooting Information on the Help menu.
  
• Click on the Reset Firefox button.
  
• Click on the Reset Firefox button on the confirmation box. Mozilla Firefox will close and change the settings to default.
  

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.

How to remove Microsoft Help Desk Tech Support Scam from Microsoft Edge:Top

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Microsoft Edge window. Select “Extensions”.

• Go through the extensions list and remove programs you do not need, especially similar to Microsoft Help Desk Tech Support Scam. Click on the "Remove" icon next to Microsoft Help Desk Tech Support Scam or other add-ons you want to remove.

• Press on the “Remove” button on the Confirmation window.

• If unsure, you can disable them temporarily.

• Restart Microsoft Edge.

TopRemoving Microsoft Help Desk Tech Support Scam from Safari (Mac OS X)

• Click on the Safari menu.
• Choose Preferences.
  
• Click on the Extensions Tab.
• Click on the Uninstall button near the Microsoft Help Desk Tech Support Scam. Remove all other unknown or suspicious entries too. If you are not sure whether you need the extension or not, you can simply uncheck the Enable check-box to disable the extension temporarily.
  
• Restart Safari.

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

If you are still experiencing any issues related to Microsoft Help Desk Tech Support Scam, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on the Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Reset Safari.
  
• Select which options you want to reset (usually all of them come preselected) and click on the Reset button.
  

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.