Warning-Critical-Message Scam Alerts - How to remove

Warning-Critical-Message is a scam template used by malicious actors to trick people into believing that their computer is infected. The scam seeks to get people to pay for scammers to remove this imaginary virus.

The Warning-Critical-Message scam is a full-page warning that is designed to look like a Windows error message. In reality, it is a malicious webpage that advertises a fraudulent “tech support” service.

Warning-Critical-Message in short:

Threat type	Scam.
What the Warning-Critical-Message scam looks like	A webpage that looks like a Windows warning, the alert says that your computer is infected with malware and that data is being stolen, it also threatens that your computer will be blocked.
How to avoid tech support scams	Block malicious websites and ads, make sure that there’s no adware infecting your device.
How to stay safe after encountering the Warning-Critical-Message scam	Close the malicious page, remove all unwanted programs manually and with antivirus apps (Spyhunter, Malwarebytes, etc.).

What do the Warning-Critical-Message scams look like?

The Warning-Critical-Message scam appears as a blue screen with a Windows alert in the middle. On Windows, blue screens are associated with serious errors – and scammers are trying to invoke that.

The malicious actors behind the Warning-Critical-Message scam show various scary warnings:

• The text of the Warning-Critical-Message warning threatens that “Windows was blocked due to suspicious activity”.
• It also says that and that, if you don’t call the given phone number in five minutes, your computer will be “deactivated”.
• On top of that, the alert says that your passwords, credit card info, and even your files are being stolen.
• There’s a made-up error called “Error # MSWindows-77X1” or “Error # MS-77X1”.
• Finally, there’s a “recorded error” that says that you visited a site called “https://HD-SEXXX.COM”.

The Warning-Critical-Message pop-up is definitely fake. The blue screen looks nothing like the real error screen displayed by Windows, the error name is made-up, and, most importantly, the alert asks you to call a phone number: a sure red flag. According to Support.microsoft.com:

Microsoft error and warning messages never include phone numbers.

Even if you suspect that something is wrong and that the Warning-Critical-Message alert is not to be trusted, it might not be easy to get out of it. The fake warning window can’t be closed normally and it hijacks the mouse cursor, displaying it in the wrong spot and making it difficult to aim it.

What’s the goal of the scams?

The goal of the Warning-Critical-Message alert is to get people to pay for fake, worthless tech support services.

1. Let’s say Warning-Critical-Message convinces you that there’s a virus on your computer.
2. You call the phone number prominently featured by the scam alert.
3. The phone call is answered by scammers pretending to be tech support staff.
4. These scammers ask you to install remote access software to allow scammers to control your computer.
5. The scammers then might hold your PC for extortion, messing up important files if you refuse to pay.
   Alternatively, they may then install spyware to steal information.

All that the scammers want is to get money. It doesn’t matter whether that’s by scaring people into paying for tech support or by stealing credit cards.

What causes Warning-Critical-Message scams?

Warning-Critical-Message and other scams are caused by malicious redirects on infected sites and other malicious ads.

Infected websites are sites that get malicious pages injected into them against the wishes of the site operators. Your niche forum site, recipe website, an old blog, or a site that has a particular security flaw can be attacked by malicious actors and have malicious pages hidden in them – or code that causes redirects to malicious sites. If a site that you’ve been using regularly suddenly started showing malicious ads or taking you to unwanted sites, then the site may have been infected.

Malicious ads show up on sites that have low standards for the ads that they show. Free movie sites, file hosting sites, and torrenting sites tend to show dangerous ads, including those for scams.

It is also possible that there really is a malicious app on your computer. That doesn’t mean that the Warning-Critical-Message alert is real, but malware infections can be caused by other malware infections. Adware viruses might be bad browser extensions or programs on the computer.

How to stay safe when encountering the Warning-Critical-Message scam

There are many different scam alerts, such as Trojan Spyware Alert, Trojan detected!, COMPUTER BLOCKED, and others. When you encounter a webpage that tells you that you must call a phone number to fix your computer, do not trust it. Just close the page. If you’re not sure how, check out our post on how to close stubborn webpages.

If you aren’t sure if the warning was real, go to Support.microsoft.com and ask for help from the real Microsoft.

It is also recommended to use an antivirus program, such as Spyhunter, Malwarebytes, and others to scan your device and check it for adware infections.

If you did contact the scammers on the other side of the Warning-Critical-Message alert, it is especially important to remove all the software that the scammers might have put on your device, as well as software that you might have installed after being instructed by the fake tech support staffers. Don’t allow them to get access to your computer.

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