That 'Call Microsoft' popup screaming your PC is infected? It's a scam — here's what to do

It's one of the oldest scams online and still going strong in 2026: your screen suddenly fills with a red warning that your PC is infected, an alarm blares, and a message says to call a phone number for "Microsoft support" right now. It's fake — a web page built to panic you into calling so a "technician" can take remote control or take your money.

The single giveaway: Microsoft, Apple, Google, Norton and McAfee never put a phone number in a pop-up warning. Neither do real virus alerts. The scary error codes (like Error #DW6VB36) and the alarm sound are pure theatre.

What to do: don't call the number, and don't let anyone "remote in." Close the browser — if the page won't let you, open Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) and end the browser, or just restart the PC. Then run a normal scan with Windows Security. If you already called or gave remote access: disconnect, change your important passwords from another device, turn on two-factor authentication, and report it to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov; if you paid, contact your bank.

These popups often ride in with a hijacked homepage or a pushy browser extension. Tendvane's Repair → "Browser hijacked" fix clears a redirected homepage/search and a sneaky proxy, and its Safety check flags unexpected startup programs and extensions — so after you shut the popup down, you can make sure nothing was left behind.