Hello zigzag,

 

Welcome to the Webroot Community,

 

 

 

THIS SOUNDS LIKE A SCAM!!  Neither Microsoft nor any other company sends emails, pop ups, or phone calls of any kind advising that you may have a problem. And did  Webroot tell you that you had a threat? Probably not! You can do a scan to check. But this sounds like a scam for sure.

 

If you clicked on any links, allowed them to remote into your computer, or went to any websites please submit a Trouble Ticket ASAP.  (Now would be a good idea....) This is a free service with a Webroot subscription.



 

If you would like more information, read on (After submitting that Trouble Ticket.....)

 

NEWS ARTICLE: Tech Support Scams are on the rise.

 

 

Microsoft never issues this type of warning or email or anything of a sort!  Please see the following link for Microsofts official word on this:

http://www.microsoft.com/security/online-privacy/avoid-phone-scams.aspx

 

"Neither Microsoft nor our partners make unsolicited phone calls (also known as cold calls) to charge you for computer security or software fixes.

 

Cybercriminals often use publicly available phone directories so they might know your name and other personal information when they call you. They might even guess what operating system you're using.

 

Once they've gained your trust, they might ask for your user name and password or ask you to go to a website to install software that will let them access your computer to fix it. Once you do this, your computer and your personal information is vulnerable."

 

Also see Avoid scams that use the Microsoft name fraudulently

http://www.microsoft.com/security/online-privacy/msname.aspx 

 

 

For more information here iwhat the United States Federal Trade Commission has to say on the subject::

http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0346-tech-support-scams

 

"In a recent twist, scam artists are using the phone to try to break into your computer. They call, claiming to be computer techs associated with well-known companies like Microsoft. They say that they’ve detected viruses or other malware on your computer to trick you into giving them remote access or paying for software you don’t need.

 

These scammers take advantage of your reasonable concerns about viruses and other threats. They know that computer users have heard time and again that it’s important to install security software. But the purpose behind their elaborate scheme isn’t to protect your computer; it’s to make money."

 

This scam is common and has been around for quite a while.  Here is a good Webroot Blog article from April 2013 by Threat Researcher Roy Tobin.

http://www.webroot.com/blog/2013/04/30/fake-microsoft-security-scam/

 

Also add a good free Ad Blocker like the ones suggested below:

 

For Internet Explorer Ad Block Plus: https://adblockplus.org/

 

For Firefox uBlock: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ublock-origin/?src=ss or Privacy Badger: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/privacy-badger-firefox/



 

Google Chrome uBlock: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ublock-origin/cjpalhdlnbpafiamejdnhcphjbkeiagm?hl=en or Privacy Badger: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/privacy-badger/pkehgijcmpdhfbdbbnkijodmdjhbjlgp

 

---

(*impersonating famous Star Wars character's voice*) It's a Trap....

---

Thanks, Ssherjj and edwin_eekelaers for responding to my post.

It took me some time to get rid of it and all seems well now. I thought it was a scam since Webroot did not respond like it did in the past. I'm still getting use to this Windows 10 Edge and when getting search results the risk is not displayed with the search results like Internet Explorer. Don't search for "Glenn Frey" under Bing or you will probably get this scam also.

Thanks Again.

---

What's the full number? It's a scam. I've read so many reports filed at sites like http://whycall.me about these pop-up computer scams. It's better if you can block the number. Next time, you can just scan your computer/browser files to see if there's some suspicious files.

---

dawning,

There were no phone calls and I can't remember what the 1800 number was that displayed on my computer. I was searching for "Glenn Frey" and it was either the 2nd or 3rd result that froze my computer screen with this warning of being infected. I ran several scans but they came back clean from Webroot. I tried cold rebooting, turning off the computer, etc but everytime I restarted Edge there was this red screen with the warning which just kept recreating itself. It wasn't until I was able to get rid of all the open windows that the warning finally disappeared.

 

---