have had webroot for 2 years on a toshiba satellite operating on windows 8.1. kept seeing a popup offering windows 10.. I finally downloaded it, and now i get a warning telling me i have a virus and need to call a phone number for virus removal assistance.. How badly have I screwed up my laptop.
Dennis Smith
redmond, oregon
downloaded windows 10. now get security warning telling me to call phone number
+36Hi denmitch1208, welcome to the Community, Whatever you do.............DO NOT call the number. It is a SCAM. Your machine and/or system has not been compromised. Run a webroot scan as quickly as possible.
You have likely picked up a PUP, potentially unwanted program, and can open a free support ticket if you have the Webroot edition, and they will rid you of the problem.
What you are seeing and describing is what we on the Community refer to as a PUA. (Potentially Unwanted Application)These are very annoying at best in that they cause pop-us, redirect your browser home page, and other behavior that may slow down the computer and direct ads your way, but they are not actually doing anything bad like damaging files or stealing information. Often they are installed intentionally by you the user as browser add-ons for various tasks such as quick search tools.. but they also come with the result of added annoying pop-ups and ads. Other times they 'piggy back' with other software that you installed, or try to 'sneak' onto your system entirely.
WSA does detect and remove many PUA's, and more are being added, but WSA does not detect all of them. A simple browser add-on with PUA behavior that is easy to identify and easy to remove is not likely to be detected and removed by WSA. Those that are intentionally difficult to locate and remove are. Please see THIS LINK for more information regarding Webroot's stance on these annoying programs.
The best thing to do is to submit a Trouble Ticket and ask Webroot Support to take a look and remove these for you. There is NO CHARGE for this for valid WSA license holder.
I hope this helps!
You have likely picked up a PUP, potentially unwanted program, and can open a free support ticket if you have the Webroot edition, and they will rid you of the problem.
What you are seeing and describing is what we on the Community refer to as a PUA. (Potentially Unwanted Application)These are very annoying at best in that they cause pop-us, redirect your browser home page, and other behavior that may slow down the computer and direct ads your way, but they are not actually doing anything bad like damaging files or stealing information. Often they are installed intentionally by you the user as browser add-ons for various tasks such as quick search tools.. but they also come with the result of added annoying pop-ups and ads. Other times they 'piggy back' with other software that you installed, or try to 'sneak' onto your system entirely.
WSA does detect and remove many PUA's, and more are being added, but WSA does not detect all of them. A simple browser add-on with PUA behavior that is easy to identify and easy to remove is not likely to be detected and removed by WSA. Those that are intentionally difficult to locate and remove are. Please see THIS LINK for more information regarding Webroot's stance on these annoying programs.
The best thing to do is to submit a Trouble Ticket and ask Webroot Support to take a look and remove these for you. There is NO CHARGE for this for valid WSA license holder.
I hope this helps!
thanks for the advice. I did not call the number and I ran a webroot scan.. The scan said I had no issues. Also, I noticed that every scan I do has the same result, nothing found.. It says it has found 2 problems total over the year and a half.. Is this normal.. I am obviously using the toshiba now, so hopefully I wont get the warning again.. thanks again. I was worried that the windows 10 download might be bogus???
+36Windows 10 download would not be bogus if you downloaded through Windows Update..............which I'm sure you did?
and.......... Don't Worry.........Be Happy!.......that you have a clean machine with few problems found. To me it indicates that you are a careful browser user.
and.......... Don't Worry.........Be Happy!.......that you have a clean machine with few problems found. To me it indicates that you are a careful browser user.
+36If you get the warning again..................the DO open a support ticket with the details of the warning!
+6And once you have succesfully gotten rid of that warning proceed with the Windows 10 upgrade. Once that is done create yourself a USB stick with the media creation tool from Windows 10. Test it properly for any unwanted stuff and if you are 100% sure it's good set it aside in case you do run into problems with W10. A clean install's only a USB stick away then.
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