Pop Up | Virus Alert

Instantly, the red window vanished. The beeping stopped. His desktop wallpaper reappeared, calm and peaceful, as if nothing had happened.

You’re browsing a website, looking for a recipe or checking sports scores. Suddenly, your phone or computer vibrates. A flashing red box appears: or “WINDOWS DETECTED MALWARE – CALL SUPPORT IMMEDIATELY.”

If you see a popup claiming your computer is infected and providing a phone number, virus alert pop up

Virus alert pop-ups use various tactics to deceive users, including:

Elias froze. His heart hammered against his ribs. The message was flashing, the text was stark, and a progress bar in the corner claimed to be "Downloading Malicious Files: 47%... 48%..." Instantly, the red window vanished

Trojan Spyware Detected! Immediate Data Loss Imminent! Call Microsoft Support Immediately: 1-888-555-0199

He looked closer at the alert.

A bright red window filled his screen. It looked exactly like a Windows system alert.

Your heart races. Do you click “OK”? Do you call the number? You’re browsing a website, looking for a recipe

Modern websites cannot scan your computer or phone for viruses just by you visiting the page. That’s technically impossible without installing software first.