I'm getting dangerous popups

A series of popups are appearing on my screen which are obviously phony and are some kind of traps designed to trick me into clicking them. They talk about viruses and Trojans and encrypted files and so on. Some of them say "McAfee" and they began appearing when I was on the McAfee app. Others say "Windows Update" or "Firewall". And my browser keeps opening to a so-called "McAfee" website which also looks phony. Its web address is

https://d9747g0hubcc73blbjhg.voidwallguard.com/pibroy92hf/#

The popups cover up everything else on my screen, practically disabling my computer. Even doing a shut down and restart won't make them go away.

Should I un-install McAfee? Or else, how can I get rid of whatever infection or malware this is?

Try this Microsoft Safety Scanner Download - Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
It is a standalone application and does not install anything on your system.
Don't be alarmed if you see a number of infected files during the scan let it finish and review the results.
Some files have very similar signatures to legitimate files and are initially flagged as Malware.

Dragon Drop said:

Should I un-install McAfee?

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Absolutely yes. It has a poor reputation and uninstalling it will cause Defender to protect your devices so you will remain protected.
Use a powerful uninstaller that removes all traces of it. A popular uninstaller is REVO Uninstaller, which can scan for leftover traces after uninstalling.
You can then consider installing another security product if you do not want to rely on Defender. That's your choice but there are plenty of users on here who think highly of Defender.

wiganken said:

Absolutely yes. It has a poor reputation and uninstalling it will cause Defender to protect your devices so you will remain protected.
Use a powerful uninstaller that removes all traces of it. A popular uninstaller is REVO Uninstaller, which can scan for leftover traces after uninstalling.
You can then consider installing another security product if you do not want to rely on Defender. That's your choice but there are plenty of users on here who think highly of Defender.

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Just use the free version or REVO uninstaller you don't need the paid version

I've stopped using the 3rd party virus scanners, they seem to be almost as bad as the malware itself! So far, Windows Defender has been sufficient, and my multiple layers of backup is my safety net in case something slips by.

Just the fact that McAfee is so obnoxious with it's advertising is more than sufficient for me to never install or recommend it!

I ran that Safety Scanner, and I also un-installed McAfee using Revo, but the popups are still appearing. I guess they aren't even coming from McAfee at all. I have to get rid of these popups somehow. What else can I try?

Dragon Drop said:

I ran that Safety Scanner, and I also un-installed McAfee using Revo, but the popups are still appearing. I guess they aren't even coming from McAfee at all. I have to get rid of these popups somehow. What else can I try?

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Try Malwarebytes Free Version

I'm using Edge, and I have no new extensions. The popups appear even when I'm not on the Internet at all.

Are able to show photos of the various popups?

check the browsers web settings for push notifications
disable push notifications and clear the browser cache

then see if the popups stop
best of luck Steve ..

Dragon Drop said:

I'm using Edge, and I have no new extensions. The popups appear even when I'm not on the Internet at all.

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XxXxX said:

check the browsers web settings for push notifications
disable push notifications and clear the browser cache

then see if the popups stop
best of luck Steve ..

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This, and while you are at it - delete all your cookies too.

Open Control Panel and then open; "Programs and Features". Then sort the list by; Installed on (date), newest at the top. Look for something there that was installed recently around the time your problem started. If you don't know what it is, uninstall it.

You can do an Internet search first, (before you uninstall it) to see what that program is, if you find something. Let us know if you see something you don't think you installed.

Dragon Drop said:

they began appearing when I was on the McAfee app

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I know exactly the popups you speak of. They cover everything on your screen and prevent you from getting to any other windows. I dealt with one just 3 days ago. This can be either a true malware infection or a piece of code called scareware. Some are relatively easy to deal with but others dig deep and re-trigger later. These popups are NOT from McAfee. More than likely what happened is you did not download and install Mcafee from the official McAfee website. When searching, always, always download software from it's official site.

Here's the way I deal with them.

1. delete all browser cache and cookies. See what browser extensions you have installed. Uninstall any that appear questionable. Restart browser.

2. run a scan with Malwarebytes Free. Quarantine everything MWB finds. It installs Malwarebytes Premium which is real-time protection. After 14 days it reverts to Free which is on demand scanning.. However, if you are looking for a good 3rd party AV, I highly recommend MWB Premium, I've used premium version for years alongside Windows Defender. Free Antivirus 2026 | Download Free Antivirus & Virus Scan | 100% Free & Easy Install

3. Scan with Adware Cleaner AdwCleaner 2026 - Free Adware Cleaner & Removal Tool | Malwarebytes

4. Restart system and see if issue is resolved. If it is not, You can run HitmanPro Trial Version. Download HitmanPro and HitmanPro.Alert Malware Removal and Protection Tools..

If your problem is resolved you can uninstall the scanning softwares you installed. However, as I said, Be aware that dependent on how severe the infection is, your system might run normally for a few days and the popups reactivate again. If that happens, if you have a system image made before the infection restore it. If you have made no image, either either enter the recovery environment and do a system "reset and remove everything" or clean install Windows.

They are Fake Popups. These are the standard measures you need to take:

1. Web Browser - Clear Temporary files, and delete all Cookies.
2. Stop and delete Notifications.

You can use a more subtle granular approach by identifying the specific Cookie and deleting. Same for Notifications, identify and stop/delete that specific notification.

Brute force way:
Edge > 3 dots > settings > Delete browsing data > Time range all time, tick boxes for Browsing history, Cookies and other site data, Cached images and files > Clear Now.

Selective way:
Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Cookies > See all Cookies and site data > Sort > ID likely ones > Delete.

Also Windows Settings:

Selective:
Windows Settings > System > Notifications > ID and > OFF.

Brute force:
Settings > Privacy & security > Notifications OFF and OFF.


Restart PC/Laptop.

@Dragon Drop your browser has been hijacked.

neldog said:

Open Control Panel and then open; "Programs and Features". Then sort the list by; Installed on (date), newest at the top. Look for something there that was installed recently around the time your problem started. If you don't know what it is, uninstall it.

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This, plus checking extensions, clearing cache, cookies browser history, check for browser policies and verify shortcuts. Lastly, run 2nd opinion scanner like Eset, Sophos Scan and Clean, etc.

Absolutely yes. Use a powerful uninstaller that removes all traces of it. A popular uninstaller is REVO Uninstaller, which can scan for leftover traces after uninstalling.

Click to expand...

I agree with the folks above saying this isn't McAfee-related, but by the way, McAfee makes an uninstaller for their products. It's the best software they make.

OK –– I've now deleted the Cookies, Cache, temp files, etc. and turned off Notifications. I'm not seeing the popups at the moment, but who knows what will happen? I also installed MalwareBytes and it didn’t show any problems when I did a scan.

This morning I un–installed McAfee. But now that I think about it –– This computer came with McAfee pre–installed. And that was several years ago, so I doubt if my McAfee software itself was to blame.

But the "McAfee PC Optimizer" is still there, along with its "Notification Service". I can't find any way to uninstall those. They show up in the System Tray area, and in Task Manager, but not in the Start Menu or Control Panel.

Dragon Drop said:

This morning I un–installed McAfee. But now that I think about it –– This computer came with McAfee pre–installed. And that was several years ago, so I doubt if my McAfee software itself was to blame.

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Yes, it is. Members are trying to explain this.

Dragon Drop said:

But the "McAfee PC Optimizer" is still there, along with its "Notification Service".

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pseymour said:

by the way, McAfee makes an uninstaller for their products. It's the best software they make.

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I'm not sure what to do now. I seem to have gotten rid of "McAfee LiveSafe", but the other McAfee program -- "PC Optimizer" is still there. It appears in the System Tray, and in Task Manager. But it doesn't show up in the Start menu, or in the "Settings" screen, or in "Programs and Features", or anywhere else under "Control Panel". I found its folder, "C:\Program Files\McAfee\PC Optimizer", containing two "exe" files ("PCOptimizer.exe" and "SSTray.exe"). But I'm afraid that just deleting the folder itself might not solve the problem, or might even make it worse. I managed to get those two programs into the start menu by using "pin to start", but when I try to un-install them from the start menu it just takes me to the "Settings > Installed Apps" screen. And those two apps still don't show up on that screen, so I can't un-install them.