If your screen suddenly fills with flashing warnings that your computer is “infected,” locked or reported to Microsoft, take a breath. You’re not in trouble, and you haven’t done anything wrong. What you’re most likely seeing is scareware, a fake alert built to frighten people into calling a phony support number or downloading something harmful.
The good news is that scareware usually lives in your browser, not your computer, and a few simple steps will clear it out.
First, a few important reminders:
- Don’t call any phone number shown in the pop-up. Real Microsoft warnings never ask you to call.
- Don’t click buttons inside the alert, even ones that say “Close” or “Cancel.” They may be fake.
- Don’t give anyone remote access to your computer or share passwords or payment details.
If you’ve already called or let someone connect, that’s okay. Disconnect from the internet and contact your IT support team right away so they can help.
Step 1: Close Edge safely
Scareware pages often block the usual close button, so we’ll close Edge another way.
- Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
- Find Microsoft Edge in the list and select it.
- Click End task.
When you reopen Edge, it may try to restore your previous tabs, including the fake alert. If a “Restore pages” prompt appears, close it or choose not to restore. If the scary page comes right back, press Ctrl + Shift + Esc again, end Edge, temporarily turn off Wi-Fi, then reopen Edge and continue with the steps below.
Step 2: Clear your cache and cookies
This removes the stored files and site data that can bring the fake page back.
- Open Edge and press Ctrl + Shift + Delete. (Or click the three dots (…) in the top-right corner, then Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Delete browsing data > Choose what to clear.)
- Under Time range, select All time.
- Check these two boxes:
- Cookies and other site data
- Cached images and files
- Click Clear now.
Clearing cookies will sign you out of most websites, so keep your passwords handy for the next time you log in.
Step 3: Remove unwanted notification permissions
Some scareware tricks you into allowing notifications so it can keep popping up later.
- Go to Settings > Cookies and site permissions > Notifications.
- Under Allow, look for any websites you don’t recognize.
- Click the three dots next to each one and choose Remove.
Step 4: Check your extensions
- Type edge://extensions into the address bar and press Enter.
- Look for anything you don’t remember installing.
- Click Remove on anything unfamiliar.
Step 5: If the problem keeps returning, reset Edge
- Go to Settings > Reset settings.
- Click Restore settings to their default values, then Reset.
This keeps your favorites, history, and saved passwords, but resets your startup page, search engine and extensions to their defaults.
Step 6: Run a security scan for peace of mind
- Open the Start menu and search for Windows Security.
- Select Virus & threat protection.
- Click Quick scan (or choose Scan options > Full scan for a deeper check).
- You’ve got this!
Scareware is designed to make you panic, and the fact that you paused to look for help means it didn’t win. Once you’ve cleared your cache and cookies and tidied up your settings, you’re very likely back to normal. If anything still feels off, or if you shared information with a caller, reach out to your IT support team. We’re always glad to help.
— Jonathan Lauer, Client Services Support Manager