What it is
FakeAV is scareware that pretends to be antivirus. It fakes “deep scans,” invents dozens of threats, and pressures you to pay for a bogus cleanup—or it quietly installs more malware. Learn the telltale signs in our FakeAV explainer.
What you may notice
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Alarming pop-ups: “Critical infection! Click to remove.”
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A “scanner” you never installed suddenly runs at startup
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Demands for payment before fixing anything
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Browser/homepage changes or new toolbars
How it gets in
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Malicious ads and fake “Your PC is infected” pages
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Bundled with sketchy “free” utilities or cracks
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Phishing attachments and look-alike download sites
Remove it now (quick steps)
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Disconnect from the internet.
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Uninstall the suspicious app and end its processes.
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Run a full anti-malware scan, reboot, and scan again.
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Restore browser settings; remove unknown extensions.
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From a clean device, change passwords and enable MFA.
Prevent it
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Download software only from official sources; avoid cracks and “free scanners.”
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Keep Windows, browsers, and security tools updated.
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Use reputable real-time protection and consider DNS/web filtering.
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Teach everyone to treat scare-popups as red flags—close the tab, don’t click.