Do not trust sites claiming You May Have Viruses On After Visiting An Adult Website
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on
What is "You May Have Viruses On After Visiting An Adult Website"?
Our researchers discovered the "You May Have Viruses On After Visiting An Adult Website" scam while inspecting dubious websites. We found two variants of this scheme - one in English and the other in Portuguese.
Like most scams of this kind, "You May Have Viruses On After Visiting An Adult Website" is designed to promote fraudulent and malicious software by making false claims about victims' devices being infected. It is pertinent to mention that no website can detect threats on systems - therefore, any that proclaim such are scams.
You May Have Viruses On After Visiting An Adult Website overview
The scam claims that due to a potential virus infection, users can lose the videos and photos on their phones. Supposedly, this can occur if the fake threat is not removed and infects the iCloud storage. The nonexistent virus may also delete the phone's contact list and installed applications.
This scheme indicates that the origin of the bogus virus is an adult website. To remove the malware, the scam urges installing the promoted app.
Scams of this type mainly endorse fake anti-viruses, browser hijackers, adware, and various PUAs. In rare instances, we have also observed such schemes promoting trojans, ransomware, cryptominers, and other malware.
In summary, via scams like "You May Have Viruses On After Visiting An Adult Website" - users can experience system infections, serious privacy issues, financial losses, and identity theft.
Name | You May Have Viruses On After Visiting An Adult Website pop-up |
Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Mac malware, Mac virus |
Fake Claim | Phone videos and photos may be deleted by a suspected virus infection. |
Related Domains | protecthck[.]com |
Detection Names (protecthck[.]com) | N/A (VirusTotal) |
Serving IP Address (protecthck[.]com) | 165.227.29.129 |
Symptoms | Your Mac becomes slower than normal, you see unwanted pop-up ads, you are redirected to dubious websites. |
Distribution methods | Deceptive pop-up ads, free software installers (bundling), fake Flash Player installers, torrent file downloads. |
Damage | Internet browser tracking (potential privacy issues), display of unwanted ads, redirects to dubious websites, loss of private information. |
Malware Removal (Mac) | To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your Mac with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. |
Online scams in general
We have analyzed thousands of online scams; "Your MacBook Is Infected With 5 Viruses!", "McAfee - Your iPhone is infected with 5 viruses!", and "Your iPhone Was Hacked" are merely a couple examples of those akin to "You May Have Viruses On After Visiting An Adult Website".
Scams can use various disguises and models, e.g., lotteries, free service/sample subscriptions, giveaways, updates, free software, etc.
The Internet is rife with misleading, deceptive, and malicious content. Therefore, we highly recommend exercising caution when browsing.
How did I open a scam website?
Scam sites can be entered via others that use rogue advertising networks; either the deceptive webpages are force-opened upon access or when hosted content is interacted with (e.g., clicking buttons, links, ads, etc.). Additionally, spam browser notifications and intrusive advertisements promote online schemes.
Misspelling a website's address (URL) can also result in a redirect to a scam page. Adware can display intrusive ads and/or force-open deceptive websites.
How to avoid visiting scam websites?
Deceptive websites are primarily accessed through redirects caused by pages using rogue advertising networks, spam browser notifications, mistyped URLs, intrusive adverts, and installed adware.
Therefore, we advise against using sites offering pirated content or other dubious services (e.g., illegal streaming, Torrenting, etc.) - since these websites typically employ rogue advertising networks.
To avoid receiving unwanted browser notifications, do not permit questionable webpages to display they (i.e., do not click "Allow", "Allow Notifications", etc.). Instead, ignore or deny notification requests (i.e., press "Block", "Block Notifications", etc.).
Furthermore, pay attention to URLs and type them with care. We strongly recommend downloading only from official and verified channels, as well as approaching installation with caution - to avoid permitting harmful software into the system.
If your computer is already infected, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for macOS to automatically eliminate all threats.
Text presented in the "You May Have Viruses On After Visiting An Adult Website" scam's pop-up (English variant):
YOU MAY LOSE ALL YOUR VIDEOS AND PHOTOS ON THE PHONE!
Your device may be infected with viruses after visiting an adult website. If the problem is not solved immediately, viruses can damage your iCloud and probably may delete all your Photos and Videos
OK
Appearance of this scam's background page (English variant):
Text presented on this page:
Wednesday
13 July 2022
You may have viruses on your device after visiting an adult website
If the problem is not solved immediately, viruses may damage your iCloud and can delete all your contacts, photos and applications.
Important: to protect yor device, click the button “Protect“ below, install Security App from the AppStore, open it and run cleaning procedure.
0 minutes and 00 seconds
Protect
Appearance of the app promoted by this scam variant:
Appearance of this scam's pop-up window (Portuguese variant):
Text presented in this pop-up:
VOCÊ PODE PERDER TODOS OS VÍDEOS E FOTOS QUE ESTÃO NO SEU TELEFONE!
Se o problema não for resolvido imediatamente, este vírus pode danificar o iCloud e deletar todos os seus contatos, fotos e aplicativos.
Appearance of this scam's background page (Portuguese variant):
Text presented on this page:
Quarta-feira
13 Julho 2022
O seu dispositivo pode estar infectado com um vírus após visitar um site adulto
O seu dispositivo pode estar infectado por um vírus após visitar um site adulto. Se o problema não for resolvido imediatamente, este vírus pode danificar o iCloud e provavelmente deletar todas as suas Fotos e Vídeos
Importante: para proteger o seu dispositivo, clique no botão “Proteger“, que está logo abaixo, instale o Security App da App Store, abra-o e execute o procedimento de limpeza.
1 minuto e 57 segundos
Proteger
To enable pop-up blocking, fraudulent website warnings, and remove web browsing data in mobile Apple devices, follow these steps:
First, go to "Settings", and then scroll down to find and tap "Safari".
Check if the "Block Pop-ups" and "Fraudulent Website Warning" toggles are enabled. If not, enable them immediately. Then, scroll down and tap "Advanced".
Tap "Website Data" and then "Remove All Website Data".
Instant automatic Mac malware removal:
Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced IT skills. Combo Cleaner is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of Mac malware. Download it by clicking the button below:
▼ DOWNLOAD Combo Cleaner for Mac
By downloading any software listed on this website you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. Limited seven days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.
Quick menu:
- What is "You May Have Viruses On After Visiting An Adult Website"?
- STEP 1. Remove PUA related files and folders from OSX.
- STEP 2. Remove rogue extensions from Safari.
- STEP 3. Remove rogue add-ons from Google Chrome.
- STEP 4. Remove potentially unwanted plug-ins from Mozilla Firefox.
Video showing how to remove adware and browser hijackers from a Mac computer:
Potentially unwanted applications removal:
Remove potentially unwanted applications from your "Applications" folder:
Click the Finder icon. In the Finder window, select "Applications". In the applications folder, look for "MPlayerX","NicePlayer", or other suspicious applications and drag them to the Trash. After removing the potentially unwanted application(s) that cause online ads, scan your Mac for any remaining unwanted components.
Remove adware-related files and folders
Click the Finder icon, from the menu bar. Choose Go, and click Go to Folder...
Check for adware generated files in the /Library/LaunchAgents/ folder:
In the Go to Folder... bar, type: /Library/LaunchAgents/
In the "LaunchAgents" folder, look for any recently-added suspicious files and move them to the Trash. Examples of files generated by adware - "installmac.AppRemoval.plist", "myppes.download.plist", "mykotlerino.ltvbit.plist", "kuklorest.update.plist", etc. Adware commonly installs several files with the exact same string.
Check for adware generated files in the ~/Library/Application Support/ folder:
In the Go to Folder... bar, type: ~/Library/Application Support/
In the "Application Support" folder, look for any recently-added suspicious folders. For example, "MplayerX" or "NicePlayer", and move these folders to the Trash.
Check for adware generated files in the ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ folder:
In the Go to Folder... bar, type: ~/Library/LaunchAgents/
In the "LaunchAgents" folder, look for any recently-added suspicious files and move them to the Trash. Examples of files generated by adware - "installmac.AppRemoval.plist", "myppes.download.plist", "mykotlerino.ltvbit.plist", "kuklorest.update.plist", etc. Adware commonly installs several files with the exact same string.
Check for adware generated files in the /Library/LaunchDaemons/ folder:
In the "Go to Folder..." bar, type: /Library/LaunchDaemons/
In the "LaunchDaemons" folder, look for recently-added suspicious files. For example "com.aoudad.net-preferences.plist", "com.myppes.net-preferences.plist", "com.kuklorest.net-preferences.plist", "com.avickUpd.plist", etc., and move them to the Trash.
Scan your Mac with Combo Cleaner:
If you have followed all the steps correctly, your Mac should be clean of infections. To ensure your system is not infected, run a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus. Download it HERE. After downloading the file, double click combocleaner.dmg installer. In the opened window, drag and drop the Combo Cleaner icon on top of the Applications icon. Now open your launchpad and click on the Combo Cleaner icon. Wait until Combo Cleaner updates its virus definition database and click the "Start Combo Scan" button.
Combo Cleaner will scan your Mac for malware infections. If the antivirus scan displays "no threats found" - this means that you can continue with the removal guide; otherwise, it's recommended to remove any found infections before continuing.
After removing files and folders generated by the adware, continue to remove rogue extensions from your Internet browsers.
Remove malicious extensions from Internet browsers
Remove malicious Safari extensions:
Open the Safari browser, from the menu bar, select "Safari" and click "Preferences...".
In the preferences window, select "Extensions" and look for any recently-installed suspicious extensions. When located, click the "Uninstall" button next to it/them. Note that you can safely uninstall all extensions from your Safari browser - none are crucial for regular browser operation.
- If you continue to have problems with browser redirects and unwanted advertisements - Reset Safari.
Remove malicious extensions from Google Chrome:
Click the Chrome menu icon (at the top right corner of Google Chrome), select "More Tools" and click "Extensions". Locate all recently-installed suspicious extensions, select these entries and click "Remove".
- If you continue to have problems with browser redirects and unwanted advertisements - Reset Google Chrome.
Remove malicious extensions from Mozilla Firefox:
Click the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window) and select "Add-ons and themes". Click "Extensions", in the opened window locate all recently-installed suspicious extensions, click on the three dots and then click "Remove".
- If you continue to have problems with browser redirects and unwanted advertisements - Reset Mozilla Firefox.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is a pop-up scam?
Pop-up scams are messages designed to deceive users into performing certain actions, e.g., installing or purchasing software, subscribing to services, disclosing personal information, making monetary transactions, etc.
What is the purpose of a pop-up scam?
These scams aim to generate revenue at victims' expense. Cyber criminals can profit by obtaining funds under false pretenses, promoting software, selling or abusing sensitive data, spreading malware, and so forth.
I have provided my personal information when tricked by a scam, what should I do?
If you have disclosed personally identifiable or other vulnerable data (e.g., ID card details, passport scans, credit card numbers, etc.) - immediately contact the relevant authorities. And if you have provided account credentials - change the passwords of all possibly exposed accounts and inform their official support without delay.
Why do I encounter fake pop-ups?
Deceptive websites run pop-up scams. Most users access these sites through redirects caused by webpages that use rogue advertising networks, mistyped URLs, spam browser notifications, intrusive advertisements, and installed adware.
Will Combo Cleaner protect me from pop-up scams?
Combo Cleaner is designed to scan every single website you visit, and it can detect rogue, deceptive, and malicious ones (including those that promote scams). Therefore, should you enter such a webpage - you will be warned immediately, and further access will be blocked.
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