VirtualShield - Your PC Is Infected With 18 Viruses POP-UP Scam

What kind of scam is "VirtualShield - Your PC Is Infected With 18 Viruses"?

Our researchers discovered the "VirtualShield - Your PC Is Infected With 18 Viruses" scam while investigating suspicious sites. It claims that the webpage visitor's computer is infected and urges them to renew their anti-virus subscription.

At the time of research, it ran an affiliate scam endorsing legitimate software. It must be emphasized that this scam is not associated with the actual VirtualShield.

VirtualShield - Your PC Is Infected With 18 Viruses scam

"VirtualShield - Your PC Is Infected With 18 Viruses" scam overview

When a website promoting this scam is accessed, it runs a quick system scan that detects multiple threats. Once the fake scan is concluded, a pop-up window is displayed, claiming that the visitor's computer is infected with eighteen viruses. The pop-up states that these threats are likely attempting to obtain the user's log-in credentials and banking information.

It must be stressed that all this information is false, and this scam is not associated with the real VirtualShield or any other legitimate products or services. It is pertinent to mention that no website can perform system scans or otherwise detect issues on visitors' devices.

At the time of research, "VirtualShield - Your PC Is Infected With 18 Viruses" worked as an affiliate scam. In these scams, cyber criminals seek to obtain illegitimate commissions by abusing the affiliate programs of the promoted product/service.

During our investigation, this scam redirected to the official website of VirtualShield. However, there are no guarantees that an affiliate scam will continue to lead users to the real webpages of legitimate content. They could redirect to imitator sites or genuine-looking promotional pages for fraudulent, untrustworthy, and malicious software.

Oftentimes, scams that use virus-themed lures endorse fake anti-viruses, PUAs (Potentially Unwanted Applications), adware, browser hijackers, trojans, and ransomware.

To summarize, by trusting a scam like "VirtualShield - Your PC Is Infected With 18 Viruses" – users can experience system infections, severe privacy issues, financial losses, and even identity theft.

Threat Summary:
Name	"VirtualShield - Your PC Is Infected With 18 Viruses" pop-up
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Visitor's computer is infected with 18 viruses.
Disguise	VirtualShield
Related Domains	onlinescuresoftware[.]xyz
Detection Names	Yandex Safebrowsing (Phishing), alphaMountain.ai (Suspicious), Forcepoint ThreatSeeker (Suspicious), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
Serving IP Address	188.166.82.58
Symptoms	Fake error messages, fake system warnings, pop-up errors, hoax computer scan.
Distribution methods	Compromised websites, rogue online pop-up ads, potentially unwanted applications.
Damage	Loss of sensitive private information, monetary loss, identity theft, possible malware infections.
Malware Removal (Windows)	To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your computer with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. Download Combo Cleaner To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by RCS LT, the parent company of PCRisk.com.

Similar scam examples

"Upgrade Your Windows Antivirus Software", "URGENT: Scan Your PC", "TotalAV - You Recently Visited Compromised Websites", and "McAfee - Computer Infected With Potentially Critical Viruses" are merely some of our newest articles on similar scams.

The Internet is full of deceptive and malicious content. It can use various disguises and methods to gain and subsequently abuse victims' trust.

While online scams are often poorly made and riddled with errors, they can be competently put together and even convincingly disguised as content associated with legitimate entities. Therefore, we strongly advise caution when browsing.

How did I open a scam website?

Online scams are primarily endorsed via websites that use rogue advertising networks, spam (e.g., browser notifications, emails, DMs/PMs, social media/ forum posts, cold calls/ robocalls, SMSes, etc.), malvertising (intrusive adverts), typosquatting (misspelled URLs), and adware.

How to avoid visiting scam websites?

Caution is paramount to online safety. Therefore, be wary of sites, ads, messages, and calls that warn of severe issues or make unbelievable promises. Pay attention to URLs and enter them carefully. Do not use websites offering pirated content or other dubious services (e.g., illegal streaming/downloading, Torrenting, etc.), as these webpages are usually monetized via rogue advertising networks.

Approach incoming communications with care; do not open attachments or links found in suspicious/irrelevant messages. Do not permit questionable pages to deliver browser notifications; ignore or block these requests.

Download only from official/trustworthy sources and be attentive when installing (e.g., study terms and options, use "Custom/Advanced" settings, and opt out of additional apps, extensions, features, etc.) – to prevent bundled/harmful software (like adware) from infiltrating the device.

If your computer is already infected, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate all threats.

Text presented in "VirtualShield - Your PC Is Infected With 18 Viruses" pop-up:

Your PC is infected with 18 viruses!

IMMEDIATE ACTION IS REQUIRED!

Viruses found on this PC most likely track internet activity to collect banking details and login credentials.

Please renew subscription to keep your PC protected.

Renew Antivirus Subscription

Unprotected PCs are 93% more vulnerable to suffer from malware.

The appearance of "VirtualShield - Your PC Is Infected With 18 Viruses" pop-up scam (GIF):

Appearance of VirtualShield - Your PC Is Infected With 18 Viruses scam (GIF)

Instant automatic 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 malware. Download it by clicking the button below:

DOWNLOAD Combo Cleaner

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. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by RCS LT, the parent company of PCRisk.com.

Quick menu:

What is "VirtualShield - Your PC Is Infected With 18 Viruses" pop-up?
How to identify a pop-up scam?
How do pop-up scams work?
How to remove fake pop-ups?
How to prevent fake pop-ups?
What to do if you fell for a pop-up scam?

How to identify a pop-up scam?

Pop-up windows with various fake messages are a common type of lures cybercriminals use. They collect sensitive personal data, trick Internet users into calling fake tech support numbers, subscribe to useless online services, invest in shady cryptocurrency schemes, etc.

While in the majority of cases these pop-ups don't infect users' devices with malware, they can cause direct monetary loss or could result in identity theft.

Cybercriminals strive to create their rogue pop-up windows to look trustworthy, however, scams typically have the following characteristics:

Spelling mistakes and non-professional images - Closely inspect the information displayed in a pop-up. Spelling mistakes and unprofessional images could be a sign of a scam.
Sense of urgency - Countdown timer with a couple of minutes on it, asking you to enter your personal information or subscribe to some online service.
Statements that you won something - If you haven't participated in a lottery, online competition, etc., and you see a pop-up window stating that you won.
Computer or mobile device scan - A pop-up window that scans your device and informs of detected issues - is undoubtedly a scam; webpages cannot perform such actions.
Exclusivity - Pop-up windows stating that only you are given secret access to a financial scheme that can quickly make you rich.

Example of a pop-up scam:

Example of a pop-up scam

How do pop-up scams work?

Cybercriminals and deceptive marketers usually use various advertising networks, search engine poisoning techniques, and shady websites to generate traffic to their pop-ups. Users land on their online lures after clicking on fake download buttons, using a torrent website, or simply clicking on an Internet search engine result.

Based on users' location and device information, they are presented with a scam pop-up. Lures presented in such pop-ups range from get-rich-quick schemes to fake virus scans.

How to remove fake pop-ups?

In most cases, pop-up scams do not infect users' devices with malware. If you encountered a scam pop-up, simply closing it should be enough. In some cases scam, pop-ups may be hard to close; in such cases - close your Internet browser and restart it.

In extremely rare cases, you might need to reset your Internet browser. For this, use our instructions explaining how to reset Internet browser settings.

How to prevent fake pop-ups?

To prevent seeing pop-up scams, you should visit only reputable websites. Torrent, Crack, free online movie streaming, YouTube video download, and other websites of similar reputation commonly redirect Internet users to pop-up scams.

To minimize the risk of encountering pop-up scams, you should keep your Internet browsers up-to-date and use reputable anti-malware application. For this purpose, we recommend Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows.

What to do if you fell for a pop-up scam?

This depends on the type of scam that you fell for. Most commonly, pop-up scams try to trick users into sending money, giving away personal information, or giving access to one's device.

If you sent money to scammers: You should contact your financial institution and explain that you were scammed. If informed promptly, there's a chance to get your money back.
If you gave away your personal information: You should change your passwords and enable two-factor authentication in all online services that you use. Visit Federal Trade Commission to report identity theft and get personalized recovery steps.
If you let scammers connect to your device: You should scan your computer with reputable anti-malware (we recommend Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows) - cyber criminals could have planted trojans, keyloggers, and other malware, don't use your computer until removing possible threats.
Help other Internet users: report Internet scams to Federal Trade Commission.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is a pop-up scam?

Basically, pop-up scams are deceptive messages intended to trick users into performing certain actions. For example, victims can be deceived into downloading/installing software, purchasing products, subscribing to services, calling fake helplines, disclosing sensitive information, sending money to scammers, and so on.

What is the purpose of a pop-up scam?

The purpose of pop-up scams is to generate revenue for scammers. They may profit by endorsing content (e.g., sites, products, services, etc.), obtaining funds through deception, selling/abusing private data, and spreading malware.

Why do I encounter fake pop-ups?

Pop-up scams are primarily promoted through webpages using rogue advertising networks, intrusive ads (malvertising), spam (e.g., emails, browser notifications, SMSes, social media posts, DMs/PMs, etc.), misspelled URLs (typosquatting), and adware.

Will Combo Cleaner protect me from pop-up scams?

Combo Cleaner is designed to eliminate all kinds of threats. It can scan visited websites for deceptive/malicious content. Therefore, should you happen upon such a page – you will be immediately warned, and further access to it will be blocked.