Beware of 'Windows Firewall Has Detected That Your Windows Is Damaged And Irrelevant' Scam

computer scam

There is yet another scam making the rounds online, this time trying to trick users that their copy of Windows is "damaged".

The scam begins with landing on a misleading web page, usually by hitting a bad redirect or clicking a rogue ad. The page you land on will display a browser pop-up message that says "Wait! Windows Firewall has detected that you have not updated your Windows system. It remains damaged and vulnerable. **Do not leave this page until you have updated your system software**".

Once victims click "ok" to dismiss this message, they can see an underlying image, styled to look like a Windows dialog box that says:

Your Windows system is damaged

Windows Version: Windows 10

Please note: Windows security has detected that the system is corrupted and outdated. All system files will be deleted after: X seconds

Important: Click on the “Update” button to install the latest software to scan and prevent your files from being deleted.

Of course, none of this is true, and the whole setup is a scam. Clicking the "update" button inside the fake Windows dialog box will redirect you to various pages, all of which push different types of malicious or potentially unwanted software, including rogue optimization apps, browser hijackers and adware.

Never trust any website that tells you your system is damaged, because no website can access this sort of information about your system in the first place. All those scary warnings are scams and your best bet is to simply close the misleading page immediately before you run into more potential trouble.

August 3, 2022
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