“Microsoft Critical Alert”

“Microsoft Critical Alert”

Hijackers such as “Microsoft Critical Alert” are only able to cause all the aforementioned changes to your browsers, no matter what type you use. Also, the generated ads might be based on your interests, as “Microsoft Critical Alert” could access your browsing history and base the ad suggestions on your most recent search requests.

In today’s article we will be discussing “Microsoft Critical Alert” – a type of a browser hijacker. Let’s be clear about something first – if you see a warning pop-up message on your screen about a “Microsoft Critical Alert”, do not believe it. It’s more than likely a scam and you are dealing with a browser hijacker instead. What characterizes these programs is that they are capable of infecting all kinds of browsers – Firefox, Chrome, Explorer, and enforcing certain changes to their settings. As a result, your browser may start to authorize unnecessary redirects; your default search engine and homepage could be changed to other ones; and many pop-up ads might begin to show up on your screen. More details about the nature and the effects of that program are available below.

Can browser hijackers be dangerous? What about “Microsoft Critical Alert” in particular?

The aforementioned characteristics are typical for any hijacker. This is pretty much what such a program is able to do to your browser in brief. In fact, you have nothing to worry about. Of course, you might be annoyed by the possible alterations that generally come from the activities of any browser hijacker, but nothing really malicious could result from that. To illustrate the difference between “Microsoft Critical Alert” (or any other hijacker) and any dangerous computer virus, let’s have a look at the comparison below:

How could you end up infected with such an irritating program as “Microsoft Critical Alert”?

Actual viruses are able to harm your files or encrypt them (as Trojans and Ransomware viruses do). The malware infection could result in identity theft, file encryption, system crashes, destruction of data and extensive spying on you.

Browser hijackers as a whole and “Microsoft Critical Alert” in particular are also widely considered to be potentially unwanted programs, because of their ability to distribute many ads and to pry into your browsing patterns. However, this does not identify them as malicious or dangerous in any way. 

It might be a relief to know that you are not facing a malicious program. Nonetheless, this doesn’t mean that you need such programs on your PC. We have compiled a detailed list of the most common hijacker sources so that you can avoid them as often as possible. Browser hijackers love lurking inside program bundles: these software mixtures are typically offered for free. They may consist of games, new apps, various programs and often ad-producing software like Adware and browser hijackers. Torrents/ shady web pages and shareware platforms are also likely sources of browser hijackers. You may get infected if you load them, visit them or use them. As for the legality of program bundles as a method of distributing hijackers, they are fully legal. Software developers, who create them, typically do not include anything malicious inside them. It’s true that this is a rather tricky way to make you install such a bundle and as a result – get contaminated with “Microsoft Critical Alert”. The secret is not to install the entire content of the bundle, but only the part you are interested in and to avoid the ad-broadcasting program inside it. For that purpose, when you venture into installing any downloaded bundle, once you see the installation wizard on your monitor, look for the options that provide a detailed installation process. Such a feature is either named Advanced or Custom. Make sure that you go with these only. All the others that you will be presented with will not give you the opportunity to choose what to get installed on your PC.

What else you should bear in mind to avoid any potential infections with hijackers

You should always keep your anti-malware tool updated and ready to scan your PC and defeat any upcoming threats. Also, just be picky when it comes to the places you go to while surfing, as some of them might be contagious. Another useful advice is not to download anything from illegal or suspicious sources. Turning on your pop-up blocker might also help, but remember that such a tool only prevents the web-page hosted ads from popping up.

In case you need something to remove the hijacker infection

We suggest that you go with the instructions in our removal guide that is available below. We have striven to come up with useful and easy steps, so that you will not be alone in the fight against “Microsoft Critical Alert”.

SUMMARY:

Name	“Microsoft Critical Alert”
Type	Browser Hijacker
Detection Tool

“Microsoft Critical Alert” Pop-up Scam Removal

You are dealing with a malware infection that can restore itself unless you remove its core files. We are sending you to another page with a removal guide that gets regularly updated. It covers in-depth instructions on how to:
1. Locate and scan malicious processes in your task manager.
2. Identify in your Control panel any programs installed with the malware, and how to remove them. Search Marquis is a high-profile hijacker that gets installed with a lot of malware.
3. How to clean up and reset your browser to its original settings without the malware returning.
You can find the removal guide here.

For mobile devices refer to these guides instead: Android , iPhone