This has happened to me in the past, where fake antivirus ads purporting to be from different companies fill my screen and can’t be stopped. They insist that I click on them to get rid of the hundreds of viruses that supposedly inhabit my computer. The last time this happened I installed Malwarebites it it took care of the problem. This time around Malwarebites not only says I do not have hundreds of viruses that must be eliminated…it can’t find the virus that is causing all the popups. By the way, although the ads claim to be coming from different antivirus companies (and sometimes even my own computer!), they all have a certain email address that contains “nexstackrentix” among other letters and numbers. Any help/advice?
This happened to me for the first time decades. I really thought Microsoft and the browser companies had consigned this kind of thing to the dustbin of history.
But no, it still happens and nothing fixed it except uninstalling Chrome
It is popping up in every browser, and even as soon as I turn my computer on, before any browsers are opened.
Are you using Windows 11?
This thread discusses problem that sound similar to what you’re describing:
The annoyance that is Windows 11 - In My Humble Opinion - Straight Dope Message Board
No, as one of the active posters in that thread, what @Czarcasm describes is not being caused by Windows 11. That’s some kind of virus.
Try Bitdefender. It’s highly rated, and I’ve found that it handles infections that weren’t found by MalwareBytes.
This is embarrassing. It is Bitdefender that I put on my computer that stopped it previously, not Malwarebites, and it doesn’t even see this problem.
Nothing in that thread is similar to the problem I have.
Try running Hitman Pro
Is it free, and can it fix the particular problem I have?
It is free trial-ware (you can always reset the trial, though), that can probably fix your problem. You can download it here:
Try running a One-Time Scan, and see if it finds anything.
Historically - if this sort of issue popped up on a device but didn’t pop any virus notifications, it was often a browser hijack.
You can fix this by cleaning browser caches and cookies. It often works, but lots of stuff you have saved to the browser (passwords, authentications, etc.) can be lost, and thinks will often load slower for some time. So, do so at your own risk.
I just did that with your recommended program . It didn’t find any malware or viruses…and the instant it finished and closed another popup supposedly from Mcafee (which I have never had on this computer, btw) appeared telling me I have to install their program. And another one with a skull and crossbones in the upper left corner just now appeared right above it. No browsers are ruining.
I am doing a system restore to back around a month ago.
I am also thinking some sort of browser notification hijack. Do you ever use Microsoft Edge? Check that nothing suspicious is enabled: Manage website notifications in Microsoft Edge | Microsoft Support @ParallelLines 's advice of clearing the cache and so forth is sound.
You could, but if it is just a matter of cleaning up one single app…
Edge browser just cleansed and machine rebooted. Let’s see what happens.
And the first (of many) popups just appeared in the bottom right corner. I just blocked that previously mentioned “nexstackrentix.co.in” (this is not the whole address, of course) on Edge…and the popup disappeared. Waiting and seeing.
Also, put Ublock Origin on that Edge…
That sounds like a solid plan.