How to remove “URGENT: Scan Your PC” pop-up scam

What is “URGENT: Scan Your PC” pop-up scam

URGENT: Scan Your PC pop-up scam represents a deceptive tactic employed by cybercriminals to instill fear and urgency in users, convincing them that their devices are infected with malware and at risk of identity theft. This scam typically manifests as a pop-up window on various websites, falsely claiming that a critical threat has been detected on the user’s device. The intention behind this fraudulent message is to lure victims into downloading or purchasing dubious antivirus software, often leading to financial losses or the installation of actual malware. Users caught in this trap might unknowingly provide sensitive personal information or engage with fake tech support, further exacerbating their vulnerability. These scams exploit common browsing habits, often appearing on compromised websites or through rogue online ads. As a result, victims may experience not just monetary loss, but also potential identity theft, as their personal data could be harvested by malicious actors. Staying vigilant and informed about such scams is crucial in safeguarding against the myriad threats that proliferate on the internet.

How “URGENT: Scan Your PC” pop-up scam infected your computer

The “URGENT: Scan Your PC” pop-up scam employs a deceptive tactic to infect computers by exploiting users’ fears regarding malware infections. When individuals encounter this pop-up, they are presented with alarming messages claiming that their device is infected and that their personal information is at risk of theft. This psychological manipulation prompts users to click on provided links, redirecting them to malicious websites that promote fake antivirus software. Upon installation, this software often turns out to be either a scam itself or a Potentially Unwanted Application (PUA) that can compromise device security further. Additionally, some variants of this scam may attempt to harvest sensitive information directly through phishing techniques, potentially leading to identity theft and financial loss. Therefore, users should remain vigilant and rely on legitimate antivirus solutions to protect against such threats.

1. Download URGENT: Scan Your PC Removal Tool
2. Remove/Uninstall programs causing URGENT: Scan Your PC pop-ups from Control Panel and Applications
3. Remove URGENT: Scan Your PC-related extensions from browsers
4. Reset browser search and homepage settings
5. Block URGENT: Scan Your PC ads
6. How to protect from threats causing URGENT: Scan Your PC ads

Remove “URGENT: Scan Your PC” pop-up virus manually for free

Here is the manual step-by-step tutorial for full “URGENT: Scan Your PC” pop-ups removal from your computer. This works 99% and was checked with the latest versions of operating systems with the latest updates and browser versions.

Remove program causing “URGENT: Scan Your PC” pop-ups from Control Panel or Applications

To start removing program, that may be a reason for “URGENT: Scan Your PC” pop-ups you should uninstall it using Control Panel. It can be present by different random names, just search for recently installed, unknown or suspicious app. It should uninstall correctly, however, we recommend you to use IObit Uninstaller to clean leftover items after uninstalling. Here are instructions for Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10 and Mac.

Remove app causing “URGENT: Scan Your PC” pop-ups from Mac:

1. In the Finder sidebar, click Applications.
2. Unwanted program might have an Uninstaller.
3. Otherwise, drag unwanted program from the Applications folder to the Trash (located at the end of the Dock).
4. Then choose Finder > Empty Trash.

Remove program, that may cause “URGENT: Scan Your PC” pop-ups from Windows XP:

1. Click on Start button.
2. Choose Control Panel.
3. Click Add or Remove Programs.
4. Find unwanted program or other recently installed suspicious program.
5. Click Uninstall.

Remove program, that may cause “URGENT: Scan Your PC” pop-ups from Windows 7:

1. Click Start button.
2. Then go to Control Panel.
3. Click Uninstall a Program.
4. Find unwanted program or other recently installed suspicious program and click Uninstall.

Remove program, that may cause “URGENT: Scan Your PC” pop-ups from Windows 8:

1. Hover mouse pointer to the bottom-right corner to see Menu.
2. Click Search.
3. After that click Apps.
4. Then Control Panel.
5. Click Uninstall a Program under Programs.
6. Find unwanted program or other recently installed suspicious program, click Uninstall.

Remove program, that may cause “URGENT: Scan Your PC” pop-ups from Windows 10:

There are 2 ways to uninstall program, that may cause “URGENT: Scan Your PC” from Windows 10

Way one

1. Click on the Start button.
2. In opened menu choose Settings.
3. Click on the System tile.
4. Click Apps & features and locate unwanted program or other recently installed suspicious program in the list.
5. Click on it and then click Uninstall button near it.

Way two (classic)

1. Right-click on the Start button.
2. In opened menu choose Programs and Features.
3. Locate unwanted program or other recently installed suspicious program in the list.
4. Click on it and then click Uninstall button above.

Remove app, that may cause “URGENT: Scan Your PC” pop-ups from Windows 11:

1. Right-click on the Start button.
2. In opened menu choose Settings.
3. Click on the Apps tab on the left side.
4. Click Apps & features and locate recently installed suspicious program in the list.
5. Click on 3-dots icon near it and then click Uninstall button near it.
6. Depending on the type of application (Windows Store app or classic Win32 app) it will be removed immediately or you will need to confirm the action and go through standard uninstall procedure.

Remove app, that may cause “URGENT: Scan Your PC” pop-ups from iOS:

1. Carefully inspect all apps on your iOS device.
2. Find unnecessary, unwanted or suspicious ones.
3. Tap on unwanted app and hold until additional menu appears.
4. Tap Delete App in opened menu.

Remove app, that may cause “URGENT: Scan Your PC” pop-ups from Android:

1. Open the Google Play Store and choose My apps & games
2. Carefully inspect all apps on your Android device and find unnecessary, unwanted or suspicious ones.
3. Tap on unwanted app and tap Uninstall button.

Cannot uninstall program, that may cause “URGENT: Scan Your PC” pop-ups

In some cases, suspicious application won’t uninstall and gives you a message that “You do not have sufficient access to uninstall “Program Name”. Please, contact your system administrator” when you try to remove it from Control Panel or “Access denied” error when removing the folder and files of this app. This happens because the process or service does not allow you to do it. In this case, I will recommend you to use SpyHunter 5 or Malwarebytes or uninstall unwanted program in Safe Mode. To boot in Safe Mode do the following:

1. Reboot your computer.
2. While it starts booting press F8 button.
3. This will open Advanced Boot Options menu.
4. Choose Safe Mode and wait until Windows loads.
5. Go to Control Panel > Uninstall a program and remove unwanted program or other recently installed suspicious program

>> See detailed instructions and video tutorial on how to boot in Safe Mode

and for Mac:

If you can’t uninstall app causing “URGENT: Scan Your PC” pop-ups using instructions above, or it keeps coming back, you can use free AppCleaner for Mac to remove all residual data and libraries of unwanted application. Follow instructions below:

1. Download free AppCleaner.
2. Drag unwanted app from Applications folder to AppCleaner window.
3. Choose files and folders you want to remove along with “URGENT: Scan Your PC”.
4. Click Delete button.

Remove malicious add-ons from your browsers

Uninstalling programs, that generate “URGENT: Scan Your PC” pop-ups from Control Panel often does not bring the desired effect. It sometimes has browser extension and it may still be active in Safari, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox. Here are instructions on how to remove extensions causing “URGENT: Scan Your PC” ads from your browsers manually.

Safari:

1. Start Safari on your Mac, click Safari to open drop-down menu and choose Preferences
2. Click Extensions tab.
3. Find suspicious extension.
4. Click Uninstall button to remove it.

Google Chrome:

1. Start Google Chrome browser
2. In address box type (or copy-paste) chrome://extensions.
3. Find suspicious extension.
4. Click the trash can icon to remove them.
5. Also remove other suspicious extensions from the list.

Mozilla Firefox:

1. Start Mozilla Firefox browser.
2. In address box type (or copy-paste) about:addons.
3. Choose suspicious extension.
4. Click Disable or Remove button.
5. Remove all suspicious extensions from the list.

Internet Explorer (9, 10, 11):

Note: There is no feature to remove browser extensions from browser in latest version of Internet Explorer. To remove suspicious add-on from Internet Explorer, please, perform instructions for uninstalling the program from Control Panel. To disable the suspicious add-on, please, do the following:

1. Open Internet Explorer.
2. Click on gear/asterisk icon in the top-right corner.
3. In opened menu Manage Add-ons.
4. Select Toolbars and Extensions.
5. Click Disable or URGENT: Scan Your PC related extension.
6. Also disable other suspicious extensions from the list.

Reset browsers settings (homepage, default search)

Here is an instruction to reset your browser’s homepage, new tab and search engine to default values and delete history, cache, and cookies.

Reset Safari on Mac:

1. Start Safari on your Mac, click Safari to open drop-down menu and choose Preferences
2. Go to the Privacy section of Safari’s preferences.
3. Click Remove All Website Data button.
4. In opened window click Remove Now button to remove data stored by websites in Safari.
5. Go to the Advanced section of Safari’s preferences.
6. Click the Show Develop menu in menu bar option.
7. In the menu click Develop and select Empty Caches from this menu.
8. Again, go to Safari menu and choose Clear History….
9. Choose to clear all history and click Clear History button.

Reset Safari on iOS:

1. Go to Settings, find Safari and tap on it
2. Tap on Clear History and Website Data and confirm your action.

Reset Google Chrome on Mac or Windows:

1. Start Google Chrome browser
2. In address box type (or copy-paste) chrome://settings.
3. Scroll down and find Show advanced settings link.
4. Click on it and scroll down to the bottom again.
5. Click Reset browser settings button and click Reset to confirm.

Reset Google Chrome on Android:

1. On Android device go to Settings > Apps, find Chrome app and tap on it
2. Tap on Storage and tap on Manage storage button on the left.
3. Tap Clear all data and confirm your action by tapping on OK button in the next dialog box.

Reset Mozilla Firefox:

1. Start Mozilla Firefox browser.
2. In address box type (or copy-paste) about:support.
3. Click Reset Firefox… button.
4. Click Reset Firefox to confirm.

Internet Explorer (9, 10, 11):

1. Start Internet Explorer.
2. Click on gear/asterisk icon in the top-right corner.
3. In opened menu choose Internet options.
4. Click Advanced tab.
5. Click Reset button.
6. Choose Delete personal settings and click Reset.

How to block “URGENT: Scan Your PC” ads and pop-ups

“URGENT: Scan Your PC” pop-ups, in most cases, are caused by a program installed on your PC or add-on installed in browsers. However, sometimes it can appear on a clean computer when visiting a malicious website, using an advertising script. Also, apps that generate “URGENT: Scan Your PC” ads and banners are themselves installed from pop-ups. To protect your PC and browsers from phishing websites, pop-up ads, banners, malicious scripts it is recommended to use AdGuard. Download free trial here:

Download AdGuard for Windows	Download AdGuard for Mac
Download AdGuard for Android	Download AdGuard for iOS

Final tips

Be careful surfing the internet and downloading software, as programs, that cause “URGENT: Scan Your PC” pop-ups, may become a real headache as they are hard to remove and break your privacy. To keep safe from such threats we recommend you always use antivirus and one of the anti-malware programs available on the market. One of the best anti-spyware and anti-malware programs is SpyHunter 5. It can protect your PC from threats, causing “URGENT: Scan Your PC” pop-ups.