I have started getting popups that say it is time to update Windows instead of the normal updating at signoff. How can I protect myself?
About 3 weeks ago I started getting orange popup boxes asking whether I wanted to update Windows now or whether I wanted to be reminded tomorrow. I paid a tech company to resolve the problem but now the popups are more sophisticated stating that they are going to update right now or within 15 minutes. I am having to physically shutdown my computer to avoid issues with these intruders. Anyone experience this or have a suggestion on how to block these popups altogether. I have AdBlock and Privacy Badger but no luck so far. Any suggestions will be appreciated.
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I assume this is on your Windows 10 system.
If you get this message from outside of Firefox, and even if you are using, say, the Edge browser, please consult a Windows 10 forum for advice.
If you get these notifications inside Firefox, that definitely sounds like a scam. Web pages cannot update Windows, especially if you have not given them permission to use the Flash plugin.
Here's my suggested procedure for tracking down and cleaning up bad add-ons and other hijackers. I know it seems long, but it's really not that bad.
(1) Open the Windows Control Panel, Uninstall a Program.
After the list loads, click the "Installed on" column heading to group the infections, I mean, additions, by date. This can help in smoking out undisclosed bundle items that snuck in with some software you agreed to install. Be suspicious of everything you do not recognize/remember, as malware often uses important or innocent sounding names to discourage you from removing it.
Take out as much trash as possible here. If you're not sure, feel free to post program names or a screenshot of the list.
(2) Open Firefox's Add-ons page using either:
- Ctrl+Shift+a (Mac: Command+Shift+a)
- "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons
- in the Windows "Run" dialog, type or paste
firefox.exe "about:addons"
In the left column, click Extensions. Then, if in doubt, disable (or Remove, if possible) unrecognized and unwanted extensions. All extensions are optional; the troublemaker might not be obvious from its name.
Often a link will appear above at least one disabled extension to restart Firefox to make the change effective. You can complete your work on the tab and click one of the links as the last step.
Any improvement?
(3) You can search for remaining issues with the scanning/cleaning tools listed in the support article: Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware. These on-demand scanners are free and take considerable time to run. If they finish quickly and especially if they require payment, you may have a serious infection. I suggest the specialized forums listed in the article in that case.
Hopefully that will flush anything on your system and in your Firefox that could be a problem.