Your Computer Was Locked POP-UP Scam

"Your computer was locked" removal instructions

What is "Your computer was locked"?

Like many other fake messages, "Your computer was locked" fake error is displayed on deceptive web pages. Typically, users visit these untrustworthy websites unwillingly, they are redirected by potentially unwanted applications (PUAs) that they usually install unintentionally. As a rule, PUAs also deliver intrusive ads and collect various browsing-related data. "Your computer was locked" fake error message is presented in both text and audio formats.

As stated in this fake "Your computer was locked" error message, this is a security warning which implies that an error "# DT00X02" has occurred on a computer and it is now locked. It also implies that the system has found some spyware and other viruses that might put Facebook login, credit card information, email credentials, browsing history and some data at risk. Moreover, it is stated that if a website displaying this warning/error is closed without resolving the mentioned problems, computer will be disabled in order to prevent any further damage. People are urged to contact Windows technical support by calling the provided "+1-855-428-1222" number immediately in order to solve all the mentioned problems. Note that Microsoft (and/or its support team) has nothing do to with this fake error message. It is a typical scam that scammers use to trick people into purchasing some software, paying money for "technical guidance" and so on. All these scammers and their fake messages should be ignored. The best way to do it is to simply close the website and ignore the described "consequences". If the website prevents you from closing it, then use the Task Manager to end the whole browser process. Another way to close it is to restart a computer. However, the previously closed/terminated session should not be restored. Restoring it will open the same website that displayed this "Your computer was locked" fake error message, or a website that led to it.

As we mentioned above, it's potentially unwanted applications (PUAs) that make users to visit websites containing fake error, virus alert and other similar messages. PUAs are designed to deliver intrusive ads and gather various data as well. Typically, potentially unwanted applications deliver various coupons, banners, pop-ups and other similar advertisements. Quite often these ads are annoying and diminish browsing quality. It's because these intrusive ads are displayed via tools that enable placement of third party graphical content that conceals the underlying content of any visited website. Clicking these ads might result in visiting untrustworthy websites or executing scripts that are designed to download/install other PUAs. Another downside of having a potentially unwanted application is that it is often designed to gather various data. Typically, PUAs record keystrokes, URLs of visited websites, search queries, IP (Internet Protocol) addresses and some other browsing-related data. However, it is very likely that some of the recorded data will contain personal and sensitive information. Later, PUAs' developers share all this data with third parties (potentially, cyber criminals) who misuse it to generate revenue. Such actions might cause users not only browsing safety or privacy problems, but result in identity theft as well.

Threat Summary:

Name	"Your computer was locked" virus
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Symptoms	Unauthorized online purchases, changed online account passwords, identity theft, illegal access of one's computer.
Distribution methods	Deceptive emails, rogue online pop-up ads, search engine poisoning techniques, misspelled domains.
Damage	Loss of sensitive private information, monetary loss, identity theft.
Malware Removal (Windows)	To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your computer with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Malwarebytes. ▼ Download Malwarebytes To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Malwarebytes. 14 days free trial available.

There are many fake messages out there (such as Error # 0xx90025ee9, System Firewall Has Blocked Some Features, The System Is Badly Damaged and many more) that are designed to serve one purpose - to trick users into paying scammers money for some products or services. None of these fake virus, error and other messages should be trusted. Most potentially unwanted applications are also very similar. Their developers present PUAs as legitimate, useful and handy apps. Nevertheless, such promotions are only attempts to trick people into downloading and installing PUAs. Once installed, they usually do not provide the promised functionalities. On the contrary, PUAs cause unwanted redirects, deliver intrusive ads and collect data.

How did potentially unwanted applications install on my computer?

Sometimes PUAs have their official websites, however, most of the times users install them unwillingly. One way to install PUAs is through clicked intrusive ads that are capable of executing particular scripts. In other cases users install PUAs when software developers use a "bundling" method. Bundling is a way to trick people into installing PUAs together with other software (regular apps). Software developers hide bundled apps (PUAs) in "Advanced", "Custom" and other similar sections of the download/installation processes. The information about PUAs being present in installation setups is often not disclosed properly. To sum up, users who carelessly install software (skip the installation steps) often install PUAs as well.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

Download software only from trustworthy and official websites/sources. It is not recommended to use third party software downloaders/installers, torrents or other similar channels for that. Always check what are the available "Advanced"/Custom" and other sections/settings of the download/installation processes before finishing the installation. Keep in mind that malicious (or other untrustworthy) ads usually look appropriate, however, once clicked, they redirect users to some untrustworthy website like gambling, pornography, adult dating and so on. If you encounter such ads or redirects caused, check if there are no new plug-ins, add-ons and extensions installed on your browser, or unwanted programs installed on your computer and uninstall unwanted software/add-ons immediately. If your computer is already infected with PUAs, we recommend running a scan with Malwarebytes for Windows to automatically eliminate them.

Text presented in "Your computer was locked" website and pop-up:

** YOUR COMPUTER WAS LOCKED **

Error # DT00X02.

Call Windows Technical Suppport: +1-855-428-1222:

Do Not Ignore This Important Warning
If you close this page without resolving issue, access to your computer will be disabled to prevent further damage to our network.

Your computer has alerted us that it was infected with virus and spyware. The following data is at risk:

1. Facebook Login
2. Credit Card Information
3. Email Credentials
4. Browsing History and Data

You must contact us immediately so our engineers can guide you through the recovery process by phone. Please call us within the next 5 minutes to prevent complete loss of your computer.
Contact Windows Engineer: +1-855-428-1222 (Toll-Free)

The appearance of "Your computer was locked" pop-up (GIF):

Screenshot of a website displaying the "Your computer was locked" pop-up:

Instant automatic malware removal: Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced computer skills. Malwarebytes is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of malware. Download it by clicking the button below:
▼ DOWNLOAD Malwarebytes By downloading any software listed on this website you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Malwarebytes. 14 days free trial available.

Quick menu:

• What is Your computer was locked?
• STEP 1. Uninstall deceptive applications using Control Panel.
• STEP 2. Remove adware from Internet Explorer.
• STEP 3. Remove rogue extensions from Google Chrome.
• STEP 4. Remove potentially unwanted plug-ins from Mozilla Firefox.
• STEP 5. Remove rogue extensions from Safari.
• STEP 6. Remove rogue plug-ins from Microsoft Edge.

Removal of potentially unwanted applications:

Windows 7 users:

Click Start (Windows Logo at the bottom left corner of your desktop), choose Control Panel. Locate Programs and click Uninstall a program.

Windows XP users:

Click Start, choose Settings and click Control Panel. Locate and click Add or Remove Programs.

Windows 10 and Windows 8 users:

Right-click in the lower left corner of the screen, in the Quick Access Menu select Control Panel. In the opened window choose Programs and Features.

Mac OSX users:

Click Finder, in the opened screen select Applications. Drag the app from the Applications folder to the Trash (located in your Dock), then right click the Trash icon and select Empty Trash.

In the uninstall programs window, look for any suspicious/recently-installed applications, select these entries and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".

After uninstalling the potentially unwanted application, scan your computer for any remaining unwanted components or possible malware infections. To scan your computer, use recommended malware removal software.

Remove rogue extensions from Internet browsers:

Video showing how to remove potentially unwanted browser add-ons:

Remove malicious add-ons from Internet Explorer:

Click the "gear" icon (at the top right corner of Internet Explorer), select "Manage Add-ons". Look for any recently-installed suspicious browser extensions, select these entries and click "Remove".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the "your computer was locked" virus, reset your Internet Explorer settings to default.

Windows XP users: Click Start, click Run, in the opened window type inetcpl.cpl In the opened window click the Advanced tab, then click Reset.

Windows Vista and Windows 7 users: Click the Windows logo, in the start search box type inetcpl.cpl and click enter. In the opened window click the Advanced tab, then click Reset.

Windows 8 users: Open Internet Explorer and click the gear icon. Select Internet Options.

In the opened window, select the Advanced tab.

Click the Reset button.

Confirm that you wish to reset Internet Explorer settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

Remove malicious extensions from Google Chrome:

Click the Chrome menu icon  (at the top right corner of Google Chrome), select "More tools" and click "Extensions". Locate all recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons and remove them.

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the "your computer was locked" virus, reset your Google Chrome browser settings. Click the Chrome menu icon  (at the top right corner of Google Chrome) and select Settings. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen. Click the Advanced… link.

After scrolling to the bottom of the screen, click the Reset (Restore settings to their original defaults) button.

In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Google Chrome settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

Remove malicious plugins from Mozilla Firefox:

Click the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window), select "Add-ons". Click on "Extensions", in the opened window remove all recently-installed suspicious browser plug-ins.

Optional method:

Computer users who have problems with "your computer was locked" virus removal can reset their Mozilla Firefox settings.

Open Mozilla Firefox, at the top right corner of the main window, click the Firefox menu, in the opened menu, click Help.

Select Troubleshooting Information.

In the opened window, click the Refresh Firefox button.

In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Mozilla Firefox settings to default by clicking the Refresh Firefox button.

Remove malicious extensions from Safari:

Make sure your Safari browser is active, click Safari menu, and select Preferences....

In the opened window click Extensions, locate any recently installed suspicious extension, select it and click Uninstall.

Optional method:

Make sure your Safari browser is active and click on Safari menu. From the drop down menu select Clear History and Website Data...

In the opened window select all history and click the Clear History button.

Remove malicious extensions from Microsoft Edge:

Click the Edge menu icon  (at the upper-right corner of Microsoft Edge), select "Extensions". Locate all recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons and click "Remove" below their names.

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the "your computer was locked" virus, reset your Microsoft Edge browser settings. Click the Edge menu icon  (at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge) and select Settings.

In the opened settings menu select Reset settings.

Select Restore settings to their default values. In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Microsoft Edge settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

• If this did not help, follow these alternative instructions explaining how to reset the Microsoft Edge browser.

Summary:

Commonly, adware or potentially unwanted applications infiltrate Internet browsers through free software downloads. Note that the safest source for downloading free software is via developers' websites only. To avoid installation of adware, be very attentive when downloading and installing free software. When installing previously-downloaded free programs, choose the custom or advanced installation options – this step will reveal any potentially unwanted applications listed for installation together with your chosen free program.

Removal assistance:
If you are experiencing problems while trying to remove "your computer was locked" virus from your computer, please ask for assistance in our malware support forum.

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