Windows Online Protection Has Detected Spyware POP-UP Scam
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on
"Windows Online Protection has detected spyware" removal instructions
What is "Windows Online Protection has detected spyware"?
"Windows Online Protection has detected spyware" is a scam designed to trick people into installing a fake antivirus tool called Live Protection Suite. This program is promoted by displaying fake virus detections on a deceptive website. Simply said, this scam website informs its visitors that it has detected viruses (spyware, trojans and others) on their computers and encourages them to remove them by installing the Live Protection Suite. We strongly recommend not to trust this scam page or the program that is promoted through it.
At first it opens a pop-up window stating that if a user's computer is infected with viruses, they might cause data loss, system crashes and other problems. People are offered to scan their computers with the Live Protection Suite which is disguised as a certified antivirus tool that is created by Microsoft. If the "OK" button is clicked, the page starts a fake scanning process that detects more than hundred trojans. It displays the "Windows Security Alert" pop-up window stating that Windows Online Protection has detected spyware and is ready to remove it. It encourages users to remove it by clicking the "Remove all" button. If clicked, it downloads a setup file of the Live Protection Suite fake antivirus program. This program is designed to display fake system warnings (pop-ups), opens untrustworthy websites in a browser and so on. In other words, it is designed to trick people into paying money for the full version as soon as possible. Programs that are promoted through deceptive websites cannot be trusted and should not be downloaded or installed. This or any similar scam page should be ignored and closed.
As a rule, people do not visit such pages intentionally. Quite often they are opened by installed potentially unwanted apps (PUAs). In addition to unwanted redirects, PUAs serve their users with ads like coupons, banners, surveys, pop-ups and so on. These intrusive ads usually conceal underlying contents of any visited website. Besides, if clicked, they open potentially malicious websites or trigger installations/downloads of other unwanted apps (some of these ads are designed to run scripts that are designed to do that). Moreover, PUAs usually record various information too. They collect IP addresses, entered search queries, geolocations, URLs of visited websites and other data of this kind. It is possible that some of it might include personal details as well.
| Name | "Windows Online Protection has detected spyware" virus |
| Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
| Fake Claim | Fake virus alert/scan suggests that a computer is infected with spyware, trojans and other viruses, and encourages to download a fake antivirus suite |
| Distributed Unwanted Apps | Live Protection Suite |
| Symptoms | Fake error messages, fake system warnings, pop-up errors, hoax computer scan. |
| Distribution methods | Compromised websites, rogue online pop-up ads, potentially unwanted applications. |
| Damage | Loss of sensitive private information, monetary loss, identity theft, possible malware infections. |
| Removal |
To eliminate Windows Online Protection has detected spyware virus our malware researchers recommend scanning your computer with Spyhunter. |
Other similar scams are "Your Windows Computer Could Be Infected With Viruses!", "Windows hard disk is at high risk", "Microsoft detected malicious virus and blocked your computer" and many others. Typically, scammers use them to trick people into installing unwanted software or to extract money from them by encouraging them to buy unnecessary software or services. PUAs that often are designed to open pages of this kind usually are advertised as useful and legitimate but in reality they do not provide their users with any of the promoted features, tools and so on. On the contrary, they open shady websites, gather information and display ads.
How did potentially unwanted applications install on my computer?
Most PUAs are distributed through a deceptive marketing method called "bundling". It is used to trick users into downloading and installing PUAs within other software. To achieve it, developers hide these unwanted apps (information about them) in "Custom", "Advanced" and other similar settings of various installation/download setups. Users who skip their steps without checking the aforementioned settings often allow unwanted apps to be downloaded/installed together with some other, desired software. In other cases PUAs get installed when people click intrusive ads that are designed to cause unwanted downloads/installations.
How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?
We advise to download software from official/trustworthy sources (websites) and using download direct links. It is not recommended to download it using third party downloaders, torrent clients, eMule (or other Peer-to-Peer networks), untrustworthy pages and so on. Install (or download) software carefully, check every download/installation step and dismiss offers to download/install unwanted apps that are presented in "Custom", "Advanced" and other similar settings or options of download/installation setups. Avoid clicking intrusive advertisements, they redirect users to untrustworthy websites. For example, to pages related to gambling, adult dating, pornography and so on. If a browser causes redirects to questionable pages or various ads appear while browsing the web, check if there are no unwanted entries installed on a web browser (extensions, plug-ins, pop-ups) and remove them. We recommend to do the same with programs installed on the operating system. If your computer is already infected with PUAs, we recommend running a scan with Spyhunter for Windows to automatically eliminate them.
Text presented in "Windows Online Protection has detected spyware" pop-up:
ATTENTION: If your computer is infected with viruses, you could suffer data loss, erratic PC behaviour, PC freezes and crashes.
Detect and remove harmful trojans and viruses before they damage your computer! Live Protection Suite for Windows will perform a FREE and quick scan of your computer for viruses, spyware and adware. Do you want to install Live Protection Suite certified Microsoft Windows antivirus now to remove all viruses and protect your PC for FREE (Recommended)
Screenshot of the fake virus scanner and pop-up that encourages to download Windows Online Protection:
Text in a pop-up:
To help protect your computer, Windows Online Protection has detected spyware and is ready to remove it. Spyware is software which is loaded onto your computer without your knowledge, or possible without the full functionality being made clear to your. It can, among other things, slow your Internet connection down and make frustrating changes to your browser.
Screenshot of the Live Protection Suite:
The appearance of "Windows Online Protection has detected spyware" pop-up (GIF):
Instant automatic removal of Windows Online Protection has detected spyware virus:
Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced computer skills. Spyhunter is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of Windows Online Protection has detected spyware virus. Download it by clicking the button below:
▼ DOWNLOAD Spyhunter
By downloading any software listed on this website you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Free scanner checks if your computer is infected. To remove malware, you have to purchase the full version of Spyhunter.
Quick menu:
- What is "Windows Online Protection has detected spyware"?
- 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 "windows online protection has detected spyware" 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 "windows online protection has detected spyware" 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 "windows online protection has detected spyware" 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 add-ons from Microsoft Edge:
Click the three horizontal dots icon 
(at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge), select "Extensions". Look for any recently-installed suspicious extensions, right click your mouse on these entries and click "Uninstall".
Optional method:
Click the three horizontal dots icon (at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge), and select Settings.
In the opened tab, click the "Choose what to clear" button.
Click Show more and select everything, and then click the "Clear" button.
- If this didn't help, please follow these alternative instructions explaining how to reset 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 "windows online protection has detected spyware" virus from your computer, please ask for assistance in our malware support forum.
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Outstanding!