Trojan Virus Found and Critical Error

Question

Trojan Virus Found and Critical Error

J Rivers 20

I am getting pop ups with Trojan Virus Found, Critical Error, System Error & Trojan found in Win/32! I ran the "Microsoft Safety Scanner". With "no viruses, spyware, and other potentially unwanted software detected". Would someone please provide the next step?

Thanks

J

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Answer accepted by question author

Bence Weiszmann 1,560

Dear @J Rivers

The messages you are seeing, such as “Trojan Virus Found,” “Critical Error,” or “System Error,” are often fake security alerts generated by malicious websites or browser notifications.

First, DO NOT CLICK anything in the warning and do NOT CALL any phone number shown in it. Do not download software recommended by the message or provide your Microsoft password, MFA codes, payment information, or remote access to anyone. If the warning is currently displayed in your browser, close the browser. If it will not close normally, press Ctrl + Shift + Esc, select the browser in Task Manager, and choose End task.

If you are using Microsoft Edge, go to Settings --› Cookies and site permissions --› Notifications and review the sites listed under Allow. Remove or block anything you do not recognize.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/manage-cookies-in-microsoft-edge-view-allow-block-delete-and-use

I would also check your browser extensions. In Edge, go to Settings --› Extensions --› Manage extensions and remove anything unfamiliar or recently installed.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/add-turn-off-or-remove-extensions-in-microsoft-edge

After that, run a full Defender scan from Windows Security --› Virus & threat protection --› Scan options --› Full scan. If you still receive the warnings, run Microsoft Defender Offline scan from the same location. This will restart the PC and scan the system before Windows fully loads. You can also review what Microsoft Defender has detected by going to Windows Security --› Virus & threat protection --› Protection history. This page shows recent threats and potentially unwanted applications detected by Microsoft Defender, including whether they were blocked, quarantined, or require further action. If you see an item you do not recognize, I would recommend checking its details before taking any further action. https://support.microsoft.com/en-US/Windows/Security/windows-security/protection-history-in-the-windows-security-app

It is also worth checking Settings --› Apps --› Installed apps and sorting the list by installation date. Look for applications you do not recognize or did not intentionally install.

If you have already clicked the warning, entered your credentials, downloaded anything from it, or allowed someone to remotely access the PC, let us know. In that situation, I would recommend changing the affected credentials from a trusted device and reviewing the account's recent sign-in activity before continuing to use the affected computer for sensitive activities.

I hope this help.

Best regards,
Bence

J Rivers 20 Reputation points

2026-09-02T11:35:15.9866667+00:00

Thank you so very much! I believe this fixed it all!

2 additional answers

Your answer

J Rivers 20 Reputation points

2026-09-02T11:35:15.9866667+00:00

Thank you so very much! I believe this fixed it all!

Answer 1

Hi, let me help you.

Open Edge and copy and paste this into the address bar: edge://settings/privacy/services/search/searchEngines

Please remove anything unusual from the search engine list.

And follow these additional steps.

Uninstall an unwanted application in Programs and Features.

Go to Start, type in Control Panel, then go to Programs and then Programs and Features, then go to the list of programs, look for anything unusual or any application that you are not aware of, right-click, then uninstall it.

Delete Temporary files on Windows 10.

Tap the Windows Key, then R on your keyboard. In the Run box, type in %temp%, then press Enter.

Once it opens, highlight all files and delete them. If a file is open and can't be deleted, skip it.

I hope this helps.

If the above scanner did not detect any, please use these 3rd party tools.

Let's try downloading the free version of Malwarebytes; it is a freeware that you can use to scan, detect, and delete viruses like the one you currently have.

You can download the free version from this link

https://www.malwarebytes.com/

Once installed, please run a full scan. You may remove this software once you are done with it.

You can also try an online malware scanner - https://www.eset.com/int/home/online-scanner/

URL Disclaimer: Please read.

Note: This is a non-Microsoft website. The page appears to be providing accurate, safe information. Watch out for ads on the site that may advertise products frequently classified as PUP (Potentially Unwanted Products). Thoroughly research any product advertised on the site before you decide to download and install it.

Answer 2

Those pop-ups are likely fake security alerts from a malicious website or browser notification, especially since Microsoft Safety Scanner finished with no viruses, spyware, and other potentially unwanted software detected.

Next steps:

Treat the alerts as browser-based scareware unless proven otherwise. Similar pop-ups can claim things like firewall problems, Trojan detections, or compromised logins even when the PC is not infected.
Remove suspicious browser notifications. In the browser settings, find the Notifications site permissions list and remove or block any suspicious site that was allowed to send notifications.
Clear browser data. Clear Cookies and site data and Cached images and files.
Reset the browser if the pop-ups continue. Use the browser’s reset option to restore default settings.
Run another security check with built-in protections updated. Run Windows Update to make sure the latest fixes and security components are installed.
If Microsoft Defender Antivirus is encountering scan or removal errors, run Windows Update and, if needed, install the latest protection updates manually.
If suspicious behavior continues, run a full scan again. Microsoft Safety Scanner supports a Full Scan option.
If the scanner reports an error code, check the MSERT log. Open Start, type %systemroot%\debug, open the msert file, find the error code that starts with 0x, and follow the matching guidance. For example:
- 0x80508007: download Microsoft Safety Scanner again
- 0x8050800C: restart the computer, then retry the scan
- 0x8050A005 or 0x8050A002: download Microsoft Safety Scanner again

If the only symptom is the pop-up itself and scans are clean, the most likely next step is cleaning up the browser notification permissions and browser data rather than treating it as a confirmed Trojan infection.