I keep getting a popup alert that I'm convinced is a fake. It displays as a Microsoft Security Essentials Alert. The box/popup states Potential Threat and its displaying: Microsoft antivirus has found critical process activity and lists 3 threats and provides a tab to click on so that I may remove the threat (which I ignore). When I try closing the msg box, another pops up and says I need to click tab to clean computer immediately to prevent systems breakage. The only way of closing it is with Task Manager but it keeps returning and does not allow me to move forward. I have done a complete viral scan with the windows defender that finds no viruses but this obviously is something that got through and I can't seem to pin it to remove it. How can it be removed/stopped? I would appreciate that you keep in mind that I'm a complete novice and know next to nothing about technical computer issues. Heck I don't even know where in the forum my question lies!

• Moved by Cleber Marques MSFTMicrosoft employee Thursday, February 13, 2014 2:58 PM

me too. It comes up as M Alert, not familiar with that. I think its IE related though. I'll be on a website and it will kick me off...daily anymore....I clicked on it once and it tries to download but hangs until i close it. I've performed a virus scan and its not being detected as a problem. Maybe the MICROSOFT folks can make a suggestion. Of the 3 alerts, 1 claims to be Trojan. I'll post the exact info next time it comes up.

• Edited by rocknout4u Saturday, February 08, 2014 11:50 PM

I got same pop up a few nites ago. I was just surfing Summer 2014 movies and know better that most celebrity sites are great places to catch a virus. Saw it pop up and thought crap...didnt hit me right away that I didnt have Essentials on this machine AND SO I CLICKED OK TO CLEAN!

Normally I always click nothing and task manager close out...but was too late. BUT, then another pop up said would you like to save or open a random file name and it hit me then and THEN I closed it all down.

Ran my current out of date anti virus and found nothing then downloaded essentials and ran it and found nothing. Hopefully, it didnt install. Computer seems fine but who knows...maybe time to invest in Vipre Antivirus i've been putting off. Not happy to hear it got thru a hardware firewall either as I've thought about investing in one as well. 

Anyone have any symptoms of this Virus?

I figure I'll just keep checking essentials every couple days for another update and wait for the Feb 2014 Windows malware removal tool.....I know it's a known virus because my buddy in the computer field said he's already cleaned it off a couple machines but couldn't give me the symptoms or what they used off the top of his head.

• Proposed as answer by cpblizzard Monday, February 17, 2014 4:09 PM
• Unproposed as answer by cpblizzard Monday, February 17, 2014 4:09 PM

I was just at rottentomatoes looking for movies and the same ad popped up. I didn't shut down my PC immediately. I think I clicked the X to close the pop-up. Then it appeared again, but in the sidebar of the webpage. Someone mentioned rt. I don't know what that is, but I had been on RT's website tonight.

I'll run my anti-virus. I wish I could find more info about this pop-up. Worries me.

EDIT: I ran a full AVG scan & nothing.

>"I got same pop up a few nites ago. I was just surfing Summer 2014 movies and know better that most celebrity >sites are great places to catch a virus. Saw it pop up and thought crap...didnt hit me right away that I didnt have >Essentials on this machine AND SO I CLICKED OK TO CLEAN! "

• Edited by ellen618 Thursday, February 20, 2014 9:56 PM

It happens, trigger happy. You know your, up-to-your looking sockets when you run a malwarebyte scan to find, there are over 1000 PUPS loaded in a single click.

• Edited by colakid Tuesday, March 25, 2014 7:47 PM

Found this on Microsoft, I just now ran superantispyware and it found all the stuff the other scanners missed. No more security essentials pop-ups. Hope it helps.

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/protect/forum/mse-protect_scanning/look-alike-microsoft-security-essentials-pop-up/a1c1a31f-88c3-4526-892d-7b7896825d1e

• Proposed as answer by Jakemo 12 hours 13 minutes ago