Malvertising is a type of tech support scam that locks your browser and will often display pop-up ads. This is set up by scammers to place an advertisement on a legitimate website that redirects you to their scam site. It's worth noting that this scareware is limited to your browser, and your device is secure. To learn more about tech support scams, see our Malvertising Malwarebytes Labs article.
To fix your locked browser screen, try closing your browser completely or clearing its history and stored data. You can do this by closing your browser the usual way or by force-quitting it if it's not responding. After your browser closes, open it again to see if it is still locked.
Close browser using keyboard
To get rid of the pop-up locking your browser, try closing the browser with one of the following methods on your keyboard:
- Ctrl + W - Attempts to close the current browser tab.
- Ctrl + T - Opens a new tab, and allows you to close the previous one.
- Alt + F4 - Closes the entire browser.
- Ctrl + Shift + Esc - Opens Task Manager. Then choose the browser in the list and click End Task.
Clear your browser cache
Because Malvertising scams may add itself to your browser, we recommend clearing your browser cache. Follow the instructions for your browser using one of the articles below.
- For Google Chrome, see Clear cache & cookies.
- For Microsoft Edge see How to Manage and clear cookies and cache.
- For Firefox, see How to clear the Firefox cache.
If you're interested in reading more about tech support scams, you can check out this article at Malwarebytes Labs.