A different type of online scam has been circling around the Web – the phone number 1-888-391-6168 appears to be a scam used by fraudulent tech support websites.
How Do You Know You Are Infected by 1-888-391-6168?
If you receive a message saying that “Your computer might be infected with adware” and containing the phone number 1-888-391-6168, you have been indeed infected – not by the adware from the warning message, but by scammers who have created that fraudulent message.
The full message says:
Windows browser warning:
Your computer might be infected with adware.
Call 888-391-6168 for assistance with removing adware, malware and viruses.
Seeing these pop-ups means that you may have adware installed on your computer which puts the performance of your computer at a serious risk.
The purpose of that fake tech support warning is to scare you that you have a dangerous virus on your PC, and to direct you to call 1-888-391-6168 as the only means to resolve that issue.
Calling that number, however, would not fix your problem. In fact, it will worsen it. If you call, you will allow the scammers to access to your computer. They will then extract your sensitive data such as banking details and other login information. Some of the victims had complained that when they dialed 1-888-391-6168, a “tech support person” with an Indian accent answered asking them to log on their computers, after which their personal data had been stolen.
Typically, fake tech support websites, such as computer-notify-services.com, promote various types of malware and provide scammers with remote full access to your computer. Thus, whenever a warning message about the security of your computer appears, do not trust it blindly. Verify its origin and the emergency phone number (if available) provided. If the warning appears to be a fraud, use an anti-malware program to remove it.
How to Get Rid of the 1-888-391-6168 Scam
If you have discovered that you are a victim of the 1-888-391-6168 scam, do not follow any of the instructions from the message. Instead, download a well-trusted anti-virus tool that will perform a full system scan and will clean your PC successfully.
Spy Hunter FREE scanner will only detect the threat. If you want the threat to be automatically removed, you need to purchase the full version of the malware tool.
1. Remove 1-888-391-6168 from your browser
Remove a toolbar from Mozilla Firefox
Remove a toolbar from Google Chrome
Remove a toolbar from Internet Explorer
Remove a toolbar from Safari
Select the “Add-ons” icon from the menu
Select 1-888-391-6168 and click “Remove“
After 1-888-391-6168 is removed, restart Mozilla Firefox by closing it from the red “X” in the top right corner and start it again.
Select 1-888-391-6168 to remove, and then click ‘Disable’. A pop-up window will appear to inform you that you are about to disable the selected toolbar, and some additional toolbars might be disabled as well. Leave all the boxes checked, and click ‘Disable’.
After 1-888-391-6168 has been removed, restart Internet Explorer by closing it from the red ‘X’ in the top right corner and start it again.
Open the drop menu by clicking on the sprocket icon in the top right corner.
From the drop menu select ‘Preferences’
In the new window select ‘Extensions’
Click once on 1-888-391-6168
Click ‘Uninstall’
A pop-up window will appear asking for confirmation to uninstall 1-888-391-6168. Select ‘Uninstall’ again, and the 1-888-391-6168 will be removed.
2. Remove 1-888-391-6168 automatically with Spy Hunter Malware – Removal Tool.
To clean your computer with the award-winning software Spy Hunter –
It is highly recommended to run a FREE scan before purchasing the full version of the software to make sure that the current version of the malware can be detected by SpyHunter.
Boyana Peeva
Believes that the glass is rather half-full and that nothing is bigger than the little things. Enjoys writing, reading and sharing content – information is power.
Boyana Peeva
Believes that the glass is rather half-full and that nothing is bigger than the little things. Enjoys writing, reading and sharing content – information is power.
Boyana Peeva
Believes that the glass is rather half-full and that nothing is bigger than the little things. Enjoys writing, reading and sharing content – information is power.
Preparation before removing 1-888-391-6168.
Before starting the actual removal process, we recommend that you do the following preparation steps.
- Make sure you have these instructions always open and in front of your eyes.
- Do a backup of all of your files, even if they could be damaged. You should back up your data with a cloud backup solution and insure your files against any type of loss, even from the most severe threats.
- Be patient as this could take a while.
Step 1: Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove 1-888-391-6168
Step 2: Clean any registries, created by 1-888-391-6168 on your computer.
The usually targeted registries of Windows machines are the following:
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
You can access them by opening the Windows registry editor and deleting any values, created by 1-888-391-6168 there. This can happen by following the steps underneath:
Tip: To find a virus-created value, you can right-click on it and click “Modify” to see which file it is set to run. If this is the virus file location, remove the value.Step 3: Find files created by 1-888-391-6168
For Windows 8, 8.1 and 10.
For Windows XP, Vista, and 7.For Newer Windows Operating Systems
1: On your keyboard press + R and write explorer.exe in the Run text box and then click on the Ok button.
2: Click on your PC from the quick access bar. This is usually an icon with a monitor and its name is either “My Computer”, “My PC” or “This PC” or whatever you have named it.
3: Navigate to the search box in the top-right of your PC’s screen and type “fileextension:” and after which type the file extension. If you are looking for malicious executables, an example may be “fileextension:exe”. After doing that, leave a space and type the file name you believe the malware has created. Here is how it may appear if your file has been found:
N.B. We recommend to wait for the green loading bar in the navination box to fill up in case the PC is looking for the file and hasn’t found it yet.
For Older Windows Operating Systems
In older Windows OS’s the conventional approach should be the effective one:
1: Click on the Start Menu icon (usually on your bottom-left) and then choose the Search preference.
2: After the search window appears, choose More Advanced Options from the search assistant box. Another way is by clicking on All Files and Folders.
3: After that type the name of the file you are looking for and click on the Search button. This might take some time after which results will appear. If you have found the malicious file, you may copy or open its location by right-clicking on it.
Now you should be able to discover any file on Windows as long as it is on your hard drive and is not concealed via special software.
Before starting “Step 4”, please boot back into Normal mode, in case you are currently in Safe Mode.
This will enable you to install and use SpyHunter 5 successfully.
Step 4: Scan for 1-888-391-6168 with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool
Step 5 (Optional): Try to Restore Files Encrypted by 1-888-391-6168.
Ransomware infections and 1-888-391-6168 aim to encrypt your files using an encryption algorithm which may be very difficult to decrypt. This is why we have suggested a data recovery method that may help you go around direct decryption and try to restore your files. Bear in mind that this method may not be 100% effective but may also help you a little or a lot in different situations.
For more “how-to” file recovery methods and steps, you can visit our instructive article on “How to Restore Files Encrypted by Ransomware (Without Decrypter)“.
Boyana Peeva
Believes that the glass is rather half-full and that nothing is bigger than the little things. Enjoys writing, reading and sharing content – information is power.
Preparation before removing 1-888-391-6168.
Before starting the actual removal process, we recommend that you do the following preparation steps.
- Make sure you have these instructions always open and in front of your eyes.
- Do a backup of all of your files, even if they could be damaged. You should back up your data with a cloud backup solution and insure your files against any type of loss, even from the most severe threats.
- Be patient as this could take a while.
Step 1: Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove 1-888-391-6168
Step 2: Clean any registries, created by 1-888-391-6168 on your computer.
The usually targeted registries of Windows machines are the following:
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
You can access them by opening the Windows registry editor and deleting any values, created by 1-888-391-6168 there. This can happen by following the steps underneath:
Tip: To find a virus-created value, you can right-click on it and click “Modify” to see which file it is set to run. If this is the virus file location, remove the value.Step 3: Find files created by 1-888-391-6168
For Windows 8, 8.1 and 10. For Windows XP, Vista, and 7.For Newer Windows Operating Systems
1: On your keyboard press + R and write explorer.exe in the Run text box and then click on the Ok button.
2: Click on your PC from the quick access bar. This is usually an icon with a monitor and its name is either “My Computer”, “My PC” or “This PC” or whatever you have named it.
3: Navigate to the search box in the top-right of your PC’s screen and type “fileextension:” and after which type the file extension. If you are looking for malicious executables, an example may be “fileextension:exe”. After doing that, leave a space and type the file name you believe the malware has created. Here is how it may appear if your file has been found:
N.B. We recommend to wait for the green loading bar in the navination box to fill up in case the PC is looking for the file and hasn’t found it yet.
For Older Windows Operating Systems
In older Windows OS’s the conventional approach should be the effective one:
1: Click on the Start Menu icon (usually on your bottom-left) and then choose the Search preference.
2: After the search window appears, choose More Advanced Options from the search assistant box. Another way is by clicking on All Files and Folders.
3: After that type the name of the file you are looking for and click on the Search button. This might take some time after which results will appear. If you have found the malicious file, you may copy or open its location by right-clicking on it.
Now you should be able to discover any file on Windows as long as it is on your hard drive and is not concealed via special software.
Before starting “Step 4”, please boot back into Normal mode, in case you are currently in Safe Mode.
This will enable you to install and use SpyHunter 5 successfully.
Step 4: Scan for 1-888-391-6168 with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool
Boyana Peeva
Believes that the glass is rather half-full and that nothing is bigger than the little things. Enjoys writing, reading and sharing content – information is power.
Preparation before removing 1-888-391-6168.
Before starting the actual removal process, we recommend that you do the following preparation steps.
- Make sure you have these instructions always open and in front of your eyes.
- Be patient as this could take a while.
Step 1: Uninstall 1-888-391-6168 and related software from Windows
Here is a method in few easy steps that should be able to uninstall most programs. No matter if you are using Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista or XP, those steps will get the job done. Dragging the program or its folder to the recycle bin can be a very bad decision. If you do that, bits and pieces of the program are left behind, and that can lead to unstable work of your PC, errors with the file type associations and other unpleasant activities. The proper way to get a program off your computer is to Uninstall it. To do that:
Follow the instructions above and you will successfully uninstall most programs.Step 2: Clean your Browsers from 1-888-391-6168.
Remove an extension from Mozilla FirefoxRemove an extension from Google Chrome Remove an extension from Internet Explorer
Remove an extension from Microsoft Edge
2. Select the “Add-ons” icon from the menu.
3. Select the unwanted extension and click “Remove“
4. After the extension is removed, restart Mozilla Firefox by closing it from the red “X” button at the top right corner and start it again.
2. Move the cursor over “Tools” and then from the extended menu choose “Extensions“
3. From the opened “Extensions” menu locate the unwanted extension and click on its “Remove” button.
4. After the extension is removed, restart Google Chrome by closing it from the red “X” button at the top right corner and start it again.
2. Click on the gear icon labeled ‘Tools’ to open the drop menu and select ‘Manage Add-ons’
3. In the ‘Manage Add-ons’ window.
4. Select the extension you want to remove and then click ‘Disable’. A pop-up window will appear to inform you that you are about to disable the selected extension, and some more add-ons might be disabled as well. Leave all the boxes checked, and click ‘Disable’.
5. After the unwanted extension has been removed, restart Internet Explorer by closing it from the red ‘X’ button located at the top right corner and start it again.
2. Open the drop menu by clicking on the icon at the top right corner.
3. From the drop menu select “Extensions”.
4. Choose the suspected malicious extension you want to remove and then click on the gear icon.
5. Remove the malicious extension by scrolling down and then clicking on Uninstall.
Step 3: Clean any registries, created by 1-888-391-6168 on your computer.
The usually targeted registries of Windows machines are the following:
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
You can access them by opening the Windows registry editor and deleting any values, created by 1-888-391-6168 there. This can happen by following the steps underneath:
Tip: To find a virus-created value, you can right-click on it and click “Modify” to see which file it is set to run. If this is the virus file location, remove the value.Before starting “Step 4”, please boot back into Normal mode, in case you are currently in Safe Mode.
This will enable you to install and use SpyHunter 5 successfully.
Step 4: Scan for 1-888-391-6168 with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool
Boyana Peeva
Believes that the glass is rather half-full and that nothing is bigger than the little things. Enjoys writing, reading and sharing content – information is power.
Preparation Phase:
Before starting to follow the steps below, be advised that you should first do the following preparations:
- Backup your files in case the worst happens.
- Make sure to have a device with these instructions on standy.
- Arm yourself with patience.
Step 1: Uninstall 1-888-391-6168 and remove related files and objects
1. Hit the ⇧+⌘+U keys to open Utilities. Another way is to click on “Go” and then click “Utilities”, like the image below shows:
- Go to Finder.
- In the search bar type the name of the app that you want to remove.
- Above the search bar change the two drop down menus to “System Files” and “Are Included” so that you can see all of the files associated with the application you want to remove. Bear in mind that some of the files may not be related to the app so be very careful which files you delete.
- If all of the files are related, hold the ⌘+A buttons to select them and then drive them to “Trash”.
In case you cannot remove 1-888-391-6168 via Step 1 above:
In case you cannot find the virus files and objects in your Applications or other places we have shown above, you can manually look for them in the Libraries of your Mac. But before doing this, please read the disclaimer below:
You can repeat the same procedure with the following other Library directories:
→ ~/Library/LaunchAgents
/Library/LaunchDaemons
Tip: ~ is there on purpose, because it leads to more LaunchAgents.
Step 2: Remove 1-888-391-6168 – related extensions from Safari / Chrome / Firefox
Remove an extension from Safari and reset it.Remove a toolbar from Google Chrome Remove a toolbar from Mozilla Firefox
Step 3: Scan for and remove 1-888-391-6168 files from your Mac
When you are facing problems on your Mac as a result of unwanted scripts and programs such as 1-888-391-6168, the recommended way of eliminating the threat is by using an anti-malware program. Combo Cleaner offers advanced security features along with other modules that will improve your Mac’s security and protect it in the future.
Boyana Peeva
Believes that the glass is rather half-full and that nothing is bigger than the little things. Enjoys writing, reading and sharing content – information is power.
