Fake "Your McAfee subscription has expired!" popup

[KJohnson]

Have gotten it twice in the last week while browsing DU.
Don't have McAfee.
What's going on?

[Takket]

1. You probably have a virus in your computer. Scan it.

[claudette]

2. I have gotten

two emails about that. Never ordered it and they said they got my payment. Never even heard of them

[riversedge]

3. I have gotten several this last summer. I have a different virus protection on my computer. They

mostly go into my spam box [but i check my spam box weekly just in case I have missed something]

[RobinA]

4. OMG!!

That thing becomes relentless!!! I got thanked for my payment as well. Talk about crazy making!

[SWBTATTReg]

5. Ignore them. Or, you can simply end the brower session and then reopen another browser session.

I've found that you can't simply ignore and move on once you get the McAfee prompts, so I just simply close the entire browser down, and reopen a new one.

[Silent Type]

6. Have gotten a few like that. Even Norton ones, but I don't use Norton.

[usonian]

7. It looks like there are four ways this can happen. So it's confusing.

1. Your subscription actually expired.
2. A browser based spam push notification popup ad (probably the most common?)
3. A phishing email.
4. Possibly some malware on your system.

I am linking some sites that explain these possibilities and how to deal with them.

My FIRST suggestion is to use a popup-blocker and an ad-blocker with your browser.
A vast majority of these popups are delivered through ads, and sites DO NOT vet ads.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/what-is-the-mcafee-virus-pop-up-scam-how-to-get-rid-of-it/ar-AA14b42z
What Is the McAfee Virus Pop-Up Scam? How to Get Rid of It
How to Avoid Receiving Fake McAfee Virus Pop-Ups. (top three posted here)
This article is pretty comprehensive, and not too technical to grasp.

If fake McAfee pop-ups constantly bother you and you don't want to deal with them again and again, keep the following tips in mind:
• Malicious websites trigger a popup when you land on them that asks for your permission to send you notifications. Don't grant them this permission.
• Enable a popup blocker on Edge, Firefox, Google Chrome, or any other browser you use. This will block the pop-ups from appearing on websites, and they will no longer bother you.
• Avoid downloading software, especially antivirus suites, from third-party sources since scammers can program the software to send notifications. Only use official websites!


https://malwaretips.com/blogs/remove-your-mcafee-subscription-has-expired-today-popup/
Your McAfee Subscription Has Expired – Virus Removal Guide

This is put out by malwarebytes, a freemium offering. I cannot vet this product.
But the article has some good information.

[Initech]

8. I have AVG. Their pop ups drive me nuts.

Maybe it was pre-installed software? Check your background processes.

[Oneironaut]

9. It's probably malware. Try clearing internet cache and then rebooting.

[Talitha]

10. I've got my McAffee set for auto-renewal and STILL get spammed with renewal notes.

They go to my junk folder anyway, but geeze louise it gets old fast!

[4dog]

11. Take a look at this page for some free stuff: https://www.sophos.com/en-us/free-tools

Excellent English site serves mostly professional system administrators but has free malware removal app and very reasonable virus and attack protection for several computers, Win and Mac. Or subscribe to their free 5-daily email and learn about how to protect yourself from a variety of ills.

[keithbvadu2]

12. I get them in the email. Many repeats of 'this is your last notice'.

I get them in the email.

Many repeats of 'this is your last notice'.

Both Norton and McAfee.

[malaise]

13. You might have had a free year with your computer

Check

[Norbert]

14. I got the same thing. The sender had a Gmail account

and I know I didn't pay for it.

Sorry. Try again.

[NowISeetheLight]

15. Fake Receipt Scam

They'll send you a receipt thanking you for your $400+ payment. Just click the PDF to view it (and infect your computer!).

[WarGamer]

16. My phone isn't logged into DU...

I frequently get Verizon pop-ups covering the page offering some promotion.