Janice’s HP laptop suddenly began displaying alarming virus warnings, including a phone number she was supposed to call for help. She called the number, but quickly realized something wasn’t right. The conversation sounded like a scam, so she hung up and contacted Simply Computers instead.

When I arrived, the laptop was behaving strangely. Lines appeared across the screen, the display went black, and clicking the mouse caused the picture to return. To someone watching, it could easily look as though the computer itself was failing.

But the problem wasn’t a defective screen or video card.

The computer had been taken over by Pulse Browser, an unwanted program that was opening automatically and displaying frightening virus warnings. Its behavior made the situation appear much worse than it actually was.

I started Windows in Safe Mode, which allowed me to get around the interference and disable the unwanted startup programs. Once Pulse Browser was prevented from launching and the computer was restarted, the laptop began operating normally again.

I then worked through the system to remove the unwanted software, browser extensions, startup entries, and remaining files that didn’t belong there. I also checked the computer’s hardware and confirmed that its solid-state drive was healthy.

The important thing is that Janice recognized the suspicious phone call and ended it before getting drawn further into the scam.

A warning on your computer telling you to call a phone number isn’t proof that your computer has a virus. Sometimes the warning itself is the problem.

In Janice’s case, removing the software responsible for the scare tactics restored her laptop without replacing any hardware.

Related service: Virus Removal & Computer Security.