Remove “VirtualShield – Your PC Is Infected With 18 Viruses” Scam

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The internet is littered with deceptive pop-up scams that attempt to frighten users into taking immediate and irrational actions. One such example is the “VirtualShield – Your PC Is Infected With 18 Viruses” scam, a fake security alert that mimics legitimate antivirus software to trick users into renewing a subscription. While it may appear credible to the average user, it is in no way connected to the real VirtualShield VPN company and is part of a larger affiliate marketing scam scheme.

Scam Summary

Attribute	Details
Threat Name	“VirtualShield – Your PC Is Infected With 18 Viruses” Scam
Threat Type	Scam, Phishing, Social Engineering, Affiliate Fraud
Encrypted File Extension	N/A
Ransom Note File Name	N/A
Associated Emails	N/A
Detection Names	Yandex Safebrowsing (Phishing), alphaMountain.ai (Suspicious), Forcepoint ThreatSeeker (Suspicious)
Symptoms of Infection	Fake system scans, alarming pop-up messages, redirects to affiliate pages
Damage	Possible malware infections, financial loss, identity theft, privacy breach
Distribution Methods	Rogue ads, compromised websites, browser notifications, adware, spam links
Danger Level	High – due to psychological manipulation and potential redirection to malware

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What Is the “VirtualShield – Your PC Is Infected With 18 Viruses” Scam?

This scam is triggered when users unknowingly visit compromised websites or click on rogue ads. A fake system scan is displayed, followed by an alarming pop-up message claiming that the computer is infected with 18 viruses. The message warns that these threats are capable of stealing banking details and login credentials, urging the user to “Renew Antivirus Subscription” to protect their device.

Despite its convincing appearance, no website can scan your system for threats. This entire process is fabricated to create a false sense of urgency. The end goal? To redirect users to affiliate links, often for legitimate services like VirtualShield, in order to collect commissions. However, these links could easily be switched to malicious or fake antivirus software, putting users at real risk.

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Text Displayed in the Pop-Up

Your PC is infected with 18 viruses!

IMMEDIATE ACTION IS REQUIRED!

Viruses found on this PC most likely track internet activity to collect banking details and login credentials.

Please renew subscription to keep your PC protected.

Renew Antivirus Subscription

Unprotected PCs are 93% more vulnerable to suffer from malware.

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Manual Adware Removal Process (Windows & Mac)

Step 1: Identify and Uninstall Suspicious Applications

For Windows Users

1. Open Task Manager by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
2. Navigate to the “Processes” tab and search for unknown or high-resource-consuming processes.
3. If you detect anything suspicious, right-click and select “End Task.”
4. Go to Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features.
5. Locate and uninstall any unfamiliar programs.

For Mac Users

1. Open Finder and click on Applications.
2. Identify and move any suspicious applications to the Trash.
3. Empty the Trash.
4. Check System Preferences > Users & Groups > Login Items for unknown startup programs and remove them.

Step 2: Remove Malicious Browser Extensions

Google Chrome

1. Open Chrome, click Menu (three dots) > Extensions.
2. Locate and remove unknown extensions.
3. Reset Chrome: Settings > Reset settings > “Restore settings to their original defaults.”

Mozilla Firefox

1. Click Menu > Add-ons and themes.
2. Remove suspicious extensions.
3. Reset Firefox: Help > More troubleshooting information > “Refresh Firefox.”

Safari (Mac)

1. Open Safari, go to Preferences > Extensions.
2. Delete unknown extensions.
3. Reset Safari: History > “Clear History.”

Microsoft Edge

1. Click Menu > Extensions.
2. Remove any unfamiliar extensions.
3. Reset Edge: Settings > Reset settings > “Restore settings to their default values.”

Step 3: Delete Adware-Associated Files and Folders

For Windows Users

1. Press Win + R, type %AppData%, and press Enter.
2. Locate and delete suspicious folders.
3. Repeat for %LocalAppData%, %ProgramData%, and %Temp%.

For Mac Users

1. Open Finder and press Shift + Command + G, then enter ~/Library/Application Support/.
2. Remove any suspicious folders.
3. Repeat for ~/Library/LaunchAgents/, ~/Library/LaunchDaemons/, and ~/Library/Preferences/.

Step 4: Flush DNS Cache to Remove Adware Traces

For Windows Users

1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator.
2. Type ipconfig /flushdns and press Enter.

For Mac Users

1. Open Terminal.
2. Enter sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder and press Enter.

Step 5: Restart Your System

Perform a reboot to apply the changes and ensure the removal process is complete.

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Automatic Adware Removal Using SpyHunter (Windows & Mac)

For an effortless and effective solution, use SpyHunter, a powerful anti-malware tool designed to detect and remove adware completely.

Step 1: Download SpyHunter

Click the link to download SpyHunter: Download SpyHunter Here.

Step 2: Install SpyHunter

Follow the installation guide based on your operating system:

For Windows Users

1. Run the downloaded .exe file.
2. Follow the installation instructions.
3. Launch SpyHunter and allow it to update its malware database.

For Mac Users

1. Open the downloaded .dmg file.
2. Drag and drop SpyHunter into Applications.
3. Open SpyHunter and let it update its database.

Step 3: Scan and Remove Adware

1. Open SpyHunter.
2. Click Start Scan.
3. Wait for the scan to complete.
4. Click Fix Threats to remove detected malware.

Step 4: Restart Your Computer

After SpyHunter removes all threats, restart your system to ensure all adware components are fully removed.

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Why This Scam Is Dangerous

Even though the scam may sometimes redirect to legitimate websites, the mechanism can change at any time. This means users could eventually be led to malware-infected sites, phishing pages, or download PUAs (Potentially Unwanted Applications). Moreover, some users may unknowingly install fake antivirus tools, adware, or even ransomware, believing it will secure their system.

This scam plays heavily on fear tactics and urgency, which are hallmark techniques of social engineering. By faking a virus infection, scammers pressure users into making hasty decisions—like purchasing unnecessary software or providing personal data.