Over the weekend, I read the best advice for dealing with fake antivirus pop-ups:

"If The Internet is telling you you have a virus, then it is lying. Don't do whatever the message is asking."

The easiest way to stop the fake antivirus from infecting your computer is to simply click "File > Exit" in your browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc.). Alternately, you can CRTL+ALT+DEL to the Windows Task Manager, click on "iexplore.exe" and end the process. This will immediately stop the fake antivirus in it's tracks.

When a fake antivirus gets into the system, it is often hard to clean it out. It creates constant pop-ups wanting you to "pay" for their service, and they will even ask you to "pay" them for uninstallation (In other words, extortion). In fact, many credit card fraud cases can be traced back to users who willingly gave up their information to the criminals who created this malicious fake antivirus.

You can help prevent these infections by running a good antivirus program. There are many free products available for home use:
Microsoft Security Essentials (http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/)
Avira AntiVir Personal Edition (http://www.free-av.com/)
Avast Free Antivirus (http://www.avast.com/free-antivirus-download)
AVG Free 9.0 (http://free.avg.com/gb-en/homepage)

Once you get infected, you can install and run MalwareBytes Free Version (home use only) (http://www.malwarebytes.org/). That usually cleans up many computers. It's probably a good idea to install and run it before an infection strikes. Always remember to update the program's definitions before starting any scan. In MalwareBytes Free, you have to update and scan manually.

More serious infections will require professional attention. Make sure you have backed up all of your documents and photos, because the quickest way to clean it is to reformat/restore the system to a fresh state. 

You are trying to use the internet on your laptop, but a white screen comes up saying "M86 Mobile Security Client" that blocks your internet.

 

In order to receive money to provide you with technology, we have to install filtering software on each computer. That filter has been installed on your laptop. It will block any site that is not on a pre-approved list (especially Facebook, YouTube, etc.)

 

 

 

All of your web traffic is checked against a database of sites. When you click on a URL, a request is sent out to the WCPS filter. If the site is OK, you get to see the page. If not, you get blocked.

 

This happens no matter what internet you are using, or where you are located. It will block you if you are at home, at Starbucks, or even travelling to Canada.

 

On top of that, if your computer can't reach the WCPS M86 server, then it will block everything. This can happen through no fault of your own, such as loss of power to the M86, or your ISP filtering their own traffic.

 

Unfortunately, no. I can't even uninstall it, and even school staff are subject to the same filter.

 

 

The official word I have received on this is that if it is blocking something necessary, then you have access to computer labs at WCC. Or you can use a different computer (i.e. your own at home) without filtering software.

 

 

The best way to fix this is to completely shut down your computer, wait 5 minutes, and restart your system. More than likely, something went haywire with the communication between your computer, your ISP, and the WCPS M86 filter. Giving it a cooling off period may reset the system.

 

If it happens constantly, even at school, bring it by and I'll take a look at it.