Fake Antivirus Popups, a Hijacked Browser, and a Touchpad That Quit. Only Two of Those Were the Virus.
Third virus call of the day, and this one actually had adware on it. The laptop was throwing fake antivirus popups, the browser was acting strange, and, separately, the touchpad had stopped working, so she was driving it with a USB mouse and assuming the virus had killed the trackpad too.
What was actually installed
- Wave Browser and Pulse Browser. Junk “browsers” that install themselves alongside free software, take over as the default, and inject ads and redirects.
- SearchProtect, a Chrome extension that hijacks search. This was the actual source of the fake antivirus popups.
- Capital One Shopping in Edge, an unwanted coupon add-on that tracks browsing.
- McAfee, an expired trial with real-time protection off. It was not protecting anything, just showing “renew” nags and getting in the way.
Every one of these arrived the same way: bundled inside a “free” download where the installer had extra boxes pre-checked. Nobody chooses Wave Browser. It chooses you.
The cleanup
I removed Wave, Pulse, and SearchProtect completely: the programs, their startup entries, their scheduled tasks, and the leftover folders that let them come back. Then a reboot to confirm nothing respawned. Capital One Shopping came out of Edge. The expired McAfee came off, and Windows Defender is now the active antivirus, built in, free, up to date, and confirmed protecting the machine. Browser cache cleared, full Defender scan: clean.
The touchpad was never the virus
The trackpad had simply been switched off. On this ASUS keyboard the F6 key toggles the touchpad, and it is easy to hit while reaching for F5 or the volume keys. One keystroke to turn it back on, and it has worked perfectly since. I mention it because “the virus broke my hardware” is almost never true, and it is worth checking the simple thing first.
Keeping it clean
- When you install anything free, choose Custom or Advanced and uncheck every add-on you did not ask for.
- When a website asks to show notifications, click Block.
- You do not need a paid antivirus. Windows Defender is enough, and an expired one is worse than none because it makes you think you are covered.
If your laptop has picked up a browser you never installed, or popups that will not quit, call or text. This kind of cleanup is one visit, and I will tell you exactly what was on there and how it got in.