Users have reported receiving persistent pop-up alerts, primarily in the bottom right corner of their computer screens, falsely claiming their McAfee antivirus subscription has expired. These notifications are designed to look like legitimate system or software alerts and urge the user to take immediate action, such as clicking a “Renew Now” button.

In documented cases, individuals receiving these alerts confirmed they did not have an active McAfee subscription, or even have the software installed. Scans with security software like Malwarebytes and HitmanPro found no malware on the affected systems, indicating the source of the problem was not a traditional virus infection.

The Real Cause: Deceptive Browser Notifications

The fake McAfee alerts have been identified as a scareware campaign delivered through web browser push notifications. This tactic occurs after a user, often inadvertently, grants a website permission to send them alerts. Deceptive sites can trick users into clicking “Allow” on a notification prompt, which then gives that site the ability to push content directly to the user’s desktop.

These notifications are not generated by any software on the computer itself but are sent directly from the website through the browser. The objective of this scareware is to frighten the user into clicking the link and paying for an unnecessary or fraudulent service.

How to Remove the Fake McAfee Pop-Ups

The solution to stopping these fake alerts involves revoking the notification permissions within the affected web browser’s settings. Users can navigate to their browser’s settings menu, typically under a “Privacy and Security” or “Site Settings” section, and find the “Notifications” area. This will display a list of all websites that have been allowed to send notifications.

In one reported incident involving the Google Chrome browser on Windows 11, a user resolved the issue by locating and removing permissions for the URLs digital-update.com and topnews.com. After removing these entries from the allowed list, the fake McAfee pop-ups stopped appearing. This process is similar for other major browsers like Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge.