MCAfee popups won't go away

Question

McAfee Popup will not go away what can I do to remove it. I do not have McAfee,

Answer 1

Hi, I'm John!

If you haven't already, please check if any McAfee program is installed.

• Open Control Panel.
• Click Programs > Programs and Features.
• Look through the list for anything related to McAfee (for example McAfee WebAdvisor).
• Do you see any McAfee program listed there? If yes, try uninstalling it, then restart your PC.

If you do not see McAfee installed, the pop-ups may be coming from browser notifications.

To help narrow down the issue:

1. When the popup appears, does it show inside your browser (like Edge or Chrome)?
2. Or does it appear as a Windows notification in the bottom-right corner?
3. Did this start after installing any new app or browser extension?

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Click "Add comment" to let me know.

Regards,

John J.D.

Answer 2

Those McAfee popups are almost certainly fake browser notifications or deceptive software, not a real McAfee app, especially since no McAfee program is installed.

Follow these steps on Windows 11 with Microsoft Edge:

1. Close any stuck popup window
   If Edge is frozen or the popup won’t close:
   • Right-click Start and select Task Manager.
   • Select Microsoft Edge and choose End task.
   • Confirm Edge is closed, then close Task Manager and reopen Edge.
2. Remove malicious notification permissions in Edge
   Fake “McAfee” alerts often come from a website that was allowed to send notifications. In Edge:
   • Open Edge.
   • Go to Settings → Cookies and site permissions → Notifications.
   • In the Allow list, remove or block any suspicious sites (for example, unknown domains that mention antivirus, alerts, or security).
   • Optionally, turn off the option that lets sites ask to send notifications to prevent this in future.
3. Check and disable suspicious extensions
   Some extensions can generate persistent popups:
   • In Edge, press Alt+F → use the arrow keys to Extensions → Manage extensions.
   • Turn off all extensions by clearing their checkboxes.
   • If the popups stop, turn extensions back on one by one to find the culprit and then remove it.
4. Scan for malware or deceptive software
   Persistent fake security popups can be a sign of malware or deceptive software:
   • Run a full scan with Windows Security / Microsoft Defender. See Stay protected with Windows Security.
   • If you see unfamiliar programs:
     • Open Control Panel → Programs → Programs and Features.
     • Uninstall programs you do not recognize that may be related to the popups, following the on-screen instructions.
   • If something suspicious is not listed there, look in C:\Program Files and C:\Program Files (x86) for a folder matching the unwanted program’s name and run its own Uninstall or Uninst.exe if present.
5. If symptoms persist
   If the PC remains slow, shows constant popups, or blocks security sites, use Microsoft’s malware tools listed in Microsoft resources and guidance for removal of malware and viruses, such as Microsoft Safety Scanner or Windows Defender Offline, to detect and remove deeper infections.

Also, treat any popup that claims to be from Microsoft or shows a phone number to call as a scam. Do not call the number or give remote access.

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References:

• How to close a pop-up window if Microsoft Edge isn't responding
• Use a screen reader to block pop-ups in Microsoft Edge
• Unexplained Windows or software behavior may be caused by deceptive software
• Protect my PC from viruses
• Microsoft resources and guidance for removal of malware and viruses
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