Remove “ERROR CODE 72” scam (Virus Removal Guide)

The “ERROR CODE 72” page is a browser-based scam that displays fake error messages to trick you into calling a Tech Support Scam phone number.

What is “ERROR CODE 72”?

The “ERROR CODE 72” fake error message is a scam that pretends to be from Microsoft to trick you into thinking that your computer has crashed or that a virus has been detected. It does this to try and scare you into calling one of the listed numbers in order to receive support.
If you call these phone numbers, scammers will ask you to install a program that gives them remote access to your computer. Using remote access, these experienced scammers rely on confidence tricks typically involving utilities built into Windows (eg. Event Viewer) in order to gain your trust and trick you into paying for a “support” services or even steal credit card account information.

The “ERROR CODE 72” tech support scam will put your browser on full-screen mode and display pop-up messages that won’t go away, essentially locking your browser. If this happens, you can use the Windows Task Manager to close your browser and stop this pop-up.

1. Open the “Task Manager” by right-clicking the taskbar and then selecting Task Manager. You can also open the Task Manager by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del on your keyboard and then select Task Manager.
   
2. Scroll through the list until you see your web browser’s process and left-click on it once so it becomes highlighted. Once you have selected the browser’s process, click on the End Task button as shown in the image below.
   
3. Your browser window should now be closed. The next time you open your browser, do not allow the browser to open the last opened page.

This is the fake error message that the “ERROR CODE 72” page will display:

ERROR CODE 72

This computer window is disabled.
This computer is infected with Trojan horse virus.
Your computer warns you that you are infected with porn spyware and viruses.
1. Trojan horse virus
2. CSRSS.EXE Trojan virus
3. Porn spyware
4. Phishing malware

Please call within 5 minutes.

So that our expert engineers can guide you through the phone removal process to protect your identity.
You must contact us immediately. To prevent your computer from becoming invalid or losing information、

As you can imagine, the above alert is not real and its purpose is to scare you into allowing the scammer remote access to your computer. If your browser has been redirected to the “ERROR CODE 72” tech support scam, we recommend to close the page and do not call the listed phone number.

Why am I seeing the “ERROR CODE 72” pop-up ads?

You are seeing the “ERROR CODE 72” tech support scam because your device is infected with malware, malicious push notifications, or a site you have visited has redirected your browser.

Less than reputable sites can display malicious ads that redirect your browser to the “ERROR CODE 72” tech support scam to generate advertising revenue. If this happens, you can close the page and install an ad blocker like AdGuard to block the malicious ads. However, if you are continuously seeing pop-ups like the “ERROR CODE 72” tech support scam, then your computer might be infected with a malicious program and you need to scan your device for adware and remove it.

Here are a few typical signs that you have a malicious program installed on your computer:

• Advertisements appear in places they shouldn’t be.
• Your web browser’s homepage has mysteriously changed without your permission.
• Web pages that you typically visit are not displaying properly.
• Website links redirect to sites different from what you expected.
• Browser popups appear which recommend fake updates or other software.
• Other unwanted programs might get installed without your knowledge.

To check your computer for the “ERROR CODE 72” adware and remove it for free, please use the guide below.

How to remove “ERROR CODE 72” pop-up scam (Virus Removal Guide)

This malware removal guide may appear overwhelming due to the number of steps and numerous programs that are being used. We have only written it this way to provide clear, detailed, and easy to understand instructions that anyone can use to remove malware for free.
Please perform all the steps in the correct order. If you have any questions or doubts at any point, stop and ask for our assistance.

• STEP 1: Uninstall the malicious programs from Windows
• STEP 2: Use Malwarebytes Free to remove “ERROR CODE 72” adware
• STEP 3: Use HitmanPro to scan for malware and unwanted programs
• STEP 4: Double-check for malicious programs with AdwCleaner
• STEP 5: Remove “ERROR CODE 72” pop-ups from browser

STEP 1: Uninstall the malicious programs from Windows

In this first step, we will check if any malicious programs are installed on your computer. Sometimes browser hijackers or adware programs can have usable Uninstall entries that can be used to remove these programs.

STEP 2: Use Malwarebytes Free to remove “ERROR CODE 72” adware

Malwarebytes Free is one of the most popular and most used anti-malware software for Windows, and for good reasons. It is able to destroy many types of malware that other software tends to miss, without costing you absolutely nothing. When it comes to cleaning up an infected device, Malwarebytes has always been free and we recommend it as an essential tool in the fight against malware.
It is important to note that Malwarebytes Free will run alongside antivirus software without conflicts.

1. Download Malwarebytes Free.

   You can download Malwarebytes by clicking the link below.

   MALWAREBYTES DOWNLOAD LINK
   (The above link will open a new page from where you can download Malwarebytes)

2. Double-click on the Malwarebytes setup file.

   When Malwarebytes has finished downloading, double-click on the MBSetup file to install Malwarebytes on your computer. In most cases, downloaded files are saved to the Downloads folder.

   
   You may be presented with an User Account Control pop-up asking if you want to allow Malwarebytes to make changes to your device. If this happens, you should click “Yes” to continue with the Malwarebytes installation.
   

3. Follow the on-screen prompts to install Malwarebytes.

   When the Malwarebytes installation begins, you will see the Malwarebytes setup wizard which will guide you through the installation process. The Malwarebytes installer will first ask you on what type of computer are you installing this program, click either Personal Computer or Work Computer.
   

   On the next screen, click “Install” to install Malwarebytes on your computer.
   

   When your Malwarebytes installation completes, the program opens to the Welcome to Malwarebytes screen. Click the “Get started” button.

4. Select “Use Malwarebytes Free”.

   After installing Malwarebytes, you’ll be prompted to select between the Free and the Premium version. The Malwarebytes Premium edition includes preventative tools like real-time scanning and ransomware protection, however, we will use the Free version to clean up the computer.
   Click on “Use Malwarebytes Free“.
   

5. Click on “Scan”.

   To scan your computer with Malwarebytes, click on the “Scan” button. Malwarebytes will automatically update the antivirus database and start scanning your computer for malware.
   

6. Wait for the Malwarebytes scan to complete.

   Malwarebytes will scan your computer for adware and other malicious programs. This process can take a few minutes, so we suggest you do something else and periodically check on the status of the scan to see when it is finished.
   

7. Click on “Quarantine”.

   When the scan has completed, you will be presented with a screen showing the malware infections that Malwarebytes has detected. To remove the malicious programs that Malwarebytes has found, click on the “Quarantine” button.
   

8. Restart computer.

   Malwarebytes will now remove all the malicious files and registry keys that it has found. To complete the malware removal process, Malwarebytes may ask you to restart your computer.
   
   When the malware removal process is complete, you can close Malwarebytes and continue with the rest of the instructions.

STEP 3: Use HitmanPro to scan for malware and unwanted programs

HitmanPro is a second opinion scanner that takes a unique cloud-based approach to malware scanning. HitmanPro scans the behavior of active files and also files in locations where malware normally resides for suspicious activity. If it finds a suspicious file that’s not already known, HitmanPro sends it to their clouds to be scanned by two of the best antivirus engines today, which are Bitdefender and Kaspersky.

Although HitmanPro is shareware and costs $24.95 for 1 year on 1 PC, there is actually no limit in scanning. The limitation only kicks in when there is a need to remove or quarantine detected malware by HitmanPro on your system and by then, you can activate the one time 30-days trial to enable the cleanup.

1. Download HitmanPro.

   You can download HitmanPro by clicking the link below.

   HITMANPRO DOWNLOAD LINK
   (The above link will open a new web page from where you can download HitmanPro)

2. Install HitmanPro.

   When HitmanPro has finished downloading, double-click on “hitmanpro.exe” (for 32-bit versions of Windows) or “hitmanpro_x64.exe” (for 64-bit versions of Windows) to install this program on your PC. In most cases, downloaded files are saved to the Downloads folder.
   
   You may be presented with an User Account Control pop-up asking if you want to allow HitmanPro to make changes to your device. If this happens, you should click “Yes” to continue with the installation.
   

3. Follow the on-screen prompts.

   When HitmanPro starts you will be presented with the start screen as shown below. Click on the “Next” button to perform a system scan.

   

   

4. Wait for the HitmanPro scan to complete.

   HitmanPro will now begin to scan your computer for malicious programs. This process will take a few minutes.
   

5. Click on “Next”.

   When HitmanPro has finished the scan, it will display a list of all the malware that the program has found. Click on the “Next” button to remove the malicious programs.
   

6. Click on “Activate free license”.

   Click on the “Activate free license” button to begin the free 30 days trial and remove all the malicious files from your PC.
   
   When the process is complete, you can close HitmanPro and continue with the rest of the instructions.

STEP 4: Double-check for malicious programs with AdwCleaner

AdwCleaner is a free popular on-demand scanner which can detect and remove malware that even the most well-known anti-virus and anti-malware applications fail to find.
While the Malwarebytes and HitmanPro scans are more than enough, we’re recommending AdwCleaner to users who still have malware related issues or just want to make sure their computer is 100% clean.

1. Download AdwCleaner.

   You can download AdwCleaner by clicking the link below.

   ADWCLEANER DOWNLOAD LINK
   (The above link will open a new web page from where you can download AdwCleaner)

2. Double-click on the setup file.

   Double-click on the file named “adwcleaner_x.x.x.exe” to start AdwCleaner. In most cases, downloaded files are saved to the Downloads folder.
   
   You may be presented with a User Account Control dialog asking you if you want to run this file. If this happens, you should click “Yes” to continue with the installation.
   

3. Click on “Scan Now”.

   When AdwCleaner will start, click on the “Scan Now” button to perform a system scan.
   

4. Wait for the AdwCleaner scan to complete.

   AdwCleaner will now scan your PC for malicious files. This process can take a few minutes.
   

5. Click on “Clean & Repair”.

   When AdwCleaner has finished it will display a list of all the malware that the program found. Click on the “Clean & Repair” button to remove the malicious files from your computer.
   

6. Click on “Clean & Restart Now”

   When the malware removal process is complete, AdwCleaner may need to restart your device. Click on the “Clean & Restart Now” button to finish the removal process.
   
   When the process is complete, you can close Adwcleaner and continue with the rest of the instructions.

STEP 5: Remove “ERROR CODE 72” pop-ups from browser

If your computer is still being redirected to the “ERROR CODE 72” tech support scam, we will need to reset the web browser settings to their original defaults. This step should be performed only if your issues have not been solved by the previous steps.

Your computer should now be free of the “ERROR CODE 72” tech support scam pop-ups. If your current antivirus allowed this malicious program on your computer, you may want to consider purchasing the full-featured version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware to protect against these types of threats in the future.
If you are still having problems with your computer after completing these instructions, then please follow one of the steps:

• Run a computer scan with ESET Online Scanner
• Ask for help in our Windows Malware Removal Help & Support forum.