Remove ‘Your browser has been locked’ FBI warning virus

By Andrey Gvozd

Many citizens of the United States of America have been really scared with the fake FBI warning (virus) which hijacked their browser. The heading of the browser’s tab was this: “Your browser has been locked“. This is a brand new scam, the product of cyber frauds who would like to gain possession over users’ funds through the practice of scaring users with a lot of faulty information and prompting them to pay money through GreenDot MoneyPak payment system supposedly to unlock the browser that got blocked by this virus. If you have the scary message ‘Your browser has been locked’ occupying the entire window of your browser please immediately follow the guidelines outlined below explaining effective removal of this fake FBI warning scam.

Your browser has been locked scam

It is obvious that hackers have decided to modify the ways of their attacks on particular PCs, partially switching from locking the entire system to simply locking the browser. It is peculiar that any browser may become vulnerable to this virus attack, including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera and many other less popular browsers.

The full text of the scary FBI warning that comes up on a hijacked browser is as follows:

Cyber Department
Federal Bureau of Investigation
All activities of this computer have been recorded
All your files are encrypted. Don’t try to unlock your computer!
Your browser has been blocked due to at least one of the reasons specified below.
You have been subjected to violation of Copyright and Related Rights Law (Video, Music, Software) and illegally using or distributing copyrighted contents, thus infringing Article 1, Section 8, Clause 8, also known as the Copyright of the Criminal Code of United States of America.
Article 1, Section 8, Cause 8 of the Criminal Code provides for a fine of two to five hundred minimal wages or a deprivation of liberty for two to eight years.
You have been viewing or distributing prohibited Pornographic content (Child Porno photos and etc were found on your computer). Thus violating article 202 of the Criminal Code of United States of America, Article 202 of the Criminal Code provides for a deprivation of liberty for four to twelve years.
Illegal access has been initiated from your PC without your knowledge or consent, your PC may be infected by malware, thus you are violating the law on Neglectful Use of Personal Computer. Article 210 of the Criminal Code provides for a fine of up to $100,000 and/or deprivation of liberty for four to nine years.
Pursuant to the amendment to Criminal Code of United States of America of May 28, 2011, this law infringement (if it is not repeated – first time) may be considered as conditional in case you pay the fine of the States.
To unlock your computer and to avoid other legal consequences, you are obligated to pay a release fee of $300. Payable through GreenDot MoneyPak (you have to purchase MoneyPak card, load it with $300 and enter the code). You can buy the code at any shop or gas station. MoneyPak is available at the stores nationwide.

If you have this fake FBI warning on your browser that says that your browser has been blocked, you need to ignore this alert unambiguously. This is a fake FBI alert which is not associated with Cyber Department of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. So, do not ever pay this fake fine amounted to USD 300. this is a real money though. If you pay this ransom the funds will never be refunded by these cyber frauds. Furthermore, there’s no any guarantee that the browser will be unlocked.

By the way, if you shut down the tab of your browser with the warning “Your browser has been locked”, another message will come up that says:

Your browser has been blocked warning

Your browser has been locked. All PC data will be detained and criminal procedures will be initiated against you if the fine will not be paid.

Obviously, this warning must also be ignored by you completely! Do not ever trust its contents and don’t pay any fake fine! To delete ‘Your browser has been locked’ fake FBI warning (virus) please follow the steps listed below.

Removal video:

Recommended ransomware removal solution for Windows OS platforms:

  1. First of all, stop (end) your browser by clicking “Ctrl-Alt-Delete” hotkey combination.
  2. Restart your computer into Safe Mode with Networking. To do it, keep hitting F8 key repeatedly, before Windows OS starts booting.
  3. Select your operating system and the account that got locked with ransomware.
  4. When Windows launches in Safe Mode with Networking, use “Win + R” hotkey combination to open Windows Explorer.
  5. In the address line insert the text “https://www.system-tips.net/download.php“
  6. Click “OK”.
  7. Download, install, update and run Plumbytes Anti-Malware.
    8. Malware removal tool
  8. Scan your computer with Anti-Malware and remove all detected threats.
  9. Restart your computer.
  10. Share this information with your friends on Facebook and other social networks.

Similar removal video at YouTube:

So, we do recommend you to try the above method initially. Then, if it does not work, try these other guides below. It is probable that these other methods will be effective solutions to fix your problem. If this information has been helpful to you please share it with other friends of yours.

Solution to get rid of “Your browser has been locked” message for Apple’s Mac OS X Users.

  1. Open Safari browser.
  2. Click on the Safari menu and then select “Reset Safari”:

    3. Reset Safari browser

  3. It is mandatory to mark all items and hit the “Reset” button:

    4. Are you sure you want to reset safari

Alternative removal guides to remove other forms of ransomware from your computer:

  1. Ransomware removal in Safe Mode with Networking – https://www.system-tips.net/ransomware-removal-in-safe-mode-with-networking/
  2. Removal of ransomware that modifies “Shell” registry entry – https://www.system-tips.net/remove-ransomware-that-modifies-shell-registry-entry/
  3. Removal of ransomware that replaces explorer.exe file – https://www.system-tips.net/ransomware-that-replaces-explorer-exe-file-guide-to-unlock/

Optional ransomware removal through System Restore:

https://www.system-tips.net/how-to-unlock-computer-though-system-restore-restore-point/

Optional similar virus removal video guide (through System Restore method):

Important! If the above-mentioned guidelines didn’t help you unlock your PC, use this guide as a final solution – http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/virus-removal/remove-your-computer-has-been-locked-ransomware and this guide as well.

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81 Replies to “Remove ‘Your browser has been locked’ FBI warning virus”

    1. i tried to close mine and restart it pops right back up i dont have those keyd on my laptop its a chromebook, im signed in as a guest what do i do?? I dont have delete button or f keys wth??

      2. all you have to do is click the URL, the message pops up again just click the X, then clear the URL and type in google.com, when you get there go to your settings on your chromebook and find the powerwash button, it will completely erase your whole computer so the virus will be gone. i did it and it worked great!

      3. My son also has a chromebook and this happened to him. I signed out, shut down and turned it back on as soon as it starts turning on I continuously hit the “esc” key (to prevent the webpage from even opening) and imediatley moved the cursor to the top right corner to close the browser asap. This closed it and it didn’t come back… Everything seems to be running fine, I’m hoping it doesn’t come back.

      5. Thank you so much! Your comment helped me. I literally was gonna pay but I knew I had to look it up. Thank you again!!

    2. I did the same exact thing. Just hit ctrl-alt-del. Nothing bad has happened, so I believe nothing was installed.

    3. Amen, same here. Kill the browser session, no lingering problem. Why aren’t we seeing more of this easy solution? (human nature to get caught up in drama I suppose)

  2. Same here, just retarted my computer and it was gone. No big deal. I think anti-virus companies are using this thing to try to make money.

    1. I agree. I’ve been hit with this thing several times over the last few months and restarting the computer always takes care of it. I also run scans with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and McAfee antivirus and never find any infections on the computer.

  5. I closed the browser through the taskmanager. After restarting the computer, I ran Avira. Avira found the trojan and removed it.

  6. I’m using a mac and I got this pop-up tab. It took me a while to figure out how to close it, but I eventually shut down the browser. I have a free antivirus program on my computer (iAntivirus) and it didn’t detect any malware, but should I still be worried?

  8. I agree with the sentiment that unfamiliar software should NEVER be installed on a computer – not for any reason. I prefer to do my scanning with the well-known Spybot Search & Destroy, but there are several (if not dozens/hundreds) of equally or better known scanning programs out there.

  9. There is a simple way to solve this problem…
    1. while your pc is running remove the battery and power cable or if its a pc remove the power cable.
    2. Restart your laptop/pc in safe mode
    3. Then go to system restore and restore your laptop/pc
    4. When that is complete, your laptop/pc should restart
    5. CARRY ON as normal….. problem solved!

  10. So, are we saying that as long as we’ve unlocked the computer, there is no virus still embedded?

Comments are closed.