Real AV notices come from a program on your computer, not a browser. If the ‘warning’ appears in a web browser box which is a good sign that it’s a fake.
If Activate Product Key is not displayed under Help, your software has. The Activation Wizard will display on-screen. Launch the Microsoft Office 2010 application on your computer. Real anti-virus warnings do NOT include a phone number to call. Method 2Method 2 of 2:Activating via Telephone Download Article. They want you to call a phone number so they can sell you ‘fixes’ or get access to your computer. Or use whatever anti-virus software you use instead of Defender.īeyond this particular scam, beware of bogus anti-virus warnings. In fact, Defender should detect the scam software and block it before it was installed. Per, you can also try (888) 652-2342 if its different from the one the activation wizard is showing you.
Windows Defender in recent versions of Windows should identify and remove the malware. Definitely stick with the phone number it gives you in the 'Office Activation Wizard'. Then immediately do a virus scan of your computer. This is the code the phone operators would give you, once you’d paid them. To remove the annoying prompt screen, go to the Sign In screen (follow the prompts) enter the ‘product key’. I have a friend who works as an IT manager at a big company, and he offered to get me a download of Microsoft office Professional Plus 2010 for just 10, and forwarded me an email from microsoft with a link to download it, with something about Microsoft HUP in the title. While that particular AV software isn’t necessary, they include a useful ‘cheat code’ to close down the scam software. Hey guys, Since I built my own computer, it didnt come with Microsoft office. Office 365 subscribers can also go to and login to see the state of their overall account.īleeping Computer has tips for removing this malware using the AV software they recommend. If there’s a problem with your licence or Office 365 subscription it will show up there. Go to File | Account (Or Help | About in much older versions of Office). Don’t do it.Ĭheck your Office licence status from one of the Office programs directly. The scam wants you to ‘Activate’ Office online or by calling a phone number. It wants you to contact a ‘support centre’ who can them sell you stuff, further infect your machine or both. It’s a variation on another common scam, the fake ‘Virus warning’ which pops up as a browser window or malware.
It uses the current Microsoft Office logos and looks quite convincing – it’s a SCAM.ĭon’t call the phone number, they’ll try to sell you dubious and overpriced software and services. Once it’s running, the malware appears ‘on top’ of your screen with a phone number to call.
Here’s how to deal with it if you get caught. There’s a piece of malware about that tries to trick Microsoft Office users into ‘activating’ their Office software when there’s really no problem.