Fake Windows Product Key Screen Removal Guide

Do you know what Fake Windows Product Key Screen is?

The appearance of the Fake Windows Product Key Screen is a sign that your operating system is infected with malware. The bad news is that it is likely that other threats are active as well. Our research team has found that this malware is spread by malicious installers that bundle different programs together. Did potentially unwanted programs, keyloggers, Trojans, and other suspicious programs enter your PC along with the threat that was set up by cyber criminals to scam you? If you are not sure, you can install a trusted malware scanner to see which other threats are active. Of course, downloading this tool might be a challenge until you delete Fake Windows Product Key Screen. This infection hijacks your Desktop so that your full attention would be focused on a completely misleading and unreliable message. If you want to learn how to restore your Desktop, please continue reading.

The interface of Fake Windows Product Key Screen is extremely misleading and the information provided via it is intimidating. First of all, the interface has a name, which is “Windows Activation Pro,” and it has the logo of Windows. This is meant to trick you into thinking that you are dealing with a legitimate Windows notification. At the top of this interface, you can see a support number, which is +1-844-459-8882. Have you called this number already? If you have, you need to think what kind of information you gave the person on the other end of the line. Did you reveal your Windows license number, your name, address, credit card number, email address, or any other information? If you have, you have to be aware that this information could be used in an unpredictable manner. You most definitely need to be cautious about virtual identity theft and malicious scams.

The main goal behind the Fake Windows Product Key Screen is to extract your Windows license key, and this is extremely suspicious. Why do cyber criminals need your license key? Are they going to sell it? We do not know what will happen, but we are sure that nothing will happen to your advantage. Another purpose behind this scam is to introduce you to third-party software. As you might have noticed, the interface promotes three different links called TeamViewer, Supremo, and Logmein. You should not interact with these links or download any software that might be associated with them because you cannot be sure whether or not they are trustworthy. The last thing you want to do is invite more malicious threats, and that is exactly what could happen if you were not careful. The only link that you can trust is the CMD link because we have tested it and we know it opens Command Prompt, a legitimate utility by Windows.

If you are not familiar with Command Prompt, you might be completely confused about how to navigate it. The instructions that you can see below show how to use this tool to launch Task Manager and end a malicious process that is associated with the infection. Once you are done with this step, you can proceed with the removal of registry values, keys, and folders. If you perform every step successfully, you should find your PC running normally as soon as you restart your computer. Once you do that, immediately install a reliable malware scanner to see which other infections are active. If the scanner detects no threats, move on to the implementation of security software. If you do not use it, malware could slither in again! If the scanner finds malware, we advise using anti-malware software. If you have questions, start a discussion below.

Delete Fake Windows Product Key Screen

  1. Click CMD, type taskmgr, and tap Enter.
  2. When the Task Manager launches, move to the Processes tab and kill a process called Productkeyupdate.
  3. Back in the Command Prompt window enter start regedit to launch Registry Editor.
  4. In the pane on the left go to one of these paths:
    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
  5. Right-click the value called Shell and choose Delete.
  6. Delete the Productkeyupdate key in one of these paths:
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\
    • HKLM HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\
  7. Go back to the Command Prompt and enter explorer to launch Windows Explorer.
  8. Type %ProgramFiles% (or %ProgramFiles(x86)%) into the address bar.
  9. Right-click the Productkeyupdate folder and choose Delete.
  10. Restart the PC and install a malware scanner to check for leftovers.

In non-techie terms:

The misleading Fake Windows Product Key Screen is a creation of cyber criminals, and, if you do not want to be their next victim, you have to do everything to erase it from your computer. The good news is that the removal of this infection is fairly easy, and you can get rid of it by terminating a process, deleting a few values, and erasing its main folder. If you are not comfortable proceeding with the manual removal, you can always opt for anti-malware software that can erase malware automatically. Ultimately, your goal is to erase all threats and ensure full-time protection, so do whatever it takes to get there.