If you receive a phone call claiming to be from Microsoft, or see a pop-up window on your PC with a fake warning message and a phone number to call and get your “issue” fixed, it’s better to be safe and not click any links or provide any personal information.

Scammers may call you directly on the phone and pretend to be representatives of a tech company. They might even spoof the caller ID so that it displays a legitimate support phone number from a trusted company. They'll probably ask you to install applications that give them remote access to your device.

If you’ve used Easy Connect before, select the contact name of the person you want to help. To help someone not on the list, tap or click Help someone new. Follow the instructions. Remote Assistance lets someone you trust take over your Windows 10 PC and fix a problem from wherever they are.

Microsoft Authenticator is a mobile app that helps you sign in to all your accounts without using a password. Microsoft Authenticator is not available for PC or Mac as authenticator apps are typically designed for smartphones for security reasons. Learn more.

Chat or receive a call back from a technical support expert: If you have a Microsoft 365 Basic, Microsoft 365 Personal, or Microsoft 365 Family subscription, get questions answered from anywhere via chat or request to receive a call back from one of our technical support experts.

How malware can infect your device. Microsoft security help and learning. If you suspect that your device may have malware you should have Microsoft Defender run a scan. Here's how to do that on Windows, Mac, or Android.

The Microsoft Defender Offline scan will automatically detect and remove or quarantine malware. Learn how to remove malware from your PC. Use Microsoft Defender Antivirus in Windows 10 or Windows 11 to scan your PC for malware, viruses, or other threats.

If you get an email from Microsoft account team and the email address domain is @accountprotection.microsoft.com, it is safe to trust the message and open it. Microsoft uses this domain to send email notifications about your Microsoft account.

You can set up an authenticator app to send a notification to your mobile device or to send you a verification code as your security verification method. You aren't required to use the Microsoft Authenticator app, and you can select a different app during the set up process.

If some Windows functions aren't working or Windows crashes, use the System File Checker to scan Windows and restore your files. Though the steps below might look complicated at first glance, just follow them in order, step-by-step, and we’ll try to get you back on track.