Does "Windows" alert for viruses?

[jen]

I had a window pop up titled "Windows Alert" and it listed some virus names saying my C & D drive are infected. Question is why would windows alert me when I have McAfee Virus software running (with firewall)... I did not download what it said to - instead did a full scan with McAfee. It found nothing. I also have free version of Malwarebytes - ran a full scan of that & found nothing.
-- Was that initial "Windows Alert" the virus itself & you are infected if you download what it says? Could my computer be infected now?.. (new Dell Inspiron, OS Windows 7)

[linuxguru]

A lot depends on what web site you were on when the pop up appeared. I suspect you were wise to ignore it. If it pops up again do the same scans again in safe mode.

[jen]

Thanks for the reply. Not a techie - how would you get into safe mode?

[uncle hammy]

Restart your computer and start pressing F8 while it's booting up (there's a specific place you're supposed to hit it, but I find it easier to just start pressing it repeatedly). That will bring you to a menu that asks you how you want to start windows. Scroll down to "Safe Mode" and press enter. Safe mode only loads the bare minimum drivers and program to allow windows to run, so it usually subverts anything a virus may be trying to do, and allows programs to remove them much easier.

[jen]

thanks uncle hammy :)