Somebody clicked the wrong download. Clear the popups before the machine grinds to a halt — and leave the two that are on your side alone.
Closing a popup drops the CPU load a little; every one left open pushes it up. Each popup also loses five points for every three seconds it sits there, down to a floor of five — the value in its title bar is its base worth, before your multiplier is applied. Five closed in a row without a mistake raises your multiplier, up to four times. Waves get faster every 26 seconds.
The classic fake scan claiming hundreds of problems. Common, and worth the standard rate.
10 pointsThe fake update prompt. Same value, and the one most people actually fall for.
10 pointsThe prize draw nobody entered. Worth a bit more than the everyday junk.
15 pointsA hijacked homepage announcing itself as an improvement. Standard rate.
10 pointsThe tech support scam, and the dangerous one: leave it too long and it spawns two more.
20 points · multipliesThe subscription scare from an antivirus nobody remembers installing. Renewing is never the answer.
15 pointsThe one popup worth reading, and the only one you should not touch. Leave it on screen, let it close itself, and it pays. It does not add to the CPU load while it sits there.
20 points if left alone · −15 if closedYour own scanner, appearing when the desktop is busy. Clears every fake on screen at once and cuts the load.
25 points plus 5 per popup clearedThe one genuine dialog. Leave it and it closes itself. Close it and you lose points, your multiplier, and gain load.
−15 points · do not touchRises with every popup left open and falls each time you close one. Hit 100% and the machine locks up.
Ends the run at 100%Five correct closes in a row doubles your rate, then triples, then quadruples. One mistake resets it.
Up to four times scoreIf popups, toolbars or fake alerts have taken over a real machine, virus and malware removal is one of the most common jobs on my bench.
