'Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart' Lock Screen

When we talk about the 'Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart.' lock screen we are referring to a Trojan that simulates a Blue Screen of Death error report and directs users to call the 800-990-2258 toll-free phone line. The 'Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart.' Lock Screen Trojan was reported on January 18th, 2018. The 'Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart.' lock screen Trojan might land on computers via free software packages and pirated copies of shareware. Computer security researchers note that the Trojan at hand is not as threatening as various file encoders and info stealers. However, the 'Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart.' lock screen Trojan is a tool that is used for aggressive marketing by fake computer support companies. The message revealed to affected users reads:

'Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart. We're just collecting some
error info, and then we'll restart for you.
1% complete

For more information about this issue and possible fixes
Call TOLL FREE "1-800-990-2258" give them this info
Stop Code: CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED
Error Code: 0x000AAAAA'

The text above is shown on a bright blue background, and you may think that is a legitimate alert by Windows, but it is not. The phone line 800-990-2258 is promoted via h[tt]p://www.printers-usa-support[.]info/index.html that is registered to the 107.180.27.171 IP address. A quick look at the site shows that it is operated by a company called 'Master IT Expert,' but the site has nothing to do with h[tt]p://masteritexperts[.]com. Also, h[tt]p://www.printers-usa-support[.]info/index.html is related to phishing messages, and Web filtering services may generate notifications that include the following detection names:

• HEUR:Trojan.Script.Generic
• HTML/Phish.MX
• HTML/Phishing.Agent.CQ
• Suspicious_GEN.F47V0108
• Trojan.HTML.Phishing

The 'Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart.' lock screen Trojan may disable the Task Manager, Command Line Tool and the Registry on compromised machines. We advise against calling the phone number provided on the 'Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart.' lock screen. Con artists may attempt to lure you into buying a technical support package for one year. Typically, the prices for these "services" range from 200 USD to 600 USD and in some cases users are requested to provide remote access to their computers. You should seek help from a computer technician and make sure to use a reliable cybersecurity product to clean your system.