A ClickFix attack tricks you into running a command on your device by pretending that a website needs you to complete a CAPTCHA, fix an error, or verify a document. The warning sign is a page telling you to open Windows Run, Terminal, PowerShell, or another command tool and paste text. A real website verification should not require that. Don’t run the command.
How a ClickFix attack works
The attack starts by steering someone to a deceptive page, often through a phishing message, malicious advertisement, or compromised website. The page imitates a familiar service, CAPTCHA, or browser error and presents instructions for fixing the supposed problem.
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In some campaigns, clicking the page’s button silently copies a command to the clipboard. The page then tells the visitor to open a system tool and paste and run it. The visitor—not an ordinary website link or download—starts the command, allowing it to launch malware or begin another malicious action. Implementations differ: not every lure uses the same clipboard trick or command interface. Microsoft describes the technique as social engineering because it relies on persuading a person to initiate execution. Microsoft’s analysis of ClickFix discusses campaigns delivered through phishing, malicious ads, and compromised sites.
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Why the page can look convincing
A familiar logo or realistic-looking verification panel does not make its instructions safe. The key clue is not how polished the page looks, but what it asks you to do: a CAPTCHA or browser check should not require you to run pasted text through a system command interface.
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What the command may do
The result depends on the campaign and its payload. Microsoft has documented ClickFix campaigns associated with information stealers, remote-access tools, loaders, and rootkits. These are observed outcomes, not a guarantee that every fake CAPTCHA installs the same kind of malware.
One more elaborate example is TerminalFix, which Microsoft reported on 28 August 2026. In that campaign, a fake Cloudflare verification overlay induced PowerShell execution, followed by a multistage intrusion involving DLL sideloading, persistence, Active Directory reconnaissance, and a reverse tunnel. Microsoft recommends treating an affected device as a possible network pivot point and investigating credential exposure and lateral movement. These findings describe that campaign, not the inevitable outcome of every ClickFix lure. Microsoft’s TerminalFix report provides the campaign details.
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A joint advisory from the FBI, CISA, HHS, and MS-ISAC also described Interlock ransomware actors using a fake CAPTCHA and Windows Run instructions to induce execution of a Base64-encoded PowerShell process. The joint Interlock ransomware advisory documents that example.
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How to recognize and avoid the lure
- Stop if a web page tells you to run a command. Do not follow instructions to open Run, Terminal, PowerShell, or another command tool to complete verification or fix a browser problem.
- Don’t trust clipboard contents. A page may copy text without making it obvious. Text you did not type yourself is not safe merely because it is already ready to paste.
- Close the page and verify the service another way. If you need to access an account or service, use its known official app or enter its familiar address yourself rather than following the page’s instructions.
- Remember that legitimate sites can be compromised. A lure may appear through a site that normally seems trustworthy, as well as through an ad or phishing message.
Microsoft reported observing campaigns targeting “thousands of enterprise and end-user devices globally every day” in its August 2025 analysis. That figure describes Microsoft’s threat-intelligence observations; it is not a comprehensive worldwide incident count or a current prevalence estimate. The same analysis says Microsoft first observed ClickFix in email campaigns from March to June 2024 and documents a May 2025 campaign targeting Portuguese organizations that later appeared in several other countries. Those are dated examples, not measures of how common the attacks are now. Microsoft’s 2025 analysis gives the dates and context.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.If you already ran the command
- Contact your organization’s IT or security team promptly if the device is managed by work or school. Tell them what happened and when, and follow their incident-response directions.
- Stop using the affected device for sensitive activity while you seek help. Use a separate, trusted device to contact IT or, if advised by responders, change important credentials and revoke exposed sessions.
- Let responders investigate the device and its connections. A ClickFix payload can do more than steal information: in some campaigns it may establish remote access or support further activity on a network. Microsoft’s TerminalFix guidance specifically calls for checking possible network pivoting, lateral movement, and credential exposure.
For organizations, user training, configuration hardening, and monitoring address different parts of the problem: training can reduce the chance someone follows the lure, restrictions on command-launch surfaces can limit access where business needs allow, and monitoring can help identify execution and follow-on activity. Microsoft notes that Windows Run dialog execution may leave a RunMRU registry trace useful to investigators, but a failed process execution does not create that entry. An empty RunMRU key therefore does not prove that no attempt occurred. Microsoft’s ClickFix guidance discusses these investigation and hardening considerations.
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