Don’t Download Powershell Windows Toolbox, It’s A Virus!

You have to be careful what you download on the internet, no matter how enticing it might sound. We all know the frustration with being confined to the Amazon library of apps on Windows 11, and there’s a tool called Powershell Windows Toolbox that brings Google Play Services to Windows computers. However, that’s not all it brings to the platform. According to Phone Arena, that tool also brings malware in tow.

What is Powershell Windows Toolbox

So, we know that Microsoft struck a deal to bring Amazon games over to Windows 11, and that’s neat for most people. There are, understandably, people who want to use Google Play services. Being able to natively use Gmail or YouTube on Windows sounds great. Alas, it’s not meant to be.

There’s a program that strives to grant people access to those services on their computers despite this. That program is called Powershell Windows Toolbox. It actually lets the users get and use the Google Play Store on their Windows computer. This program doesn’t only spit in Google’s cereal but also Microsoft’s. It lets you activate Microsoft Office.

There are other tasks that this program does like speed up your operating system and get rid of bloat. So yeah, this program seems like an absolute win.

But, there’s a catch

Powershell Windows Toolbox is a wolf in sheep’s clothing (or virus in cool useful program’s clothing). After a deep-dive by the folks at Bleeping Computer, this program was found to actually infect your computer with malware. When you get the program, a trojan tracker hops onto your computer and gets to work contacting Cloudflare servers.

Those servers will do several things. They’ll either funnel infected files onto your computer or even execute commands on your computer, which is really scary. This virus will also redirect you to scam sites.

Yes, it’s frustrating that Google Play Services aren’t onWindows, but hackers and other bad actors use that frustration to sell you phony tools filled with viruses. The best thing to do is wait for the official product to come or just do without. It’s a lot safer. If you did use the toolbox, there’s a guide in the Bleeping Computer link above. You should follow it, as your computer might have been infected.