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While using Google, you receive a message that says, “Our systems have detected unusual traffic from your computer network. This page checks to see if it’s really you sending the requests, and not a robot. Please try your request again later.”

Normally, you’ll be given a CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart) code, and all you have to do is type the characters in the box or match the images to show you are not a robot.

Note: CAPTCHA blocks traffic from search scrappers, automated services, and robots.

However, it becomes bothersome when you keep encountering this issue more often than you care for. In that case, keep reading to find out what causes it and what you can do to fix it.

What Does Unusual Traffic From Your Computer Network Mean?

Your computer allows services and programs to run in the background so as to encourage efficiency and productivity. However, some programs and malicious items (malware and viruses) misuse this functionality. It’s often exploited by hackers to carry out a DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack on a targeted web server.

Some websites establish security measures against such an attack. Thus, when Google notices unusual traffic from your computer network, you get a prompt.

If you keep getting this message, then any of the following scenarios may be the cause:

  • You are running an automated search tool.
  • You are connected to a Virtual Private Network (VPN).
  • You made too many searches in a short period of time. Don’t make any more searches at least for a few minutes. See if that helps.
  • Multiple users on your network were performing a search at the same time.
  • Google noticed traffic from other devices. In which case you are using a shared public IP address (such as a public proxy server).

In a more serious scenario, the following may be the cause or the error:

  • A virus has infected your computer and hijacked your network.
  • An unknown background process on your computer is sending unwanted data and causing traffic.
  • There’s someone else using your network maliciously.

How to Fix ‘Our Systems Have Detected Unusual Traffic from Your Computer Network’ on Windows 10

There are seven (7) solutions you can apply:

  1. Perform a malware scan
  2. Reboot your network router
  3. Disable your proxy or VPN
  4. Disable your LAN’s proxy server
  5. Disable conflicting browser extensions
  6. Uninstall suspicious programs/ Run the Chrome Cleanup Tool
  7. Reset your browser

Let’s get started, shall we?

Fix 1: Perform a Malware Scan

The first thing you need to do is ensure there’s a strong antivirus program on your computer. We recommend you use Auslogics Anti-Malware to run a full system scan. It will locate and eliminate harmful items hidden on your computer, which may have changed your network settings.

Also, use a trusted adware cleaner to perform the following modifications:

  • Reset your firewall
  • Reset your proxy
  • Reset the Hosts file
  • Reset Winsock
  • Reset TCP/IP

Fix 2: Reboot Your Network Router

If the issue persists after restarting your browser and PC, the next thing you have to do is reboot your network router. This can be done from the admin panel, or simply turn it off and then on again after about 10 seconds.

Fix 3: Disable Your Proxy or VPN

Set up a proxy in Windows 10 using an option in the Settings panel:

    1. Open the Settings app by pressing the Windows logo key + I combination on your keyboard.
    2. Click on Proxy under Network and Internet.
    3. On the right-hand side of the window, under ‘Manual proxy setup’, make sure that ‘Use a proxy server’ is not enabled.
    4. Turn on ‘Automatically detect settings’ by clicking the toggle.

Close the window and check if the issue has been resolved.

Also, as already mentioned above, you could be facing the ‘Unusual traffic detected’ issue if you are using a VPN app. If so, here’s what you have to do:

  • Disable the VPN and check whether or not you can now access the website.
  • Change the server. See if it’s now opening.

Fix 4: Disable Your LAN’s Proxy Server

A malware attack or adware can change your network settings to allow custom advertisements from spam websites. This can result in the issue you are currently facing.

Change back the settings by following this easy procedure:

  1. Type ‘Internet options’ in the Cortana search box. Click on the option when it appears in the results.
  2. Go to the Connections tab.
  3. Click the LAN settings button.
  4. In the page that opens, disable the option that says ‘Use a proxy server for your LAN’ by unmarking the checkbox.
  5. Save the change you made and exit the window. See if the issue has been resolved.

Fix 5: Disable Conflicting Browser Extensions

There may be extensions in your browser that are interfering with the normal loading of websites.

We’ll look at how to disable them on Chrome, Firefox, and Microsoft Edge.

On Chrome:

  1. Launch your Chrome browser.
  2. Go to the URL bar and type (or copy and paste) ‘chrome://extensions’ (don’t include the inverted commas) and then press Enter.
  3. In the page that opens, you’ll see all the extensions that are present on your browser. There you can remove or disable the ones you suspect might be causing the issue.

On Firefox:

  1. Launch Mozilla Firefox.
  2. Go to the menu button and click Add-ons.
  3. In the page that opens, click ‘Extensions’ and then remove the ones you suspect could be causing the issue.

On Microsoft Edge:

  1. Open the browser.
  2. Type ‘edge://extensions’ in the address bar and press Enter.
  3. In the page that opens, disable any extensions you installed before the issue in discussion began.

Fix 6: Uninstall Suspicious Programs/ Run the Chrome Cleanup Tool

If there are any programs you installed recently before the ‘unusual traffic from your computer network’ issue began, uninstall them and see if they are the cause.

Here’s how to uninstall a program on Windows 10:

  1. Open the Settings app by pressing the Windows logo + I combination on your keyboard. Go to ‘Apps’ and click on ‘Apps and features.’
  2. On the right-hand side of the window, locate the program you want to remove, select it and click the Uninstall button.
  3. Restart your computer and see if the issue has been resolved.

Alternatively:

  • Press the Widows logo + R combination on your keyboard to invoke the Run dialog.
  • Type ‘appwiz.cpl’ in the text field and press Enter or click OK. This takes you to the Programs and Features section of Control Panel.
  • Right-click on the program you want to remove and select Uninstall from the context menu.
  • Restart your computer.

If you are using Google Chrome, you can utilize its built-in utility that checks for suspicious programs and removes them. Here’s how to run it:

  1. Launch your Chrome browser.
  2. Click the Menu button displayed in the top-right corner of the window.
  3. Click on Settings.
  4. In the page that opens, scroll down to the bottom and expand the ‘Advanced’ drop-down menu.
  5. Now, scroll down to the bottom of the page again. Under the ‘Reset and Cleanup’ category, click on ‘Clean up computer.’
  6. Click the ‘Find’ button, just beside ‘Find harmful software.’
  7. Wait for the process to complete (it may take a while) and then follow the instructions displayed on the screen.
  8. Reboot your computer and check whether the issue has been resolved.

Note: Keep your PC optimized by using Auslogics Registry Cleaner to remove registry keys left behind by uninstalled applications.

Fix 7: Reset Your Browser

Performing a reset will remove suspicious files that have been stored in your browser over time.

Note that it will also disable your extensions and erase your browser- and site-specific preferences, themes, search engines, and other browser settings.

We’ll look at how to restore default settings in Google Chrome, Firefox, and Microsoft Edge.

On Chrome:

  1. Launch the browser.
  2. Go to the Menu and click on Settings (alternatively, simply type or copy and paste ‘chrome://settings/’ in the address bar and hit Enter).
  3. In the page that opens, scroll down to the bottom and expand the “Advanced” drop-down.
  4. Scroll down again to “Reset and clean up” and then click on the option that says “Restore settings to their original defaults.”
  5. You will receive a confirmation prompt. Click the ‘Reset settings’ button.

On Mozilla Firefox:

  1. Launch Firefox.
  2. Click the Menu icon in the top-right corner of the page.
  3. At the bottom, you’ll find the ‘Open Help Menu’ icon (a white question mark set in a blue circle). Click on it.
  4. Click on ‘Troubleshooting Information’ from the context menu.
  5. Under ‘Give Firefox a tune up’, click the Refresh Firefox button.
  6. In the dialog box that appears, click ‘Refresh Firefox’ to confirm the action.

On Microsoft Edge:

  1. Launch the browser.
  2. Click the More Actions menu displayed in the top-right corner of the window.
  3. Click on Settings.
  4. Click the button that says ‘Choose what to clear’ under ‘Clear browsing data.’
  5. The following items will be selected by default:
  • Browsing History
  • Cookies and saved website data
  • Cached data files

But you can also mark the checkbox for other items you’d like to clear.

To restore the browser back to its default settings, mark all the items in the list and then click the ‘Clear’ button.

There you have it. Now you know how to remove the ‘Our systems have detected unusual traffic from your computer’ network issue. By the time you’ve tried all these fixes, the problem will no longer occur.

If you have any questions, remarks, or further suggestions, please feel free to share your thoughts in the section below.

We’ll love to hear from you.