Scammers taking advantage of GWX?

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Earlier this week I attended a customer (elderly man) who said he had received a phone call from “Micro$oft Support” urging him to “fix infections” on his Win7 SP1 computer.

I quizzed the customer about the call, and what eventuated from it, but the answers I received from the customer were not very helpful. That is not unusual, since the scammers depend largely on ordinary users’ ignorance about the technical details of Windows. But it did seem the scammers were trying to get the customer’s credit card or PayPal details. The customer mentioned sums demanded >$900 but was adamant he did not agree to supply such details or to pay.

Nevertheless, it was apparent that the customer had allowed the scammers remote access to his computer (further explanation of this below).

Desktop PC, booted normally through POST to the Win10 startup logo then the Win10 login screen. Two user accounts listed in the lower-left of the login screen, but any attempt to login to either account with any password the customer could suggest failed w/ “incorrect password” error (cust. did not have a password set in the single admin-level account in Win7).

Tried the Shift-Restart/Troubleshoot options but choosing any option (Reset, Refresh, Command Prompt, etc.) simply resulted in the login screen demanding a password. Also tried booting from a Windows Repair CD with same result (password demanded to access any advanced repair options).

Back in May 2015 I had worked on the same customer’s PC to remove malware and had created a system image of his C: drive ( http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/bootit-bare-metal.htm ) so was able to connect his PC to my workbench, image his Win10 partition, and then restore the previous Win7 partition.

After that, when I accessed the Win10 image (tbiMount, included w/ BootItBM) it was clear that the customer had downloaded “TeamViewer” at the time the scammers accessed his system.
I also extracted his up-to-date user files incl. email then restored the Win7 partition and the up-to-date user files.

Fixed any remaining problems w/ the restored Win7, and the WLM email database, and the customer is now good-to-go.

After all above ran “GWX Control Panel” from: http://ultimateoutsider.com/downloads/ to disable the auto-upgrade to Win10. More info at: http://blog.ultimateoutsider.com/

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Why do people do anything a person who rang up out of the blue asks them to do?

cheers, Paul

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Why do people do anything a person who rang up out of the blue asks them to do?

A computer is (literally) a black box to people and people are terribly gullible.

I have spoken with people who have paid a caller to “clean up” their computer and are quite happy with the results because it runs faster. They have no idea that anything may be amiss or that their computer probably now has a keylogger or what a keylogger is or even that such a thing is possible.

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Why do people do anything a person who rang up out of the blue asks them to do?

cheers, Paul

I had an elderly customer who called me weekly to fix something on his computer. He was fooled by a similar scammer. I asked him why he didn’t simply hang up and then call me when they told him he had computer issues, and he wasn’t sure.

It really puzzled me as to why he didn’t call me, because trust me, this guy called me literally all the time and wanted me to come check this or that with his computer.

When you have your own personal geek, why in the world would you trust a total stranger for computer help?

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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“When you have your own personal geek, why in the world would you trust a total stranger for computer help?”

It may be the “Experts from Afar” syndrome. The further away an expert comes from the more capable he/she is assumed to be.

Being a local geek, you were just too close to be good at what you do, regardless of past wins.

Take your money and have a private laugh. If you work for free, stop it. That’s only for family or those who can offer favors in return. (or this forum, of course)

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Why do people do anything a person who rang up out of the blue asks them to do?

cheers, Paul

But it is Job Security for some 😉
There will always be some that fix thing and some that break them!

:cheers:

🍻

Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.

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@ PaulT

Exactly what I pointed out to the customer, yet I have encountered many other cases wherein customers have been scammed because they did not stop and question the integrity of the caller.

Case-in-point: yesterday I received an email w/ subject “Design” but no body text yet a PDF file attachment. I might have assumed from the nature of the sender’s email address (looked like an advertising agency) that the email was valid and it would be safe to open the attached PDF.

But if they don’t bother to tell me what their attachment is about then I would have to be a bit of a mug to open it blindly, wouldn’t I? (deleted w/o opening of course).

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@ PaulT

Exactly what I pointed out to the customer, yet I have encountered many other cases wherein customers have been scammed because they did not stop and question the integrity of the caller. . . .

I’m 77 and been using computers since the ’90s – an enthusiastic amateur who, since owning a PC, has followed various technical web help pages over the years having used computers at work before retiring.

Dell (under software warranty) remotely fixed my unusable Windows 10 upgrade in a couple of sessions. Much later, a caller from “Dell” reported errors showing up on their server. I asked for proof of identity and he quoted my PC tag number, warranty reference and date of PC delivery. The MS-type scam patter (which I knew about) continued but, when asked to access a remote control website I knew Dell did not use, I ended the call. I could have been taken in if Dell remote usage was not familiar. A similar “follow-up” call later came from “Norton” which I instantly rejected.

These are the only two such calls in 15 years of owning PCs. I have to wonder how scammers obtained the reference numbers.

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. Much later, a caller from “Dell” reported errors showing up on their server. I asked for proof of identity and he quoted my PC tag number, warranty reference and date of PC delivery. The MS-type scam patter (which I knew about) continued but, when asked to access a remote control website I knew Dell did not use, I ended the call. I could have been taken in if Dell remote usage was not familiar. A .

Assuming you are right about it not being Dell( and I agree w/ you there) either you or Dell had a secuity breach somewhere. Just the Dell tag # is one thing it could have been point of purchase. With the info you had a service something is bad.

:cheers:

🍻

Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.

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It seems I didn’t make my main point clear enough in my #1 post. The scammers apparently caused the customer’s PC to be upgraded from Win7 to Win10 and set passwords on the user accounts but did not tell the customer the passwords, hence I suspect the scammers’ demands for payment were for those passwords.

Fairly tricky, and I can understand how an ordinary PC user can be “sucked in” by such means.

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I’d recently been helping someone on another forum who had fallen for the pop up on the screen pertaining to be from MS and they had hooked up to her machine to “tune it”.

She posted their final report which said they’d added some security items so I had her run ESET Free Online Scanner to include the PuPs and it found over 50 files to remove.

I didn’t get to finish things as she didn’t feel confident in following a tutorial because of health problems and got a knowledgeable neighbour to have a look at it, which ended up not being able to boot so she had to take it into a repair shop.

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One thing that happens is that the customer (should I say victim) in some cases is shown a screen with items with red entries and are led to believe those are underlying problems in the computer. That happened to one of my friends once and she was willing to pay $215 but didn’t have the money.

I’m sure all of us have our stories and it’s too bad it’s the way it is. But thanks to this post I’m going to implement a warning in our senior center where I volunteer to avoid such calls: naturally with some explanation.

HP EliteBook 8540w laptop Windows 10 Pro (x64)

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For those of you who routinely help older family members, friends, or others with computer problems:

I, too, help a number of older people, primarily through our church, with their computers. The problem I see with many is that they use them primarily as communication devices, using mainly e-mail, Skype, Facebook, etc. Their other main use is searching for information, or entertainment- primarily “filling time” things, searching subjects and following links. However, they have little to no knowledge of how computers work, or have any real knowledge about how scammers operate. So when they get a scam e-mail, or hit an unsafe website or pop-up, they frequently fall for it. A significant subset have no patience. When something goes wrong- even a program that malfunctions WITHOUT any malware involved- and they can’t reach me, or I can’t fix it over the phone and I can’t go to them immediately- they try to fix it themselves, or enlist the aid of a “helpful” neighbor- and thereby only make things worse.

My solution involves several things. First, I have all on automatic update for Windows Update. Second, I visit them monthly, do virus & malware scans, defrag their drives, (none have SSD’s,) and run a full system image. Second, I have their User files on daily incremental backup, running in the wee hours of the night. Third, I tell them to call me if they have ANY questions about updates from other programs that are offered, pop-ups, etc. Some of the latter I can handle over the phone, but I tell them to ignore others until I can come over and check them out. Fourth, I tell them that if they let ANYONE else “help” them with their problems, because they don’t want to wait until I can help them, that I will no longer be responsible for helping them with their computer.

Fifth, and the biggest timesaver, whenever they have a problem with a program, I tell them to reboot their computer and then see if their program will work, and I tell them that this is the thing to do whenever they have ANY problem! This alone probably reduces the need for calls and/or visits by at least 80%!

With my people thus properly “trained” I almost never have to resort to a system image restore. When a program (usually the e-mail client) changes its interface, I can usually fix it quickly so that the person can access it through a desktop shortcut, as they used to, or I can teach them how to do the (usually) one thing different so that it’ll work for them.

I hope this helps those of you who assist others less technically clued-in than you are with their computers.

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As a longtime PC repair person, dealing almost exclusively with retirees, I am disappointed with some of Comedian’s response. I appreciate his empathy for those who really must rely on other’s expertise. But I cannot abide some of his regular maintenance.

First, and let’s be clear about this: Windows Update should never be turned on for any operating system since XP… except for W10 (and only because it still has so far to go before it is an acceptable OS). There is nothing, absolutely nothing, on offer that is worth having, and yes: I include the security updates in that statement. I have seen hundreds of PCs crippled and/or destroyed with Updates.

Second, defragging anything since XP is somewhat of a joke: the operating system takes care of itself. Defragging is now an old-wive’s tale. The only reason people use it is because they’ve heard it should, and the only technicians that use it are “handymen” who do not keep up on the ways of the OS. You can easily damage a PC by using it. The 1% or 2% speed “improvement” that may result is not worth the potential calamity. (By the same token, never use a program like CCleaner. I built a new PC, never connected to the Internet, Windows 7 Ultimate. CCleaner found 325 “serious errors”. BS.)

So visiting a user every month to defrag is a good way to make money, and that’s it.

Backing up daily is brilliant, and everyone should do it.

But telling people to never have anyone help seems to me to be a bit of a pressure tactic.

Sorry, nothing personal meant by this, even though I am sure it will be taken that way (I would!). But I deal with the fallout of second-rate repair guys in my area all the time, and while I should be writing each of them personal thank you notes for the business they generate for me, they continue to tick me off.
Telling a user to reboot is a very smart and generous move anytime.

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“First, and let’s be clear about this: Windows Update should never be turned on for any operating system since XP….There is nothing, absolutely nothing, on offer that is worth having, and yes: I include the security updates in that statement.”

AMEN AND AMEN MY BROTHER!

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So all of your systems run using just the install disk on the day you purchased it? You never installed service packs and you’re convinced (on what evidence) to never install an update? Oh, I see, you know which updates are “safe” to install. That’s not true of Comedian’s clients. For less knowledgeable users, the security updates are often a life-saver as are the malware scans that take place during some of the updates.

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This is contrary to what the Windows Secrets writers (and others) recommend to minimize hacks. Should we not update our apps to make them more secure? (I have a pretty basic setup, and no updates have ever crippled my computer.)

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This is contrary to what the Windows Secrets writers (and others) recommend to minimize hacks. Should we not update our apps to make them more secure? (I have a pretty basic setup, and no updates have ever crippled my computer.)

Apps, sure. Flash and Java? Definitely. Windows? No. Hey, not to worry. Every time I bring this up, there are always some who have never had problems. To them, I say two things: fantastic. And how do you know? Do you suppose all those odd little things that make Windows act just a teensy bit weird, but don’t affect your day-to-day, came out of nowhere? No, they came from lazy code from your program installs, and from cleaning programs. Examples? Maybe the color table in your Office
Publisher 2010 won’t load sometimes, or you have to triple-click the icon in Word to underline something. Or the PC restarts for no reason and them seems fine. Or the WiFi drops off, even though your router is broadcasting. Or Firefox or IE freezes up more than it “should”.

And while I subscribe to Windows Secrets, and really enjoy some of the articles, I’ll contest someone who does a run in a lab-friendly environment on two or three or five PCs, against hundreds upon hundreds of real-world problems every year. This is no fault of theirs. It’s just like the difference between a well-trained service mechanic who sees dozens of cars a week, vs. a really good self-taught home garage hobbyist.

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Apps, sure. Flash and Java? Definitely. Windows? No.

Why the distinction? No one ever attacks Windows/IE? Flash and Java updates never cause issues?

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This is contrary to what the Windows Secrets writers (and others) recommend to minimize hacks.

Yeah. One voice against thousands. The true path usually threads its way between the extremes.

And I did have an update once that fixed a device driver for the PINpads we use on our POS systems.

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(By the same token, never use a program like CCleaner. I built a new PC, never connected to the Internet, Windows 7 Ultimate. CCleaner found 325 “serious errors”. BS.)

Backing up daily is brilliant, and everyone should do it.

BACKUP, BACKUP,BACKUP, religiously! You will never be sorry you did a backup, but you sure may be sorry you DIDN’T make one! The problem is, you can nevre be certain the backup is good, until you have to use it!

I have been using CCLEANER for years, LONG before they stopped calling it CRAPCLEANER! I have never, ever, had any sort of problem with it. Also, I have never seen it report that it had found ‘serious errors.’ Other, scam-type programs, yes, but never CCLEANER. I use it mainly to clear out the TEMP files and other garbage files on my systems. It’s quick. ( I use others to do that, too) I also occasionally use it to clear out my Registry of old broken shortcuts, bad extensions, etc. I have NEVER had a problem with that, either. I have learned the hard way which ‘free’ programs are worth having and which ones to steer clear of. Almost ALL of my utilities are of the ‘free’ variety, and none of them have ever caused any problems. That said, I will never, ever, use ANY program that suddenly appears on my desktop, on the internet or through my emails! For the SAME reason I will NOT buy anything someone calls me on the phone to sell me! Honest vendors do not use these methods to sell their products. Remember that and save yourself a LOT of money!

PS Even a NEW system will have broken pieces of programs left over in the Registry, so maybe THAT’S where those ‘errors’ came from. Windows does not do a thorough job of housecleaning, during upgrades, updates, installs, de-installs, etc. You don’t ‘need’ these bits and pieces, so why not get rid of them?

Bob

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“I tell them that if they let ANYONE else “help” them with their problems, because they don’t want to wait until I can help them, that I will no longer be responsible for helping them with their computer.”

I love that one. I would just eliminate the “because they don’t want to wait” part.

When more than one person “fixes” a computer, you just never know what you will find. At the least, it injects factors you weren’t aware of, and will almost always cost you time and aggravation.

The kicker is, you will often wind up aggravating your customer because he/she feels you are accusing them of doing “something bad” (which they did) even though you tried to be tactful.

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”
When more than one person “fixes” a computer, you just never know what you will find. At the least, it injects factors you weren’t aware of, and will almost always cost you time and aggravation.

.

I would add “fixes” anything. One tech does ‘stuff’ and does not return a machine to it’s former state and by the time the next shift gets there there are two problems to troubleshoot unbeknownst to the second tech. Sometimes the first tech just plain breaks something else. We called these Buddy Bugs!:confused::(;)

:cheers:

🍻

Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.

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I, too, help a number of older people, primarily through our church, with their computers.

Wow! You are a saint. I hope others will follow your example. (In fact, I almost wish I were old enough to be a “client”!)

Like many, I help my own parents a lot as does my brother and his brother-in-law who actually wrote much of the original kernel and networking for the Windows Pro and server products. He’s a tough act to follow in many regards, though he completely disavows any knowledge of anything he didn’t actually write. 😉 But I’ve never thought about extending my help beyond my immediate family. Being near to retirement I am going to give that some thought.

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Can I inject a thought? I’m as old as the hills and I can safely assume the writers are probably nowhere near my age. Some of the seniors are no longer as mentally alert as they once were. They did not grow up with computers and don’t understand that they should not follow any instructions, either by phone or appearing on the desktop. That fact must be drilled into them and maybe even a reminder printed out and placed close to the PC.
Frankly, some of the explanations given to me are over my technological head but basic instructions I can understand.

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Amen. And I’d add that many elders are also lonely and will talk to anybody who calls or emails, and will do nearly anything to keep the caller/emailer interested. Such was the case with my father-in-law. He was also giving money to anyone who called. Luckily my wife was present and stepped in one time when he was about to give his bank account info to a caller.

But it’s not just the elderly. Apparently many middle-aged people have never paid the slightest attention to any computer safety advice. Thus one cousin-in-law fell for a “your computer has a virus” pop-up and got cryptolockered. She didn’t pay, though, and had no backups, so was out of luck.

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Stu, I’m 63, and my clients are almost all retired. We live in a community on Lake Chapala, about an hour south of Guadalajara. Most people are 60 or over, many are in their 80s. There comes an age where none of us is really worried about learning new things. And in the 70 and up group, a lot of them never even had a computer in the early days. Now they feel they must: one reason is staying in touch with their family and friends up north. Email, photos, Vonage: that is a good part of their life. Trying to explain details to them only works for the very few who love technology. The rest just want someone to fix it.

I have far more patience with them than I do with my own age group when it comes to understanding PCs. A lot of them like to watch, and then complain that I move too quickly. The truth is, most of the stuff I do, they could never learn anyway, and more to the point after it’s been done once, they don’t need to. When it comes to ver difficult manouvres, like adding a photo attachment to an email, that’s something else again. The problem is they don’t understand the file system. The Open dialogue windows, the Save windows, the folder structure… completely foreign language. I try, and sometimes succeed. Luckily, whatever program they are using always remembers the last folder they were in, and that is a saving grace for lots of them.

I will often type up and print the steps they need to remember.

So I guess I’m saying you are correct. Unfortunately, there are lots of repair guys who have no empathy at all, and are happy to install all their crappy programs and walk away with their fee.

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Unfortunately, there are lots of repair guys who have no empathy at all, and are happy to install all their crappy programs and walk away with their fee.

I wasn’t trying to down you in any way, Beachboy.

I agree that many old timers, (like ME?) have trouble with technology. I don’t expect them to be as savvy as I am, or that I was. I retired from computer servicing back in 1995, when I was laid off by McDonnell Douglas. I have kept my hand in the game because I love tech. I have tried helping others a few times and ran into the same thing when they called a ‘friend’ to ‘help’ them! It usually makes a huge mess. Too many cooks spoil the soup, I’ve always heard.

At the age of 76 I realize that I am a rare thing; someone who actually understands computers, and how they work. My all-knowing grandson (age 14) thinks HE is an expert, yet he has no idea how to save a file! I’ve asked him if he knows how a computer works, and all I get is a blank stare. I was actually paying attention when I had all those boring classes, so I know what a CPU is and what it does!

Lately, though, I have been content to stick to my own PC and let the others worry about theirs. Most of my family thinks I don’t know anything, anyway, despite 20+ years DOING it!

Bob

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At the age of 76 I realize that I am a rare thing; someone who actually understands computers, and how they work. My all-knowing grandson (age 14) thinks HE is an expert, yet he has no idea how to save a file! I’ve asked him if he knows how a computer works, and all I get is a blank stare. I was actually paying attention when I had all those boring classes, so I know what a CPU is and what it does!

Bob

Yup and the Grand Parents will be impressed by whatever their GrandKids do and swear they are computer prodigies! :p

:cheers:

🍻

Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.

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Honestly, Bob, your response was very polite. No offense at all.

When I talk about a new system, I mean that includes a brand-new shrink-wrapped hard drive. There is nothing on it. I format it and install Windows. At that point, it is air-gapped (never connected to Internet). Any registry problems would have to come from the Windows install itself. Now, we know Windows always has bugs, but MS coders know enough about their OS that installing problems right from the get-go is probably not a thing.

No, the real explanation is that as other programs get installed in Windows, they use bits of library code, and even change some of Windows basic code. So two things are at play here: ONE, and most important, is that CCleaner coders have no idea what they are dealing with half the time, and TWO: the program will recognize code that has been changed but should be ignored, and is not smart enough to ignore it. And this will lead to problems.

That being said, I do have customers who have used CCleaner and never reported a problem. My point, I guess, is “better safe than sorry”. Because CCleaner just isn’t worth the risk for the very poor return. So why bother? Leave the registry alone, basically.

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I agree that the coders at CCLEANER may not know what they are dealing with. Sometimes, I even wonder if the coders at MS know! They always release new versions of their software and let the buyers (US) do their debugging for them! When I do the Registry cleaner I get things like: Unused File Extensions and Missing MUI Reference, among others. When I start the actual cleanup, it ALWAYS asks me if I want to back up the registry before doing the cleaning. I ALWAYS do. I have never had to restore it, though. I feel fully confident about CCLEANER. I also use Glary Utilities and HerdProtect, both excellent free programs.

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I understand enough about computers to be able to troubleshoot MANY of my own problems. I am not employed in this industry as many of you are.
I enjoy this Forum because I enjoy knowledge and the pursuit of truth. I would like to hear from some of the moderators or other experts here about some of the claims made here that one should “never use a program like CCleaner” and that “no updates since XP should be accepted from Microsoft”. Those are some of the most radical ideas I have seen proposed and I respect those who challenge authority, not to destroy the system but to make it better, so that we all my grow. Any other insights on these topics is appreciated.

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I enjoy this Forum because I enjoy knowledge and the pursuit of truth. I would like to hear from some of the moderators or other experts here about some of the claims made here that one should “never use a program like CCleaner” and that “no updates since XP should be accepted from Microsoft”. Those are some of the most radical ideas I have seen proposed and I respect those who challenge authority, not to destroy the system but to make it better, so that we all my grow. Any other insights on these topics is appreciated.

I agree, it sounds radical. But it only sounds that way because there are so many ill-trained and poorly motivated repair people, working at BestBuys, little computer chains, and so on. And many highly-skilled IT professionals know next to nothing about hands-on computer stuff, because they don’t work in the grunt end. Heck, my brother used to be a $1500/day consultant for Sun, and he still can’t figure out most Windows things.

My “proof” is having worked on thousands of PCs. Perhaps four or five or six every single day except Sunday, for 12 years now. Plus my own experience as beta tester and eventually the silly-named “Insider Program” for W10.

You want even more heresy? Don’t bother with antivirus tools. None of them are any good. (Unless you are living in a cave and have not been told to avoid opening emails that look suspicious; then an AV tool might help you.) Why? It’s spyware, malware, that is the popular attack tool these days, and that comes in randomly from all sorts of websites… and there is not a single AV tool that is preventive in that matter. Oh, sure, there have been some feeble attempts. But you are just as likely to be blocked from your favorite websites by a program that thinks “Hmmm, you are going to that website an awful lot… must be a scam” and blocks your access. Without asking you.

So there you go. Avoid registry cleaners like the plague. Forget defragging: it’s a joke. Don’t bother with antivirus tools; they are a waste of time. And show me one single instance where a downloaded Windows Update helped anybody (other than a Service Pack). I, being one of millions upon millions of Windows users, have the most minimal chance of being that lucky fellow for which an update actually changes anything. And this in particular applies to the scads of pointless security updates.

Those who may agree with me are the same folks who have years of experience actually dealing with OS-level computer problems. There aren’t many of those around, and so my comments remain “radical”. I can point you to my client list, though, for affirmation.

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One scam I have had tried on me that I have not seen mentioned relates to MSE. On a couple of occasions a IE tab popped up declaring itself as a Microsoft Security Essentials notification of a virus or other treat. Of course being a UHEP (ultra highly experienced person, i.e. 75 years old with IT experience), I closed the tab without clicking on the offered repair. It looked very authentic but I doubted MSE would use an IE tab to notify of problems. But someone else might well fall for it. I’ve also had the MS phone calls and a few times kept them on the line for a while so they couldn’t bother anyone else. One even called back after a few minutes of silence on my side.

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I’m 85 and have been using computers since the mid-1970’s.

I have gotten several calls over the past year or so telling me that I have problems with my Windows computer. Although each caller tells me he is calling from the United States, each one seems to have a foreign accent. When I ask which Windows computer they are talking about — I have three of them — the answer seems to be all of them. I also ask them, since they “know” my computer has problems to tell me my user name. No one has done so yet.

After some discussion about where the Windows key is on the keyboard I finally told one caller that I had made a mistake and was using a Macintosh computer. He cussed and hung up.

I do feel sorry for those users who get taken in by such calls.

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As a “senior citizen”, we were taught to listen to authority figures at least in areas we were not knowledgeable in… doctors, lawyers, teachers, and the police were all to be respected and listened to… I think many of us would also think of Microsoft in those terms… older folks need to be educated about those that are “real” and those that are just looking to steal from us.

BTW, I have been using technology (computers, game systems) since the mid-70’s… I don’t trust any phone call or email that purports to be from an authority unless I called them first and expect a call…

I did answer once call that was supposed to be from Microsoft, but from the accent and poor English, I assumed he was not employed there or anyplace else legitimate… I hung up.

Teach folks as much as you can about scammers and crooks!

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You are on the wrong track, Bruce. The point is that Windows Updates for security are pointless, to me. Malware gets in anyway, directly through your browser. Having turned off Updates even for myself for years and years, I’ve never had a problem with security. Yes, Flash and Java cause issues, but the danger of leaving security holes open in both of those tools far outweighs the potential problems.

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Paid someone at Dell?!

cheers, Paul

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“connected his pc to my workbench” as all axcess was blocked did you remove the harddrive and use a sata to usm connection to image win 10 or some other method to connect? 2) What is the latest repair book or on line article that you like ? p/s great post

Bob Forrest, light part time tech Montreal

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“connected his pc to my workbench” as all access was blocked did you remove the hard drive and use a sata to usm connection to image win 10 or some other method to connect? 2) What is the latest repair book or on line article that you like ? p/s great post

Bob Forrest, light part time tech Montreal

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”connected his pc to my workbench”…

That should have been “connected his pc’s hard drive to my workbench” (with a SATA cable).

…2) What is the latest repair book or on line article that you like ?…

Haven’t had much use for repair books, and too many online articles are outdated.

Almost always I use Google’s “advanced search” to find info about error messages and problems.

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They have an advanced search?

cheers, Paul

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They have an advanced search?…

Certainly do, and have pretty much all along.

Go to the main Google search page then do a search for anything. When you see the search results there should be a “gear” icon at upper-right side of the results page:

42334-GoogleAdvSearch

Click on the gear icon and one of the options is “Advanced Search”:

42335-GoogleAdvSearch_1

A shortcut is to enclose a search phrase in double-quotes, e.g.: “recipe for strawberry jam” (with the quotes) will return hits that contain the exact phrase “recipe for strawberry jam”.

Have a play with it – you’ll work it out.

One really handy option is the “Region” one. Often I have to search for info that is specific to Australia, so can specify the region to restrict the search. Other times I might want to see only results from a specific web domain, e.g.: Microsoft.com.

otherwise I have a Favourite that takes me straight to Google Australia’s Advanced Search:

http://www.google.com.au/advanced_search?hl=en

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@ PaulT

I just ran a Google search for “They have an advanced search” (with the quotes) and the #3 page of this “Scammers taking advantage of GWX?” thread was returned as the #3 hit.

Point is that Google has picked up your #40 post (2015-10-17, 17-02) soon after you submitted it.

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I have only used the quotes and site: tricks, didn’t realise there was a front end for it.

cheers, Paul

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I have only used the quotes and site: tricks, didn’t realise there was a front end for it.

cheers, Paul

I use a direct link to advanced search for a while. Google keeps ‘upgrading’ and things disappear for a while or ever or from easy access. (think Maps!) If you sign in you can also save settings, like give me 100 returns rather than 10. Very useful. Also check out

https://www.google.com/cse/

:cheers:

🍻

Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.

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Since his old PC recently refused to complete the loading of Win7; I have been helping my 91-year-old Dad, by setting up a refurbished machine for him. We all live in UK Midlands; but it was impossible to complete the set-up in one visit.

Into the replacement Win7 machine, I had copied all his documents, photographs and other images. I also installed Adobe, Advanced SystemCare (including AntiMalware), AVG Antivirus; and had everything running smoothly and fast.

New procedures won’t stick in Dad’s aging mind; although he still out-thinks me in his long-practised subject areas.
We continually go around the same loops; as I lead him through the creation of an email, or editing his documents.
He had just about got the general idea with Office97; when Ms unhelpfully introduced that incompatible Office2003.
I have now converted every last MsWord (.doc) file to Libre Office (.odt) for him; but he unerringly blames LibreOffice for his inability to find some file or other.
OutlookExpress became another bugbear with endless untrue “you have unsent mail” pop-ups. I have eliminated this by installing Thunderbird for him.
My one regret was that I had not set Windows updates to “DOWNLOAD AND INSTALL NOTHING”.
Failed updates clogged the system within a couple of days: reducing even simple keystrokes to a crawl. The same simultaneously happened to my own PC; but I cured this with BobRankin’s advice to delete all WinUPD downloads.
I will decide IF and WHEN I install Win10: and until then all WinX piecemeal downloads are UNWANTED CRAPWARE.

And just then is when the SCAMMER’S CALL happened: claiming to be from BT (his broadband provider) they talked my Dad into allowing them remote control of his PC: so that they could “improve its slow processing”. Having recently been helped by me and a phone call to BT; to get the new PC connected online; he readily believed the scammers’ claims. Apparently the SCAM call lasted over an hour: as Dad could hardly understand the caller’s Asian accent!
The scammers UNINSTALLED BOTH ASC AND AVG; and INSTALLED TEAM VIEWER and some other* MALWARE which was more dificult to remove: repeating AVG and other* procedures and restarts eventually shifted it successfully.
I also had to change back various other pc settings which had been altered; including the default preference of IE back to FireFox. (*…. I don’t remember the specific malware and cleaning procedures.)

Thankfully, Dad’s PC contained no bank details and very little other usable/saleable personal information. And Dad did refuse to give card or bank details to pay for the scammers “help”: he’s not daft, he just doesn’t “get” computers!

This incident demonstrates how scam callers may be really plausible, especially to older, computer-naive folk.
To avoid being caught out ourselves sometime; we now plan to change where we keep most of our money: outwith the accounts which we access and use online!

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This incident demonstrates how scam callers may be really plausible, especially to older, computer-naive folk.
To avoid being caught out ourselves sometime; we now plan to change where we keep most of our money: outwith the accounts which we access and use online!

Backup backup image to a HDD noline only for backups . Then recovery will be trivial.

On line banking never done that. Maybe I never will, if I go that way it will be a linux livecd with caution. It may save a trip to the bank once a month but the downside is huge.

:cheers:

🍻

Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.

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Yes, an external system image is the only defence should anyone fall victim to Ransomware.

No doubt your cousin-in-law (never heard of that type of relation in the UK) will now create regular system images and not click on unknown links – was it in an email ?

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I also take care of my elderly father’s computer. Things are getting a bit more difficult as he descends into dementia. It’s not too bad now, but his short term memory is getting worse. He fell victim to the MS caller scam a couple of years ago, but I was able to clean that up quickly. I was also able to get them to reverse the CC charge before having his card cancelled and reissued.

Shortly after that, I decided that since all my father wanted to do with the computer was email, web browsing, and the occasional letter or spreadsheet, why not set his account to a standard (non-admin) account and set up an admin account for myself. And not tell him the password to my admin account.

This way, no one can install anything without the admin account password. An actual good use for UAC. (Win7 on his computer, at the moment.)

This worked well when the MS scammers tried again. Initially my father fell for it again (didn’t remember the last time) but something twigged and he called me while they were still remotely connected to his computer. As mentioned before, these scammers like to use Teamviewer to do their thing. I use Teamviewer to do remote maintenance, so logged in to my fathers computer and watched for a minute as the scammer kept trying to install something but couldn’t get past the admin password prompt. When I tried to chat with the scammer they dropped the connection. A check of the computer showed that they had not been able to do anything. And, fortunately, my father had not yet given them any CC details.

So, for those who maintain computers for elderly clients, setting their account to a standard user and having an admin account that they do not know the password to may help prevent some attacks.

Regards,
…jim

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jwoods, that can be a great idea for seniors in the family or close close friends, but not so great for computer repair guys. Because then the client can’t do anything administrative, and we’d have to be making many trips to their houses. (OTOH, that would mean more money for us…)

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Ah yes, but I get paid for my services, individually. The hassle of PayPal or credit cards is not in my future. All of my clients are within a 10K radius, and at leat 50% of their problems are Internet connectivity… which I cannot test from my office. In particular, if they are not getting Internet, lol.

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