"Microsoft" phone call

[sinsi]

I read a few weeks/months ago about a scam where Microsoft (supposedly) phone you at home to let you know about all the errors on your computer.
This was in US/UK but it has now made its way to Aus - there was a little paragraph in today's paper warning people.

It was funny, in that a friend of mine took a call last Sunday from "Greg" (suspiciously thick Indian accent) saying he was from MS and they had detected problems.
Got them to open the event log and count the number of errors. They got to 200 something (I kid you not, they counted them) then he says that there are 533.

Now in their defense they are clueless (facebook/email/itunes/pron) but when he offered 24/7 tech support for $250 for 2 years they hung up when he wanted a credit card number.
The funny thing is that after hanging up they yanked the power cord and brought it straight around to me  :8)

What they try to do is get you to use the remote access feature of windows to give them control via the internet (enabled by default  ::)), then the fun begins.


I just wish that they would phone me, now that would be fun  :lol

[jj2007]

I just wish that they would phone me, now that would be fun  :lol

Shouting doesn't help. Tell them the phone is far from the computer, and they must call you on the mobile, not today but tomorrow at 10:00 a.m.; then start a lengthy "find the error" session, with many little pauses, strange error messages and the like. You can imagine the sweat running from the other's forefront when he balances his phone bill against the 250$ he might get....
:wink

[sinsi]

>Shouting doesn't help.
You misunderstand me jj, I definitely want to be the clueless user, not shout.

About the phone bill, maybe the call centres that moved to India have moved elsewhere and this is a "sideline" to get some cash...they get cheap calls.

[sinsi]

"Breaking" news heh
http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/phone-scammers-pose-as-microsoft-staff/story-e6frfku0-1225935938959

[Magnum]

I have Remote Registry, B.I.T.S., and Routing and Remote Access disabled.

I only access the Internet from a Limited User Account.

Can someone still control my computer from a remote location?

Is that safe enough, or would it be good to disable the netword card when not in use?

[sinsi]

They were getting users to let them in via Remote Assistance which means the user gave permission, they didn't have to 'hack'.
Once they were in, of course, it was like the user clicking OK to installing the keylogger etc.

Remote Registry will need a username and password to access your computer's registry.
BITS should be on manual, windows update uses it and it has nothing to do with remotely accessing your computer.
Routing and Remote Access should be disabled but also has nothing to do with remotely accessing your computer.

Don't forget that your brain is the best antivirus around (as long as it is running)  :bg

[Magnum]

I don't use Windows Update, thus I disabled it.