Tips and Tricks Archives - West Chester Computer Doctors

Have you ever received a call from someone claiming to be from Microsoft and insisting your computer has been compromised? It is a very common scam type of scam that has swindled many victims. The caller claims to be from Microsoft Tech Support and insists the victim must give the scammer access to their computer in order to “remove viruses”… for a hefty fee, of course. The scammer will direct the victim to download a remote session service and take control of the victims computer. After the victim pays the scammer, the scammer will proceed to infect the victim’s computer with actual malware.

One security expert played along with one of these scams by giving the scammer access to one of his virtual machines. When the scammer realized the security expert was not going to give him money, he remotely entered into the security expert’s computer, deleted a number of files, and cursed at the expert before disconnecting.

This scam uses a hacking technique known as “social engineering”. It is successful by convincing the victim it is safe to share normally secret information with the scammer or hacker. They will sound authoritative and trustworthy; that is the whole point of their scam. In fact, a good portion of hacking is done through social engineering. This because it is a lot easier to manipulate a human than it is to manipulate a computer.

How can you avoid social engineering scams? NEVER give out private information over the phone. If you must share private information, make sure you are actually speaking to someone you trust (like one of us at West Chester Computer Doctors) and not an impersonator. Finally, never cooperate with unsolicited calls from technicians.

What Happens if You Play Along with a Microsoft ‘Tech Support’ Scam?- Wired.co.uk

Microsoft will be ceasing support for Windows XP as of April 8, 2014. The company originally stated that all operating system and security definition updates would cease on the April date, including the availability of Microsoft Security Essentials, Microsoft’s free XP-compatible antivirus software. On January 15th, however, Microsoft stated it will continue to update Microsoft Security Essentials until mid-2015.

Even though Microsoft will continue to update Microsoft Security Essentials, Windows XP itself will become much more vulnerable to attack. Once an operating system is no longer supported, newly discovered vulnerabilities are no longer patched. This means the longer a users continues to run an unsupported operating system like XP, the more possibilities exist for their system to become compromised.

Microsoft is urging current XP users to upgrade to Windows 8.1 if their current computer is compatible, or to purchase a new computer all together. If you have any questions about the switch from XP to another operating system, feel free to call us at West Chester Computer Doctors.

Support is Ending for Windows XP- Microsoft
Microsoft Delays Windows XP Antivirus Doomsday- Information Week