Issue 25.17
It sometimes seems that I spend about half my time educating people about new viruses or threats to their systems. I often wish I could do more with the examination of new products, basic terminology and nifty ways to use software and technology, and we do get into those things pretty often. However, threats can affect a lot of people in negative ways so we work hard to let you know of current issues that might cause you trouble.
I have recently had a number of people call me to solve a problem on their computers involving passwords. Before the sign-in screen even comes up, a box pops up asking for a password. In most cases, you cannot get past it to actually login to the computer and it doesn’t matter who the user is as it has been activated to show up before your actually log in – even if you never had a password before. You can try some of the more popular passwords such as 1-2-3 or 1-2-3-4 or a-b-c-d, but they seldom work and the computer restarts after 3 tries.
This almost always occurs when the computer owner allows someone access to their computer over the internet. The people on the other end of the phone are very convincing when they tell you that they are from Microsoft (or HP or Dell) and that they have detected malware or viruses on your computer. Please know that none of those companies will call you or pop up a message on your computer to have you call them. They expect that you will seek them out through their websites if you have a problem.
Once you let them into your computer, they install the password into your system and then demand money to give you back access or “repair” your computer. It is UNLIKELY THEY WILL RESTORE YOUR ACCESS even if you do give them money, but they definitely have you where they want you. In some cases, your computer professional may be able to restore access to your system, but usually the only thing we can do is backup your data, pictures and other files by removing the hard drive and installing it in another working computer. Then we format (completely clean off) your hard drive, reinstall your operating system (Windows 7, 10, etc.) reinstall any programs you have added since you bought the system (if you have the disks and install codes) and then restore your files, data, etc. If you have a current backup of all your important files, the process is quicker and less costly, but this is a pretty serious problem.
In every case I know of, the customer did allow someone remote access to their computer. Please do not do this unless you know the person well. Remember that people calling you on the phone are not going to know anything about your computer and if they are from one of the big companies, they don’t really care about it either unless they are trying to sell you peripherals or extended warranties.
It is my hope that this advice will save some of you from a costly and possibly disastrous experience. Remember to not allow people you do not know extremely well access to your computer, always make sure you remember to protect your data, documents, pictures and your computer, phone and tablet by always backing up anything important.
Shaun McCausland has worked in the computer industry for over 34 years, 27 years of it locally with Bits ‘N’ Bytes and Musicomp and currently works as a computer consultant. If you have questions you can reach him at 435-668-7118 or mccausland.shaun54@gmail.com .