scammer's

[tapps]

there's some  :shit:bags out there,my pc was locked & rendered useless,given an option of paying £100 in 24 hours after being locked to get it unlocked.WTF are they on,lucky i had cover,any thing happen's through pc world,got it sorted for nothing in the end,i hope the little  :shit:s get what's coming to them.

[BigAlan]

Good anti-virus software along with good anti-malware applications are the best way to go forward, luckily being in the trade as it were I get Sophos for nothing, and run Malwarebytes and Spybotnas standard, touch wood all well so far.

Oh and the usual caveat don't open anything you don't trust and don't visit dodgy sites.

Alan

[viper]

how did they manage to lock up your PC, did you download something you should not have  , any advice for us

[BigAlan]

Advice is free, firstly do NOT by default use your computer in an Administrator account, yes have an admin account password protected but ALWAYS use a standard account when using it, that way should you visit a dodgy site nothing will automatically install, it will ask for the admin credentials.

As before keep anti-virus and anti-malware software up to date, never open anything in an email you don't trust especially .exe or .zip files or links to dodgy sites.

Even the Financial Times web site was compromised a few months ago, trust nothing.

Be careful out there.

Alan

[Lonewolf]

tapps, I had exactly the same thing with someone at work who I was asked to speak with.  They resolved the matter by literally throwing the laptop away, saying that'll teach the scammers.  It takes all sorts!!

[Kwikasfuki]

That one seems to be common.

+1 on what Alan has said.

Another common one is where they ring you saying they are from Microsoft and that your pc has issues. They get you to download some software etc and then ask for payment.

I was bored one day and they had the misfortune to ring me. For over an hour I kept it going. I even installed the software on a virtual machine I have and watched them install spyware on it. Then when it came to paying, well, I used the online credit card number generators to feed them with a ton of crap. Obviously they all got declined.

[O.C.]

That one seems to be common.

+1 on what Alan has said.

Another common one is where they ring you saying they are from Microsoft and that your pc has issues. They get you to download some software etc and then ask for payment.

I was bored one day and they had the misfortune to ring me. For over an hour I kept it going. I even installed the software on a virtual machine I have and watched them install spyware on it. Then when it came to paying, well, I used the online credit card number generators to feed them with a ton of crap. Obviously they all got declined.

Nice one...TRUST NO ONE ont tinterweb..if you receive communication from someone that you don't know, then don't open it..

[ChrisB]

Some of them are getting very clever. Check the spelling of all incoming emails, the grammar and spelling is often suspect and a clue. Don't take any notice of anyone cold calling you by telephone saying they are from Microsoft and have identified a problem/virus on your PC, they are scammers.