03/05

Sometimes trying to do the right thing doesn’t always work out the way you had hoped, especially when it comes to computers.

A customer came into TechStop because her computer was freezing up and preventing her from logging in. Prior to the freezing, she was seeing popups advising her to purchase antivirus software. Under the assumption that these popups were legitimate and offering help, she purchased an “antivirus” program for $90. As a tech this seemed suspicious to me and further diagnosis of the machine revealed a terrible truth. The seemingly authentic antivirus software she paid for was in fact a virus! Luckily here at TechStop we were able to stop and remove the viruses before they caused too much damage to the system.

Unfortunately scams like this are more common than you think. Most times the software and popups look so convincing that when people see it; they are misled into purchasing it. These programs (called Malware); often use the same colors and similar logos used by authentic software in order to trick you into buying them.

Other than pesky popups and file corrupting viruses, the real danger with these programs occurs when you buy them. Most times they will ask you for a credit card number, bank information and personal information in order to process your purchase. Being caught up in the deception you offer it up in hopes that it will fix your computer. However this is rarely the case and before you know it money has disappeared from your account or worse.

The importance of up to date antivirus software cannot be stressed enough. That’s why here at TechStop we are dedicated to keeping our customers protected and virus free. If you ever run into a situation when you’re questioning what to do, don’t hesitate to come in to the store, call or send us an email! We’ll be happy to answer any questions you have!

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