If you’d rather have an inexpensive, professional computer repair, Poindexter is always available to help. We serve the Hampden area, Baltimore, and have helped countless folks recover from internet fraud of all kinds. If you, a parent, or grand parent has been the victim of internet or tech support fraud, contact Poindexter for personal help from an industry professional. We’ll get this squared away for you, promise.
Ransomware is malware that hijacks your computer, encrypts or hides your personal files (photos, movies, music, school work, etc), and attempts to ransom that data for hundreds of dollars. It is among the most destructive and costly kinds of malware and steps must be taken by families and businesses to avoid it or, if already infected, contain it.
Warning! There’s a phishing scam under way that is targeting Baltimore businesses and residents. If you think you’re a victim of this or any other internet scam, contact Poindexter immediately for computer repair, account recovery options, and next steps.
“Phishing is the attempt to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details (and sometimes, indirectly, money), often for malicious reasons, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.[1][2] The word is a neologism created as a homophone of fishing due to the similarity of using fake bait in an attempt to catch a victim. Communications purporting to be from popular social web sites, auction sites, banks, online payment processors or IT administrators are commonly used to lure unsuspecting victims.”
This particular scam arrives as an email, purporting to be from Google. The email includes subjects like “Warning,you are required to go through the process,” “Delivery Status Notification (Failure)!!!,” or “Your account might be disabled, fix error.” The body of the email might contain are warning about your email account, recommending that you visit a link to change your port settings and retrieve your missed messages. We received three such emails in two days and have been contacted by two clients asking whether or not to respond to them. The email we received is provided below, but without the offending links.
This is an autmomated email sent from our SSL severs to inform you that there is an error in your email configuration.
This error was identified on: 2015/09/24 and we have not been able to deliver 8 contact email messages from this date.
To retrieve your emails and reconfigure Port 486,Click Here
Warning: Failure to do this will lead total suspension of your email account.
This message has been sent to:[email protected].
Please delete and Ignore if this is not your email address
Clicking any of the provided links will direct your internet browser to a fraudulent page designed to look like Google’s account setting page. It will prompt you to enter your username and password; the site then sends those details to whoever is responsible for the scam, compromising your account.
If you receive an email like this or with an attachment claiming to be from Google or any other account provider, delete immediately. Do not click any of the included links. If you did follow through and enter your email and password on the phishing page, change your Google account password immediately.
Google, Bing, Microsoft, and every other major webmail provider will never ask you to change your port settings. They will never threaten to close your account in this way. And they will never ever include sensitive account details or service requests as an attached PDF file. Unusual stuff like this is a warning sign that the email isn’t genuine and might be a scam or worse.
Adware, also called ad injection sofware, is among the most common infection type you’ll encounter on the internet. Once installed, adware will modify your internet browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, etc) and computer’s security settings, so it can shove more advertising into websites, create advertising popups, or replace good ads on sites you trust with junk ads.
Adware is a huge money maker for rogue developers. Each infected computer earns them more ad revenue, so the goal is to spread adware to as many computers as possible. In fact, the incentive is so strong, adware developers commonly partner up with websites and computer manufacturers, like Lenovo, to include adware in their products. Consider CNET, a popular download hub and technology review site. Scattered throughout CNET are ads promoting other software products. Some of those ads are disguised as parts of the website and might appear as “Download Now” buttons, intended to confuse the visitor into clicking. Once you click, it’s too late. Adware, and it’s information gathering counterpart spyware, can download and install very rapidly, sometimes invisibly, and compromise your system without your awareness.
Spyware doesn’t promote a product, needn’t install like a normal program, and might be entirely invisible to most users. Once infected, spyware quietly sits in your computer’s memory and collects personal information about you and your family. Most spyware will monitor your web browsing habits and send that information to adware networks. Nastier spyware can harvest passwords, contact lists, phone numbers, and credit card information.
Spyware and adware are commonly packaged together. If you have adware, you almost certainly are infected with spyware as well. Once installed, the adware will promote other products – some legitimate, some less so – every one of them irritating to users. Adware creates a cycle of infection that can be hard to break out of. Many of the ads are malicious and will harm your computer further if clicked. Some ads, for instance, might warn you of an infection or necessary update. Clicking these ads will take the user down a rabbit whole of alarmist claims and sleezy software. Poindexter recommends never downloading software that promises to fix any problem on your computer. Software which promises to optimize of update your Windows or Apple computer at best does nothing, at worst is just another source of infection.
Adware is also responsible for frequent tech support scams. They trick the user by promoting “free security scans”, which, when completed, warn of impending dangers from viruses, outdated drivers, or other mysterious sounding computer stuff. This is followed up with a push to buy overpriced software to fix the fake problem. You might even receive a call from a “certified tech something something”, who will try to convince you to purchase costly tech support. Their scare tactics are effective and cost American households hundreds of dollars in damage.
These problems are extremely common. In our experience, adware infections can come on gradually – an extra ad here or there – but the infection worsens and, eventually, the computer becomes entirely unusable. The computer might lose the ability to show websites or lose its internet connection all together. It might behave sluggishly or fail to start correctly. If you suspect your computer is infected with adware or spyware, call Poindexter (908-991-NERD) today for a low-cost cleaning and repair. Don’t leave your personal details in the wrong hands.
