Free Republic

I cleaned my computer cache (IE files; Internet "history"; and CC cleaner). I then went online to Walmart link. Then my computer screen had the dreaded pseudo Microsoft warning: "You have malware; call our number..." There were several flashing banners, etc. I shut the computer down; rebooted; cleaned cache; etc. I didn't get the scam from the Walmart website, did I? Microsoft's website says this is a common scam currently, and my Malwarebytes didn't catch it. Neither did AVG. Did this piggyback something? Is it a time release program? I was on Zillow, Freerepublic, 3 gun forums, etc. thnx

Andrew Cuomo used iPhone troubleshooting excuses to get close to two of the women accusing him of sexual harassment and misconduct, a report said Sunday. Cuomo, 63, has been accused in recent weeks of inappropriate behavior or remarks by seven women, five of them current or former staffers including Charlotte Bennett and a publicly-unidentified woman alleging that the governor reached under her blouse and groped her. Both of those women say they found themselves summoned into one-on-one situations with the governor after he asked for help resolving similar technical issues with his smartphone, according to an Albany Times Union report...

MAYBE IF I PRINT EVERYTHING IN CAPS?On Call With the impending weekend comes another tale of courageous souls dispensing the balm of technical knowhow to those who know not. Welcome to On Call. This week's Regomised reader is "John", who spent long decades at the sharp, pointy end of technical support. His story takes us back a quarter of a century, to the headquarters of a national agency where he was the sole technical support person and tasked with keeping everything ticking over, from Novell servers to those newfangled Windows 95 desktops. "I had one client," he told us, "who...

Operators of Tech Support Scam Settle FTC Charges Details Written by IVN Category: National News Published: 20 June 2016 Washington, DC - The defendants behind Vast Tech Support have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission and State of Florida charges that they scammed thousands of consumers out of millions of dollars by selling them bogus technical support services. Under the settlement, Vast Tech Support, LLC and OMG Tech Help, LLC and their chief operating officer, Mark Donohue are prohibited from misleading consumers about the nature of the products they sell or market, as well as from deceptive telemarketing. In addition,...

Phone Scam ‘Onslaught’ Has Authorities Scrambling 5/27/2016 Telephone scammers posing as tech support, lottery reps or even government officials are inundating U.S. homes as cheap technology and the rapid rise in Internet access globally makes it easier to set up ..

May 19, 2016 FTC expands tech support fraud lawsuit Keith Griffin The Federal Trade Commission has added three new defendants to an ongoing case against a tech support scam with ties to Connecticut. The scheme allegedly bilked consumers out of tens of millions of dollars by pretending to represent Microsoft, Apple, and other major tech companies. Back in November, the Connecticut attorney general's office joined in the FTC action along with the state of Pennsylvania in a request to shut down a tech support scam operating out of Essex and two locations in Pennsylvania that allegedly scammed consumers out of...

So I noticed a bunch of people have been able to find the trick to getting to FR using the IP in their browser, but can't log in. Here's a step-by-step guide for Windows on how to log in. NOTE: You need to be an administrator on your machine. You don't have to do anything scary, but you need admin privileges to do the following simple task in step 1. Step 1: Open Notepad as Administrator Navigate to Notepad. If you don't have a shortcut handy you can just click the Windows Start button (or in Windows 8+ just press...

State AG sues major tech support provider alleging deceptive scam By Connie Thompson Wednesday, December 16th 2015 State investigators just sued one of the rising stars in the tech-support industry claiming part of the operation is based on a scam. The company, called iYogi, is accused of tricking people into paying for tech support services they don't need. According to investigators iYogi engaged in a different twist on the notorious tech support scams where someone call you claiming your computer has problems. What's significant in this case is workers don't call you, you call them. And iYogi is one of...

Sure, searching Google and YouTube is often helpful for finding answers to your technical problems. But your laptop manufacturer offers tech support, and you should be able to count on it for accurate answers. Based on our extensive undercover testing online and over the phone, Apple emerged as the clear winner for the second time in a row. Microsoft, a newcomer to our Tech Support Showdown with its Surface line, was an impressive runner-up. We take a comprehensive approach to rating the 10 major laptop brands. Do the support teams know their stuff? Are they pushy about selling you something?...

Ok all my desktop(Gateway) died last week and it will be awhile before I will be able to get a replacement(we are looking a Dell Desktop), anyway we have an ASUS Laptop that will have to do for now and I am looking at either a Print Server for printing or getting a whole new wireless Printer, any suggestions/recommendations?

Need advice on upgrading from Windows XP to Windows 7

Nearly all of the ATMs in the world are running the Windows XP operating system, introduced by Microsoft 13 years ago—and incredibly out of date, as any tech enthusiast will tell you. On April 8, Microsoft will officially end the tech support for the aging OS, which was replaced by Windows Vista in 2007, Windows 7 in 2009, Windows 8 in 2012 and Windows 8.1 in 2013. […] If an ATM isn’t upgraded, it will continue to function, experts said. Withdrawals, deposits, and other transactions will work as they did before. But the machines will be more vulnerable to cyber...

I am in need of technical support. I am registered on my State Board, Florida, and have always received forum messages at the top of my Latest Articles page. Without having made any changes, I am no longer receiving Local/Florida messages anywhere. Is anyone else having this same problem or can someone assist me in figuring out why I'm not longer receiving these messages?

I tried to print a document, and the computer won't print. I checked "printers" in the Windows XP that I'm using, and the printer icons (there are at least 3) are gone. It's just a empty page. When I try to add a computer, I receive the following message: "Operation could not be completed. The print spooler service is not running." I don't know what caused my icons to up and disappear. I reloaded the printer software on one printer, and the message indicated that I already have the printer installed so I told the computer to reload the software....

Hello....all of a sudden my Outlook 2003 will not download my emails from my Comcast.net server! I can send email to the server, but it will not retrieve it. I also have my Hotmail downloaded to my Outlook and that sends and receives with no problem. I am getting this error message from Outlook. Anyone know what it could be? I shut down Zonealarm and it didn't help. Also, comcast has recently updated their online mail program like 2 days ago.

I need some help with a new computer purchase. I'm going to be replacing my almost seven year old computer (1 gz Athlon processor) and would like some advice from Freepers who know PCs. My general philosophy on PC purchases over the years has been to invest in a higher-end processor in a new computer and then plan to do mid-life upgrades on other components over the years. I've had great luck with my HP Pavilion and probably will look first at an HP mail order custom build, starting with one of their media center PCs. That being said, I...

I am trying to run W2K SP3, installed some camera software. Now, when I am in Outlook Express, stupid Narrator keeps starting and making my keyboard basically useless. Anybody know WTF is going on? If I'm not disabled, and I can't figure out how to control it, then how does a disabled person do it? Whatta buncha junk. And please, spare me the Linux cheerleading. Linux is nice to play with if you have the time. But the mainframe system I administer comes on 14 cd's. So I ain't got the time!

Having problems with my new PC Again.About a month ago I bought a HP Media PC, it has an AMD64x2, 2gigs RAM, 500gig HD with WindowsXP Media edition. I am hard wired to my router and am using SBC Yahoo DSL with 2374.9 kbps on my last seed test. I am having problems with streaming videos, they are choppy and keep freezing. My laptop, with a P4 mobile and only 512 MB Ram connected to the same router plays fine. I am taking several classes on-line and it is really annoying trying to watch videos for the class. I don't mind...

Have an Acer laptop with battery problems, I think. Have fresh windows xp home and the problem still exists.

"You are privileged to be an American" I just heard these words from an unexpected source. I had called for technical support regarding my wireless router. I had to wait for a computer function to run, and while I waited the young man I was speaking with asked where I was from. From my "accent" he had guessed that I was an American, and I confirmed to him that I was. That is when I heard those words, and they are so true. He said that some people would be willing to kill to get here if necessary. He spoke...