Compudoc Computer Repair

This scam is gone on for a few years now, but after receiving a few calls from customers lately concerning this scam, I thought I would write a quick blog post about it to let people know about it. The scammer will call you on the phone and tell you that your computer is infected or has other problems that they can see from their end.  They will tell you that they work either with or for Microsoft and that they need to help you out. Next the scammer will direct you to go to a website to download software to give them remote access to your computer. Beware, once this is done, they have access to your computer and can do whatever they want to it including damage or system files or steal valuable information from you!!  Once they have access to your computer they will usually go into the event viewer and tell you that all the items in the event viewer our virus files or driver problems with your computer. They will then convince you that your computer will crash soon unless it is repaired. Next they will offer to either sell you security software or some kind of maintenance plan to take care the computer. This here is the scam, at this point not only do they have full control of your computer at any time, but now they want to sell you useless software that will not fix your computer!

Microsoft, or no other company, has the access needed to your computer to know if you have a virus or other problems. Microsoft or no other company will ever call you if you have problems with your computer. If you receive a phone call like this, hang up immediately. They can be quite resilient with these calls and have been known to call frequently, do not deal with them at all. 

If you have been a victim to this or any other scams by phone or through the Internet, you should have a computer repair tech to a full reinstall on your computer, this is the only way to make sure that nothing was left behind by the scammer. If you need help with desktop or laptop computer repair in Phoenix AZ or in Glendale AZ,  www.azcompudoc.com  

Adobe and Java are two of the most exploited entry points for virus writers and hackers to attempt to infect your computer with a virus or spyware and malware.  Unfortunately, to surf the internet easily and have all pictures and text on those pages display correctly, you need Adobe flash player and/or Java.  The good part is that both Adobe and Java work around the clock issuing updates to plug the holes that hackers use to gain access of your computer through Adobe and Java.  That makes these updates extremely important to your computers safety!  Although both Adobe and Java’s default settings are to inform you when there are updates available, I’ve seen on many occasions where no notice is given, yet updates are available.

For Adobe updates, simply go to www.adobe.comand click on the get flash player.  While your there, make sure you have the newest version of Adobe reader as well if thats what you use for pdf’s.

For Java updates, go to your control panel, click the java icon, and click the update tab at the top, then select “update now”.

I would recommend to check for updates at least monthly, if not more often.  We always perform these updates during our Basic Tune Up service.  For any questions on Adobe or Java updates or general computer repair issues, see us at www.azcompudoc.com for computer repair in Phoenix Arizona.

We hear alot of customers telling us that they keep up on the maintenance of thier computer by “cleaning the cookies”.  This does help the speed of your browsing as a buildup of cookies and temp files and slow down the internet browsing and cause errors.  What CCleaner is, is a temp file, cookie cleaner and much more on steroids!  CCleaner will clean out unneeded temp files, cookies, urls, download histories, and much more from all of your favorite browsers.  This includes Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Apple Safari.  CCleaner then goes the extra mile by cleaning out temp files used in other web related software like Adobe, media players, toolbars, messengers and more. 

The interface is easy to use, just make sure youre running the newest version by checking for an update or setting CCleaner to check for updates automatically.  Then by using the default tab for “cleaner” just click “analyze” and let it run.  Then click “run cleaner” and youre done!  I run this every day on my computer for fast speeds.  It can also clean out temp files used by viruses to infect your computer, so if you get some crazy popups, run ccleaner afterwards along with a virus scan to make sure your computer stays clean.

CCleaner also has a registry cleaner with it as well.  We don’t reccommend for our customers to use registry cleaners and they can cause major issues if all does not go well.  That said, weve never had an issue to date with CCleaners registry cleaner, but use any registry cleaner at your own risk.  CCleaner also offers to back up your registry before cleaning so that you can restore incase of an error, but keep in mind, many registry errors can cause a computer not to boot, therefore causing a backup to be unhelpful.  CCleaner also has a tools tab, but this is another area a general user should not use or they may damage thier computer.  As long as the general user keeps CCleaner on the default “cleaner” tab, you can keep your system cleaner and not cause any harm to your computer.

As an all around temp file, cookie, and file cleaner, CCleaner is one of our favorites.  You can download CCleaner here.  If you have a virus or popups that are out of control, we can help you at www.azcompudoc.com