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I get a cold call from a guy who says he's going to save me from a virus!!!

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IndyColtsFan said:
Wow, you must not be trolling then. It's OK, there's help for you:

51giECP%2BxKL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg


P.S. I hope you get a clue and can spot obvious scams from now on.
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I clicked on the picture and nothing happened . :'(
 
Muse said:
Dude I wasn't joking and the only reason I ran the damn download is the first two responders in this thread said, basically:

1. Sounds legit
2. What do you have to lose?
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I was one of those two posters. I wouldn't do or say anything to actually cause harm or misfortune to anyone, so you have my sincere apologies.

That said, I'm stunned that you did this. Stunned. When you were a kid and the guy in the van offered you some candy, did you take it???
 
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You're a lifer and you havent picked up on ATOT sarcasm? If you created a thread that stated you were thinking of drinking a gallon of bleach, the first few (dozen) responses would say "do it". You know this!!
 
Puppies04 said:
I really want to say a few things but there was a don't feed the troll sign so I'm going to have to pass....

On a related note, my brother in laws business partner is a real joker and spent 10 minutes on the phone with some indian sounding guy who was telling him there was a serious security problem with his windows instalation while he repeatedly told him that he had just had new double glazing fitted they were all locked.
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HAW!
:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

That is mean but fun to do...
 
Those guys call my 60+ parents all the time and if they didn't promptly call me they probably would have been duped.
 
Mxylplyx said:
You're a lifer and you havent picked up on ATOT sarcasm? If you created a thread that stated you were thinking of drinking a gallon of bleach, the first few (dozen) responses would say "do it". You know this!!
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Dude, dig this I started the thread while I was talking non stop with this guy with a fucked up accent. I didn't have time to check shit out. Fuck the assholes with their sarcasm, they can jump in a shit hole and drown in it.
 
William Gaatjes said:
I do not know if sygate personal firewall software will work with Windows 7.
Perhaps other posters may have possible alternatives ?

And even if it is a troll post, this thread is still valuable for people who do not know about reverse social engineering ad why not to provide security information to an unknown person on the phone...
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Does anyone seriously think I'm pulling their leg here, that I didn't really get that call? If so, they're pathetic.
 
Mxylplyx said:
You're a lifer and you havent picked up on ATOT sarcasm? If you created a thread that stated you were thinking of drinking a gallon of bleach, the first few (dozen) responses would say "do it". You know this!!
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This was not bleach, this was a guy (me) asking for help. Fuck the assholes who fanned on it. Thanks to those who actually have tried to help me with this. If I'd gotten a reasonable response when I first asked for it it would have saved me a lot of trouble, and I'm not done yet.
 
Muse said:
You are full of shit and a phony.
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Please explain. Trust me, if a guy had called me and told me to install something, I would've hung up. Are you aware of the term "social engineering"?

Muse said:
Does anyone seriously think I'm pulling their leg here, that I didn't really get that call? If so, they're pathetic.
Click to expand...

Pretty much everyone thought you were joking around. We didn't think you were being serious.
 
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Muse said:
This was not bleach, this was a guy (me) asking for help. Fuck the assholes who fanned on it. Thanks to those who actually have tried to help me with this. If I'd gotten a reasonable response when I first asked for it it would have saved me a lot of trouble, and I'm not done yet.
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General Hardware/Computer Help is more suited for questions like your original one. Years of reading (and enjoying) ATOT has taught me that loads of parody threads, shitposting and trolling tends to elicit terrible advice from people.

Chalk it up to a lesson learned.
 
cirrhosis said:
General Hardware/Computer Help is more suited for questions like your original one. Years of reading (and enjoying) ATOT has taught me that loads of parody threads, shitposting and trolling tends to elicit terrible advice from people.

Chalk it up to a lesson learned.
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Good point but the bad news is you are still feeding it....
 
Muse said:
I think I'm maybe going to too much trouble to start from scratch here, even a new HD, I mean, come on...

I have the Win7 install disk, could start over, but I have a ton of stuff installed, it would be a load of work. I will check some stuff and monitor the situation, if it seems fishy, I can do that stuff. Right now I have no reason to believe that this app didn't just give they some control of my mouse and display some stuff on my screen. I saw nothing installed in Uninstall Programs, I did restore to the last known good configuration when I booted it the first time after the shutdown, but the updates that Windows had installed (they were pending a shutdown, I normally just put the machine in suspend) persisted. I did Windows update and there were only a couple of optional updates that I wanted, which I did and rebooted. I'll run a full scan with MSE, probably run that linked app that checks my ports and play it by ear, unless someone gets my attention with some better ideas.

My _guess_ is these guys don't have some sophisticated malware thing going, they just have an app that's designed to help convince someone that their computer has a serious problem and they get them to pay a fee to have it fixed. They say the problem's fixed and that's the end of it.

Oh, I won't let anyone get to first base with me next time. At worst, I'll tell them I'm real busy, call me back in an hour and I'll check if there's a big virus thing going on.
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All that lost time spent reinstalling the OS and the programs that you already have on your computer should be an object lesson on trusting people who cold call you telling you to install something on your computer.

Seriously if it is malware on your computer and the people who called you are smart they'd just have it do nothing on your computer for a little while until your suspicions were put to rest.

There are accounts of malware being able to infect hardware beyond the HD
http://www.symantec.com/connect/blogs/bios-threat-showing-again

Chances are you got bit.

I'm being harsh with you because you just did a very foolish thing and you need to not do it ever again. If you're not conscious of computer security you're hurting a lot of other computer users if your machine becomes part of a bot net.

Don't shop or bank online until you fix the machine.
 
cirrhosis said:
General Hardware/Computer Help is more suited for questions like your original one. Years of reading (and enjoying) ATOT has taught me that loads of parody threads, shitposting and trolling tends to elicit terrible advice from people.

Chalk it up to a lesson learned.
Click to expand...
I've been here since 2001. I was on the phone with this guy and needed an almost instant response, an honest one. OK, I know that ATOT has issues with people being flippant and not taking you seriously, but I knew it was my best bet for an almost instant response. I couldn't wait 5 minutes.
 
Muse said:
Does anyone seriously think I'm pulling their leg here, that I didn't really get that call? If so, they're pathetic.
Click to expand...

Well, the problem with these kinds of anonymous communications (the forum)
is that it is difficult to asses the situation. There is a lack of non verbal communication (even intonation)that could give a troll away. How many people can be dead serious non stop !

See it like this, from this thread there is a lot to be learned. In many ways.
Some IT security guys might even discover a solution, a new opportunity to sell an improved form of security to people and companies.

Addendum :
I hope i have helped to clarify some possible problem that could arise with obviously good hearted people who are not paranoid all the time that people are out to get them... People like you. be thankful that you are such a person. :thumbsup:
 
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Muse said:
I've been here since 2001. I was on the phone with this guy and needed an almost instant response, an honest one. OK, I know that ATOT has issues with people being flippant and not taking you seriously, but I knew it was my best bet for an almost instant response. I couldn't wait 5 minutes.
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again god you are dumb.

wtf dude was there a fire or something, did the guy offer you a million bucks to act NOW!!!? of course you could have waited.
 
blankslate said:
All that lost time spent reinstalling the OS and the programs that you already have on your computer should be an object lesson on trusting people who cold call you telling you to install something on your computer.

Seriously if it is malware on your computer and the people who called you are smart they'd just have it do nothing on your computer for a little while until your suspicions were put to rest.

There are accounts of malware being able to infect hardware beyond the HD
http://www.symantec.com/connect/blogs/bios-threat-showing-again

Chances are you got bit.

I'm being harsh with you because you just did a very foolish thing and you need to not do it ever again. If you're not conscious of computer security you're hurting a lot of other computer users if your machine becomes part of a bot net.

Don't shop or bank online until you fix the machine.
Click to expand...

Best advise at the moment.
 
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