Another call claiming to be "Windows Tech Support" and that there was a problem with licensing. Put them off, and asked them to call back in an hour, which they did - this time claiming there was a network attack in progress. They first wanted to use the "TeamBuilder" remote access/control service, which we refused to do. They then were willing to 'talk us through' steps to fix the alleged attack. First step was to run "netstat" from a command prompt which was to allegedly prove there were Foreign Addresses attacking the computer (there are always a few random foreign addresses pinging firewall ports). They then had the program "syskey" launched which opens the SAM Lock Tool (which accesses Windows Security Database, etc.) and to enable the password "z123". At some point Windows rebooted and came up in a Critical Error state and tried to Restore itself to a previous state. Meanwhile the guy passed the call to "his supervisor" who was even more adamant in his instructions, to whit, to shut down the machine before the Restore finished, then turn it back on. At this point Windows would not boot up at all (no monitor signal, no keyboard lights).. He then claimed THEY were having a network problem on their end, and to call him right back at 888-414-9821 and to ask for 'Erick', and then hung up. At this point, we pulled out our network connection & disabled Wifi, and Windows eventually fixed itself. They called back repeatedly from 888-441-9603 until we blocked the number unanswered. I suggest you be very careful with these guys as anyone can say any words making any claim without any evidence of truthfulness. It's suspected they try to infiltrate machines while in vulnerable unprotected states, and could have indeed been one of those "Foreign Addresses" waiting to slip through the firewall...
Another call claiming to be "Windows Tech Support" and that there was a problem with licensing. Put them off, and asked them to call back in an hour, which they did - this time claiming there was a network attack in progress. They first wanted to use the "TeamBuilder" remote access/control service, which we refused to do. They then were willing to 'talk us through' steps to fix the alleged attack. First step was to run "netstat" from a command prompt which was to allegedly prove there were Foreign Addresses attacking the computer (there are always a few random foreign addresses pinging firewall ports). They then had the program "syskey" launched which opens the SAM Lock Tool (which accesses Windows Security Database, etc.) and to enable the password "z123". At some point Windows rebooted and came up in a Critical Error state and tried to Restore itself to a previous state. Meanwhile the guy passed the call to "his supervisor" who was even more adamant in his instructions, to whit, to shut down the machine before the Restore finished, then turn it back on. At this point Windows would not boot up at all (no monitor signal, no keyboard lights).. He then claimed THEY were having a network problem on their end, and to call him right back at 888-414-9821 and to ask for 'Erick', and then hung up. At this point, we pulled out our network connection & disabled Wifi, and Windows eventually fixed itself. They called back repeatedly from 888-441-9603 until we blocked the number unanswered. I suggest you be very careful with these guys as anyone can say any words making any claim without any evidence of truthfulness. It's suspected they try to infiltrate machines while in vulnerable unprotected states, and could have indeed been one of those "Foreign Addresses" waiting to slip through the firewall...
Caller type: Scammer
Number: 888-441-9603
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