Computer House Calls

Many times during the past year I've answered the phone for work and heard the voice of frustration from a victim of the fake Microsft tech support call. What is happing is detailed in the following link to How To Geek, https://www.howtogeek.com/176605/tell-your-relatives-no-microsoft-wont-call-you-about-your-computer/ Basically, a call center or individuals who pretend to be a call center will call and tell you your PC is infected. Sadly, who they call is based on your age, and by the way Microsoft does not call people who have PC viruses. Another interesting take on this is that Microsoft Windows is installed on 1.2 billion computers worldwide, so they cannot physically contact their customers via live phone even if they wanted to. Next, they have you sit down at your computer and get a free evaluation which turns into a "computer clean up" for hundreds or thousands via credit cards or Pay Pal or money transfer at a local super market. They may quote you a small amount for a years service, but later it is much much higher when the bill shows up. The whole thing is fake, the person calling is not from Microsoft, the person who connects to your computer is not a repair person, the person who installs the fake or real antivirus or "tune up" software is a scam, the person who takes the funds is a scam, and the person who calls next year for a higher amount is fake too. Be aware of this scam and tell others, especially our elderly who may not be tech savvy. If this happens to you then call your banking institution and explain the situation to have it reversed as soon as you can. I've prompted many of my customers to do the same after a fake Microsoft call and saved then thousands of dollars. If you feel your computer was compromised due to a virus or scam software please call Computer House Calls.

In my job as a Computer Technician I hear some questions more than others, here is one that I hear often. "Do I need to turn off my computer off at night?". Well in most cases, if it is a newer computer, then the answer is that you don't need to. It can be very convenient to just move the mouse or hit a key and do a web search on a big computer screen. Most newer computers are energy star certified and consume very little to any energy when in sleep mode. I do also mention that if the computer is in an area that has temperature extremes such as a barn or garage then leaving it on is important for another reason. In that case, the fan will keep it at even temperature and just having electricity running in sleep mode will keep temps constant. Computer components don't like big temperature extremes. Personally I shut off my main office Desktop as the bigger fans I use are noisy but do a good job, but I keep my laptop in sleep mode so its ready to go when I am. Hope this info helps, and happy computing. Please call us for any computer work, we would be happy to help! Computerhousecallschico.com