remote access

Windows 8.1 users should make sure to install an emergency patch just released by Microsoft. The company rates the risk as critical based more on the potential consequences than the risk of exploitation. The bug is patched with a security update ... that has the reference KB4578013. It affects all versions of Windows 8.1 along with Windows Server 2012. The bug doesn't affect Windows 10. In theory it could affect Windows 7 and earlier, but Microsoft no longer patches those systems as they are no longer supported. (Source: microsoft.com ) The fix comes in an "out of band security update", commonly ... (view more)

Microsoft and Sophos have warned users to watch out for emails which claim to offer statistics about the COVID-19 pandemic. They actually harbor a combination of malware and legitimate tools that could easily be abused by a hacker. The emails in ... question have subject lines such as "Covid-19: [May 22] horrible Charts", claim to come from legitimate sources such as John Hopkins University, and have an attachment that's billed as a spreadsheet file with statistics about deaths and infections. (Source: twitter.com ) Malicious Macro The attachment does indeed have an Excel file, but the problem is ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Kathleen S. writes: " Dear Dennis, I really need your help! I have been scammed by fake PayPal technical support . Here's how it happened: beginning some time in March, 2019, I received invoices from PayPal claiming that I paid ... for some kind of technical support for my computer. I have no recollection of this, so up until now I've kept deleting the emails, thinking they were sent in error. Flash forward to January 8, 2020, and I received another message stating that if I don't pay the original invoice ($399), I'm going to be charged an additional ' $500 late fee ,' and ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Daniel B. writes: " Dear Dennis, I wanted to pass along this message to let your readers know of a new and incredibly convincing fake Norton email renewal scam involving Norton Antivirus and Lifelock. I received two emails today ... (from two different email addresses) with a special promotion to 'upgrade' my Norton Antivirus and Lifelock with an enticing 67% discount off the retail price. The emails are incredibly convincing, unless of course you are knowledgeable enough to realize it's a scam. If you click on a link to read more or to buy the product, it will lead you to a ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Steve T. writes: " Dear Dennis, I own a Seagate 4 Bay NAS (network attached storage) and I forgot my admin password. The admin user allows me to create and delete network shares, plus a lot of other options - which, as I recall, ... are currently missing from the NAS control panel. I've tried resetting my password from the NAS web control panel, which then takes me to the Seagate website, but this hasn't restored full admin access to my account. I don't know what to do! I need access to this part of the control panel so I can make some configuration changes. Can you help? " My ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Jeanie G. writes: " Dear Dennis, I believe I have been scammed by Quick PC Experts ( quickpcexpert.com ). I was using my web browser and suddenly a virus warning appeared on my screen, stating that I needed to call Microsoft ... certified support at 1-855-724-2570 . There was no way for me to close the virus alert window. I was very frightened and so I called the 1-800 number. The person I spoke to had a very thick Indian accent . Quick PC Expert then confirmed that my computer was infected, and that's when I let them remotely connect to my PC. They installed a firewall and ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Bill H. writes: " Dear Dennis, I was on Amazon.com and suddenly a warning message appeared, stating that my PC was infected with a virus and to call 1-866-666-1917 to fix the problem. There was no way to close the window. I called ... the number and spoke to a fellow at Smart PC Experts ( smartpcexperts.com ), who had a very thick Indian accent . They convinced me that my PC was infected with the Zeus Trojan and it needed to be fixed. I allowed them remote access to my machine and they installed some software. After that, they demanded $499 as payment for their services. I was ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Abdul M. writes: " Dear Dennis, A few weeks ago my computer gave me a warning message that I was infected with virus and that I needed to call 1 800 208 0798 to fix the problem. The man I spoke to had an Indian accent and said he ... was from Microsoft. He then connected to my computer and removed the virus, then demanded $199 payment which I paid. He then forwarded me to another security specialist, who examined my system and said that my firewall was broken and it would cost another $350 to fix it. If I didn't pay it, he said hackers would attack my computer . At this point I ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Elliot D. writes: " Dear Dennis, I'm reaching out to you because I've been scammed by Live PC Experts (livepcexpert.com). Back in February this year an error message appeared, stating that my computer was infected and I needed to ... call 855 631 4214 to fix it. The tech I spoke with had a very thick Indian accent and said my computer was infected with the Zeus Trojan. They then offered me a 5 year support contract for $500 and said they would fix the problem; that was in February this year. I paid them by check because they said my credit card was being attacked by hackers and ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Gord F. writes: " Dear Dennis, I have heard from the media and some friends that I should reboot my router due to Russian malware that is infecting routers. I have done some research on the subject and the story made headlines ... back around May 29, 2018, followed by more updates to suggest that the VPNFilter Router Malware is much worse than originally thought. I have checked and mine does not seem to be on the list of affected routers. What should I do now? " My response: From what I understand, the VPNFilter Router Malware affects routers made by Cisco and Linksys, MikroTik ... (view more)