GEEKNOTE: Remote Support?

An interesting article came across my screen today.  It is a well written article about someone purporting to be "Microsoft Support" calling to tell folks that their computers are infected and, for a fee, Microsoft can clean them up.  Needless to say, this is a scam.  You can read the article here:  http://ow.ly/iFWOU

Remote support options are very real and can be quite convenient.  We have a five figure budget annually for the tools that let us help customers without having to drive to the customers' sites or have the customers bring their machines in to our shop.

A perfect example from last week was a customer who bought a new computer for his office.  He has an employee who works on Quickbooks billing from home, so she needs to be able to connect remotely.  Knowing that the new machine was going to need a few tweaks to get everything working correctly, I installed a remote control agent on the new computer and then used it to access the machine and modify some settings so that the person working from home could access the new office machine.  I actually had both the home and the office machines set up for remote control at the same time so that I could see exactly what was happening on both sides of the connection we were trying to set up.  Using remote control software worked great.  The customer got the setup he wanted and I didn't have to drive all over creation trying to get everything talking.  This saved the customer a significant amout of money.

Let's separate the legitimate remote support options from the bogus ones.  Obviously, red flags should go up the moment you get a call from a total stranger telling you that your computer is infected and offering to fix it for a fee.

It IS possible that your ISP (Brighthouse or Verizon) might contact you and tell you that you've got an infected computer.  They will typically tell you that you need to get the computer cleaned up.  Call your favority computer company and ask them to verify the problem and fix it.

If your company machines are covered under a managed service agreement, then it is entirely possible that the IT company responsible for keeping your machines running will let you know when a given machine develops a problem.  We get regular alerts on the computers we monitor and can often jump in and fix a buggy machine before things get too far out of hand.

Microsoft and it's partners, on the other hand, absolutely positively NEVER make calls out of the blue to computer owners like you.  They have no way of knowing that you have an infected computer.

A number of national firms advertise on TV that they can speed up your computer and do other stuff if you will let them install remote control software on your computer.   Be VERY careful.  At least one of these firms paid a multi-million dollar settlement in a class action suit last year that was filed because of their billing and other practices.  In my experience, the machines that have had these "speed ups" installed invariably work worse as a result.

What should you do regarding remote support options?  My recommendation is that you develop a good relationship with a reliable local computer company.  To the extent that they have remote support options available for their customers, take advantage of one of those options.  If things don't work out, you can always jump in the car and take the machine in for service by the same tech you talked to on the phone.

Be leary of the pitches you see on TV and do NOT let anyone who cold calls you have access to your computer.

As always, feel free to drop me a note or give me a call if you have any questions about your computer or the Internet.

Rob Marlowe, Senior Geek, Gulfcoast Networking, Inc.
http://www.gulfcoastnetworking.com

(Rob also serves as deputy mayor of the City of New Port Richey. Opinions expressed here are his own and do not necessarily represent the position of the city.)