iYogi is a scam.

So this isn’t really new news, but I felt it deserving of my attention. 

You may have heard of, or even have been a victim of iYogi “Technical Support”. Several clients have come to me with different stories, whether it be “This stupid iYogi thing won’t go away” or “No, I couldn’t possibly be infected because I am protected by iYogi.” So here’s the breakdown of what you need to know about iYogi without going into too much detail (because, believe me – there’s A TON of material on these guys).

iYogi is a remote tech support company based in Gurgaon, India which once provided end-user support for major tech companies like Dell and Microsoft. Avast, one of the companies iYogi provided support for, began receiving complaints from customers reporting that iYogi was using support calls to aggressively sell annual subscriptions by telling them their computers were compromised when, in fact, they weren't.

Since that time, iYogi has been sued by multiple organizations, individuals and even by the state of Washington for alleged illegal business practices to pressure consumers into buying unnecessary software. Dell, along with other major tech corporations have dropped them and Avast issued refunds to their customers and also jumped ship.

Many people have since received phone calls (usually from India) from people claiming they are from Microsoft to alert users that their computer is infected. They then try to gain remote access to your computer, and if you allow them, will proceed to tell you that your machine is riddled with infections.

I have had customers report that they have spent upwards of $200 with these phone calls before realizing it was a scam. Though these calls are not all from iYogi, they do participate in these aggressive, scareware-esque tactics.

Doing a Google search will yield (aside from a ton of fake websites that all redirect to iYogi’s page) a ton of negative press from both individuals and major businesses such as Consumer Affairs and several posts on the Norton forums regarding scams. According to many customers on the Norton forums site, iYogi is claiming to sell their services with Norton, implying a relationship between the companies and a sort of bundled deal. Norton officials have stressed on several occasions that they hold no relationship with the software.

Even before reading up on iYogi, I could tell that the software installed on my client’s computers was not to be trusted. This all really goes back to my articles on MyCleanPC and PCMatic, but the difference here is the tactics used to sell the same kind of software. These people are praying on innocent ignorance and borderline threatening people into buying their junk software. 

So if you ever get a phone call out of nowhere from some angry Indian guy who says your computer is going to explode, call a technician. Call me at 617-396-7044 and check out my website at MooreITHelp.com

PCMatic - Scam or Legit?

PCMatic.com

As soon as I saw this commercial, I was instantly reminded of the MyCleanPC and/or MaxMySpeed programs. I wrote a blog entry about it awhile back and it has actually gotten quite a few hits: http://mooreithelp.blogspot.com/2012/07/mycleanpccom-scam-or-legit.html

I’ve been meaning to write something regarding all these programs which claim to magically and quickly fix all your computer problems. Not only do these programs usually cost half of what real Internet Security programs cost, they claim that they will even make repairs and tune up a computer, making it run faster than ever. Many of them, including PC Pitstop PC Matic, claim that you will “never get a virus again” which is impossible. These registry cleaners and optimizers claim to speed up your computer by finding and removing orphaned and corrupt registry entries that are responsible for slowing down system performance. Unfortunately, the fact is that there is no statistical evidence to back such claims. These advertisements are borderline scams intended to goad users into using an unnecessary and potential dangerous product. I would not trust any results such programs detect as problematic or needing repair nor recommend using the options to fix them.

The registry is a crucial component of Windows, storing information and settings for all hardware, software, users, and preferences - basically the makeup of the Windows Operating System, to a degree. So, these programs which can aggressively scan and make violent changes to this system can render the system inoperable. Some may argue that these registry cleaners are required for specific types of infections, and that is true. However, improperly removing registry entries can make the removal process more difficult if your computer becomes infected. Removing malware related registry entries before the infection is properly identified (and steps taken to remove said infection) can contribute to system instability and even make the malware undetectable to removal tools.

I could delve into benchmark testing and detailed explanations as to how PCMatic and programs like it are basically advertising bold faced lies, and how its promises and "features" are borderline impossible, but to be frank - its not worth it. This program is just like all the other magic wands. Quickly, if you are willing to dig around the PC Matic web site, you will eventually find information about Super Shield, the proprietary real-time technology component to PC Matic. That page goes into a little detail about their use of a "white list" approach in addition to a "black list". Not mentioned is the company's use and explanation of its heuristic and behavioral detection technology. Aside from the numerous complaints filed against the company, the vendor's website doesn't specifically say how the product “protects against modern security threats”. They also fail to tell customers that their product has high false positive rates.

Expecting results similar to the MyCleanPC.com scams, I didn’t bother to do a scan on a test system like I did in MyCleanPC.com - Scam or Legit. I did, however, find that someone did it for me and it was exactly as I expected. Joe53 of SpywareHammer.com reported that the program found hundreds of "bad" registry entries on his system (which was working perfectly well), that his system had TCP connection problems (when he had no internet connection problems), extreme fragmentation of his hard drive (despite his regular use of Diskeeper), identified his System Restore files as "junk files", and suggested he delete them and identified that all his internet settings (HTTP, TCP, DNS et.al.) as needing to be optimized (despite the fact that SpeedTest measurements showed his connection and ping times to be well within parameters.)

Now,

Many people are starting to say that most of the negative press is from several years ago and that PCMatic has been perfecting itself over the past 4 years or so. To that, I respond with this very same article. The fact remains that this is a PRODUCT that claims to fix all your computer problems! It's half the price of a traditional, reputable AV and yet claims that it will not only REPLACE your Antivirus program, but that you will never get a virus again! The features and claims are so ridiculously silly, its not even worth a detailed examination. 

The Windows 10 Update We've Been Waiting For

Windows 10 seems to be getting off on a rocky start. Some of my clients are experiencing no problems at all and are loving the new Windows experience while others are having so many problems they cant even use their computers and may have to downgrade. As I have explained to a few of my clients, I am confident that a series of updates will be released to solve these problems.

Windows 10 Version 1511 cumulative update (KB3118754) was recently released and is a step in the right direction. The update fixes a lot of problems with Windows 10. Microsoft is streamlining activation, restoring colored window title bars, integrating Skype, and improving the Edge browser.

New Activation Methodology

I personally did not have any trouble activating Windows 10, but if you are or did - that's been changed too. When it was originally released, Microsoft didn’t really explain how the upgrade process worked. Activation now works as it should have originally. When you install Windows 10, you can enter your PC’s Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 product key and it should activate properly if that PC was eligible for the upgrade. The “digital entitlement” process — where your PC activates automatically without entering a product key — is also better explained. Under Settings > Upgrade & security > Activation, you’ll now see “Windows 10 on this device is activated with a digital entitlement” if it activated without requiring a product key.

Colored Title Bars! WOOO!

If you were part of the many who were put off by the standard white title bars, you can now go to Settings > Personalization > Colors and switch on “Show color on Start, taskbar, action center, and title bar”. The color you choose here will be used for your title bars.

Ads on the Start Menu

You might notice the small and innocuous "Suggestions" section of the start menu, recommending apps you should install when you open it. If you don't much care for it, you can easily disable these ads, if you like. Visit Settings > Personalization > Start and disable the “Occasionally show suggestions in Start” option. I'm hoping that this is a continuing trend for Microsoft in response to the bad press Windows 10 has gotten with regards to privacy and a lack of options preventing troubling background activities.

Track Your Lost PC

Windows 10 now includes a “Find My Device” option under Settings > Update & security. This means Windows 10 finally has built-in tracking, so you can track your laptop or tablet if you lose it via GPS and location services. Much like the Windows phone, you can also tell Windows 10 to periodically send your device’s location to Microsoft’s servers, allowing you to view its last known location if you ever lose it.

Edge Gains Browser Sync and Tab Previews

The big two user-facing features are tab previews — just mouse over a tab in the titlebar — and syncing of your favorites and reading list across all your Windows 10 devices.

Microsoft Edge won’t be receiving browser extensions yet, however — those have been delayed. And, interestingly enough, Microsoft isn’t updating Edge via the Store as originally promised. Edge updates seem to be held back for major new versions of Windows 10, unlike Windows 10’s other included apps, which are updated more regularly.

The Windows 10 Background on the Login Screen Is Now Optional

One thing in particular that annoyed me when I first upgraded to Windows 10 was the inability to change that new login background to just a solid color. I personally used a few registry hacks to get what I wanted, but now you can just go to Settings > Personalization > Lock screen and disable the “Show Windows background picture on the sign-in screen” option. Weirdly enough, you cant choose your own background. I foresee that in a soon to come update.

For more tips and tricks, shoot me an email at Help@MooreITHelp.com