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

Old, but still useful

An experienced technician can immediately tell which course of action to take on a problem machine and begin running diagnostics. Unfortunately, if said machine is running Windows XP or lower, it’s probably more cost effective to just replace the machine than to repair it. It can be frustrating (both for me and the client) that a seemingly simple repair can cost more than the computer is worth. Well here are a few tips for both preventative maintenance and simple repairs that you may be able to do yourself. Note that most of these repairs are for older computers and not for virus removal. Some of these steps are intended as a sort of last resort before buying a new computer. Backup your data before doing anything!

Option 1:

Before getting into possible fixes, you may want to stop and think about what is really important on this computer. If you don’t rely on any third party programs such as Quickbooks or Turbotax or Outlook, then you could just wipe the drive and start over. Most old computers come with a reinstallation CD. If you do not want to use this option (as it IS risky), move on to step 2.

***If you proceed with this step, it is CRITICAL to backup ALL DATA***

            Pop the reinstallation CD in the drive and turn on the computer. If the BIOS is configured

            properly, then you should soon see the prompt “Press any key to boot from CD…”. Press

            a key quickly and simply follow the prompts. Once your install is done, make sure to run

            all the Windows Updates, install your Internet Security Solution (Antivirus), and then

            you can transfer all your data back (pictures, music, documents).

            If after this entire process is completed and your problems return after a short time, it

may be the computer itself that is the problem. Call 617-396-7044 or visit MooreITHelp.com to see how much it may cost to get your computer running like new again. We can also help you pick out a new computer and transfer all your old data from your old computer to your new one.

Option 2:

If you are lucky, there is a chance that your computer’s poor performance is due to simple “wear and tear”. Fragmentation, filled caches, and registry errors can cause computers to act flaky or even stop working all together. Here are a few simple steps that can be used for both repair and preventative maintenance.

·         System Cache:

Clearing the system cache and temporary files can be an easy way to clear up hard drive space. It can even solve problems you may be experiencing on websites that use to run just fine. When you visit a website, your browser downloads many files from that website so that it may load faster the next time you visit it. That’s all well and good, but soon those files are going to add up and take up a good deal of space. In the event that said website has been updated, these old files can interfere with the download and execution of the updated files. A good program to automate this process, along with obtaining other bonuses such as registry cleaning, I recommend CCleaner: http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner

Instructions for clearing cache in Internet Explorer

If you have the latest version of Internet Explorer, IE9, click the gear icon in the top right.

o   Go to Safety > Clear Browsing History.

o   Select "Delete Files."

o   Delete Temporary Internet Files.

In Internet Explorer 7 or 8:

o   Go to Tools > Internet Options.

o   On the General Tab under Browsing History, select "Delete Files."

o   Delete Temporary Internet Files.

·         Defragment your hard drive:

I’m sure you have all heard the broken record “Defragment! Defragment!” Well in case you are wondering why techs (and self proclaimed techs) keep telling you this, here is a good article you can read: http://www.geekgirls.com/2010/03/why-defrag/

To defrag, you can either use the Windows defragmenting tool or download Defraggler from http://www.piriform.com/defraggler. Defraggler has been reported to do a better job than the Windows defragmenting tool and also gives you some more options.

·         Run any applicable Windows Updates:

I don’t know who started this rumor, but I have had several clients try to tell me that Windows Updates are “bad”. Windows Updates are latest bug fixes for Microsoft Windows, including fixes for some possible DoS attacks and even applicable driver updates. They are critical and can solve many common issues. Either use the built in application in the Control Panel or go to windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ and follow the prompts.

If these steps do not seem to solve your issue, feel free to give us a call at 617-396-7044 or visit MooreITHelp.com to see how much it may cost to get your computer running like new again. We can also help you pick out a new computer and transfer all your old data from your old computer to your new one.