Scammed by McAfee

[gwydionjhr]

I have used Avast for several years now with no problems!

You obviously didn't go look at the study that I linked to, or you'd be uninstalling it PDQ.

 

[gwydionjhr]

There's a reasonable informed view that all AV software is useless and potentially a gateway/vector for viri to exploit. This is an interesting article:

Antivirus tools are a useless box-ticking exercise says Google security chap

Me, I just get by with the basic Microsoft stuff. None of the additional tools inspire any confidence in me and they all carry bloat of one form or another.

Another reason to use Windows Defender ATP, it's the only AV program that runs fully in it's own sandbox.

 

[twigboy]

Another reason to use Windows Defender ATP, it's the only AV program that runs fully in it's own sandbox.

Is it also competitive in cost to other personal/family subscription or installation?

 

[gwydionjhr]

Is it also competitive in cost to other personal/family subscription or installation?

If Free is cost competitive... then yes.

 

[twigboy]

If Free is cost competitive... then yes.

Apparently ATP is for "business" versions of Windows, I presume Enterprise, asks for a quote from Microsoft Security Solutions | Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection. Windows Defender (plain?) may be free I'm guessing

 

[jdcope]

Just uninstall it, it's mainly bloatware. Windows defender does a pretty good job, or you can install a free MS Security Essentials.

FYI- MS Security Essentials is only for Windows 7 or older. Windows Defender included its funtionality for Windows 8 and later.

 

[jdcope]

This is also me. I haven't run any sort of virus protection since about Windows 98.

Interesting. What OS are you running? Because Defender is built in to Windows now (since Win8), and turned on by default. Do you disable it?

 

[speedy]

Interesting. What OS are you running? Because Defender is built in to Windows now (since Win8), and turned on by default. Do you disable it?

Windows XP>W7>W8>W8.1>W10. Why would I disable it?
No, I leave updates on, don't disable anything, let Windows do its thing. I "think" from memory, that you actually had to install Security essentials, or at least enable it at one point in windows evolution. I could be wrong. At some point after W7 I think, security essentials was absorbed into defender. I'm only going on memory here, as I take very little interest in it, and just let Windows do its thing basically.
Also ran Linux here and there, for a year or two at a time too. Never bothered with any sort of protection for that.
I'm not in the IT/computer/software game, steel fabrication/welding is my thing, I know just enough about computers to be dangerous Yet I've managed to never get any sort of virus/infection in all my years of tinkering.

 

[jdcope]

Windows XP>W7>W8>W8.1>W10. Why would I disable it?
No, I leave updates on, don't disable anything, let Windows do its thing. I "think" from memory, that you actually had to install Security essentials, or at least enable it at one point in windows evolution. I could be wrong. At some point after W7 I think, security essentials was absorbed into defender. I'm only going on memory here, as I take very little interest in it, and just let Windows do its thing basically.
Also ran Linux here and there, for a year or two at a time too. Never bothered with any sort of protection for that.
I'm not in the IT/computer/software game, steel fabrication/welding is my thing, I know just enough about computers to be dangerous Yet I've managed to never get any sort of virus/infection in all my years of tinkering.

Sorry, I took your comment "I haven't run any sort of virus protection" to mean you didnt run anything at all, including Defender.

 

[speedy]

Sorry, I took your comment "I haven't run any sort of virus protection" to mean you didnt run anything at all, including Defender.

Aaaaaah. Understood. All good

 

[gwydionjhr]

Apparently ATP is for "business" versions of Windows, I presume Enterprise, asks for a quote from Microsoft Security Solutions | Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection. Windows Defender (plain?) may be free I'm guessing

You are correct, my bad.

 

[Zee]

Hhhmmm... Apart from the fact I normally use Apple (pros and cons), for my Windows laptops and gaming PC, I ALWAYS clean wipe them and do a fresh windows install. Always.

I've also happily been without anti virus software for decades - the only time I've ever gotten anything malicious on my PC is when I let my then girlfriend check her mail on my PC. Lesson learned. No one touches my PC's anymore...

Of course, for the interwebs and potentially malicious software illiterate, like our staff at the office, this is not an option... They get clean windows installs and Kaspersky (for some - AB testing with Defender), and a pop up asking for admin approval for just about anything - along with training as to how to identify sus emails.

Of course, people are inherently hopeless, and still manage to get some form of malicious software on their laptops once every so often. We are slowly switching to Macs for some of our staff, and none of them have yet managed to catch anything (yet).

Z...

 

[Bidkev]

Unfortunately, I am one of those victims of the dreaded Windows update loop whereby on switching on my computer, it attempts to update windows but can't. I've googled the hell out of the problem, reformatted and re-installed windows but the only solution I found is to install Stopupdate10 software. This of course means that windows never updates so is therefore vulnerable so I run malwarebytes and superantispyware. Other than this, I have never had a problem and have visited "The Bay" <cough cough> quite often although I have no need nowadays.

 

[twigboy]

You are correct, my bad.

Nothing bad. I just find quite a bit of MS stuff is confusing -- what's offered, when and where it is offered, which Windows, and on. It's good to get real world experience and this entire thread is doing just that. All is informative, even for Linux stuff and MacOS too.

 

[Stanga]

As someone who has been working in international business for more than two decades now, I regularly get files, invoices, and website links emailed to me. So after years of suffering and learning by trial and error how to protect my PC, I am now using:
Windows Defender - I have it on a task schedule to do a quick scan once a day on top of its normal defense.
Malwarebytes - also running a daily schedule scan. Unfortunately Malwarebytes switches off Windows Defender and does the detection itself. However I prefer to have Defender on, so I run them both together. But it does take a bit of systems know how on how to stop Defender from being disabled by Malwarebytes. many topics about that in the internet.
Mailwasher Pro - This one is used to see what emails have been sent to you without you having to open up your email program. It can recognize dodgy emails and origins of where it was sent from, etc. You can also delete emails off your server without even opening them. I can recognize scam emails quite easily now.
Windows Firewall Control - If you are into firewalls then this controller is the one to consider. It works with the inbuilt Windows firewall and is the best that I have found.

 

[Zee]

Unfortunately, I am one of those victims of the dreaded Windows update loop whereby on switching on my computer, it attempts to update windows but can't. I've googled the hell out of the problem, reformatted and re-installed windows but the only solution I found is to install Stopupdate10 software. This of course means that windows never updates so is therefore vulnerable so I run malwarebytes and superantispyware. Other than this, I have never had a problem and have visited "The Bay" <cough cough> quite often although I have no need nowadays.

Actually, you can disable the updates in Services. I had to do this, as I go from job to job, and can't sit and wait for Windows to randomly decide "right now" is the best time to do a 12GB update. Even though I had working hours set.

Dear Microsoft - just because I am shitting down, doesn't mean I can sit around and wait for 3 hours...

Honestly, have never been happier - also disabled a few other annoying things whilst looking through the Services section...
Z...

 

[Bidkev]

Actually, you can disable the updates in Services. I had to do this, as I go from job to job, and can't sit and wait for Windows to randomly decide "right now" is the best time to do a 12GB update. Even though I had working hours set.

True, but in the circumstances that I'm in, once the update had downloaded, disabling in services doesn't stop it...................the update has already downloaded so whenever you log off and then log on, it tries to install the update and you're caught in this continual loop of "can't install"

 

[SharpDog]

I've just bought new laptop. I pay a monthly sub to BT for McAfee on up to 15 machines. I tried to install my McAfee virus protect from my BT link, it wouldn't work, I rang BT tech dept and instead of talking to their tech dept I was directed straight to a customer service advisor at McAfee. He said he had to take control of my machine and said I needed software for a year on top of the free intro 30 day McAfee software on the new machine.

I couldn't be arsed to argue, so he set up a Paypal payment for £29.99, I paid with a credit card via Paypal. I was still getting pop up boxes warning of the countdown days before the trial runs out, so I contacted McAfee - they said I had indeed talked to an advisor and he had told me to contact BT, which is a lie. They had no knowledge of any payment. I've been scammed! It's not the amount, but it's knowing someone has taken control at some point of my machine.

I've since filed a request to Paypal for the money back, cancelled my credit card, changed all my passwords, given both McAfee and BT a piece of my mind....and just returned the PC to PC World for a factory reset (which they're doing for free - good on them), just in case an undetectable bug has been left on the machine.

There's a certain irony that a scammer works for one of the biggest security software companies in the world.

I've had all of the various vendors over the last 25 years or more. Currently, I'm rocking $60 per year Bitdefender family pack for unlimited # of machines. Works very well, lots of features and it has won many AV trials.

 

[Zee]

True, but in the circumstances that I'm in, once the update had downloaded, disabling in services doesn't stop it...................the update has already downloaded so whenever you log off and then log on, it tries to install the update and you're caught in this continual loop of "can't install"

The idea is to only turn off the services directly after an update.

Now don't get me wrong, I do do the updates, it's just that I:
a - wait until there are no reported issues that will affect me (currently there is one that affects gaming, so my gaming PC will clearly be skipping that one).

b - I am good and ready, and am sitting at home, with a beer or glass of wine in hand, and will not be affected by the PC doing it's update thing .

Z...

 

[Growltiger]

I tried to install my McAfee virus protect from my BT link, it wouldn't work, I rang BT tech dept and instead of talking to their tech dept I was directed straight to a customer service advisor at McAfee. He said he had to take control of my machine and said I needed software for a year on top of the free intro 30 day McAfee software on the new machine.

I don't think you ever spoke to BT, and you didn't speak to McAfee either.
The key to answering how you got scammed is to pin down where exactly that fake BT link was. How and why did you have a "BT Link", or where was it you got the phone number from to call "BT Technical Department"? I don't think BT even has a Technical Department! Do you have the web page address where that link or phone number was?
It is worth you getting to understand this as next time you go to your BT Link they will do something else bad to you.