I have been doing remote computer repair for people across the
United States and around the world for nearly a decade, giving PC help to
people with malware removal, virus removal, pop ups, or a slow computer. Online
computer repair or online virus removal is definitely a time saver and a money
saver. Remote virus removal can certainly save a person hundreds of dollars
over the cost of taking the PC to a local computer repair shop.
Although using a remote online computer technician is definitely
the way to go for PC help, nevertheless there are some pitfalls. I constantly
hear horror stories from customers that had previously used an online computer
repair service for their computer problems with less than desirable results.
Consequently I have put together this list of computer scams to watch out for
when contracting with someone to provide remote computer help.
1. USA Based - Really? Most people don't want to talk to someone
in India with an accent so heavy that you can't understand them. That's why
many websites will say, "USA Based." But are they really? I have
found that many websites advertise they are in the U.S. but the person on the
phone, who claims they are in the U.S. still sounds like someone from India. It
is not wise to deal with someone who has just lied to you. Hint: Read the text
of a website carefully. You will probably find one or two grammatical errors on
sites that they are not really U.S. based, and of course, you will know
instantly when they answer the phone. Just say, "Sorry, wrong
number."
2. Super Low Price: There are companies out there claiming
they can remove viruses, plus fix any and all problems, and do a PC tune-up,
all for the low price of $39.99. As someone who has been doing computer service
full time for 24 years, I can tell you that it takes several hours for a PC
tech to do all that and do it right. How can they do this for such a cut-rate
price? There are three ways: 1. Hire a bunch of young geeks that are still
learning and let them practice on your computer. 2. Be based in India or the
Philippines or some foreign country where labor is cheap. 3. Do the very
minimum to just get by without concern for conscientious quality work. Some
places do all three. The old adage - "You get what you pay for."
Applicable to online computer repair. If you want good quality remote computer
repair you need to pay for it. Try to save a buck and you can end up with a
destroyed computer and/or many hours of frustration as you call back over and
over to try to get the online computer help you were promised. Good Advice: If
you want a good PC tech, don't pick the cheapest bidder.
3. Certified - Really? Does the website tell you who is going to
be fixing your PC? Are the name, credentials and experience of the computer
technician posted on the website? I have called some of these supposedly
Microsoft certified websites and when I asked exactly which credential was held
with Microsoft and the computer service company could not give me an answer.
4. Free Antivirus Software: The online computer service company offers
a free antivirus software after the repair. Be aware that they are only giving
you something you can get for free yourself. Again, you get what you pay for.
Free antivirus software might be better than nothing, but not by much. I remove
malware every day from computers that are protected by free antivirus products
and they are very infected. Only the antivirus products that you purchase are
adequate. When a remote computer repair company gives free inferior products to
customers it gives them a false sense of security that will lead to their PC
eventually getting hit by a virus. A PC technician that is really looking out
for your best interests will offer to sell you a quality product that works.
5. Free Scan Scam: Here's how it works. You call a remote
computer repair service because your printer doesn't work. The online computer
service says they will connect to your machine and tell you what is wrong for
free, no obligation. Then you can decide what to do next. Free diagnosis!
Sounds good, right? Lots of people fall for this. So the PC technician connects
to your machine and runs a program (that they have created) that pretends to do
a scan of your computer. In just 3 minutes this software reports hundreds of
registry errors, dozens of problems in the event log, dozens of viruses,
trojans and spyware. They tell you that you have got to get this fixed right
away before all your files disappear and your computer won't work at all. After
the scare tactics, they give you an outrageous price of $300.00. After paying
that and they supposedly fix all these errors, chances are your printer still
will not work. But the real fact is - there is not a piece of software in the
world that can tell you what's wrong with a computer in a few minutes. I have
over two decades of experience and I can tell you that it takes a couple hours
of careful work to properly evaluate a computer. I have helped many customers
who told me they had just experienced this scam. Fortunately they called me and
in many cases their computer was not in nearly as bad a shape as they had been
led to believe.