Author Topic: PLEASE STOP THE PHONE SUPPORT SCAM!  (Read 12107 times)

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Offline schmidthouse

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Re: PLEASE STOP THE PHONE SUPPORT SCAM!
« Reply #15 on: October 02, 2014, 06:22:07 PM »
Quote
It was a fresh install of windows and there was no possibility of virus on the machine
Please explain how you exactly did it.
Quote
I needed to pay over $100 to get support.
No you did not. support is free. Here on this webboard as well as through the contact form and ticket system on the avast website.

This is not True. You are wrong. Support is not free. I called Avast support number, and the person told me I had to pay $108.00 for Avast support to dial into my computer, and fix the Avast anti virus secure line.  I have since cancelled it, and even after following Avast instructions to stop billing me, they still charge my credit card.  You sir are 100% WRONG.

Hello Joseph
I believe a misunderstanding in posts.
The statement that "support is free" I believe was talking about "The Support Is Free Here on this Web board/Forum"
And if you submit a ticket I also believe that too is Free. :)

The Phone Support you experienced is done by a 3rd Party support service.
There are many,many complaints as yours about this service,

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Re: PLEASE STOP THE PHONE SUPPORT SCAM!
« Reply #16 on: October 02, 2014, 06:37:09 PM »
got Avast a few days ago. On come this "microosft partner" icon it  says I have 108 registry error in a 1 month old brand new computer. I call the number ....after the woman with Indian accent accesses my computer she wants nearly 200 dollars I do not have that kind of money. She was willing to  lower it....doubtful) but now  am stuck with chrome which i do not want or like and cannot access my internet except through it.  I want Chrome gone and anything else she might have put on....how do I do this or to where should I go...BTW she told me I needed a new driver(in a month old computer???) Can anybody he;p me.?

Offline Para-Noid

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Re: PLEASE STOP THE PHONE SUPPORT SCAM!
« Reply #17 on: October 02, 2014, 06:56:43 PM »
You can safely clean the registry with CCleaner.
Have you tried to uninstall Chrome?  ???

You may need to follow these instructions
And start a thread here.
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"Look before you leap!" Use online scanners before you click on any link.

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Re: PLEASE STOP THE PHONE SUPPORT SCAM!
« Reply #18 on: October 02, 2014, 07:17:43 PM »
got Avast a few days ago. On come this "microosft partner" icon it  says I have 108 registry error in a 1 month old brand new computer. I call the number ....after the woman with Indian accent accesses my computer she wants nearly 200 dollars I do not have that kind of money. She was willing to  lower it....doubtful) but now  am stuck with chrome which i do not want or like and cannot access my internet except through it.  I want Chrome gone and anything else she might have put on....how do I do this or to where should I go...BTW she told me I needed a new driver(in a month old computer???) Can anybody he;p me.?

1) Month old computer you should be able to save any personal files and just use the company factory reset process if you want it back to square one. 
2) Other than that do you have a system image or backup setup?  If so use that...
3) Just FYI even on a brand new computer, straight out of the box, if you use a good cleaning program like CCleaner or Wise... will still find tons of crap to clean.
4) Uninstall Chrome and just run CCleaner or Wise

Whatever you do don't give any money to anyone... it's a scam.

Offline bri

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Re: PLEASE STOP THE PHONE SUPPORT SCAM!
« Reply #19 on: October 02, 2014, 08:27:47 PM »
You can report it all you want but its been going on for years and avast is well aware of it but yet it doesnt stop?Its not going to(from the looks of it).If any other company advertised this as phone support everyone would say that company itself is a scam and cant be trusted but here its ok and the only response is report it and thats from users(which are trying to help) as avast remains silent.dont get me wrong,ive been using avast for a long time but the last year or so really been wondering?

Offline schmidthouse

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Re: PLEASE STOP THE PHONE SUPPORT SCAM!
« Reply #20 on: October 02, 2014, 08:46:27 PM »
You can report it all you want but its been going on for years and avast is well aware of it but yet it doesnt stop?Its not going to(from the looks of it).If any other company advertised this as phone support everyone would say that company itself is a scam and cant be trusted but here its ok and the only response is report it and thats from users(which are trying to help) as avast remains silent.dont get me wrong,ive been using avast for a long time but the last year or so really been wondering?

Yes it has been frustrating and is hard to understand the persistence in the use of 3rd. Party support

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Re: PLEASE STOP THE PHONE SUPPORT SCAM!
« Reply #21 on: October 02, 2014, 11:15:02 PM »
avast! represents a real conundrum for me.  I have been using avast! since 2004 (my God that UI was horrid!) on all of my machines.  I started a small IT business in 2005 and have recommended and installed avast! on hundreds of machines since then.  Generally I consider avast! to be among the best overall antivirus/antimalware products available.  That said, there are some things about avast! which annoy the CRAP out of me - and the phone scam tops the list.

I understand AVAST is a business and that their goal is to make money.  But this phone scam is simply dishonest and reprehensible.  Any goodwill I've had for AVAST is gone as a result.

For those who still don't understand exactly what's happening, the scam goes like this.  A not so savvy user has a problem with avast! on her computer so she visits AVAST's website looking for help.  She quickly sees *free* phone technical support is available and calls the number provided.  The support technician remotely connects to her computer, quickly finds several critical problems, and offers to fix them for a fee, often including a long term support contract, ranging in price from $100-$300 USD.  Of course, their are actually no problems, but it's easy to deceive the unsophisticated user simply by showing her a few logfiles, DLLs, and TaskManager and throwing in some technospeak.  So now she has paid $300 for nothing.

The management team and board at AVAST should be ashamed.  Without any argument possible, they are crooks.  I am sorry to be so honest, but it is what it is.

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Re: PLEASE STOP THE PHONE SUPPORT SCAM!
« Reply #22 on: October 06, 2014, 06:29:21 AM »
You can safely clean the registry with CCleaner.
Registries do NOT need to be "cleaned".

-Noel

Offline bob3160

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Re: PLEASE STOP THE PHONE SUPPORT SCAM!
« Reply #23 on: October 06, 2014, 11:24:48 PM »
You can safely clean the registry with CCleaner.
Registries do NOT need to be "cleaned".

-Noel
When you run the removal tool from a third party AV, you are in essence cleaning the registry of all items not removed by the regular
uninstall method. This is needed before you replace your AV.
Therefore, there are times when the registry needs to be cleaned.
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Re: PLEASE STOP THE PHONE SUPPORT SCAM!
« Reply #24 on: October 07, 2014, 05:32:58 AM »
Make up whatever terms you want.

It's clear that deletion of items from a database maintained by other programs is perfectly safe.  How could I have been so blind?  You need to delete everything from your registry to ensure it's as clean as it possibly can be.  Only then can you be happy.

-Noel

Offline bob3160

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Re: PLEASE STOP THE PHONE SUPPORT SCAM!
« Reply #25 on: October 07, 2014, 02:13:28 PM »
Make up whatever terms you want.

It's clear that deletion of items from a database maintained by other programs is perfectly safe.  How could I have been so blind?  You need to delete everything from your registry to ensure it's as clean as it possibly can be.  Only then can you be happy.

-Noel
It would have been a lot easier to admit that there are times when cleaning (deleting) information from the registry is needed.
I know, it hurts to admit even you can occasionally be incorrect in your statements.
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Re: PLEASE STOP THE PHONE SUPPORT SCAM!
« Reply #26 on: October 08, 2014, 03:44:42 AM »
Perhaps I haven't been clear.  People who know how to keep Windows in tip-top shape for years and who know how Windows works do not run "registry cleaner" applications.

Nothing about the registry needs to be "cleaned".  Windows keeps itself tuned up just fine.

The term "cleaning" was invented to support sales of products that you don't need.  Call it the modern "door to door brush salesman" approach if you like.  It's a self-actualizing market.  Some of the applications might not do harm every time you run them, but rest assured that some bozo writing a "registry cleaner" application can't possibly know everything in YOUR particular system that might rely upon data in the database, and make no mistake, "cleaning" is another term for "deleting data". 

By requesting that some 3rd party application delete data from your database you're doing no less than risking destabilizing your system.

If you have specific problems with applications that won't uninstall themselves properly or completely, seek out SPECIFIC REMEDIES from the maker of those products.  You'll note that Avast offers an "AvastClean" application of their very own.  They do not point you to some registry cleaner.

But hey, go on and run whatever applications you like, including registry cleaners.  And while you're at it go on believing that Windows must be reinstalled regularly.

-Noel

Offline CraigB

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Re: PLEASE STOP THE PHONE SUPPORT SCAM!
« Reply #27 on: October 08, 2014, 04:01:30 AM »
I don't recommend deep registry cleaning for novice users but CCleaner is quite safe I've found over the years, many programs don't have their own removal/clean up tools and even when they do they still leave behind a lot of rubbish and a light cleaning tool such as CCleaner can help remove some problematic leftovers.

Even after running vendor removal tools I still find 10's to hundreds of leftovers of just about all programs through the registry and sometimes still remnants in Programs - Program Data -user folders and the Window 32 Driver folders ::)
« Last Edit: October 08, 2014, 04:07:08 AM by CraigB »