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yuuagoSo, my parents came home today, and I was able to take a look at their computer to see what was wrong with it. They definitely fell for some variety of phishing scam, and their email was hijacked.
I looked at the email they received that started it all, and it was classic phishing. I've had conversations with them before about spam, phishing, and general cybersecurity, but clearly we need to have a talk again.
Ran some scans and checked the processes, which turned up nothing for malware - but that doesn't mean there isn't anything there. I kind of want to wipe the whole computer and reinstall everything, but I'm going to have to research that, since it didn't come with a Win10 installation disc, and I haven't had to do that kind of thing in about a decade.
Mom's going to file a report with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre tomorrow. (Or I guess, she's going to call them up and I'm going to have to explain, is more likely.)
What a mess.
I looked at the email they received that started it all, and it was classic phishing. I've had conversations with them before about spam, phishing, and general cybersecurity, but clearly we need to have a talk again.
Ran some scans and checked the processes, which turned up nothing for malware - but that doesn't mean there isn't anything there. I kind of want to wipe the whole computer and reinstall everything, but I'm going to have to research that, since it didn't come with a Win10 installation disc, and I haven't had to do that kind of thing in about a decade.
Mom's going to file a report with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre tomorrow. (Or I guess, she's going to call them up and I'm going to have to explain, is more likely.)
What a mess.
Yuu. Fic writer & book lover. M/Canada.
no subject
Date: 2021-08-30 03:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-08-30 03:33 am (UTC)It's enough to make me want to swear off technology for good and run off to live in the middle of nowhere, only communicating with the outside world via snail mail. xD
no subject
Date: 2021-08-30 09:41 am (UTC)There's a Refresh Your PC thing in Win10 that might fit the bill but yeah, I'd tread carefully. XD
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Date: 2021-08-30 12:48 pm (UTC)Their computer's OS isn't linked to a Microsoft account, which I've heard can cause issues if you're trying to do a clean install. So I'm definitely going to have to look into it carefully before I do anything. Thanks for the keywords on what to look for. :)
no subject
Date: 2021-08-30 02:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-08-31 02:40 am (UTC)Honestly, the worst part was the delay - I really wish I'd been able to smack this down the moment it started.