Smart House Solutions - are they legit/safe?

I just recieved this random call from someone working for this company telling me that I needed to buy their software because my computer had been hacked. I gave them access to my laptop and they showed me all my corrupted files. Now he says in order to get rid if these i have to buy the software and if I don't fix it in 24 hours my computer will crash.

He also said there is potential that hackers could be using my laptop and that police could arrest or something along those lines.

Is this a scam? And if so should I be worried that I gave them access to my computer?

 

you've been a victim of phishing.
didn't you think it was strange that someone from X company calls you? how did they get the number? magic?
how did they known your pc was hacked? how did they known you had a pc? how did they known the pc you were using?

you were really smart, you gave access to your computer just like that? good idea. when you gave them access they probably infected you with some nasty trojans. that is, if they didn't had infected you before.

And why they wanted you to buy THEIR software and not other kind of software?

imo, backup the files you want, try to clean them in another pc and safe erase your HDD. with a bit of luck they didn't installed some nasty trojan into the bios or HDD MBR.

And next time be more careful when someone calls you making those absurd claims.

 

I know looking back now it was a dumb decision and I clearly wasn't thinking. I didn't buy the software but I did give them access to my computer. What is the worst case scenario?

 

its full of backdoors and part of a botnet

 

well. we all make mistakes... but that's because of those mistakes that those spamers still exist. It's phishing, if they call 1000 maybe 10 or so will bite.

worst case? oh man. I don't known what data did you had stored but I really hope it's not something important. Just imagine what can they do with all that information. Probably by now they already have all the passwords and usernames you use. Including paypal and similars if you have.
Now your pc is compromised. now probably and can see and edit all the information. even access other things like your webcam, microphone, external storage etc. keyloggers etc
Not to mention eventual access to credit card info. Or personal photos videos, documents.
yeah it's REALLY scary. Maybe someone in China (or even very near to you) now knowns everything about you.
It's a serious issue. I would get a safe pc and change all my passwords ASAP.
I would be very caution to track paypal and credit card informations.
Also make some precautions regarding personal information.

Best case? they were just trying to sell you the software and didn't really did anything.

 

There are no personal photos on this laptop, I don't have a paypal account, and I never do online shopping. Should I still be worried? They may have my name and email. They got pretty aggressive when I told them that I wasn't going to use my credit card.

Could they still have access to my laptop right at this moment?

 

Definitely. Backup only important data, format that hard drive and fresh install your operating system.

Scan your backed up data with an antivirus before putting it back.

 

Sorry for all the questions, but what is my main concern here? That he might have infected my computer with a virus?

 

yes. a virus, like a trojan. like a FUD RAT.
it means that X person can access your pc and do everything it wants without your knowledge.
imagine it can browse your files freely, it can edit copy and delete. it logs every key you press. it takes screenshots or even "film" your activity. it can turn on the webcam and other things. and or you can be part of a botnet that is used to a lot of things, probably illegal things.
just assume your pc is under control.

probably they have access. you don't imagine how EASY it is!
It just requires like 2 clicks and your access gave them the opportunity.
If you don't have anything important then you shouldn't be so worried.
Just assume that all the data you stored on your pc is compromised. All logins, usernames and passwords should be changed ASAP on a secure system.
you really should format your hdd. not just erase the data. really secure erase using guthman method or something like that.
then you should scan it again.
I would assume it will be 98% safe that all the trojans are removed.
Also don't forget that they can access all the information stored in your email.
Anyway it's always good to format from time to time. It will even improve performance.

 

As said, the worse case scenario is that they now have all your personal data that was ever stored on your computer. What you need to now is what has already been suggested, backup your important data to an external media. Completely wipe your HDD, i'd even overwrite it a couple of times with zeros or random data. You can use a utility like DBAN to do that. After that reinstall windows and your programs on the computer, install a decent anti-virus and scan your data before putting it back.

If you have access to another computer that you know is safe, change all your passwords, e-mail, online banking etc. ASAP.

By the way, assume the worse case scenario, better be safe than sorry.

 

They just called me back but I didn't answer.

Would completely rebooting my laptop be enough?

 

First thing first, unplug your LAN and turn off your wireless .Stay away from internet on that laptop.

Then you start trying to fix the laptop.

Also contact FTC if they continue to call you.

If you are real worry, may also contact the ISP and ask for a new IP, reset your router etc.

 

Reboot? As in turn off and turn back on? Or are you talking about system recovery? In either case, no. Make sure you're offline, backup your data, completely wipe your HDD(s) and finally do a fresh install of Windows. Make sure to also scan what you backed up and change your passwords as soon as possible.

 

I would try to track them down. It's great that they called you back. You can catch those s. IMO GO RIGHT NOW to the police. Say that they are trying to steal your identity. phones can be tracked if they really want to investigate.

reboot? no. not at all... it will be the same when you turn it on. Actually if the virus is good enough it can even turn the pc on if it's on standby.
reboot will solve absolutely nothing.

 

Police don't care in general. But YMMV.

 

I mean do a complete system restore. Wipe out everything. Would that work?

Would you guys really recommend changing my IP? Contacting the police seems a little extreme.

 

I would contact them to be on the safe side, tell them everything that happened. It's not extreme, it's a company, that by the sounds of it, have accessed your computer, possibly or probably put some rogue software on your computer which will probably compromise your system. They have also asked you for CC details also and have got fairly aggressive. It's a scam.

Put it this way, would you let an unknown person from some rogue company into your house and rifle through all of your possessions, put cameras in your house to spy on everything you do, then give them your CC details for the benefit? I'm guessing the answer would be no, and you would maybe call the police.

This is a scam of the highest order and it seems like you've fallen for it!!

Also, If I were you, I would do a complete fresh install to rid the system of any junk they've installed ASAP!!

 

well... they are contacting you by telephone in order to get something from you. it doesn't seam extreme to me. what if someone broke into your house to check your personal belongings? would that be extreme? because they broke into your pc and stole personal information.

anyway it depends on what you mean by system restore.
you have to fully wipe out everything (make sure you really erase) and install the OS from scratch. that will work in 99% of the cases.

 

I can usually go to the store and get a complete system restore. That kind of thing.

If I tell police what happened, what do you think they are going to do? Should I just call 911?

 

911 no. that's only for emergencies. you are not in a life threatening situation. Also I'm not familiar with USA police system. You should seek advice with someone familiar with USA law.

If you go to a store to do a system restore probably they'll just restore the system to a previous configuration. That won't work. you have to make absolutely sure that the data is erased. Like it was suggested, zeroing is a good method. then install OS from scratch.

 

police arent going to care, especially after the panic of last week. I would just get your system clean loaded. if you need a win 7 installer dvd
http://forum.notebookreview.com/win...-digitalriver-windows-7-sp1-13-languages.html
just use the one that matches the COA on the bottom of your laptop

 

How do you do that?

 

If I were you, I would also do some research on internet scams, viruses, phishing and all things that can compromise your system and personal details. If your going to be using the internet, you really need to know about these things in this day and age.

 

the easiest way, remove the drive, connect it externally to another system, use some software to secure erase the external drive. you have dozens of softwares to do it. hd tune will do for example.
when it completes the erase just connect it again to your system and install the OS. fixed.

http://www.identity-theft-articles.com/

 

I haven't the slightest idea how to do any of that.

 

This is how I gave him access to my latop.

I pressed the windows key and R at the same time. Entered "iexplore www.support.me" and clicked OK. And entered the 6 digit code he gave me into a new windows boxed. Ran the program and clicked OK.

 

Google support.me it's a well known scam.

You need to do fresh install of windows as stated. If your not sure how to do this, you need to find someone who does.

 

There is no way around reformatting your computer. If you have restore discs you could use that, but i would still wipe the HDD to be on the safe side.

Here's the FAQ on how to use dban if you want to wipe the hard drive: Frequently Asked Questions | Darik's Boot And Nuke. Note that dban will destroy the data on the entire drive, not just one partition.

If you have a partition you'd like to keep like a recovery partition you could use eraser: Eraser. Note that if there is malware on the partition you didn't wipe, that could pause a problem if you don't scan and scrub it.

Afterwards reinstall windows and the relevant drivers using either the restore discs if you have them or by following the thread KCETech1 linked and then installing the drivers manually.

 

I would take a guess and say those people that called you will hijack your computer data and hold it for ransom. Like the above poster stated, google "Smart Mouse Solutions Scam"


I would backup your most important data and do a clean install of windows [reinstall windows to the factory default state].

 

some great advice above but also note if you have email accounts on your computer that are logged in all the time then these scumbags have now got all your friends email accounts as well so they may well start getting spam.
this also applies to facebook as well as you can see all your friends emails and phone numbers on there now.

in other words on a normal day when you turn your computer on, do you have yahoo,msn,hotmail,gmail etc etc. when you click on any of your email accounts do you have to type user name and password each time. if yes then they might not have access unless this trojan is one of them clever ones. if you do have your user name and password saved then the crap has already hit the fan.
remove your internet cable immediately.
then to be honnest the only option in my eyes is a total hard drive clean with either mbam or killdisk. i wouldnt even save anything thats important as this could also be infected as you gave permission for them to enter your computer.
if youve never used mbam or killdisck before then if you have a local store that could do it for you then that might be an easier option but it will cost.

this sure is a lesson well learnt. but these twats out there are getting very clever and sound so convincing.

good luck and keep us updated.

 

would reverting it back to the factory default state do the trick?

 

Again, NO. It won't. You HAVE to completely erase the drive.
Reverting to default factory state will probably have zero effect.

 

FIRST THING FIRST :- unplug your computer, do not connect it to the LAN/Internet/WiFi.
take it to/call the local computer technician. spend few bucks and get the technician to erase your hard disk totally clean and then re install the OS. This would be the safest call since you might come across problems while doing it yourself.

Second thing :- do not share your personal data with anyone.ANYONE. especially in these kind of cases.

 

^^thats what i said

undecided84, can we have an update on what youve done so far so other new members in the future can see how you solved it.

 

No, you can't just beat around the bush about this sort of thing. Like everyone else has already stated, you need to completely wipe your hard drive. Not system restore, not factory restore, not take it to BestBuy/OfficeDeopt/whatever (since they'll just do the pervious two wrong things). Copy/Paste your photos (and whatever you hold precious) onto a flashdrive/external HDD, and then wipe the drive completely clean. Overwrite Windows completely, then reinstall from a fresh disc. One easy way to do this (it seems that you're afraid to reinstall the OS) is to go to a safe computer, download a Windows DVD (like mentioned previously) or download a Linux ISO (such as any desktop flavor of Ubuntu) and install that over the existing (compromised) Windows OS.

Clean-installing the OS is not only the safest way to get rid of all the nasty stuff on your computer, but it's also the easiest, even if you find that hard to believe. The longer you delay this, the better chances this scam company has to steal your identity, financial information, etc. Isn't it scary that they already knew your home phone number? Now, multiply that fear x100 or so (remember, with the above information they can easily find your home address, where you sleep at night).

Also, you should also change **all** of your passwords. Email, bank, computer login, even games.

Always assume the worst!

 

Am I the only one here who assume that it is possible that the OP is just trolling or what???!

His posts:

- Is this a scam? And if so should I be worried that I gave them access to my computer?

- I know looking back now it was a dumb decision and I clearly wasn't thinking... I did give them access to my computer. What is the worst case scenario?

- Could they still have access to my laptop right at this moment?

- Would completely rebooting my laptop be enough?

- I mean do a complete system restore. Wipe out everything. Would that work?

- I can usually go to the store and get a complete system restore. That kind of thing.

- Sorry for all the questions, but what is my main concern here? That he might have infected my computer with a virus?

- How do you do that?

- I haven't the slightest idea how to do any of that.

- would reverting it back to the factory default state do the trick?

AND YOU GUYS USED LIKE 4 PAGES TO WRITE THE WHOLE SAME STUFF DOZENS AND DOZENS OF TIMES! You really think that he is THAT dumb/child???

He asked 6 questions about What To Do above the limit (what normal people would ask)! And I don't count anything about what he asked later about How To Do it.

 

Yes, a troll. Or he/she has had head in sand since birth. This guy/gal is so naive it hurts to read his/her comments.

 

I'm not a troll what would be the point?

One more question, if other computers are also connected to the same network, would they be compromised as well?

 

It is technically possible , imo they probably wont brother with messing with your other computers after you refuse them already, as such become illegal activity. Their goal is to make money so I doubt they want to get into trouble.

Do a factory reset if you want to be on the same side.

 

They called you? You have Caller ID, right? If so, contact the FBI and give them the phone number.

 

They called from a private number.

The sony tech support guy I talked to stepped me through on how to do a complete restore. He said that doing that is essentially like wiping out the hdd. I pressed F10 repeated during the load up screen, and started the recovery wizard. Hopefully that will be enough.

 

I would say factory reset should be fine. Unless they are so pro to inject trojan into the recovery partition, which I doubt they can.

 

Ya I think it should be good enough.

Two more questions. Regarding the files that I backupped on my external hardrive, should I first scan the external harddrive with my anitvirus before transferring the files over and is it guaranteed that it will work effectively? Can it be trusted 100% to detect any viruses and or spyware?

Also, like I asked on the page before, there are multiple computers using the same network. Could those computers be potentially compromised as well? And if so, what should be done. Thanks. And I'm aware that one person already sorta answered this questions, but I would like to get multiple opinions just to confirm.

 

1) Depends on if you've used that external with the infected computer. If so, yes; if not, no. I'd recommend a mix of MSE and Malwarebtyes. Nothing is 100%, but it's pretty close. Only 100% way would be to format your external hard drive before using.

2) It's possible that they could be infected as well, so if you want to be safe rather than sorry, I'd wipe and reinstall a fresh copy of Windows on them as well.

 

Thread closed. OP, get some common sense ASAP. I find it a little hard to believe that you gave a "random" person access to your computer. Just a little.

You've posted a lot about getting viruses, etc - start being more careful.