Scams are everywhere.  We constantly get calls of people who's computers are "locked out" or "there's a message playing from the speakers" or things like this.  Almost all of these are a form of a scam.

Scammers like to pretend that there is something wrong with your computer, and that they are the only people who can help you.  You get either a pop-up message or screen that takes over your computer saying there is a problem and you have to call some phone number or link up with their technician to get it fixed.  How do you know if it is a real message or not?

First thing - Know what protection software you have.  If your computer has Joe's Antivirus, and the message that pops up is from Bob's Antivirus, that should set off alarms.

Second - be wary of any message to call or let a remote technician into your computer.  Many scammers will want access to your computer, then they show you "error logs" from your computer.  We can show you the same list on a brand new computer.  When a computer starts up, it makes a log of when programs/etc start, and if they are not started yet, it marks it as an error, and tries again on the next cycle.

Third - Keep your computer and protection software up to date.  Most of todays computers automatically update themselves, but you can manually run the update every once in a while to confirm that it is working correctly.  A system failing to manually update can be an early warning of something wrong on your computer.

When in doubt, Milwaukee PC's experienced technicians can help you.  Give your local store a call or stop in and talk to us - we will help explain it IN SIMPLE EVERYDAY TERMS so you can understand it.