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Office Depot fined millions for tricking customers into believing their PCs were infected with malware

  • March 28, 2019
  • 1 reply
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Jasper_The_Rasper
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28 March, 2019, By Graham Cluley


What does the average person do when their computer starts behaving oddly? If their PC is getting slower, or they’re being pestered with an excessive number of pop-ups?

The average user – and you, dear reader, are not a typical user because you demonstrate your wisdom by reading the Hot for Security blog – probably takes their troublesome computer to a big-name retailer like Office Depot, to take advantage of a free “PC Health Check.”

Unfortunately, the bad news is that since at least 2012 consumers have been making complaints that Office Depot, and its partner Support.com, have been using the PC Health Check tune-up service as a way to trick people into buying unnecessary computer repair and technical services.

Full Article.

1 reply

  • March 28, 2019
Not at all surprising. Best Buy, Staples, and other ‘Big Box’ stores have all been accused of the same thing, plus countless auto repair shops, contractors, and appliance repairmen. The key is finding someone you trust. Growing up in Chicago, finding a trustworthy auto mechanic was nearly impossible. That’s probably why I learned to work on cars and short of a blown engine or transmission problem, just fix them myself. Same goes with computers. Unfortunately, it seems that the elderly are taken advantage of most. Such a shame.