Addition of security notice on www.FastSupport.com

[ThomasHowardBro]

You are correct ... it's not always an unsolicited phone call. Sometimes it is an unsolicited email with a link to a poisoned "update from McAfee" or whatever. Sometimes it's simply a link on a poisoned website.  Good antivirus software will often catch these things, but in the end it is your judgment--and Windows' User Account Control feature--that should cause you to pause, think, and investigate before installing any software on your computer. 

[emma21]

See that's the thing I trusted mcafee and it was through their web site it came up. I will certainly not use mcafee again and will put a different anti virus on my children's laptops when theirs expires as had mine. So pleased I found this forum and removed everything to do with go to assist. I have also done a scan to check for anything that may have gone into my computer. Being a student I need it up and running.

[Jamie Kalmar]

I recommend Microsoft Security Essentials, or if you have windows 10 you dont need any antivirus as it is built in

[ThomasHowardBro]

The "free" Microsoft Security Essentials is no longer supported on any version of Windows.  (Nor was it ever very good.) 

FWIW, we have been using Vipre Antivirus for years and it keeps us (and our customers) safe. 

[Bcshay]

File based AV will not protect against these types of scams. In fact traditional systems won't protect against anything and they fall short to protect against today's zero days and unknowns etc. User education is also no longer effective. The end points really only benefit from containerization controls but unfortunately home users don't have this type of protection.

These support scams are simply small gain scams to get your credit card info. Some fall pray cause how would they know better. Don't trust anyone.

[ThomasHowardBro]

Well, you're partly correct.  Antivirus won't do anything to protect you from unsolicited telephone calls. However, a good modern AV suite doesn't depend on definitions files exclusively. Threattrack Security (VIPRE) can reliably detect and/or forbid access to poisoned websites, and definitions/reference files are updated every 30 minutes by default. 

Browser choice can also provide an extra level of security. Chrome is excellent in dangerous website protection. Internet Explorer (all versions) is terribly vulnerable.

[ThomasHowardBro]

In my browser, the above was a reply to the comment below it.

[ThomasHowardBro]

Well, you're partly correct.  Antivirus won't do anything to protect you from unsolicited telephone calls. However, a good modern AV suite doesn't depend on definitions files exclusively. Threattrack Security (VIPRE) can reliably detect and/or forbid access to poisoned websites, and definitions/reference files are updated every 30 minutes by default. 

Browser choice can also provide an extra level of security. Chrome is excellent in dangerous website protection. Internet Explorer (all versions) is terribly vulnerable.

[Bcshay]

AV, heuristics, malware, etc still use signature based detection. Including web filtering lists. We've seen legit sites like Forbes and Yahoo being used to deliver malware. It's still good to have an AV suite running as security is best implemented in a layered approach.

Sophisticated attacks like malvertising, spearphishing, water holes, drive by, ransomware, etc require new age protection systems. Then there is my favorite evasion technique called just in time malware assembly. AV suites aren't dead they just can't keep up.

[Adam Bottjen]

I think it should say something about "Only connect to people you know and who you have contacted NOT people who have contacted you.