Windows Tech Scammers Continue Haunting Customers

Scammers pretending to be Microsoft Tech support technicians continue to haunt people on phones and off late have become very bold and aggressive.

An alarming thing about these scammers is that they do not find any signs of slowing down, says the executive head of Microsoft’s customer service and support group, Kirsten Kliphouse. She also added that they have been hearing about the scammers through friends and family and the tier one technicians, that the scammers are getting stronger every day. It is not only individuals that they are targeting but also business people.

They call up customers and scare them talking about a possible viral attack, befriend them and offer to help with the issue. Later when they get into the customer's computer, they mess up with things leaving the customers helpless but express their grief and concerns to Microsoft.

These scammers are good at convincing the customers about the vulnerability of their computer system to viral attacks with the help of Windows logs. Since these Windows logs usually show the scores of errors with less impact, the scammers are able to convince the customers with the same and urge them for buying their product.

The helpless customers are charged with the worthless services. They are cunning enough to slip in malwares and spywares while they still have the customer’s system under control. Thus, with this, a good system turns into a useless electronic device. 

Back in the year 2010, these swindles were common and slowly picked up pace in the year 2011, with more and more such events occurring in the same year. Microsoft immediately warned the customers on this regard and asked them to be aware of such issues. In October 2012, Microsoft impelled FTC, federal trade commission to file charges against six fraudsters. Then later with the investigations, FTC found out that the virtual turmoil has reached another level because of the scammers.

In the year 2013, FTC settled with three alleged swindlers, imposing a judgment of 964,000 dollars in one of the instances and a 14,000 dollars fine in another one. Nevertheless, the investigations, penalties and the accusations could not do much to stem the tide of fraud calls.

This has affected the customers so adversely that they are not ready to even rely on genuine Microsoft tech support representatives. The tech support representatives find it difficult convincing the customers in order to gain access into the computer to render support. 

Microsoft Tech Ads Aim At Windows 8 Push

The tech advertising campaign of Microsoft Corporation jumped 30 percent from a year ago during the first quarter. This pushed out Intuit to promote the latest operating system of Microsoft called Windows 8. In total, the ad spending by tech companies was $723 million that was up 30 percent from a year ago. This jump was noteworthy, as spending declined across all other fields. For the last five years, Intuit has led all the tech companies in advertising during the first quarter, as they promote its TurboTax and Quicken software.

This year, with Microsoft’s aggressive promotion of its Windows 8 Surface tablet, and Windows Phone, Redmond’s ad spending has jumped by 200 percent when compared to the same period in 2012, when Microsoft was winding down Windows 7 operating system. This was confirmed after contacting Microsoft tech support team.

Randall Beard, who is the global head of advertiser solutions for Nielsen, said in a statement, “Technology has become so widely available that it pervades every aspect of life to some degree.” He added, “But with increased accessibility comes increased competition, and companies are investing hefty sums into creating buzz around their biggest products in order to secure a share of this sizable market.”

Some of the other top advertisers included Google, Apple and Amazon, Nielsen said. The study covered hardware and software products that include cameras and photographic supplies, handheld music players, computers, stereo systems, and others. However, the study was not limited to only these devices.

Ads got better
Whatever the users feel about the products from Microsoft, its advertising has dramatically improved over the past quarter. The Surface ads of Microsoft were ditching the all-clacking, all-dancing, all-singing Movement premiere, which replaced it with the one that emphasized productivity.

Wes Miller, who is an analyst with Directions on Microsoft, said that the second ad marked a very big change. Miller said, ”It is significant, because it is the first ad that really shows what Surface can do that the iPad cannot.” This ad aims at clarifying the unique features of the Surface rather than dancing around it.

If you wish to know more on the tech ads of Microsoft, you can contact the Microsoft tech support team. They will be able to provide you with more information on the tech ads of Microsoft. You can also visit the Microsoft support forums. Many active discussions are taking place in these forums regarding the tech ads of Microsoft.

Troubleshooting Windows XP Update Problems

Microsoft releases updates and patches for all its operating systems that are currently in use. The Automatic Updates feature that was introduced from the Windows 98 operating system itself downloads and installs updates automatically. Usually, the Windows Update patches, service packs, hot fixes and security updates are downloaded and installed by the Windows Update program.
You may not notice the downloading and installation of the updates until you encounter any errors in the installation. Windows Update program will repeatedly try to install the failed update. Software issues, presence of temporary files that do not get deleted and other issues can lead to installation problems. The steps to troubleshoot these issues are discussed below. You may contact Microsoft tech support if you are not comfortable with performing the steps.

Steps To Be Followed

• Turn on your computer and click on the Start button, which is located on the extreme left corner of the screen. This will open the Start menu. Go to All Programs link from the Start menu. From the list, select Windows Update.
• In the Windows Update window, click on the link named Review your update history.
• In the status column, you will be able to find a red X mark. Click on this and highlight the error number with your mouse. After that, hold down the Ctrl key and C keys together to copy this number. You can also write down the number if you wish.
• Click on the Find Solutions button.
• After doing the above steps, click on the field labeled Type keywords here. After that, press the Ctrl key and V keys simultaneously. This will paste the error number that you have copied in the previous step. You can also manually type the error number if you have noted down the number. After that, hit the Enter key.
• The troubleshooter will open and will present you with the steps to troubleshoot the problem; follow these steps promptly.
• You may also search for the Windows Update installation error number in the knowledge base of Microsoft if you are not able to fix the problem after following the troubleshooter.

These are the steps to be done to get rid of installation problems of Windows XP updates. You may also refer the Microsoft tech support module in the Microsoft web page to learn more about the steps.