Sounds Like A Job For Tech Support Man!

An email from one of my Irvine cousins was waiting when I woke up today. There was a problem.

I have pop up ads, inline text ads and my back up won’t work. I have tried everything to remove this crap but I can’t

Sounds like a job for Tech Support Man!

He’s your cousin, your brother, your co-worker, your neighborly geek, until your computer starts throwing fits. All of a sudden he’s indispensable. He’s Tech Support Man!

No wonder IT guys always have ‘tude!

This problem was mean. Pop-ups. Ad insertions in websites. Linkjacking.

The computer felt digitally unclean. It was. Strangers had usurped some control. Who knows what they were doing that you couldn’t see?

The main miscreant was “SavingsBull.” It’s supposed to bring coupons and deals. It brings ads. Lots. Few would click to install it knowingly.

It is socially engineered onto your system. It comes packaged with something you want, like a nice piece of software. Its presence is hidden in the click agreements most folks speed through.

Someone said “Yes,” to installing it, but without knowing what they were agreeing to.

We Tech Support Men have a secret. We really don’t know how to fix everything. We just know how to find the answer. Usually the solution is laid out, A, B, C, etc.

SavingsBull is a new arrival to the pain-in-the-ass scene based on the dates of tech bulletins about it.

I used a few malware scanners to hunt down the pesky files and zap them away. It’s like fighting cancer. If you don’t get it all they can sometimes replicate itself and spread! The programs look to be fully removed and the patient should recover.

There are loads of good anti-everything programs. They’re ineffective. Most of this crap is carried in by the computer users themselves. We have been conditioned to click and say yes.

Be careful. Tech Support Man, out.

9 thoughts on “Sounds Like A Job For Tech Support Man!”

  1. Geoff,

    I’m far from being a “techno-geek”, but my Mac seems to avoid almost of all of that malware…..but then I again, I’m not tempted by the cyber-invaders……I rarely clik where I shouldn’t clik! Just say “no” and don’t clik “yes”.

      1. Actually, I don’t know why they are complaining. With a Mac, one has the capability to partition the Hard Drive, and download the latest Windows operating system with Apple’s Boot Camp software, and therefore run both operating systems and all the Windows software. Of course, once one installs the Windows operating system on their Mac, the computer now becomes vulnerable to all the malware and viruses that plague most Windows computers.
        I have not partitioned my Hard Drive and perhaps that is why my Mac runs so well.

  2. Hey…sometimes ‘tech support man’ is a SHE. I have a friend who runs tech support for an insurance company. She helpes me out all the time.
    I also have two malware programs that help screen out nasty things.

    BTW is Tech Support Man related to Bicyle Repair Man?

  3. Hi Geoff:

    I’ve found a helpful way to help protect yourself from these sneaky programs. After I install a new program, I go to Control Panel and bring up the uninstall program. I go to the Date column and click on the word Date to resort the column. I then look to see what programs may have come in with what I last installed. If any have, I uninstall them right away. I do this before I restart the computer. It may not get everything, but it’s surprising what it picks up.

    John

  4. Hey Geoff, I’m having the same problem with my computer…Savings Bull. I’ve downloaded and run WinZip Malware Protector. After running a Deep Clean and restarting my computer, it seemed like the problem was solved for a few hours but then it started happening again. What program did you use that worked?

  5. Geoff! You ROCK! Thanks so much for the link. Everything seems back to normal again. I’ve been surfing all the sites that I was having issues with and no pop-ups, no redirections, no multiple ad windows coming up. The next time I’m in SoCal, I would love to take you and Helaine out to lunch. How does Ruby’s Diner in Huntington Beach sound? Apparently, my Tech Support Man is my favorite retired weatherman. Thank you again.

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