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woodson

232 posts

Master Geek


#212771 12-Apr-2017 09:03
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Hey guys/gals

 

Quick backstory - a friend rather naively clicked on a Facebook popup ("Warning your computer has been compromised" or some such) which then led her to call a number - she then spoke to a guy, apparently in the US, for an hour, who remoted into her PC, showed her lots of "problems" (I imagine event viewer warnings) and said he could help. He installed some sort of spyware removal software, and finally got to the part where he told her how much all this would cost, at which point she hung up.

 

So, my question is this - will using the Windows 10 "Reset this PC" to wipe everything clean be enough, or is a proper drive wipe and then re-install recommended? I'd rather do the former, as the PC is a pre-built HP desktop with no Windows key sticker on it. I imagine this means the licence is baked into the BIOS, but I'm not too confident about finding the key, then securely wiping the drive before re-installing.

 

My major concern is that they may have installed some key logging software - is this 'normal' in such scams? Will the "Reset my PC' option be enough to guarantee a clean machine??

 

 

 

Would really appreciate any advice.  :)


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gehenna
8511 posts

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  #1762003 12-Apr-2017 09:28
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Format and reinstall.  




noroad
951 posts

Ultimate Geek

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  #1762015 12-Apr-2017 09:42
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A reset my pc and keep no files should work. However a better option is note the windows 10 version (32/64 bit, home/pro), then create a USB boot (do this on another machine, tool -->   https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10 ) and re-install. This will have the added advantage of removing all the HP bloatware. During install pick the I don't have a key option, it should activate automatically, win10 is actually good like that.


woodson

232 posts

Master Geek


  #1762020 12-Apr-2017 09:51
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So either way, proper re-install or "reset my pc", I won't need to hunt for the licence key on the machine because Windows will find it in the BIOS? (pardon my ignorance)




noroad
951 posts

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  #1762024 12-Apr-2017 10:02
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woodson:

 

So either way, proper re-install or "reset my pc", I won't need to hunt for the licence key on the machine because Windows will find it in the BIOS? (pardon my ignorance)

 

 

 

 

Yes, that's a new feature of Windows 10. Once activated, MS will pretty much always re-activate without you entering a key on the same hardware.


woodson

232 posts

Master Geek


  #1762026 12-Apr-2017 10:04
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Excellent. Thank you both for you responses, really appreciate it!


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