What happens if I push "windows" and "delete" keys?

[Wade Lippman]

I got a phone call today from Alex. In a barely understandable accent he told me that he saw that my computer was full of harmful files and wanted to help me. When I expressed distress at the problem, he turned me over to the WindowsCare (a partner of Microsoft!) supervisor. Paul had an equally strong accent. He wanted me to push the "windows" key and the "delete" keys (well I think that is what he said; hard to be sure).
That seemed like a bad idea, so I hung up.

I presume the goal was to turn something off, so I would have to pay them to learn how to turn it back on. So what do these keys do? Google doesn't show anything, but perhaps I misunderstood Paul.

[Steve Wurster]

Pressing the Windows key brings up the Start menu and puts the cursor in the Search / Run box. Pressing delete removes anything that might have been pre-populated in that area. The next thing they would have you do is type some command they want you to run.

Yes, this phone call you got is a scam. See http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/10/i-am-calling-you-from-windows-a-tech-support-scammer-dials-ars-technica/

[Wade Lippman]

Thanks.
I feel sorry for the poor sobs who have to make the phone calls.

[David Weaver]

They would probably have had him going through regedit or ip config so they could either get him to delete things he wouldn't want to delete, or help him find his IP address so that they could get onto his PC.

[Lee Schierer]

I had a similar call a few weeks ago. I knew the moment the person told me they were with Microsoft and they wanted to help me fix my computer that it was a scam because my computer actually two of them were working just fine. I hung up on them. My computers are still working just fine.

[John Coloccia]

I put them on speakerphone and play with them for 10 or 20 minutes. They hear me typing in the background...maybe doing some CAD or PCB work. Not to feed any stereotypes, but it's always pretty entertaining when the Indian guy pretending to be a mild mannered, patient, kind and understanding tech support fellow finally looses his cool and starts shouting obscenities in at least two different languages.

[Shawn Pixley]

We got the call last week. We jerked them around for a while before we became bored. Then we told them that we had only Macs. I hope we made them mad enough that they will take us off their list. - probably just wistful thinking

[Bruce Volden]

We got the call last week. We jerked them around for a while before we became bored. Then we told them that we had only Macs. I hope we made them mad enough that they will take us off their list. - probably just wistful thinking

Shawn, for shame.
These folks have to make a living too! :D

Bruce

[Rick Potter]

Thanks for the warning. I might just be dumb enough to believe them.

Rick Potter

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Okay..... I just found one of the first advantages of being deaf!

This actually happened to me a couple months ago......

While I have a cochlear implant and do quite well in face to face conversations, telephone and television audio are of such poor quality that they can be very difficult to understand.

My wife answered the phone.....I am the "nerd" of the family and she is of the "computer ignorant" class. She gave me the phone....the guy gave me his schpeel....and I said I'm sorry.....I'm deaf and use a CI to hear and dont' do well on the phone. The guy hung up. LOL!

[Stephen Cherry]

One of the ways to fix this is to not have a home phone to be called on. I've got a el cheapo walmart cell phone, and I don't answer it if I don't know who is calling.

I really don't miss having a home telephone at all.

[paul cottingham]

I tell them I only run Linux at home, then sit back and listen while they try to tell me it's just like Windows.

[Myk Rian]

Thanks.
I feel sorry for the poor sobs who have to make the phone calls.
Or the ones that push the Windows and Delete keys.

[Myk Rian]

One of the ways to fix this is to not have a home phone to be called on.
That's what we did.
My Android phone hangs up on all 800, 888, etc. numbers unless I tell it it's a good number.
"Call Control" is pretty cool.

[Hubert Carle]

This is pure business. There are enough dummies out there to make it worthwhile to go through all you pain in the people. LOL

[Wade Lippman]

That's what we did.
My Android phone hangs up on all 800, 888, etc. numbers unless I tell it it's a good number.
"Call Control" is pretty cool.
When we moved a year ago we got a landline because it was part of a package; but I transferred my old number to google voice, and had it forward calls to my new phone. (I don't even know what my new number is) The good part is that gv automatically blocks most spam, as well as ones I manually block.
Another nice feature is that I can change the forwarding to my cell when traveling.

[Jerry Thompson]

Could this be why my bank account is empty, my credit cards maxed out and the truck just took away my furniture AND my remote? :)

[Myk Rian]

Do you still have your dog?

[Rich Engelhardt]

What happens if I push "windows" and "delete" keys?
The federal government shuts down......


:D

[Myk Rian]

The federal government shuts down......


:D
:):):)
Good one

[Dave Sheldrake]

A fun one is renaming your home wireless network SSID to "FBI Surv Van1" for cold calls tell them your busy and ask them to call back later on your work number, then give them the number of the FBI Computer Crime unit to call back on.

cheers

Dave

[Kevin Bourque]

Hitting the Windows & Delete keys simultaneously starts the launch sequence for the ICBM missiles that protect our country.

[Rick Potter]

But Kevin,

They are shut down also.

[Rick Christopherson]

A fun one is renaming your home wireless network SSID to "FBI Surv Van1" I actually labeled mine "Malware" just for that reason. Many of my neighbors were naming theirs with their name or worse yet, home addresses. I don't think they realize that the name is broadcast to anyone searching for a network.

[Chuck Wintle]

I got a phone call today from Alex. In a barely understandable accent he told me that he saw that my computer was full of harmful files and wanted to help me. When I expressed distress at the problem, he turned me over to the WindowsCare (a partner of Microsoft!) supervisor. Paul had an equally strong accent. He wanted me to push the "windows" key and the "delete" keys (well I think that is what he said; hard to be sure).
That seemed like a bad idea, so I hung up.

I presume the goal was to turn something off, so I would have to pay them to learn how to turn it back on. So what do these keys do? Google doesn't show anything, but perhaps I misunderstood Paul.
These scams unfortunately work all too often. My first question would be how he "saw" the harmful files in my computer.

[Dan Hintz]

I actually labeled mine "Malware" just for that reason. Many of my neighbors were naming theirs with their name or worse yet, home addresses. I don't think they realize that the name is broadcast to anyone searching for a network.

I just don't broadcast ours... if you don't know the network name, you shouldn't be on it.

[Bill Huber]

I got my call today and did I have fun with the guy.

When he told me what to type in to the run command I told him it came up with a window and said " You are a dump #@$ if you think I am going to do that" he came back and said that shows that your computer is invested with a virus.

I then told him off in words that I can not say here just to make me feel better and then he hung up.

I really feel sorry for people that fall for this, there are so many that just don't know that it is a scam.