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Forum Discussion
softtree scam
I just spent 45 minutes with a "tech" person trying to set up my extender as I have a new U-verse network. This person was IN my computer. I followed a netgear.com link. He goes through all these com...
I am in Australia and seem to have been scammed.
I had trouble installing a Netgear Range Extender for my home wi-fi and found myself in contact with Soft Tree.
Very polite, they said they were the "partners" for Netgear.
And yes, I allowed them into my computer to assist in the Netgear instalation process.
And now I am unsure just what they were doing - did I get a Firewall for example?
And how did they come to be in contact with me if I was following the Netgear printed instructions?
Hi AzzaF,
Could you please tell me where you got the manual? Was it online?
It was some months ago but they must have made contact via the web.
When I had a problem with the installation and set up I must have gone to Netgear for help and somehow Apple Tree came on line.
However the Netgear Genie seems to function.
Not sure how I check that my laptop is secure.
The easiest way to check if your firewall is on is to type "windows defender firewall" in the search box near the windows icon at the bottom left of your screen. The windows defender firewall will come up in the control panel system/security for windows 10 users. From there, you will be able to see if your firewall is enabled (green check) and change the setting if it isn't.
- Hi, it’s the set up manual that comes with Netgear in the Netgear box from amazon that has the web address my WiFi ext net ,to set the Netgear up and this website belongs to soft tree. This is why I went on the website chat when the set up didn’t work
- I found it inside the Netgear box in the manual set up instructions: the website address which has the soft tree number
If your experience was like the rest of us, I think you'll find that they did not install a firewall, but perhaps disabled yours. You should check that. Also, if you purchased anything from them, you'll find that the invoice is only for a tech support plan and does not include any of the software they said you were purchasing or told you they installed.
Did you find out if there was s pyware or malware installed?
I am in the same boat :-(
- Not infected as far as I am aware but I have changed modem and internet provider. Upgraded firewall too.
I did not have the local computer technician check for spyware because I had already spent so much money, so I went for the quickest and most inexpensive fix. However, I read posts by others that they or their computer repair techs did find back doors on their computers that would allow unauthorized access after SoftTree had been given remote access to their computers. I was also uncomfortable about the amount of time the technician spent with access to my computer. It was a simple problem that should have been fixed in a few minutes, but it took over an hour. I can only imagine what the technician was able to access in that amount of time. I was also very uncomfortable with the fact that the SoftTree technician advised against updating the router's firmware (which would provide the security patch to correct for vulnerabilities). To correct the situation, a reputable, trusted local computer technician saved my files, returned my computer to factory settings, then reloaded my files. He also reset my router and updated the firmware. Everything has been working great since then.
- Thank you for your detailed reply.
I bought Norton after this and it hasn’t picked up anything. Do you think that should be enough? Feel foolish for going on the online chat for the website and then giving them my mobile number to call on and go through all the remote access thing. Feel absolutely gutted and stupid! How is that website address in the set up manual?
But I did notice that my firewall was off and it had granted access to the any desk user.
When I went on the chat back for the company( the chat has never been,”online” since this happened,may be they blocked something on my computer) their,”supervisor” called me and said they have no one in Ohio which is where I supposedly received the call from( it was a no number).
They said they are based in California( sounded more like India) and have 1-323 numbers
Most computer techs are closed now due to lockdowns.
Really worrying a lot.
Thanks for your help once again
Honestly, I reset my network and started from scratch.