Network Hackers are not just Computer Hackers - Page 1

At least that's what this very polite Indian guy is telling me. They use your network to send spam? Well, apparently this has been the cause of the PC's verrrry slow performance lately? Or am I just being scammed again! I let them clean one PC, for $150. Now they say they are cleaning the network. They will clean the other PC, next. The Mac's they agree are "safe". However, one must realize a computer can be safe, but your network may not be! They say certain cleaning programs I downloaded were fakes!

Any computer expert discussion on this topic would be greatly appreciated.

Also:

He took me to their website, nortonaid.com He showed me on the PC to press the Windows/icon + R, enter cmd, and where there should be no "foreign connections, well, there were plenty. One particular file he did not like was called: csrss.exe. We googled it, and it is a trojan. I allowed removal of SuperAntiSpyWare and Malwarebytes, to unslow the system per their recommendations. I said these were told to me, to be good. Their answer to that was that they were programmer tools and it could be too easy for a wrong file to be deleted by someone who wouldn't know better.

SuperAntiSpyware and Malwarebytes utilize simple, intuitive interfaces that anyone can successfully navigate.  Combined with a comprehensive Anti-virus solution, they negate the need for your geek friends, so of course, you got the advice you did.  "Hijack This" would be a more powerful, intermediate level solution, but an intelligent individual with some patience can master it.  Hope it works out.  Optimally, you use scheduled scans, real time protection, and the occasional additional scans to protect your system. 

It gets worse! 

I am such a fool!  To be continued.
 

Wow. This is something else. You hear about these "old" folks getting bullied and scammed. This is a story of how it is done to them. It happens because the scammer takes advantage of someone not understanding a problem to know the correct solution, and a generation that was taught to believe in what people say.

....to be continued... sorry to do it this way, but this is real time for me and wasn't planned.... will get to the rest asap...

Carlin, 
I am pretty sure the PC owner, my DH, did minimal maintenance if any at all. I installed those programs for him, but it didn't stop the NETWORK from being hacked. All MAC stuff on that end. I had Kaspersky and firewalls from Microsoft, I thought any way. It didn't stop THEM from hacking my NETWORK to send spam. That is what supposedly "tipped off" Nortonaid. 

They called me on a Saturday afternoon to tell me this? I almost hung up on the guy thinking he was trying to sell me something! If it wasn't for the FACT that the PC was running DAMN slow... I would never have given this guy, with a recognizable accent, the time of day. I am also familiar with the brand Norton from my past purchases, so it has some credibility. I listened.

 

So, as the story goes, I question them on how do they even have my phone number? They explain their involvement with Microsoft and it was something that was at one time given to them. That is when they walk me through the necessary commands to see what they want me to see. 

Are they scaring me with the tale, that what they found is a bad thing......... and all those other programs did nothing to detect them.... or was it me? User error? I just want to know the right answer. Thanks about that. I have a few more thoughts on the whole, I want to bring up. For later....

I haven't had any problems with intrusions, bots, tool kits, etc for years, but it isn't because of any one AV solution.  The threats are so diverse, that I have found that no one method of protection (ha ha, yeah I know) is 100% effective.  I have gotten some garbage right through the Norton firewall.  I haven't used an apple product (any at all) since the Apple IIc about 25 years ago, so I am not as familiar with the OS.  Vigilance goes a long way.  Most of the time, you aren't going to hurt yourself doing some of this stuff if you use some common sense.  The attack on the network would have to have come through one of the computers on the network;  I imagine they'll all have to be cleaned.  How many users are on this network?

csrss.exe is a common windows file in the system32 folder, btw. 

Right now, I'd be a little concerned about identity.