I just received a call from an indian microsoft technician. He informed me that my PC is sending a ton of error messages to microsoft. Most likely it has been hacked, and he would help me by remoting in and fixing the problem for me. I just wonder… Is it my PopOs or my Manjaro PC that sends all this info to microsoft?

  • MystikIncarnate
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    8 months ago

    Ehh. With enough digital forensics performed, you can generally get the information to authorities who will do something. For the average power user, this level of forensics is more than you’re going to be able to perform on your own. Simply having an IP address really isn’t sufficient. One unsubstantiated claim with an IP address doesn’t constitute enough evidence for them to take action, especially by someone who lives in a different country.

    I only say so because I’ve seen the lengths some people have gone to in order to track down scammers and similar nefarious individuals and “companies”, and it is quite involved. Far more than what I would expect any single person to take on by themselves and frequently requiring extensive knowledge of the tools used, the vulnerabilities in those tools, and a fair amount of legwork (literally traveling around to collect information)… Which isn’t to mention a good amount of funding. At the end of the day, you’re just cutting off one of the heads of the Hydra, and they’ll be back in short order. There’s no shortage of morally bankrupt people willing to exploit and extort people with more money than sense, or at least, without enough technical understanding to know better. The problem isn’t exclusive to India, and with a billion people, there’s bound to be a disproportionate representation of scoundrels in that region whom are happy to rob anyone and everyone of their last dime just to get rich.

    Bluntly, it’s more of a statement on humanity than it is of India, the Indian people, or their culture. These garbage people exist everywhere… Snake oil salesmen come to mind.