pc repair newbury park
Computer Is Locked Scam – Fixed
Yesterday we had a pc computer brought to us by one of our customers. They responded to our advertising for computer repair in Moorpark, CA. The customer complained that he got a call from someone pretending to be Microsoft support. He talked to them and he followed their directions for a minute until he realized it was a scam call. However, after what he was told to do and after something that he did, his Windows 10 pc computer, became locked.
This is what the screen on an “infected pc” looked like:
Since I didn’t know anything about it, it got a little frustrating, because there was really no way to log into a computer. I tried booting into safe mode and tried looking at the registry to see if there were any programs being launched on the windows startup. But I couldn’t get anywhere.
I also tried downloading Kaspersky bootable USB rescue disk, and booting the computer from it, but couldn’t even see any directories on the C-drive in order to back the files up. Nothing seemed to work.
How To Fix Computer Is Locked Scam
After that, I installed a second hard drive into the computer and installed a fresh version of Windows 10 on it. From there I was actually able to access the files. The first place I went was the Program Files directory. In there I immediately saw some strange folder named Lock My PC 4. I opened it and saw that it was some sort of software that might be locking this computer.
Since I was on a different OS, I couldn’t uninstall it. So I just went ahead and deleted the entire folder with all files in it.
After the folder was deleted, I unplugged the new drive and left the original drive only. Restarted the computer and voila! It booted up normally.
Then I ran a virus scan that turned up some PUPs, but no viruses nor any kind of malware on the computer. Which was strange. Cause I really expected there would be something that caused this Lock My Pc 4 program to be installed. But there was nothing.
So then I went to the developer’s website who created this Lock My Pc 4 Software and I saw a note in red letters at the top of the screen. Which said that due to scammers using this Free software, the developer decided to discontinue public access to it. This means that the scammers were using this well-intended software to fulfill their evil deeds and scam people out of money.
How Do I Protect Myself From Online Scammers
I can not stress this enough. Do not let anyone ever connect to your computer remotely, unless you know the person in real life and you can trust them. I can not begin to tell you how many customers I had who trust people who call them up and pretend to be from HP, Microsoft, or some other place. Then gain access to their computer to lock it up or infect it with viruses and then ask for a ransom to fix the problem they have just created.
People have too much trust in institutions and scammers take advantage of that! If you want to keep your computer clean. DO NOT LET ANYONE REMOTE ACCESS YOUR COMPUTER EVER!
What To Do If Your Computer Has A Lock Scam
If you read this article and you’re somewhat proficient with computer repair you can just do what I did, but only if your screen looks the same as I posted in the picture, or it might look slightly different because when I looked through that folder, they had 6 similar images to put on a lock screen as part of the software.
If you have no idea how computers work, but you have a pc that is locked and you can not open it. Then call Fastest Mac Repair and Pc Repair Newbury park at 805-585-5535 and we will help you fix it!
Or stop by our computer repair shop at 3339 Kimber dr. STE D, Newbury Park, CA 91320. We’re open 10-5 pm on weekdays and sometimes on Saturdays. Please call to verify Saturday hours!
We also provide pc repair in Moorpark, Thousand Oaks, Agoura Hills, Camarillo, Malibu and surrounding areas!
Gaming PC Blank Screen Fans Are Spinning
It used to be when Gaming PCs would stop working it was almost always a motherboard issue. Something would burn out on the motherboard and the Gaming PC would sort of turn on, but display nothing on a screen. Back in the day, you were almost always certain it was a graphics chip or something else wrong with the motherboard.
However today times are different and gaming pc repair is more tricky. Ever since the CPUs were produced with graphics capability in them, they became more complex. So nowadays when a gaming PC or a PC Desktop with a CPU with graphics in it fails, you are not so sure what is going on. And judging from the gaming pcs that came in the past two years, there were more and more cases where a failed CPU was a culprit. With the motherboard being intact.
The challenge always is to find out which one of the components is faulty. Is it a motherboard or is it a CPU? There is really no other way of finding out, other than putting a CPU into another (working) motherboard. Or put another CPU into the current motherboard and see which one works.
This last Gaming PC that came in, had a faulty CPU also. How did we find out? Since we didn’t have the same type of motherboard or CPU in stock, we had to order one of the two. Unfortunately, we ordered the wrong one. We decided to buy a new motherboard, but after it arrived and the old CPU was installed, the gaming pc was acting exactly the same as with the original motherboard. Which tells us that the CPU was faulty.
So now we will get a new CPU and remember the new rule of thumb (sort of)! Next time we will try to ERR on the side of the CPU being faulty rather than the motherboard, cause it really seems to be happening more often this way. And seems like Intel CPUs are also failing a little more often than AMD.
If you are experiencing issues where your gaming pc doesn’t start, or your gaming pc has black screen, or you need a PC assembled or you have assembled a PC and it doesn’t work properly. Call Fastest Mac Repair and Pc Repair Newbury Park at 805-585-5535 we can help!
Or stop by our store at 3339 Kimber Dr. STE D, Newbury Park, CA 91320
We are the fastest, most qualified PC repair shop in Thousand Oaks area. we also offer computer repair in Moorpark, ca and pc and mac repair in Camarillo, CA
Cheers!
Gaming PC Is Shutting Down- Graphic Card Failure
This gaming pc shutting down randomly issue, at first seemed to appear as puzzle and as a great challenge. Because it would shut down randomly, after 4-5 minutes when playing a video game. Or when rendering some videos on a computer.At other times it was running smoothly, which made the whole situation a little confusing at first.
So like always, first thing we had to check was RAM memory and after switching them back and forth, as well as trying to run computer on one memory stick at the time. The problem still persisted.But the possibility of RAM stick being faulty was eliminated.
Next we thought its either the power supply or the graphics card. Because it seemed that the shut down issue was occurring when gaming pc was under heavy load of graphics. So right away, we tried to install a different graphics card. After installing it, had to update the latest drivers on it. And then try playing a video game.
And what do you know, the pc stopped shutting down. the game was playing smoothly for over an hour and there were no problems anymore.
Graphics card failure is pretty common thing in a computer world. they fail on laptops, macbooks, imacs, and all other devices. they fail due to overheating issues, due to manufacturing defects, from aging and all of the above combined. In most cases you can guess how long your card will last. But in general they last quite a long time, especially if you make sure the fans on it are clean and they get proper cooling, as well as periodically changing thermal paste on them as well, also to improve cooling, so it does’g get too hot quickly.
for any computer questions or any gaming pc repair issues feel free to call us at 805-585-5535 or stop by our store at Fastest mac repair and pc repair newbury park, ca 91320
All questions and quotes are free of charge.
Fast Custom PC Build Service
Building your own computers from scratch used to be a thing of the past, or so I thought. Yet in reality many people still do it. Some of those people are graphic designers or architects, but most of course are “Gamers”, who want to have powerful machines to be able to keep up with latest technology and enjoy themselves playing some of the coolest video games they have these days.
Most of the repair that we do in our shop are laptop repairs, but once in a blue moon we still get people who want to build their own PC’s and either don’t know how to do it, or in most cases they try to do it themselves, but either screw something up along the way, or can’t figure out how to make everything work properly. Then they bring it to us- “the experts”!
Cause in most cases everything goes pretty smoothly if you just follow directions and put things right. But that is not always the case. In some situations the new parts that come in are faulty and computer won’t work because of that.
But in most cases when there is some kind of hiccup with computer, it is because of user error. In most cases people damage the CPU socket by bending the pins, in some cases they plug in cables incorrectly, or in some they even order wrong parts and everything must be re-done from scratch.
In this computer custom computer build scenario, we had two cables that were shorting out the whole system. Which was tricky to identify, because no one would have thought it would be a SATA cable that shorted the whole computer from even turning on…. and just like saying goes- you learn something new every day- cause anything can happen, especially when it comes to computers.
So, next time you want to put together a custom pc build, feel free to contact us, if you want to save yourself some trouble and get it done right the first time. Especially if you are not feeling sure about doing it yourself.
For us it takes only couple hours to do it. Assuming we have correct parts. and we will test everything out and give you a properly working machine back in no time!
we can be reached at Fastest Mac Repair and Pc Repair Newbury Park 3339 Kimber dr. STE D, Newbury Park, CA 91320. Our phone number is 805-585-5535. Feel free to call any time. we answer all questions free and to the point.
We provide pc and mac repair service in Thousand Oaks, Agoura Hills, and surrounding areas!
Macbook pro 2015 swollen battery replacement
Macbook pro 2015 swollen battery replacement is a quite often job we perform at Fastest Mac Repair and Pc Repair Newbury Park. And one thing to note right away. Lithium batteries swell up not only on Macbook pros, they can blow up like that on any of the devices, including pc laptops, iPhones, Samsung phones, iPads, etc.
The reason that happens, is because of how Lithium batteries are made. At some point if the battery has a defect, there will be a chemical reaction taking place inside the battery, which causes some gases to build up inside the battery wrapper. And since that wrapper is sealed pretty well, those gases have no way of escaping, hence the battery swells up and at some point individual cell packs start looking like little pillows.
You can poke that lining with a small needle or a sharp pin, to release the gas and the swelling will go down right away. But i certainly don’t recommend doing that, especially if you’re inside the house. Because that gas coming out of the battery is pretty toxic and shouldn’t be inhaled by anyone.
However i even if you release the pressure from the cell packs, you shouldn’t be using that battery any longer. They are also known to catch on fire quickly.
So best thing to do, if you have a battery that blew up on you, is to bring in and get macbook pro 2015 swollen battery replacement done.
We usually have batteries in stock for most models of macbooks. And battery replacement service takes about 45 minutes total!
Find us at Fastest Mac Repair and Pc Repair Newbury Park, CA 91320
or call us at 805-585-5535 we are the fastest mac repair service in Thousand Oaks and Agoura Hills Areas!
Macbook pro 2011 Video Chip Repair
Last we did two more macbook pro 2011 video chip repairs once again.
These macbook, like clockwork, have developed a graphics chip problem that has been knows for years. it can make computer boot up slowly, it can make macbook crash, it can make macbook show colored lines on the screen or it can prevent macbook pro 2011 from powering on.
Graphics or video chip on a 2011 macbook pro 15 inch (model number a1286) is located on a logic board. Hence the repair is actually macbook logic boar repair and requires advanced soldering.
Since we have done many of these, we can do it fairly quickly, depending on how many jobs we have in front. But rest assured, it is a solid repair and your macbook will run forever after. Meaning, you won’t have any more video chip problems.
That certainly doesn’t mean you won’t have any other problems with it. because they do get failing hard drive issues as well. But that is easily solved with SSD upgrade, which we also offer on site in our stores.
SSD upgrade usually takes few hours or it will be ready next day, depending on when you drop it off.
this macbook pro in photo, was fixed in just 2 days and now the graphics on it is running flawlessly!
we provide 6 months warranty with macbook pro 2011 video chip repair, but we never had anyone come back. so warranty is really just a formality!
call us at 818-960-7343 mac repair agoura hills
or at 805-585-5535 if you are located in thousand oaks or newbury park, ca areas visit us at Fastest mac repair and pc repair newbury park at:
3339 Kimber dr. Ste D, Newbury Park, CA 91320 (Wendy and Kimber Plaza, next to Country Harvest restaurant).
pc Computer running slow? its your own fault!
is your pc computer running slow? that is not so uncommon nowadays. and most of the time there is one reason for it. i have been seeing same thing over and over again on many computers. many computer techs dont even know what that is and their solution to the problem is to re-install windows 10. however that is (almost never) necessary!
the reason computers run slow today(with all those super processors and maximum memory that you got!) is because of ADWARE. adware is what is referred to PUP’s or potentially unwanted software! those are the programs that are not malicious. that means they don’t do any harm to your computer or your software, however they are like trash laying around your house. you can step over it and let it lay there, but at the end of the day your living room is full of trash and it lays there and makes things unpleasant.
adware also maybe tracks your online behavior, but in most cases it just pops up and offers you to buy something or it pretends it scans your computer for errors and usually finds errors and encourages you to buy full version or program so it can fix those imaginary errors!
so how does it get on your computer everyone is asking me and how to protect yourself from it? so your “pc computer running slow” thing doesnt happen.
the answer is simple. YOU – yes you! a user. have to stop putting it on your computer. like i said above. adware is not a virus. it doesnt install itself onto your computer. it is usually the people who install it themselves and then wonder why things are slow! so yes you are your biggest enemy!
so what to do?! well first if you already have adware you have to get rid of it! you can use malwarebytes program its free. but it doesnt always clean everything out. some things have to be removed manually too! so best thing is to call fastest mac repair and pc repair newbury park and we will do it for you! call 805-585-5535
in terms of prevention. most adware comes when you install new programs. here is an image of when i was installing file zilla. during installation there were two windows where i had to uncheck the box asking me if i want to install additional software.
it literally asks you if you want to install it! and you have to say NO!
but what do most people do? they just click click click next and they dont read anything! then you have a computer full of who knows what! 🙂
if you’re looking for reliable, quickest mac repair or pc repair service in thousand oaks area call us at 805-585-5535 or stop by at 3339 Kimber dr. Suite D, Newbury Park, Ca 91320 www.fastestmacpcrepair.com check out our reviews on yelp https://www.yelp.com/biz/fastest-mac-repair-and-pc-repair-newbury-park-thousand-oaks
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I opened my first computer store, after i looked around to notice that people didn't have a proper place to repair their computers at.
It is similar (if not worse)with companies like Geek Squad(Best Buy), Genius Bar (Apple), Asurion(UbreakiFixit). They hardly do any inhouse repairs. Most of their computers get shipped out to manufacturers or other repair centers.
For that reason i was on a mission to change this industry and get computers fixed as fast as I can. So you and your family can get back to their zoom meetings as quickly as possible!
Another reason you should come here is because I fix most of the people's computer in the area anyway. Most just collect them and send them to me or I usually have to take care of their customers because the "other computer geniuses" break something and computer still ends up in our repair shop after that. I'm not saying that I'm perfect. I also make mistakes sometimes or sometimes get overwhelmed and forget something. But that doesn't happen very often. and if it does. It happens because of my own error or accident, not because I'm incompetent nor do i need to hide it by telling you to just go buy anohter computer cause this one is not fixable. Like other people do. I write this, because i really take it personally. And i don't understand why people have to lie instead of telling the person they don't know how to fix it. and just tell them to go look for some other options. I take this service seriously. I love doing it and i love providing nothing less than a truly NO-BS-Excellent service to people who come visit me! hope you will be one of them! Oh yes, and also in my free time i get out of town and shoot landscape photography! feel free to stop by our shop to see my artwork!
Visit my photography website here: Nature Photos For Sale
