Computer viruses and getting scammed

Computer viruses and getting scammed

    Have you ever heard of a virus called KOOBFACE? Or the Blue screen of death (BSoD)? These are two very real things that can happen to your computer.  

Blue Screen of Death (also known as a blue screen or BSoD) is an error screen displayed on a Windows computer system after a fatal system error, also known as a system crash: when the operating system reaches a condition where it can no longer operate safely.
"Koobface is Network worm that attacks Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux platforms.^[1][2][3] This worm originally targeted users of the networking websites like Facebook, Skype, Yahoo Messenger, and email websites such as GMail, Yahoo Mail, and AOL Mail. It also targets other networking websites, such as MySpace, Twitter,^[4] and it can infect other devices on the same local network.^[5] This infection allows an attacker to access users' personal information such as banking information, passwords, or personal identity (IP address). It is considered a security risk and should be removed from the network."
But did you know that these two things are also being used as a scam? I did not know this and followed the directions on the screen. Upon doing this I reached what I thought was an actual customer service representative. After allowing them to remotely access my computer I realized that I was being scammed ,but by this time it was to late. They wanted to charge me $250 for some software to "fix" this issue.They showed me all the definitions and everything about what the koobface and BSoD is, so that they would come across as a legitimate company. I immediately disconnected everything from the internet and shutdown my WiFi. After having a real IT person painstakingly go thru my computer, I found out that this so called company had put over 250 more viruses and malware on my  computer. Thankfully she was able to remove everything and restore my computer. This honest mistake could have cost me everything. 
 With all this technology you would think that it would be easier to tell when something is a fake,but technology is what makes it even harder to know the difference. These people are able to make it look legitimate. This is why it is very important to have up to date antivirus and malware protection on our computers. 
As future teachers it is important that we stress to our students the importance of being secure online and not to click on everything, because you never know what will pop up.  I have listed a couple of Wiki sites that talk about these two things as well as link to a blog talking about the BSod. I realize know just how dumb that was and have learned a valuable lesson. Don't make the same mistake.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koobface
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Screen_of_Death
https://blog.malwarebytes.org/fraud-scam/2015/09/avoid-this-bsod-tech-support-scam/