The company started business last October in an older building in northeast Portland. Customers ended up calling the company after seeing its number in adware programs, which typically bait people by offering a free utility such as a media player but primarily push other paid-for software.
Security experts have long warned of adware-based scams. With callers' permission, EZ Tech Support agents installed a remote access program on their computers. Agents then installed a free application called Webroot Analyzer, a legitimate application that flags possible problems on a computer.
The items highlighted by Webroot's Analyzer -- even if the issues had no material effect on a computer -- were used to convince people they needed to buy Defender Pro. A copy of the script followed by EZ Tech Support's agents shows how callers were misled. If customers said they were running an antivirus program, agents were instructed to say the program wasn't bad but imply that it was insufficient protection. A distinction between viruses and malware is nonexistent in modern security programs, which detect all kinds of harmful programs.
Many who called EZ Tech Support, however, were older people with little knowledge about computers, former employees said.
The U. Some of those companies had business models similar to that of EZ Tech Support. But the agents have a solution: callers can purchase an antivirus program called Defender Pro Antivirus , from Bling Software. Callers can haggle for lower prices. Those dialling in are typically in their late 30s or older.
Federal Trade Commission regulations. Consumer antivirus software has become a highly competitive business, in part because data breaches are in the news almost every week , and people feel a need to protect themselves.
Tech support services abound on the Internet, and phone numbers for some of those businesses are often found in bundles of questionable software known as adware.
People willingly download adware, often to get a free program, but it can also be foisted on them through vulnerabilities in their software. Defender Pro Antivirus is effective at detecting malware, but an independent testing company says it is buggy.
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