control of computer - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

lktknow · 10-16-2008, 12:05 PM

I have a question about "outside control" of the computer.

Or I guess that is what you would call it. I should tell you, I am not real computer savvy.
Here's the deal: I bought a computer going on a year ago now, and have had absolutely no problems with it whatsoever.

About a week and a half ago, I was doing something on the computer, on the Internet, and a screen came up saying my computer was nearing the end of warranty. I read it, and made a mental note of it ,although I knew anyway that the warranty was near the end. It is actually due on 11/14/2008.
I clicked out of that screen, really not knowing where it came from in the first place,oh I knew it came from the maker of the computer, but??
And then,I just forgot about it.
So,last night, a friend and myself were playing a game of scrabble on the Internet, and my computer completely shuts down,with no warning,it just goes about the process of shutting itself down.
I thought to myself, "That's never happened before, and it was strange", but I turned it back on and went back to what I was doing.
So, this morning,when I checked my email, there was one from the maker of my computer telling me that time is running out for the warranty to be extended: this is a partial of the email

"With your existing warranty about to end, now is a great time to extend coverage on your HP desktop PC. Purchase an HP House Call Extended Service Plan now and extend your coverage to enjoy the convenience of in-home repair* on most components, and get virus and spyware removal assistance. "

it also had the model and serial number of my computer in the email.
my question is: is it possible for them to make my computer start doing weird things ,just in order to force me , or make me think it is a wise idea to extend the warranty.

should this be in tilted paranoia?lol

Vigilante · 10-16-2008, 01:05 PM

I wish everyone lived near me. These things would be gone in a heartbeat if I could sit down at the computer.

If I were you, I would go to the control panel and remove everything HP, except for system controls such as keyboard function key drivers and other hardware functions in software. I would remove any antivirus they installed, music programs, etc. Then I put everything necessary back, only I use what I like instead. This is what I do with OEM machines when they hit my desk - I remove everything OEM for a clean windows OS, or I simply format and start from scratch if the registry is buggered up.

You can find warranty info anytime you want through the HP site or through your original purchase contract, as you already know. You don't need them to tell you, again, that they want more money.

As for remote control, yes it is very possible, but unlikely. I don't think HP can legally affect your computer over the wire like that unless you ask them too, and I don't think they would. As for an email with personal info, never do it. It may not even be HP, but a clever ruse propagated by a virus. Not that I've heard of this before, but it's possible, just like remotely restarting a machine. Just go to the command line and run shutdown -t 0 -s and it shuts down, or run shutdown -t 0 -r and it reboots, just like that. If you know the admin password of a machine on the network, you can even shut down a windows machine without logging into it!

But anyways, I have a question. Are you behind a router? If not, you should be. Hardware firewalls are always safer than software firewalls, plus you can have several computers if you like when you have a router, all networked safely.

Just some things to consider...

lktknow · 10-17-2008, 11:28 AM

, I appreciate your answer, and I went to the control panel to see what all indicated it was HP related, and found nothing with the HP logo on it. I'm sure, it's because I don't know what it is I am looking for.
Someone told me, a neighbor, that all new computers have some sort of chip or something inside of them,that has a clock,or a date so to speak, of when your warranty ends, and it triggers something, to notify you of this event. That being the case,if it is true,makes me angry, because I am aware of when I bought the computer, and the warranty, and I do not need to be reminded by them.
Having said that, you asked me if I was behind a router, and if not, I should be.
This opens a whole new can of worms.
I have a laptop in my bedroom, and a desk top in the living room. I went and bought one of the most expensive wireless routers they had, its a Netgear 54Mbps Wireless Router, in the hope that I could connect the laptop to wireless, but no matter what I do, I cannot make it happen. A person I know came over and hooked it up, and it worked for a couple days, but then I lost the wireless connection, and I am on dial up on the laptop. Netgear was of little help, mainly because I did not understand what they were telling me to do.
I'm fairly sure, you would need more information, to help me solve this new problem,but I am unaware, of just what information you would need.
I thank you for the time you already gave me in your answer.
Oh, I meant to tell you, I went to the event viewer, and found something called "group policy" with a process id of 11/24, which is the date my warranty expires. and the event happened on the day my computer shut down without notice.

Lasereth · 10-17-2008, 11:32 AM

They are not controlling your computer. It sounds like you may have spyware or adware installed. They will not take control unless you ask them to, and even then you would have to go to a website and follow directions in order for them to do it, most likely over the phone.

Vigilante · 10-17-2008, 12:09 PM

I wish I could help you more with this, but honestly I think you should get someone local to help you with the machine.

About your neighbor, yes all computers have an internal clock, but the warranty trigger is simply a program that was pre-installed. I assume this but I have honestly never seen it in action.

But back to getting that machine in working order if the shutdowns keep occurring, I would definitely get a local friend or hired tech to fix it, if it needs fixing. Right now it doesn't sound like it needs anything but a good software enema, but you may have a different opinion, I don't know. As for the wireless, if you can't figure it out, then get the person that set it up to try one more time.

10-16-2008, 12:05 PM	#1 (permalink)
lktknow Insane Location: here&there	control of computer I have a question about "outside control" of the computer. Or I guess that is what you would call it. I should tell you, I am not real computer savvy. Here's the deal: I bought a computer going on a year ago now, and have had absolutely no problems with it whatsoever. About a week and a half ago, I was doing something on the computer, on the Internet, and a screen came up saying my computer was nearing the end of warranty. I read it, and made a mental note of it ,although I knew anyway that the warranty was near the end. It is actually due on 11/14/2008. I clicked out of that screen, really not knowing where it came from in the first place,oh I knew it came from the maker of the computer, but?? And then,I just forgot about it. So,last night, a friend and myself were playing a game of scrabble on the Internet, and my computer completely shuts down,with no warning,it just goes about the process of shutting itself down. I thought to myself, "That's never happened before, and it was strange", but I turned it back on and went back to what I was doing. So, this morning,when I checked my email, there was one from the maker of my computer telling me that time is running out for the warranty to be extended: this is a partial of the email "With your existing warranty about to end, now is a great time to extend coverage on your HP desktop PC. Purchase an HP House Call Extended Service Plan now and extend your coverage to enjoy the convenience of in-home repair* on most components, and get virus and spyware removal assistance. " it also had the model and serial number of my computer in the email. my question is: is it possible for them to make my computer start doing weird things ,just in order to force me , or make me think it is a wise idea to extend the warranty. should this be in tilted paranoia?lol __________________ Never give up on something that you can’t go a day without thinking about. ~

10-16-2008, 01:05 PM	#2 (permalink)
Vigilante Broken Arrow Location: US	I wish everyone lived near me. These things would be gone in a heartbeat if I could sit down at the computer. If I were you, I would go to the control panel and remove everything HP, except for system controls such as keyboard function key drivers and other hardware functions in software. I would remove any antivirus they installed, music programs, etc. Then I put everything necessary back, only I use what I like instead. This is what I do with OEM machines when they hit my desk - I remove everything OEM for a clean windows OS, or I simply format and start from scratch if the registry is buggered up. You can find warranty info anytime you want through the HP site or through your original purchase contract, as you already know. You don't need them to tell you, again, that they want more money. As for remote control, yes it is very possible, but unlikely. I don't think HP can legally affect your computer over the wire like that unless you ask them too, and I don't think they would. As for an email with personal info, never do it. It may not even be HP, but a clever ruse propagated by a virus. Not that I've heard of this before, but it's possible, just like remotely restarting a machine. Just go to the command line and run shutdown -t 0 -s and it shuts down, or run shutdown -t 0 -r and it reboots, just like that. If you know the admin password of a machine on the network, you can even shut down a windows machine without logging into it! But anyways, I have a question. Are you behind a router? If not, you should be. Hardware firewalls are always safer than software firewalls, plus you can have several computers if you like when you have a router, all networked safely. Just some things to consider... __________________ We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle. -Winston Churchill Last edited by Vigilante; 10-16-2008 at 01:07 PM..

10-17-2008, 11:28 AM	#3 (permalink)
lktknow Insane Location: here&there	, I appreciate your answer, and I went to the control panel to see what all indicated it was HP related, and found nothing with the HP logo on it. I'm sure, it's because I don't know what it is I am looking for. Someone told me, a neighbor, that all new computers have some sort of chip or something inside of them,that has a clock,or a date so to speak, of when your warranty ends, and it triggers something, to notify you of this event. That being the case,if it is true,makes me angry, because I am aware of when I bought the computer, and the warranty, and I do not need to be reminded by them. Having said that, you asked me if I was behind a router, and if not, I should be. This opens a whole new can of worms. I have a laptop in my bedroom, and a desk top in the living room. I went and bought one of the most expensive wireless routers they had, its a Netgear 54Mbps Wireless Router, in the hope that I could connect the laptop to wireless, but no matter what I do, I cannot make it happen. A person I know came over and hooked it up, and it worked for a couple days, but then I lost the wireless connection, and I am on dial up on the laptop. Netgear was of little help, mainly because I did not understand what they were telling me to do. I'm fairly sure, you would need more information, to help me solve this new problem,but I am unaware, of just what information you would need. I thank you for the time you already gave me in your answer. Oh, I meant to tell you, I went to the event viewer, and found something called "group policy" with a process id of 11/24, which is the date my warranty expires. and the event happened on the day my computer shut down without notice. __________________ Never give up on something that you can’t go a day without thinking about. ~ Last edited by lktknow; 10-17-2008 at 11:31 AM..

10-17-2008, 12:09 PM	#5 (permalink)
Vigilante Broken Arrow Location: US	I wish I could help you more with this, but honestly I think you should get someone local to help you with the machine. About your neighbor, yes all computers have an internal clock, but the warranty trigger is simply a program that was pre-installed. I assume this but I have honestly never seen it in action. But back to getting that machine in working order if the shutdowns keep occurring, I would definitely get a local friend or hired tech to fix it, if it needs fixing. Right now it doesn't sound like it needs anything but a good software enema, but you may have a different opinion, I don't know. As for the wireless, if you can't figure it out, then get the person that set it up to try one more time. __________________ We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle. -Winston Churchill

10-17-2008, 11:32 AM	#4 (permalink)
Lasereth Knight of the Old Republic Location: Winston-Salem, NC	They are not controlling your computer. It sounds like you may have spyware or adware installed. They will not take control unless you ask them to, and even then you would have to go to a website and follow directions in order for them to do it, most likely over the phone.