Alex7462

Q: Does anyone know of or heard anything about a tech support company called CodeDefend? If so, are they legit?

My system stalled earlier today after browsing an unsecured website, and was prompted to call support right away and warned me not to shut down or restart my computer as this would cause it to crash indefinitely. So I called the number that popped up on the screen and got connected to a tech from CodeDefend, who I allowed access to my computer to fix my problem, which of course I had to pay for (hoping I wasn't scammed). He scanned my computer and found insecure foreign addresses so he downloaded and ran both Malwarebytes and Ccleaner and now my computer seems to be running fine. I also downloaded the latest system software OS Sierra to improve my system's overall performance. I tried doing a Google search of CodeDefend, and couldn't find any information or reviews about their services. Has anybody here used CodeDefend before, and are they safe to use?

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Mid 2014), macOS Sierra (10.12)

Posted on Sep 24, 2016 7:57 PM

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Q: Does anyone know of or heard anything about a tech support company called CodeDefend? If so, are they legit?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by leroydouglas,

    leroydouglas leroydouglas Sep 24, 2016 9:16 PM in response to Alex7462
    Level 7 (23,789 points)
    Notebooks
    Sep 24, 2016 9:16 PM in response to Alex7462

    Alex7462 wrote:

    insecure foreign addresses

    I tried doing a Google search of CodeDefend, and couldn't find any information or reviews about their services.

     

    Pop ups are scamware.

     

    https://www.codedefend.com/page/about.aspx

     

    Giving an unknown entity access to your computer is dubious at best.

  • by John Galt,

    John Galt John Galt Sep 25, 2016 12:03 AM in response to Alex7462
    Level 8 (49,654 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 25, 2016 12:03 AM in response to Alex7462


    Please read Phony "tech support" / "ransomware" popups and web pages.


    (hoping I wasn't scammed)

     

    You were scammed.

     

    By allowing criminals to access and use your Mac, it should no longer be considered secure.

     

    Your actions at this point can range from doing nothing at all, to erasing the Mac and reconfiguring it. Separately, it would be prudent to assume the intruder has gained sufficient information from it to effectively commit identity theft. Computer tampering and identity theft are legal matters that go well beyond the scope of this support site, and for which you should seek appropriate legal counsel. Therefore I can only offer technical guidance regarding your Mac itself, which may be considered evidence in a criminal proceeding that only you can decide to take upon receiving that counsel.

     

    At a minimum it should be immediately disconnected from the Internet (unplug its Ethernet cable and turn Wi-Fi "off") after which you can decide whether to preserve it in its present condition as evidence, or its contents completely erased, permanently removing that evidence. Decide how you want to proceed and write back.

  • by gail from maine,

    gail from maine gail from maine Sep 25, 2016 12:08 AM in response to Alex7462
    Level 7 (26,349 points)
    iCloud
    Sep 25, 2016 12:08 AM in response to Alex7462

    It would probably be a good idea to cancel all of your credit card that may have been stored anywhere on the computer, of course, change your Apple ID password, contact your financial institutions to let them know you may be a victim of fraud to see what they can do to secure your accounts.

     

    If you have a service like LifeLock or a service through American Express or other company, engage them immediately.

     

    Best of luck - sorry for your troubles....

     

    GB