Essa Zaboura, owner of EZ-Tech Computers, offers these tips to thwart would-be scammers

By Ken McEntee

You needn’t be a victim to computer scammers, cautions Essa Zaboura, owner of EZ-Tech Computers, in Strongsville.

“Many people—seniors in particular—are getting scammed out of a lot of money by responding to messages that pop up on their computer screens instructing them to call an 800 number,” he says. “I’ve seen an increase in these scams since Christmastime. Some local banks have referred customers to us to check their computers after they’ve had suspicious activity in their accounts.”

One of the common scams is a pop-up message that falsely appears to be coming from Microsoft. It typically instructs users to call an 800 number for a computer check or an update.

“It isn’t really from Microsoft,” Essa says. “It’s a scam artist who wants to get you on the phone to trick you out of your money.”

Other common scams include “ransomware” pop-ups that may appear to lock up your computer and require a phone payment to “unlock” it. Recently, scammers have taken advantage of Coronavirus fears by offering free advice—usually via email—about how to protect yourself from infection. A Word document attached to the email contains a virus of its own—which it implants into your PC.

“Whether they pretend to be from Microsoft or the FBI or anybody else, don’t call those 800 numbers,” Essa says. “And never send money to anybody who you don’t know.”

If your computer does get infected with a virus or other malicious software, EZ-Tech can help, Essa promises.

“It is always free to have us look at your computer,” he says. “We can usually diagnose problems within 24 hours.”

Even when you’re careful, it can be easy to accidentally click on a sinister link.

“Having good anti-virus software should prevent malware from loading onto your computer,” Essa says.

EZ-Tech installs Avast anti-virus software.

“We have one-, two- and three-year subscriptions,” he says. “It takes only a couple hours to install it, assuming the computer doesn’t need a complete clean-up.”

Another important way to protect your computer is to be sure that all of its security settings are up to date and that you’re running the latest operating systems.

“Microsoft has ended its support of Windows 7, so I recommend that you update to Windows 10,” Essa suggests. “Keeping up with the newest technology makes you less vulnerable to threats. If you bring your computer in, we can check to see whether we can upgrade it from Windows 7 to 10.”

Speaking of optimization, a solid-state hard drive can make your computer boot up and work a lot faster than mechanical hard drives, Essa says.

“People can’t believe how fast and efficient their computer runs after we replace the hard drive with a solid-state drive,” he says. “Computers that took several minutes to boot up now take less than a half minute.”

EZ-Tech does custom PC builds starting at $699.

“We do a lot of custom builds for gamers and business professionals who need extreme power,” Essa says. “Our custom builds have a two-year warranty.”

Or, if a low-cost alternative will suffice, EZ-Tech carries an assortment of used and refurbished desktops and laptops for as little as $99.

EZ-Tech Computers is located at 20890 Drake Road, in Strongsville. You can call Essa at 440-268-8355, or find more information at EZTechStrongsville.com.