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SCAMMERS use this software, shame on you

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Clodomiro Berzelius, User (Posts: 3)
Feb 13, 2021 8:29:56 am EST
Support level: Free or trial
A close relative of mine has been a victim of a scammer from India. And after some research, I landed on some videos like the one below and discovered scammers from India installed the RU host app without their knowledge. I am furious.

Competitors like  [censored] and [censored] are bad enough, only slightly less since they ramped up their safety warnings, but this software allows scammers to cease control of a victim's computer in a completely covert manner, running on startup... and without admin login!  I'm sure there are legit ways in which these features are used (I have a hard time thinking what) but there could be ways to keep them without catering to the needs of Scammers. The developers should feel ashamed of themselves and solve UX nightmare IMMEDIATELY. More info on the video below.

https://youtu.be/k25QGUhzODA?t=248
Clodomiro Berzelius, User (Posts: 3)
Feb 13, 2021 8:37:26 am EST
Support level: Free or trial
And don't bother helping me. I just flattened my relative's PC with a fresh image install. Now just go back to the bloody drawing board, write a nice UX Flow Chart and THINK what you can do to put warnings and signals. SHAME on you.
Pauline, Support (Posts: 2869)
Feb 15, 2021 2:33:23 pm EST
Hello Clodomiro,

We're sorry to hear that your relative was hacked.

However, please note that it's not possible to run Remote Utilities in stealth mode - a persistent Host icon in the system tray always informs the remote user that Remote Utilities is running on their computer (we've discontinued the option to hide the tray icon since version 6.3.0.4 which was released back in 2015). The program also appears in the process list. All Remote Utilities icons are using the same style and we do not provide icon customization, so it's easy for users to identify the program.

Remote Utilities is legitimate software for remote access and remote support. Any illegitimate/malicious use of the software (including its modification, reverse engineering, "cracking" etc.) is prohibited by our EULA. Besides, in many countries, such use of computer technology is a criminal offense punishable by law.
In case if someone got unauthorized access to your computer you should contact your nearest police department and let them know about the case so that they could investigate this further. We can provide our server logs (information that contains the originating IP address which is stored on our servers). However, please note that the logs can be only provided if there's a direct request from the police. Here is an excerpt from our Privacy Policy:

Government and law enforcement agencies

We may also share information to (i) satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request; (ii) enforce this Privacy Policy and our Terms of Service, including investigation of potential violations hereof; (iii) detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security, or technical issues; (iv) respond to your requests; or (v) protect our rights, property or safety, our users and the public. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organizations for fraud protection and spam/malware prevention.

This is strictly within the law and international treaties and also conforms to our privacy policy. Please feel free to provide our contact information privacy@remoteutilities.com to the police - we will gladly provide our assistance to the investigation. We apologize for the inconvenience once again.

Please let us know if you have any questions.
QuestionableSoftware, User (Posts: 1)
May 10, 2022 6:20:13 pm EDT
Support level: Free or trial
India Scam Center IP   103.105.96.93

Fake Intuit Quickbooks Support
Pauline, Support (Posts: 2869)
May 11, 2022 4:21:31 pm EDT
Hello,

Thank you for your message.

If you believe that someone from that IP address has unauthorized accessed your computer, please contact your local police department and let them know this information, so that they can start an investigation on this case. As we've responded above, we will be glad to assist the investigation by providing our server logs if there's a direct request from the police - they can contact us at privacy@remoteutilities.com.

Please let us know if you have more questions.

* Website time zone: America/New_York (UTC -5)