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Both Windows 10 and Windows 11 have a very useful feature that allows someone else to remotely take control of your PC in order to fix a problem for you.
This Remote Assistance tool has helped countless PC users get their computer issues resolved quickly and efficiently without having to send their PCs back to the manufacturer or haul them to a repair shop.
Unfortunately, hackers can also use this feature to take control of computers located half-way around the world in order to install malware and steal personal information such as credit card or bank account numbers.
Important: NEVER allow ANYONE who calls you from out of the blue claiming to be from Microsoft or any other tech company to use Windows’ Remote Assistance feature to remotely take control of your PC, for any reason.
As I explained in this post, Microsoft will never call you from out of the blue to tell you that your PC has a problem.
If someone ever does call claiming to be from Microsoft, an antivirus provider or any other tech-related company, you can safely assume that the person on the other end of the line is a hacker, NOT an employee of that company!
Also, if you ever need to contact Tech Support don’t just blindly click the first link or call the first number you see when you search Google for a company’s Tech Support contact info.
Scammers are masters at tricking innocent victims into thinking they’re contacting Microsoft or Apple when they’re actually contacting a scammer pretending to be a rep for that company. It’s best to always contact Tech Support directly from any company’s official website, and that goes double for Microsoft and Apple.
Now that we have that important warning out of the way, I strongly recommend that you disable Remote Assistance until you actually need to allow a trusted remote technician or support rep that you contacted first to use it to help you solve a problem.
Follow these steps to disable Remote Assistance on your Windows 10/11 PC:
1 – Click the Start button, then type the words control panel and select Control Panel from the list of search results.
2 – Click System and Security.
3 – Click the the Allow remote access link that’s located in the “System” section.
4 – Uncheck the box beside Allow Remote Assistance connections to this computer.
5 – Click OK.
That’s all there is to it. Now hackers won’t be able to remotely sign into your computer and take control of it.
Bonus tip: If it seems like scammers and scams are everywhere these days, that’s because they are. This can help you avoid them and stay safe as you live your daily life. (#ad)