Microsoft Windows has an extremely useful feature called Quick Assist (or Remote Assistance depending on your Windows version) which allows someone else to temporarily take control of your PC over the Internet in order to fix a problem for you.
Quick Assist and Remote Assistance have 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 the 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 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 company, you can safely assume that the person on the other end of the line is a hacker, NOT an employee of that company!
For added protection I recommend that you disable Quick Assist or 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 Quick Assist / Remote Assistance on your PC (skip to the section that’s relevant to your Windows version):
Windows 10…
1 – Press the Windows+S key combination to open a Search box.
2 – Type remote assistance into the Search box, then select Allow remote assistance invitations to be sent from this PC from the list of search results.
3 – Uncheck the box beside Allow Remote Assistance connections to this computer.
4 – Click Apply, then click OK.
Windows 8/8.1…
1 – Press the Windows+C keyboard combination to open the Charms Bar.
2 – Under Settings, click on Control Panel.
3 – Click System and Security.
4 – Click Allow Remote Access. (I know this sounds like the exact opposite of what you want to do, but bear with me…)
5 – Uncheck the box beside Allow remote assistance connections to this computer.
6 – Click Apply, then click Ok.
Windows 7…
1 – Right-click on the Computer icon on your Desktop and then click Properties.
2 – Click Advanced system settings.
3 – Click the Remote tab.
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 log into your Windows PC and take control of it.
Bonus tip #1: Click here to learn how to protect your precious photos and other files by creating a System Image backup of your computer’s hard drive.
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