Technical Support
Black River PC provides free routine technical support for all of our products and services. We can also provide support for many other products, services, and computing tasks, such as Microsoft Office, email, internet use, even your 'smart' television.
Please contact us if you need assistance.
Backup, Backup, Backup
Please remember to back up your important data on a regular basis. If you experience some issues with the computer or with Windows, make another, separate, backup.
The '3-2-1' backup rule is the often-recommended minimum level of backups you should maintain. That is: 3 backup copies, using 2 different types of storage, and 1 of those backups stored off-site or securely online.
Data loss can be expensive or even impossible to recover from. Having your own backups is an important component of safe and secure computing practices.
Beware of Fake Support Warnings and other "Lockout" Scams
These types of scams try to get you to call in for "support" after your computer is "locked" for whatever reason they use (porn, piracy, virus, etc). Once on the phone, high pressure tactics and lies are used to try to get you to pay (and by doing so, provide the scammers with your bank or credit card details). Sometimes they'll try to get you to allow them onto your PC remotely, where they can install malware, encrypt files for later ransom, and steal documents, passwords and other data. Do not ever let anyone remotely access your PC that you do not know.
Quite often, the warning and "lockout" is actually limited to the browser window and tab that was open and active at the time. If you can shut down your browser or the PC (push and hold the power button until it turns off, then let go. Wait a minute, then turn it back on) and then restart it, it might be enough to clear the problem. If not, you may need to contact us for help or a service call.
These scams are commonly encountered through bad links and ads found on MSN.com and Facebook, disguised as legitimate ads or 'recommended' content. We highly recommend using an adblocker in your browser, such as uBlock Origin; and if you use Facebook, the FB Purity addon as well. This prevents many of the types of ads and other 'sponsored' or compromised content from even being visible to you as you browse the web.
If you have any questions or issues with tech support scams or other malware, please contact us.