I've subscribed to the Windows Secrets newsletter for many years. A recent addition highlighted bogus tech support calls, where a heavily accented individual, purporting to be an authorized supporter for Microsoft, informs you that you that their servers have detected security problems with your computers which they would be happy to fix. Microsoft does not receive any personally identifiable information from computers running its operating systems, so they have no way of determining if your computer is infected. (Your Internet provider is a different story—they can do this.) I know this information, but perhaps many of you don't.

Normally I just read these articles and file them away for future reference, certain that such a thing would never happen to me. Not two hours later … it did. Just as the article stated, someone claiming to be affiliated in some fashion with Microsoft had information from their servers that my computer was infected. I told the caller how interesting that was, since my computers are all Apple computers, and was greeted with an abrupt dialtone.

Microsoft will never cold-call you for fee-related technical support. Any Microsoft involvement will be coordinated with your Internet service provider. Get Microsoft's information here.