Need to verify an HP 3rd party service provider

[Jannie123]

My printer went offline. I went to an HP website for answers. A chat box popped up from a woman named Garcia Muller. I assumed she was an HP employee so I trusted the chat. She did not identify who she worked for. My mistake for not asking. She convinced me she could fix my printer problem and with extreme pressure convinced me I needed a security software called Kaspersky. I succumbed and paid $700. A tech named Nicholas installed the software. Turns out Kaspersky is a Russian software and the US Govt bans its use on federal computers. I called the company and had them remove the software but another product was installed to "protect" my wifi and keep junk files from dowloading from the internet. I NEED TO KNOW IF THIS COMPANY, SUN INFOTECH IT SERVICES is an HP 3rd party service provider as they claim. I am petrified that I have somehow been scammed by this company. Can anyone help verify that this company actually is an HP 3rd party service provider ????

[Braimondi]

Hello Jannie123,

Firstly, I am not an HP employee and the information provided is through my on volition. I cannot speak on HP's behalf, and most Techs under the HP jurisdiction cannot speak for HP.

Sun Infotech IT Services is not a 3rd party service for HP. From what I can gather they are an IT services and IT consulting company located in "Delaware, Delaware" with "2-10" employees employed. There are a few sites and reviews created to make the business look semi-legit, however when you dig more into the grit of things it is clear that the exact company "Sun Infotech IT Services" lacks a real amount of public information.

Secondly, $700 for a IT fix that led to security software from a Russian company is a red flag. Generally there needs to be some type of signed agreement between both parties before work can be completed for a customer in the IT world, especially when a 3rd party of a major company (HP in this case) is completing the work. They would most likely create you an account or a customer file in which techs can reference for when you require assistance in the future. The signed agreement would also cover HP's end from any liability incase the IT company makes a mistake. Assuming you provided nothing past payment information (name, address, phone number and payment), this solidifies the company not being legit. A note to be made is that the highest price the Kaspersky website offers is at $224.99 for 10 user accounts over a year span.

Finally, Kaspersky has been marked as not trusted within the past 2 years because it has "engaged with the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) to use its software to scan computers worldwide for material of interest." When you requested the Kaspersky software to be removed, it should have been removed and things should have ended there. They instead installed another software which may very well still be tracking your actions. Please note that IF your actions are being tracked, that will very well include screen monitoring software and a key logger. 

To this regard I can say with 98% confidence that this company is not legit. I apologize for the long message, I wanted to be clear on multiple fronts about all the information provided.

TotalAV or Avast Antivirus are some good options if you're looking to install something to scan your computer. Avast offers 30 days free of premium access. Please note that because the Russian-based software was installed before the new antivirus, there is a chance nothing will be detected. This is due to how the virus software protects itself.