Is someone targeting me?
Do these first
Check your PC in about a minute
1. Download
Download the checkup and open the zip. Choose Extract all so the files sit together in one folder.
2. Run
Double-click Run Reported. Windows shows a blue "Windows protected your PC" box because the file is new to it. Choose More info, then Run anyway. Only do that for a file you got from this page or from us directly.
3. Read
A window like this one opens with what was found, why it matters and what to do. It only reads. It changes nothing and sends nothing.
See it in 30 seconds
No sound. Shown with sample data. Want the details? Read how the message checker works.
What the checkup found.
Each item says why it matters and what to do. Nothing here has been changed or removed.
To check again, double-click Run Reported on this PC. It takes about a minute.
Antivirus
Is it on, is it up to date, and what has it caught in the last 90 days.
Programs
Remote-control programs, the first thing a phone scammer asks people to install. Nuisance "optimizers". Anything installed in the last 30 days.
Starts automatically
Anything that launches with Windows through a hidden script or from a temporary folder.
Recurring tasks
Scheduled jobs, which are how unwanted software comes back after a restart.
Browsers
Add-ons installed from outside the official store, new add-ons that can read every page, and sites allowed to send pop-up notifications.
Accounts
Who can make changes to the PC, and whether the built-in Administrator or Guest account has been switched on.
Settings
Website redirects, proxy, Remote Desktop, firewall, the "allow this app" prompt, overdue updates.
What it never does
It never deletes, fixes or uploads anything. Windows 10 and 11 only.
Is this message a scam?
Paste a suspicious email or text message and press Check. It is read here, on this computer, and goes nowhere.
How do I copy the full original email?
- Gmail: open it, three dots at the top right, Show original, Copy to clipboard.
- Outlook on the web: open it, three dots, View, View message source.
- Apple Mail: select it, then View, Message, Raw Source.
- Copying just the visible text works too, but the sender can't be verified.
See what is already out there.
Quick lookups and checklists. Two of them go online to do their job, and each one says exactly what it sends.
Have I been hacked?
Find out whether your email address appears in a known data breach.
What is sent: your email address goes to Have I Been Pwned, the public breach database, to be looked up. We do not keep it.
Search your address at Have I Been Pwned, the public database of known breaches. It is free and opens their site.
Has this password been exposed?
What is sent: not your password. It is scrambled on this computer, and only the first five characters of the scrambled version are sent to find possible matches.
Cut down robocalls
Steps from the Federal Trade Commission. Nothing here is sent anywhere; your ticks are saved on this computer only.
Freeze your credit
A freeze stops anyone opening new credit in your name, including you, until you lift it. It is free and does not affect your credit score. You have to do it at all three bureaus.
From the Federal Trade Commission's guidance on credit freezes.
Ten tricks, one line each.
Most of these never touch your computer, so no scan can catch them. Knowing the shape is the protection.
Not sure? Ask before you act.
A two-minute question costs nothing. Sending money or a password to the wrong person can't be undone.
Send a summary
Copies a short summary of this checkup: the counts and the titles of anything flagged. Paste it into the message form below.
If money has already gone
- Call your bank now, on the number on your card. Ask them to recall the payment.
- Report it at ic3.gov.
- Keep the emails and messages. Don't delete anything.
If someone connected to this PC
- Unplug the internet or turn off Wi-Fi.
- From your phone, call your bank.
- Then contact . Leave the PC as it is.
Send us a message
To send us a message or ask for a review, open lab5280.com/reported in your browser.
Ways we can help
Check
The PC checkup, the message checker and the tools. Use them as often as you like.
Free
Review
Send us your checkup. A person goes through every flagged item, then calls you to explain what it means and what to do. About half an hour.
$79 per PC, one time
Request a reviewClean-up
We fix what was flagged: remove what shouldn't be there, close what was left open, and check the accounts that matter.
$165 an hour
Ask about a clean-upWatch
A monthly check on every PC, with the results sent to us and a person who responds. In the works.
Coming later