Where Are Windows "Crash Dump" Reports Sent?

Thread Starter

Glenn Holland

Joined Dec 26, 2014
703
I've got Windows 7 and I've had several "Blue Screen" incidents over the past year.

After the computer restarts Windows and everything seems to get back to normal, a message appears that "Windows has experienced an unexpected shutdown and it is searching for a solution".

The message has a list of some kind of fault codes that are written in a four block hexadecimal string.

At the bottom of the message, there is also an option to "Send Report", however it doesn't say to whom or where it's being sent. I have clicked Send, but don't get another message back.

However about 72 hours after I send the report, I get a call from someone (who speaks with an Indian accent) that they have received a report about the blue screen incident and determined it was caused by a Trojan or virus.

This is situation so vague and I'm getting somewhat suspicious. Do these reports go to Microsoft or some other entity (like a firm in India) that performs the actual analysis on behalf of Microsoft? Could this also be a PHISHING incident and the blue screen was intentionally triggered by someone trying to get access to my computer?
 

tom_s

Joined Jun 27, 2014
288
and i suppose they were more than happy to tell you how to fix over the phone?

i actually enjoy stretching them on a bit,

'sorry, your english pronuciation is not good or we have a very bad line, you are from where again?'

'i'm ridgydidge, i work for telstra and there is a bit of a problem as you have a virus on your computer'

'sorry didlywidge, you from where again?'

'telstra'

every word spoken from diddlywinks (name, employer, location, what he had for breakfast, whats the weather like in india' gets scrutinised and repeated. if i haven't lost him by now or passed the call onto someone else, i admit to sitting in front of the computer.

20 minutes later.....

'ok mister doodlewank, sitting in front of the computer now, what do you want me to do?'

'what version of windows do you have?'

'the double glazed ones, though i thought this was something to do with my computer.....

click...

edit: the crash dumps are supposed to be sent to m$ though i don't think anyone there actually does anything about them. the phone call is generic and probably mere coincidence, lots of people get them to try to get into your computer remotely and leave trojan/real virus/remote mass mailers on them.
 
Last edited:

djsfantasi

Joined Apr 11, 2010
9,156
I love it! I play my games, too, but will have to add ridgydidge/ didlywidge to my arsenal.

I like ending with, "Unfortunately, you have called someone from m$ Security and this call has now been traced."
 

Thread Starter

Glenn Holland

Joined Dec 26, 2014
703
The proverbial "bottom line": Don't allow anyone on the phone to get access to your computer.

If they did anyway, I canceled my credit card so they are "Do Do Out Of Luck".
 
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