Let me preface this by saying that this could be some freak incident whereby a Datadoctors software malfunction or something could have caused this to happen. But there also a few issues which have nothing to do with technical details. I took my computer in to get evaluated for a huge and immediate data loss which I suspected was caused by a hacker deleting my data. I was hesitant to even get it tested because I thought I had it figured out, but he told me It's likely a hard drive malfunction, so I decide It's best to find out. I leave it over night. The next day, the technician responsible for my computer (I am not sure if there is more than one or only one at this location) tells me basically everything I already knew before coming in. The hardware checks out. It looks like my data was deleted, perhaps manually. There are no viruses on the computer. Well I figured my hunch was right and felt dumb for even bringing it in, and there was nothing that he could have done and he did his job well enough (although over the phone his language use seemed to imply that I might have deleted my own data, which was kind of ridiculous, but whatever).

But then my cousin got back from a trip that day and said he would try some stuff on the computer. We installed a simple, free and common antivirus scan and removal program called 'Avast!', and ran it. After about 30 minutes, an extremely severe infection pops up, which my cousin recognizes as a 'backdoor'. A 'backdoor', I'm told, is a malware which hackers use to both very easily continue to gain entry onto your system, and install yet more malware. It took me a while to realize that it would seem that Data Doctors had failed in a very large way, here. Their superior virus detection techniques have failed to find a virus that a freeware software found easily! I became shocked, frankly. Before I decided to talk again with the technician, I made sure to do some research on the Virus in question, to confirm it wasn't just a 'false positive' (the virus program mistaking a non virus file for a virus). Everything I've found on Google says It's the real deal, and very nasty. So, I decided to talk again with him in the hopes I could possibly get a refund since he had failed to find it.

I was polite and explained the situation to him. In a very irritated manner, before I had even requested the refund, he rejected everything I said. He insisted his "copyrighted software" would have found the virus, and that it was a false positive, and that "Avast is the worst program out there", and he never gives refunds. Beforehand I had taken pictures of the scan, and I even took my computer with me which still had the scan logs in it. I said that I had proof in the computer itself that it had had the virus on it. He refused to look at it, and gave no explanation for why. He said that "He will get plenty of customers without me" (or something very similar to this), and sent me out of his store. I thought this particular comment was kind of rude, frankly. And I don't understand why he would not even look at the scan log, if only to school me in false positives, if he thought I was mistaken. He might have assuaged my concerns and prevented my filing this report, but for some reason he refused.

This whole thing has me confused. I would think his software would have picked this virus up. I honestly wonder if this man had scanned the computer at all. I can't tell. I don't know. In some ways this seems more plausible than such supposedly good software missing a virus that freeware identified easily. Or maybe his software isn't as good as he claims? Again, I can't tell, and I don't know. But the way i see it, he failed to deliver the service of virus detection for my computer, to the cost of $60. He rationalized this by saying he also checked the hardware and tried to recover the data and failed, but then shouldn't I still get a smaller refund for the failure to find the horrible virus? I think so. He effectively solved no problems with the computer, one of which he definitely should have considering his espoused expertise. I think good business practice would have been to give a full refund for the virus failure, but no amount refunded at all, and 'I will get plenty of customers without you' seems kind of dishonest and rude to me.

Another thing I've noticed about Data Doctors, or maybe it was just this location, was that they provide no evidence whatsoever that they have done anything with your computer. On your receipt, all it says is "Computer Physical". It doesn't say anything else. The receipt nor the technician will tell you what programs or devices are used, even if you ask. Not even a vague description. So I'm left wondering just what was done with my computer, if anything indeed was. I don't know what was. I can't tell what was done (maybe he just failed to find the virus somehow?). But I do know I will never use this or any branch of "Data Doctors", EVER AGAIN. And I will give that advice to everyone I know with computer issues, and you, in the hopes that you can avoid an equally unfruitful and unpleasant experience!

I have attached a screenshot of the virus scan done by Avast! Antivirus, which was done around 4PM on my computer (you can see the time), 3 hours or so after I first received my computer back from Data Doctors. Bear in mind I had not connected to the internet in order to receive another virus. Avast! was loaded onto my computer via USB drive by my cousin who can attest to this. I have the receipt with the 1:15PM pickup time on my desk, but I have no way to upload an image of that. Maybe I will upload it later if I can somehow. If it sounds like I am advertising Avast! Antivirus as some sort of super virus killing software, please do not interpret my words this way. The technician might well be correct that it is a horrible program. I'm not one to in good faith recommend an antivirus program, considering I received a virus. All I know is that he failed, somehow, to get it off my computer with his techniques. If It's true that Avast! is one of the worst, that just enhances my point in my opinion that I should have received a refund.

So please consider my story and evidence, and make your own judgment, thanks, and good luck.