i don't know what to do with my comp illiterate uncle anymore Options

[lost]

this will be the 3rd time i'll have to go to his place to clean out his comp because of the stupid virus/adware that looks like windows that easily fools people, i forget what its called. i installed the basic cleaning programs and told them to run them on a regularly but i dont think they listen. if i make em buy an internet security suite like a kaspersky key from ebay. they already have synm corp edition installed but i guess it didn't do anything. i dont really enjoy going to their house and spend a good couple of hours cleaning up their comp.

ps: they dont want to use firefox because chase doesn't work well with it. i told them to use IE for chase and Firefox for everything else, but that doesn't seem to work for them either. so yea, buy kaspersky and call it a day?

[tacohunter52]

I know how you feel

antivirus 09 right?

I've had people who will reinstall it a few days after I first removed it

I hope you're charging them if not tell them that they'll have to start being more careful because you won't be giving them anymore free visits.

Your time is worth money and if they were to higher someone it would cost about 100 an hour, so you should at least get $15

[slick2500]

My mother and brother are the same way.

[Raiderfan001]

Ubuntu

[exodus1977]

+1

Did the same to my Mother's computer. Since she didn't have any apps that were Windows specific (like iTunes or any MSOffice), I put a copy of Ubuntu on for her. No complaints thus far...

[Rokkaholik]

I have the same issues with many of my family and friends... I'm nice enough not to charge them, but.....

Family: They will usually wait until the PC is uber-screwed before calling me, then I have lots of work to do, usually resulting in a Windows reinstall. If they had called when the problem arose, then it would have been a simple fix. I got to the point with my parents PC where I put in a backup hard drive and have everything I need on THAT drive. Their main drive has the Dell System Recovery partition, so that makes it easy. Then I just bring everything back from the backup drive. My dad sees the word "free" on something and has to download or install or sign up for it. He can't figure out why he gets 100+ crapmails every damn day... My mom is a coupon feind and has installed some program that finds coupons for her or something. Whatever it dows, SpyBot goes nuts as well as the antivirus, so I uninstall it, scold her and then she will come right out and say she's never had a problem with it. Of course... All she's worried about is the damn coupons, and ignores the fact that "somehow" the PC is now getting pop-up's galore and running slow as hell.

Inlaws: Complained to me many times about their PC not starting, or shutting itself down. I took it home, checked every component with my own identical backup PC upstairs and everything tested fine. I did alot of "cleaning" to both the hardware as well as Windows and had it running top notch when I took it back. 2 weeks later, it was doing something odd again, so my mother-in-law didn't feel like bothering me, so she took it to a repair guy and he charged her $100 to install a new power supply... $100? She nicely informed me a month later about having someone else fix it and how much it cost. I was kinda shocked at the price considering I have 3 STOCK power supplies for that exact machine on my parts shelf. I would have given it and installed it for free and I told her that. My father-in-law was also shocked because he never knew about the $100 she gave to the repair guy to install the power supply until then. The look on his face was priceless. She now has strict instruction to call ME before some other knucklehead... On a side note, I took the old power supply back home here with me and it's working fine, so it's a matter of time before their PC starts doing it's crap again.

Friends: Friends ask lots of questions, but I can't seem to dumb down far enough to get it through their heads that a 6 year old PC sometimes needs an OS reinstall to make it run more effeciently. They can't seem to understand why 256mb and 512mb of memory isn't enough to play certain games. As CHEAP as memory is these days, I can't understand why they just don't take advice... One coworker asked me for over a year on what he should do about his PC and I continually told him the same thing. I would NOT charge him because I knew it was an easy fix. He finally came to work one day and said he had bought a new PC.. Oh well... After about 2 years, he was having problems with being kicked off the internet and the PC shutting itself down, etc... Again I told him that I'd take a look at it, but he'd never call or bring the tower to work. His wife got sick of it and called a repair guy and he charged them $125 to reinstall the OS and replace something. I'm not sure what. He was a little embarrassed.


Some people just cannot learn... Or listen for that matter...

[d3bruts1d]

Family I still reluctantly fix, though I add an obvious annoyed attitude while I'm doing the work. I also don't fix anything on their time and do it as convent for me unless I feel it is a serious threat.


For other people (i.e. co-workers) I will quote them a consultant rate of $150/hr to fix the computer. That's enough for most people. Some will gripe about the price and continue to nag. At that point, I'll take the PC home and fix it for free with the stipulation that I will work on it when I have time. After keeping someone's computer for over a month, they are far less likely to come back to you with issues.

[lost]

I know how you feel

antivirus 09 right?

I've had people who will reinstall it a few days after I first removed it

I hope you're charging them if not tell them that they'll have to start being more careful because you won't be giving them anymore free visits.

Your time is worth money and if they were to higher someone it would cost about 100 an hour, so you should at least get $15

bah hate that program! making things a living hell!

Ubuntu

hahaha they won't even use firefox....

Family I still reluctantly fix, though I add an obvious annoyed attitude while I'm doing the work. I also don't fix anything on their time and do it as convent for me unless I feel it is a serious threat.


For other people (i.e. co-workers) I will quote them a consultant rate of $150/hr to fix the computer. That's enough for most people. Some will gripe about the price and continue to nag. At that point, I'll take the PC home and fix it for free with the stipulation that I will work on it when I have time. After keeping someone's computer for over a month, they are far less likely to come back to you with issues.

the first time they gave me cookies, but they didn't the 2nd time. :| they're always out when they call me over to fix it >_>

They have Symantec Corp installed because his sister-in-law got it free from college. That didn't do anything to stop antivirus 2009, should I use this chance to insist they purchase kaspersky internet security? Would that be a good solution that will keep their computer safe and I won't have to go back gain to fix it.

[Raiderfan001]

No software will protect the computer illiterate =P

At least convince them to use Firefox. It should work just fine with Chase.

[dr_bowtie]

Chase does work fine with Firefox...

We use Chase and we also use Firefox...I dont have addblock on though...

You arent going to get away from this issue...basically they navigate to a site with a scanner popup and they automatically think they got something and the pop up is something you installed warning them so they click it trying to fix it feeling like a big boy/girls un-knowing they are making things worse...

I tell friends and family and customers if I fire up the rig and it has AV 2009 or a few other spyware programs that are really spyware instead of programs to rid spyware....then cost starts at 150.00 or I wont even touch it...you borked it you fix it...period

of coarse this is after i do the initial cleaning while showing them what NOT to do...

but then again alot of people I see just buy a new PC every year or 2 not knowing you can nuke and pave and get back that new feeling....once it starts getting sluggish they are off to get new...this is how Dell keeps busy...

[Phil]

They have Symantec Corp installed because his sister-in-law got it free from college. That didn't do anything to stop antivirus 2009, should I use this chance to insist they purchase kaspersky internet security? Would that be a good solution that will keep their computer safe and I won't have to go back gain to fix it.

Symantec Corporate is a good program, but AFAIK it does not do scheduled updates to the virus database, so is useless in the possession of someone who isn't hands-on.

I don't know why you single out Kapersky, it's good, but there are plenty of free ones just as good. When I put free AV/firewall on someone's comp I usually go for AVG/Comodo because those seem to demand the least interaction with a clueless user while still offering decent protection.

[benjaminw]

What's the community's experience with setting our pro bono clients up as limited users on their windows boxes, instead of administrators?

I've tried this, and it worked in keeping spyware/malware/etc., from infecting the system, but it failed to keep the phone from ringing every time an "access denied" message showed up...