Do we all need a personal system administrator?
My family has embraced the home computer. They use Hotmail to keep in touch with relatives. They use a scanner, despite absolutely terrible software that came with it (Canon). They use MSN Messenger to chat with friends (a lot). They use Microsoft Word to write papers, letters, and memos and print them off on an Epson printer ink-jet.
The trouble is, every few weeks, they’re Windows XP computer becomes overrun with spy-ware, viruses, and general crap. A knowledgeable friend told me that if you put a plain-old Windows XP, unprotected, directly on the Internet, it will be compromised in hours. I thought he was exaggerating. After another visit to my parent’s computer, I know that he is not.
They have pop-up windows coming up when you don’t even have a web browser running (some spy-ware app). I ran a slew of anti-virus and anti-spyware apps and discovered hundreds of unwanted apps and files.
The trouble is, I would rather dig ditches in the hot sun than do tech support. I am terrible at it. My girlfriend tells me that it uncovers an ugly and angry side of me. I have no patience. I find doing tech support more stressful than almost anything else in life. It is a massive personality/character flaw of mine.
So, I’ve come to the conclusion that my parents do need someone to help them with their computer, and that I’m not sure I can do it. So what do I do? I thought about buying them an iBook (or eMac). That would solve a lot of the spyware/virus issues. However, I’m afraid it would uncover a whole slew of new issues. They would have to learn a new OS – not matter how good it is. I would be less able to help them, as I’m less familiar with OS X than I am with Windows.
I wish I could give them a simple locked-down system with a word-processor and web-browser, and not let them (or anyone) install anything else. I could probably do this with Linux, but that would be a whole new can of worms – and I’m not really qualified.
They are willing to pay someone else to help, but I have no-where to point them. Most tech support at local computer firms is too expensive and the people can be clueless.
Surely I’m not the only reluctant-relative-system-administrator (while talking with Stephen DesRoches about this, he enthusiastically agreed). What can we do to make this easier (for me and my parents)? Help!
My plan for now is to block of Saturday afternoon and re-format their machine, put it behind a hardware router (as a firewall), and hope it doesn’t happen again.
Spy-Bot you can actually "immunize" your PC against about 250 spyware programs, blocking them before they infect. SpywareBlaster can protect against malicious ActiveX controls. It can also lock down the hosts.txt file as read only.
As we all know, with Firebird you can block confunsing pop-ups that install spyware. It's sister mail client, Thunderbird actually has adaptive junk mail filtering whereby you can teach it what's junk and what's not. If you didn't lock the hosts.txt file yet, you can download a good one online to block most ad servers too. Norton AV can be setup to scan all downloads, both through the browser and email.
Most of these products can also be set to automatically update and run once a week.
It shouldn't be that a standalone XP installation is wide open to all sorts of security exploits, but Microsoft has only themselves to blame for that. Delete all the IE and OE shortcuts and instruct them to under no circumstances use those products. It seems that for now, the solution is to intergrate open source with the best virus checking program you can find.
{extremely biased opinion}Trust me, I help so many people every day make the switch (I'll pass on mentioning my job) and they come back and tell me how happy they are. The things your fam is doing is super simply on Mac, spyware is practically unheard of, Apple's own browser has pop-up blocking, Hotmail is hotmail, (a mess that many people run from) and unless they pay for POP, they wouldn't get to use the awesome junk mail filter in AppleMail, but will run fine in their browser of choice. Firewall built in, everything closed by default, one click to activate. The Canon scanner would likely run w/o extra software, since OS X runs many scanners with the built in ImageCapture, then use iPhoto to edit, store and output. MSN Messenger is fine on Mac, too. Worried about supporting them? That's only an issue if they have problems like the ones you're describing, which aren't usually an issue on the Mac. The lock down can be done really easily on Mac, too, just don't give them admin privileges on their account.{/extremely biased opinion}
Or you can just ween them from the programs from that are most prone to these issues, but that ignore the root of the problem: the OS prone to these issues the programs sit aloft of.
About personal tech service: many techs want to avoid in-home work due to the personal nature: businesses are more likely not to whine about rates, sit over top of their shoulder, and be "so needy." It's tough, and there are only a select few with the talent and patience to do it right.
I put it behind a linksys (with port 3389 forwarded to his machine), and also installed a dyndns client so I could reach his box by dns name from anywhere on earth and use terminal services from the outside whenever he needs my help to fix things. So far it has worked out ok, though he uses IE to view some financial news sites (I think they use weird plugins or java applets that run better in IE) no matter how much I beg and plead for him not to.
His next computer will be a mac, though it'll be tough to teach him a new OS. After five years in windows, he barely understands how file systems work.
I've been helping my in-laws reformat/reinstall their system with something other than the dreaded Millineum Edition. Sounds simple? I thought so.
After way too many typical support headaches, we finally reached the point where we could connect and download the latest MS patches. Over a 28.8 dial-up that is no small feat. During the few hours that the system was connected it became infected by some type of Worm/Trojon horse and started behaving strangly (shutdowns, disconnects, etc.). I couldn't believe it.
We've since gotten it cleaned and all the updates installed, but the time and effort to do this kind of work is getting to be ridiculous. I'm definitely ready for alternatives. Or at least giving the job to somebody else. Ugh. Family.
* format the hard drives using NTFS
* make limited accounts for the normal users (Mom, Dad, Sis)
* disable all access to IE and OE
* install Mozilla Firebird (and plugins + extensions) and Mozilla Thunderbird as the default browser and e-mail client
* install Microsoft Office or OpenOffice.org
* disable write access to all dirs except %HOMEPATH%
* make a ghost image
That pretty much gives them everything they need, and makes it a lot harder to screw things up.
Your parents may need someone who is better at these things than you, but maybe you are the only one they can turn to, or their obvious choice. They need you, do what you can.
Cheers! (good post, enjoyed it very much)
But if you do decide to get them a mac, let them be a part of purchasing decision. It is important it is "their computer" and not "that computer".
Mac's are not for everyone, but it sounds like they would be a perfect fit.
A little more than a week ago my Dad got a Mac and he has loaded everything he needs. Not once has he had to call me or e-mail me with problems. His problems with his network connections did not materialize as they do every time he updates his Win XP box. His PC Only applications are running fine in VirtualPC, which he only needs to use for 15 once a month for reporting.
It seems a solid operating system should not need a personal tech.
I have been in the position with video games of wanting my children to provide tech support, and it doesn’t work out that well. Computer support introduces a funny dynamic to family relationships, and I know it drives my kids crazy that I make the same mistakes over and over again. One of my oldest son’s friends once said that you can never help someone with a computer that you are not comfortable saying “you idiot” in front of. That being said, I like tech support, though I know things like doing the occasional backup is something that I would immediately expect in my workplace and have no hope of enforcing with anyone I am related to.
I think that's all most PC users want. If I could do that for my parents that would make their technology tribulations much easier and my poor attempts at tech-support much less trying.
hmmm strange that pda producers have not marketing pdas as computer for humans not itrested in computer....
1)Windows update, windows update, windows update. If the problem is that they've not been keeping up on their security updates, I put it on the back-burner and tell them that because it's something that I told them to keep up on and they've failed to do that, they will not be a big priority for me. When people realize that a computer "guru" is not going to be available at the snap of a finger, they tend to be a little more willing to maintain themselves.
I find that most computer shops do not spend the time to get the security updates after a fresh install of Windows XP, which really is a shame because it's just lazy and hazardous to the user. This should be everyone should know to ask for when they go to the computer shop as it'd save a good number of users from problems. Like going to your doctor or to your mechanic, there should be articles out there telling you what to ask for at your computer shop.
2)Cold boot. See if that works first : )
If you have any tech support knowledge and all and need a good source of short-term income in between gigs/on top of your day job, consider pushing 500 flyers into mailboxes saying you have this "gift". You'll be surprised at how much business it will drum up once they find out that someone in the neighborhood is good with them there computers.
Lo and Behold, a quick search turned up the following:
http://iatservices.missouri.edu/tech-bulletin/windows-file-sharing.html
Alternatively you can just get a Mac. :)
I've used AVG for virus protection over the last few years, with fantastic (non-)results. It has an auto-update feature, covers email as well as files and ... it's free for personal use. Download from http://grisoft.com/ [I am not connected with Grisoft in any way whatsoever, just a very happy user. Registration requires a valid email address -- I've had absolutely no mail, never mind spam, from Grisoft in all the time I have been using this].
I know someone that does personalized tech support, and people love him. The problem is, their are too many people in the town for him to handle. It does indeed seem like the kind of business that could make your phone ring non stop.
As for supporting them, I'm sure you can learn enough about OS X (especially after your brief stint with a Mac) in order to help them out with whatever issues or learning curves they may have along the way, which shouldn't be too many. Hotmail is still Hotmail, a browser is a browser, MSN Messenger is identical. They would just need to navigate through the OS itself. Heck, I find I get lost in Windows when I'm stuck at a Wintel box ;-). There's a lot of great help in the Mac community as well, from local to online.
I did so on my parent's computer a year ago and it is still rock stable - even without the service packs and updates.
Now, to get rid of spyware, you could set them up with Firebird, or turn off all the install-on-demand options in IE. Oh, and if they're gonna be using IE, get them the Google toolbar to block popups.
I follow those simple rules and have never had any problems at all.
A few weeks?? yeesh, I didn't realize checking Hotmail, chatting with friends and typing up a few letters was so complex on a Mac.. I better switch back to a PC.
The problem is us, the geeks. We are poor advocates for real-world users that just want to use a computer for some simple tasks and they just want to use the computer not 'play computer' for the sake of playing computer. The comments to this thread alone should be enough confirmation. The problem is epidemic and the general computer geek, especially the Windows XP 'super-geeks', only make matters worse.
