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Family and friends that ask for technical / computer advise

post #1 of 25
9/1/06 at 11:25pm
Thread Starter 
I really have a problem with some family members that constantly ask for computer advise. Then it really gets annoying when they just don't agree with you, and I don't know how to handle this stuff anymore.

Perfect example, my Mom. They sold her a crappy Compaq PC with like 32 megs of RAM with XP installed. It's always had performance problems because it's always trashing, and I've told her a million times that she needs more RAM. I even just tried buying her some more, but of course Compaq uses their own RAM
modules.

Today I get some emails from her that people at her (a place were they design hardware for commercial and military planes, btw) work told her to buy an external hard drive to move her large photo collection to it and that would speed up her computer!

I had to send her an article from microsoft.com about RAM, in order to at least have her acknowledge that the people at her work are wrong!

Anyways, it's just bizarre when people ask for advise and then they don't agree with what you are telling them. Why are you asking in the first place???

My second issue, and this happens a lot is with friends. Their computers are super slow, and usually infested with the worst type of spy and malware out there on the internet. So I go in and clean it up, and show them some of the spyware cleaners, show them firefox and all. While I do this, I always find some type of porn that maybe their kids or husbands are looking at, and sometimes I don't know what to do with this.

I'm not sure people know how much of a trail their browsing habits leave, because if they did they wouldn't invite people to "clean up" their computers. Sometimes I rather not even help them, in order to avoid noticing that they like to visit grannypussies.com every day of the week.
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post #2 of 25
9/1/06 at 11:49pm
My problem isn't people believing what I say, it's when I try to talk them through steps to do something, they can't seem to figure it out. I will follow along, looking at the exact same screen at the same time, so I know what's there, and they can't seem to figure it. After 20 mins of trying to get them to see what's in front of their face, they finally click and fnd it, then go to the next thing, where another 20 mins of "I don't see it" happens.

As to finding stuff on other people's computer, I've seen stuff on my younger brothers' computer. I just have to laugh, because I know if I had the internet at their age, I'd be doing the same thing. Their only saving grace is that their mother doesn't know enough about computers to check up on them.

I've had a friend who found some pretty bad stuff on a computer that someone gave him. Stuff that could get him in deep shit if the wrong person found it. I told him to burn that hard drive.
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post #3 of 25
9/1/06 at 11:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ElCapitanAmerica
They sold her a crappy Compaq PC with like 32 megs of RAM with XP installed.
Find the store that pulled this shit and burn it to the ground.
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post #4 of 25
9/1/06 at 11:55pm
Thread Starter 
Circuit City!
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post #5 of 25
9/2/06 at 12:34am
I used to do technical support: stuff like this would drive me nuts. People would call in and say their computer was running slow; turns out they have like 400 (no joke) programs running on startup, virus protection from 2001, no anti-spyware stuff, etc.

Luckily, I don't do that anymore.
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post #6 of 25
9/2/06 at 12:54am
Oh yeah, I've been hit up by my Dad for his laptop, lots of friends and other family, so it goes. That's what happens when you have a "computer job."

One friend of mine even asked me to have a look at his mother-in-law's computer a while back. It was real fucked up. Her 14 year-old anime freak of a grandson was living with her at the time, and what do I find stashed away on the hard drive? Hentai. And so much of it. Luckily my friend kind of suspected that that sort of thing would be on there (it was his nephew), so I wasn't so embarrassed. And we had a good laugh about it.
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post #7 of 25
9/2/06 at 1:08am
My sister asked for advice on buying a camcorder and I listed some nice consumer miniDV cams that she should look into and made it clear in no uncertain terms that a DVD camcorder was a bad idea. We talked for about 45 minutes as I educated her on the pros and cons of both formats, etc, and the next time I talk to her she tells me she picked up a Sony DCR-DVD105.

These things are fine for what she was using it for (at first), so it wasn't really a big deal. I don't care as long as it works out for you, but why ask for advice if you aren't going to take it? It didn't work out, though; not when she tried to make copies of some discs. This isn't overly difficult, but it isn't that easy either. The point is that something that would've been more versatile and easier to work with on the computer (her laptop even had a DV port!), was shunned in favor of something that just isn't as good. And this was all because some idiot clerk at the store she went to said it was "less complicated".

But that's not the end of it....

It all worked out, oddly enough, when her place got robbed. Among various smaller items, her new camcorder and laptop were stolen, with insurance covering the losses. This time, after going through that mini-DVD frustration, she took my advice and now has one of the best sub-$1000 camcorders currently available (MUCH better in every respect than the DVD model) and seems quite pleased with it.


When people ask for computer help (though I'm not as good with them as the rest of you guys on this thread obviously are), I usually say I can't really help them out.
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post #8 of 25
9/2/06 at 1:50am
The biggest issue I've run into with advice-seekers is that they can't maintain anything.

A person drops $1000 on a piece of equipment, and then they treat it like a toaster. On and off. That's all they care about.

Anything else you put that kind of change down on, you'll be all over how to take care of it, but not a computer.

I show ppl how to run various anti-spyware programs...anti-virus...the right firewalls...and I even set it all up for them.
I normally even make a folder called "Daily Maintenance" and put shortcuts to all the various programs that they need to run regularly.

I'll come back a month later when they complain again. They say, "oh yes, I've been running the programs like you said."
I check the programs. The definitions files are ALWAYS out of date.

I went to my uncle's almost a year after I had first cleaned out his computer and set up his maintenance programs, and his definitions were 255 days old.
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post #9 of 25
9/2/06 at 2:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ElCapitanAmerica
I really have a problem with some family members that constantly ask for computer advise. Then it really gets annoying when they just don't agree with you, and I don't know how to handle this stuff anymore.

Perfect example, my Mom. They sold her a crappy Compaq PC with like 32 megs of RAM with XP installed. It's always had performance problems because it's always trashing, and I've told her a million times that she needs more RAM. I even just tried buying her some more, but of course Compaq uses their own RAM
modules.

Today I get some emails from her that people at her (a place were they design hardware for commercial and military planes, btw) work told her to buy an external hard drive to move her large photo collection to it and that would speed up her computer!

I had to send her an article from microsoft.com about RAM, in order to at least have her acknowledge that the people at her work are wrong!

Anyways, it's just bizarre when people ask for advise and then they don't agree with what you are telling them. Why are you asking in the first place???

My second issue, and this happens a lot is with friends. Their computers are super slow, and usually infested with the worst type of spy and malware out there on the internet. So I go in and clean it up, and show them some of the spyware cleaners, show them firefox and all. While I do this, I always find some type of porn that maybe their kids or husbands are looking at, and sometimes I don't know what to do with this.

I'm not sure people know how much of a trail their browsing habits leave, because if they did they wouldn't invite people to "clean up" their computers. Sometimes I rather not even help them, in order to avoid noticing that they like to visit grannypussies.com every day of the week.
HILARIOUS!

couple of things (this topic really hits close to home). Having friends that are pc/tech/hardware saavy is a total BLESSING! I say with a straight face and with all respect that my best friend has actually improved the quality of my life becasue of his help on matters of the computer et al. I can just drop off my pc and forget about it knowing it'll get taken care of. I hate being a burden considering I don't even know to swap a hard drive but he's so gracious and patient. He's a real gift.

I would say to anyone that has a friend willing to help with pc matters - treat them well, treat them to dinner, tell them you appreciate them and hold them close. Listen to their recomendations especially if they're hooking you up for free. They're better then going to a 3rd party.
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post #10 of 25
9/2/06 at 2:54am
I'm pretty lucky with my group of close friends. They don't know shit about computers (or electronics), but I'll show them what to buy, or how to fix a problem, and I usually get rewarded with a six-pack or dinner. And that works for me!

As far as helping people out, the only thing that bugs me is that some people expect you to do it for free and when they need it done. I'm not talking about close friends, but just people you might consider a "friend of a friend". My brother's a plumber, and he wouldn't go over to someone's house on his day off, work on their sink for a couple hours, and not expect to be paid. Yet when it comes to fixing a computer that someone's wrecked due to their own ignorance, they figure you'll do it out of the kindness of your heart.

Wrong.
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post #11 of 25
9/2/06 at 3:42am
I have to agree with Psychward, most people treat their stuff like shit. I get pissed off when people will moan that their PC isn't working well but never take your advice regarding maintenance. I'll take antivirus, spyware software & defragging over having to format a HDD anyday.

Then you see the ones who spill stuff on the poor thing & wonder why it just died! Ugh, I still remember someone years ago who thought the CD-ROM tray was a fucking cup holder!
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post #12 of 25
9/2/06 at 4:11am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ade Brooks
I still remember someone years ago who thought the CD-ROM tray was a fucking cup holder!
...almost made me spew root beer on my laptop...
ALMOST!
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post #13 of 25
9/2/06 at 4:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by PsYcHwArD101
The biggest issue I've run into with advice-seekers is that they can't maintain anything.

A person drops $1000 on a piece of equipment, and then they treat it like a toaster. On and off. That's all they care about.

Anything else you put that kind of change down on, you'll be all over how to take care of it, but not a computer.

I show ppl how to run various anti-spyware programs...anti-virus...the right firewalls...and I even set it all up for them.
I normally even make a folder called "Daily Maintenance" and put shortcuts to all the various programs that they need to run regularly.

I'll come back a month later when they complain again. They say, "oh yes, I've been running the programs like you said."
I check the programs. The definitions files are ALWAYS out of date.

I went to my uncle's almost a year after I had first cleaned out his computer and set up his maintenance programs, and his definitions were 255 days old.
That's just the thing though. For the average person this is too much to keep track of. There should be a single security program that performs all these functions and updates automatically. The less the user is involved the better.
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post #14 of 25
9/2/06 at 4:46am
My dad asks me things all the time, then doesn't believe any answers I give him. Later, he'll explain he was talking to someone at a store and they told him what to do... the EXACT same thing I told him 2 months ago.

At work, it's downright scary. I work entirely with middle aged women. Nobody has ever heard of right clicking, and the task of copy and pasting simply cannot be grasped. After numerous times showing people first hand, I had to draw a picture of how to insert a disc. Also, after 3 stuck drives, a note had to be put on the machines telling them not to put floppy disks in the DVD rom drive. They act like using a search engine is something only a doctor could figure out.
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post #15 of 25
9/2/06 at 5:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Wood
That's just the thing though. For the average person this is too much to keep track of. There should be a single security program that performs all these functions and updates automatically. The less the user is involved the better.
But that simply isn't the case...never has been...and probably won't be any time soon.

...and besides, if you drop a couple of grand on a used car (about the price of the average up to date and competitive computer), you don't just expect one guy to be able to take care of it.
As far as maintenance is concerned, you take it to a brake specialist...or to a lube shop...or to an alternator shop...and so on.

For major investments, you don't just treat them, as I said earlier, like a toaster. You put time and effort into maintaining them.
A computer is almost as commonplace as a car these days, but the attitude towards protecting an investment does not exist.
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post #16 of 25
9/2/06 at 5:47am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by PsYcHwArD101
But that simply isn't the case...never has been...and probably won't be any time soon.
The problem has mainly been Microsoft being so lax in security, but they are pushing automatic updates now, and also have virus and malaware programs that they're playing to include in the OS in the future.

Not saying that's the solution, I kinda have a problem with them providing the anti-virus and anti-spyware tools when they caused the problems in the first place, but it's possible to kind of automate a lot of this stuff.

Virus definition\s and malaware ones are perfect examples of things that can be automated.

Common sense and safe computing techniques in general, you're right, there's so much the software can do.
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post #17 of 25
9/2/06 at 5:50am
Thread Starter 
One person once called me in a panic, the machine was running low on virtual memory, and to remedy this person deleted all of his application shortcuts on his desktop and in the start menu!
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post #18 of 25
9/2/06 at 5:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ElCapitanAmerica
One person once called me in a panic, the machine was running low on virtual memory, and to remedy this person deleted all of his application shortcuts on his desktop and in the start menu!
...to which you simply stated, "Oh...well then you're good! What do you need me for?" ...hung up...and ate some chips.

...right?
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post #19 of 25
9/2/06 at 5:58am
Thread Starter 
Stupid me I started recreating some of the shortcuts. I couldn't believe he had done this, but I couldn't leave this guy stranded.

I think this was Win95 or Windows for workgroups, don't remember. I do remember he removed My computer and other system level shortcuts.
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post #20 of 25
9/2/06 at 11:07am
When approached for computer help, I often tell someone I charge $45 an hour for any work like that. It usually scares people away (like my mother). I do this shit 40 hours a week as it is, so when it is off hours time, it's off hours time.

And yes, I don't like my mother.
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post #21 of 25
9/2/06 at 12:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by PsYcHwArD101
For major investments, you don't just treat them, as I said earlier, like a toaster. You put time and effort into maintaining them.
A computer is almost as commonplace as a car these days, but the attitude towards protecting an investment does not exist.
Except that for Joe Average there is no difference between his $3000 computer and his $3000 HDTV set. He paid his money and now he just wants to sit back and enjoy them. Maybe the occasional light dusting.

I do a reasonable job of maintaining my computer, but I do wonder why security tasks can't be automated. Although my biggest gripe about computers has always been that they will report errors but not provide instructions on how to fix them. That maybe be asking a lot, but hey, I'll pay extra.
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post #22 of 25
9/2/06 at 1:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ElCapitanAmerica
My second issue, and this happens a lot is with friends. Their computers are super slow, and usually infested with the worst type of spy and malware out there on the internet. So I go in and clean it up, and show them some of the spyware cleaners.
You´re gonna hate me for this, but could you recommend me a spyware/adware cleaner?

I´ve been using ad-aware and avg, but i need something that cleans out ALL the shit i´ve got in my comp.
Thanks.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Neal
One friend of mine even asked me to have a look at his mother-in-law's computer a while back. It was real fucked up. Her 14 year-old anime freak of a grandson was living with her at the time, and what do I find stashed away on the hard drive? Hentai. And so much of it. Luckily my friend kind of suspected that that sort of thing would be on there (it was his nephew), so I wasn't so embarrassed. And we had a good laugh about it.
I´ve done my fair share of browsing hentai sites.
Imagine if my computer finally breaks down and i have to take it to the shop, what will they think when start fixing my computer and find all the hentai i´ve got on my hard drive? *blushes*
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post #23 of 25
9/2/06 at 3:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Randolph Carter
You´re gonna hate me for this, but could you recommend me a spyware/adware cleaner?

I´ve been using ad-aware and avg, but i need something that cleans out ALL the shit i´ve got in my comp.
Thanks.
Spybot and/or Spyware Blaster. Spyware Blaster is more for keeping it off your system, not getting rid of it once it's already there.

Some people also use Spy Sweeper, but I don't know how good that is.

If you want to get rid of misellaneous junk that's just sitting around, you can try this.
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post #24 of 25
9/3/06 at 11:45pm
About two years ago I started just suggesting to the bevy of people who ask me for help (and there are tons...being a computer dink is like being the dink with the truck when someone wants to move, you always have people calling you and shit) to purchase a Mac. There is a place in town that sells used G4 and even G3 systems. OS X Tiger runs fabulously on these older machines (given enough Ram), and for the average computer user they can't fuck it up no matter how they try. I have had six instances of people switching now, and they are the happiest motherfuckers on the planet. They buy new gadgets, the gadgets work without having to install drivers. They have no spyware or viruses. They can easily organize their music and photos. They can run MS Office. For the vast majority of people I know, it is the only humane (read: least likely to cause me grief) solution available.

If they like to game, I try and fix up their PC's as best I can, but that shit is never ending. I have started charging people now for doing PC work. This caused a little bit of a stir in my immediate family, but fuck them. If they are going to make me blow 8 hours finding files they deleted and then removing all sorts of vile shit from their systems, they can pay me.

I find with more advanced compy friends that they can in fact break a Mac, as they start doing things on the command line that fix things real good. But overall since I have been adopting the no-PC strategy, I have cut the amount of time spent tech supporting by about 75%.

Apple Computers. They're like PC Plus Plus. tm
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post #25 of 25
9/6/06 at 3:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChunkyLover53
Spybot and/or Spyware Blaster. Spyware Blaster is more for keeping it off your system, not getting rid of it once it's already there.

Some people also use Spy Sweeper, but I don't know how good that is.

If you want to get rid of misellaneous junk that's just sitting around, you can try this.
Thanks for the tip.
I´ll try out the programs you mentioned.
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