Atlanta .NET Regular Guys : Do people ask you for help with their computers?

Do people ask you for help with their computers?

It turns out that most people are not as paranoid about the Internet as I am, in fact most people run java-script, ActiveX controls, .NET controls, and even allow Cookies. This is fine until they navigate to a web site from their friends or children, which starts to cause the computer to act problematic. If you are like me and have tried to explain to people that you are a computer developer and not a computer IT guy (much different skills to be good at each one and stay on top of the new programs etc) but they just look at you and say “you work with computers, right?”. If they still look to you for help, then first send them over to read this article “Weirdness with the Web: 3 stubborn Internet problems you can fix”. It may help them solve some of their problems on their own, if they don’t want to learn about computers maybe you can follow the steps.

Windowsdefender

One of the things the article suggests you do is run Microsoft Windows Defender. I have been planning on doing this, but just haven’t gotten around to it. Well this may come as a surprise to most of you, but just because I don’t go to many web sites and I don’t allow any of them to do anything except run HTML doesn’t guarantee anything. So after I ran the scan I was told I didn’t have any unwanted software! Give it a try and let me know if you have as much luck as I did.

Windowsdefender-scan

Published 09-06-2006 12:35 by Brendon Schwartz
Filed Under: General, Microsoft Products

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	HMS said: I don't want to run the scan. It's going to tell me I'm bad, and then I'll have to have my hubby fix it. He works with computers. :) June 9, 2006 12:39 PM
	Matt Ranlett said: I used to get calls from friends of friends. For a short period of time many of these individuals were having problems "getting e-mail" via their dialup accounts on Windows 95. I actually had to institute a $50/hour nusance fee so I wouldn't get abused. I made something like $500 doing this. Normally I'd fix the problem inside of 20 minutes and spend the rest of the hour teaching them how to use their PC. The customers always thought they were getting great value for their money and I eventually fixed everyone's computer well enough that I never got called back. I'm of course always on call to family and close friends, but I don't mind that. June 10, 2006 4:08 AM
	Chris Wallace said: I'm not near as "paranoid" as you but mine stays clean from viruses, spyware, and malware. I guess I've just developed a sixth sense (so to speak) of what sites are safe and which ones I need to avoid. June 12, 2006 4:14 AM

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About Brendon Schwartz

Brendon Schwartz has worked in the Atlanta area User Group scene and is known around town as one of the Atlanta .Net Regular Guys (www.devcow.com). He is currently on the INETA Board of Directors as the Vice President of Technology and is a Microsoft MVP for ASP.NET. Today, Brendon works to solve real world business problems with Microsoft technologies, such as SharePoint, Office, BizTalk, VSTS, and .NET technologies. In addition to presenting at local user groups, he helped create the Free Training 1,2,3! series (www.freetraining123.com) to help developers learn Microsoft technologies. He presented material at the first SharePoint 1,2,3! event (www.sharepoint123.com) along with other members of the Atlanta Microsoft Professionals. Brendon has helped on the leadership teams of five different user groups, and has been interviewed for his community efforts on Pod Casts - including the ASP.NET Pod Cast, .NET Rocks! (Carl Franklin Road Show - Atlanta) and the SharePoint Show Pod Cast. At the first Atlanta Code Camp in 2005, he presented material on ASP.NET mobile controls.