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Show HN: Fun tool that cut my family and friends tech support time in half

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Re: Show HN: Fun tool that cut my family and friends tech support time in half

#2

Post by ars »

When you type in a problem, don't open google in a different window.

I'm technical, and I didn't notice the new window (tab actually) till much later - I just thought the site was broken and ignored what I typed.

Someone non-technical is for sure not going to notice it.

Re: Show HN: Fun tool that cut my family and friends tech support time in half

#3

Post by nathancahill »

So the first 2 are rebooting and making sure it has power. The third is "up to date". I do quite a bit of tech support for my family and neither of those issues are really issues. The #1 issue for me is "this free app I installed wanted to install a browser addon and now I see ads everywhere". The #2 is "this free app I installed hijacks everything on my Mac to show ads".

I've spent countless hours educating them about malware, but how can they know that the app that promises to make their computer fast again is malware?

Re: Show HN: Fun tool that cut my family and friends tech support time in half

#4

Post by ekianjo »

nathancahill wrote: post #3

So the first 2 are rebooting and making sure it has power. The third is "up to date". I do quite a bit of tech support for my family and neither of those issues are really issues. The #1 issue for me is "this free app I installed wanted to install a browser addon and now I see ads everywhere". The #2 is "this free app I installed hijacks everything on my Mac to show ads". I've spent countless hours educating them abo…

The best thing I ever found to reduce the risk of malware is to move them to a Linux distro. The risk is not zero but from a user perspective I install the software they need from package repositories remotely, and that more or less settles it.

Of course this is not for everyone, but for folks who for the most only need a browser a Linux distro is a good choice.

Re: Show HN: Fun tool that cut my family and friends tech support time in half

#6

Post by jessriedel »

ekianjo wrote: post #4
nathancahill wrote: post #3

So the first 2 are rebooting and making sure it has power. The third is "up to date". I do quite a bit of tech support for my family and neither of those issues are really issues. The #1 issue for me is "this free app I installed wanted to install a browser addon and now I see ads everywhere". The #2 is "this free app I installed hijacks everything on my Mac to show ads". I've spent countless hours educating them abo…

The best thing I ever found to reduce the risk of malware is to move them to a Linux distro. The risk is not zero but from a user perspective I install the software they need from package repositories remotely, and that more or less settles it. Of course this is not for everyone, but for folks who for the most only need a browser a Linux distro is a good choice.

If your solution to malware problems with an unsophisticated user is to just cripple their ability to install anything, why not let instead let them keep Windows/Mac and give them an account with minimal privileges?

Re: Show HN: Fun tool that cut my family and friends tech support time in half

#7

Post by jjnoakes »

jessriedel wrote: post #6
ekianjo wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The best thing I ever found to reduce the risk of malware is to move them to a Linux distro. The risk is not zero but from a user perspective I install the software they need from package repositories remotely, and that more or less settles it. Of course this is not for everyone, but for folks who for the most only need a browser a Linux distro is a good choice.

If your solution to malware problems with an unsophisticated user is to just cripple their ability to install anything, why not let instead let them keep Windows/Mac and give them an account with minimal privileges?

Because he is probably way more familiar with remote administration of a Linux machine.

Re: Show HN: Fun tool that cut my family and friends tech support time in half

#8

Post by howderek »

I think this needs a "I don't know" option that leads to links to support pages. I've certainly dealt with friends and family who don't know how to check if their software is up to date and update it if it's not.

I also think the "Did this fix your problem?" prompts after saying "Yes" are redundant.

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