Can you help me with my computer at home?
I make my living working on computers. Network Engineer or IT Consultant are the preferred titles but most of the time I’m referred to as the “computer guy.” With over 11 years experience in the computer service industry and the last six years as a ‘consultant’ you would think that dealling with the average home PC or network would be no big deal, easy money. Wrong. In an office environment, the PCs are there for one reason, to help folks get their jobs done. Home computers - especially those used by pesky teenagers - are the sports utility vehicals - they need to do all sorts of homework, maintain countless playlists and then there are the games. I cannot count how many times I’ve been called out to clean up a spyware and/or virus infected home PC running all sorts of P2P sharing apps. Here are some tips for keeping those home PCs in a usable -
- Maintain seperate accounts for all users of the machine and restrict all account except for one administrator. This allows you to control what software gets installed on the PC and helps keep spyware and viruses off it.
- Make sure your antivirus/antispyware programs are running and up to date. If you don’t have antivirus or antispyware programs download the Google Pack here which includes a six-month free subscription to Norton Antivirus and a free personal edition of AdAware.
- Keep computers out of your kids rooms and in a common area and keep an eye on what they are doing.