Wills
join:2001-01-03
Port Charlotte, FL
| Why?
Why should Dell take an image hit for not helping customers with spyware?
Why should Dell now take the time to create a website and offer popup stoppers and spyware software?
It's pointless.
I have a buddy of mine who just got a computer. I took my time to teach him the menaces of the internet. I explained spyware, adware, popups, malware, blah blah blah. I installed popupstopper. I installed adaware. I showed him how to use each. I showed him how to update adaware.
So far, in the last 2 months I have had to go over to his house three times to fix a "slow computer". I find the same thing each time. Active-X turned back on, popupstopper turned off, and adaware finding 200+ instances clearly not being run at least once a week.
Please explain to me, why I, or Dell, should support people like this that refuse to listen or learn from their mistakes?
It's a waste of time, and in Dell's case a waste of money and resources.
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Abit VP-6 twin 800EB's @ 1002 Mhz.Proud member of the XDC. |
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amenite
The Soylent - It's People
Premium
join:2002-11-21
Ridgewood, NJ
clubs:
 ·Verizon Online DSL
1 edit | Just start charging him $80/hour including travel time, and he'll either get the idea or continue being a schmuck, it's that simple.
edit> I mean, if I were a professional auto mechanic I wouldn't rope myself into free transmission repairs for my friends who can't stop doing neutral drops. Why should the computer be any different? Give them a freebie or two, then for the saps who can't/won't listen and learn it's pay as you go.
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Time is an abstract concept invented by carbon based life forms to monitor their constant decay.
-Thunderclese |
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techwench
I Work For Food
Premium
join:2003-06-26
Sherman, TX
| reply to Wills
said by Wills  :
Please explain to me, why I, or Dell, should support people like this that refuse to listen or learn from their mistakes?
It's a waste of time, and in Dell's case a waste of money and resources.
I agree.
I work for a small Telco/ISP and a good 60-75% of the support calls that come in are spyware/adware/malware related. 9 times out of 10, we're giving computer lessons over the phone. It takes (and wastes) a lot of time explaining to someone over the phone 1) what spyware is, and 2) where they should go next to get rid of this stuff.
We are not staffed nor equipped to handle every single *ware problem that comes in step-by-step until the computer is squeaky clean. All we can do is give a brief overview of the problem, and where they should go next.
Yes, we piss some people off...probably a lot of people, in fact...but the time and money it would cost to deal with spyware (especially over the phone) is a whole lot more than the measly $15/$40/mo. we would lose should the customer get angry and decide to cancel their service.
P.S. We don't read from scripts here either.  |
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dave
Premium,MVM
join:2000-05-04
not in ohio
·Verizon Online DSL
 ·Verizon FIOS
| reply to Wills
said by Wills :
It's a waste of time, and in Dell's case a waste of money and resources.
Well, I expect they're making a business decision.
Either they lose money by offering a service to their 'uninformable' customers, or they lose money by not getting repeat business from those same customers and their friends.
There's no should/shouldn't in action here, beyond the great imperative to make a profit. |
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fireflier
Coffee. . .Need Coffee
Premium
join:2001-05-25
Limbo
 ·Skype
| reply to Wills
Your dilemma is pretty much why I've stopped touching other peoples' PCs when they have issues. I'll give them advice on apps to use and web site addresses to check out, but physically touching the PC? Forget it. Trying to train the average user on what they should and shouldn't do is a waste of time in most cases if there's no financial incentive for them to learn. I stopped working on people's PCs 3 years ago after helping someone set up home networking. I set it up on saturday. On monday they called and said "when you set up networking, it screwed up Excel". I went over, checked their event log and found that the error they were experiencing started on FRIDAY. This kind of cause-effect behavior happens all the time. After my experiences, I believe in the adage: "Do someone a favor and it becomes your job".
As far as going back to help the friend resolve the same issue time and time again, another adage comes to mind: "People can only take advantage of you if you let them." I'd rather have them pissed off at me than have to spend all my saturdays cleaning up after their blissful ignorance. In the days of DOS, issues were usually easy to resolve and seldom had complications. These days, you touch someone's PC and something completely unrelated screws up 4 months later, and guess who gets blamed? I'll advise for free, but I won't touch someone else's system.
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Who is General Failure and why is he reading my hard disk? |
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heels_fan
1.20.09 The start of Socialism
Premium
join:2003-02-07
Columbia, TN
| reply to techwench
i too work for a small cable ISP. And I know exactly what your talking about. When I mean small, I talking we have around 5000 subscribers.
and your estimates are about right concerning the percentage of support calls regarding spyware.
But because we are over-building charter, we have to provide a higher level of support than Charter. Very often we have truck rolls to customers sites to help them clean spyware. And we do not charge the customers (this will probably change in the near future)
But the good thing is, our company is starting to have little classes offered to the public, to help educate, and inform the customer on various topics. One being viruses and spyware
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I have neither the time nor inclination to explain myself to a man that rises and sleeps under the blanket of protection that I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it! |
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shashinka
join:2000-09-16
West Boylston, MA | reply to amenite
EXACTLY! I have a neighbor sharing my DSL (SPeakeasy) and this is the 2nd time i spent several hours on the machine. I am explaining what i found and then telling him next time it is going to cost him. |
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antiphishing
Phishing Scam Terminator
Premium
join:2004-06-09
Wilkes Barre, PA
| reply to Wills
_________________________________________________________
I have a buddy of mine who just got a computer. I took my time to teach him the menaces of the internet. I explained spyware, adware, popups, malware, blah blah blah. I installed popupstopper. I installed adaware. I showed him how to use each. I showed him how to update adaware.
_________________________________________________________
Maybe you should show him the dangers by port scanning his computer. This would open his eyes.
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»www.antihotmail.com
spammers_are_scumbags@antihotmail.com |
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antiphishing
Phishing Scam Terminator
Premium
join:2004-06-09
Wilkes Barre, PA
1 edit | reply to shashinka
_________________________________________________________
EXACTLY! I have a neighbor sharing my DSL (SPeakeasy) and this is the 2nd time i spent several hours on the machine. I am explaining what i found and then telling him next time it is going to cost him.
________________________________________________________
You are wasting your time talking with someone who doesn't want to listen. If it was me, if a person doesn't want to learn then pull the plug.
That is is the main reason why their is huge problem with zombie machines on the internet relaying spam. Most people on the internet don't want to learn about security because they think it's to complicated or it just doesn't interest them.
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»www.antihotmail.com
spammers_are_scumbags@antihotmail.com |
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blah194
join:2002-03-04
Lake Charles, LA | reply to techwench
Amen to that. |
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