Our listeners and subsribers have probably heard me say, "Don't let your kids fix your computer, no matter how old they are or who they work for."
I say this because many of my appointments come as a result of a full grown son or daughter who "works for Microsoft" or "Is a computer tech for ___________ University" coming home and "fixing" the computer.
I have no doubts that said son or daughter is great at what they do while they are at their work, but there is a big difference between working in a controlled environment like a business or school and working on dozens of computers a week in completely unassociated environments.
Over time I have come to realize that the typical calls Rick and I get are for situations where going by the book doesn't fix the problem. Neither Rick or I went to school to learn computers. Instead we have taken a few classes here and there, but most of our actual, useful computer knowledge comes from fixing uncommon problems day after day.
I try very hard not to be arrogant about my computer knowledge. After all, everything I have learned has been through trial and error and from what other people have taught me. It is very common that Rick and I discover a great new program or tool through one of our clients. I am always open to new techniques. But, once I have had two or three bad experiences with a product, it takes me a while to change my mind about the particular product.
There are very few products that I strongly discourage people from using, but my opinions of these products are based on bad experiences that have happened so often that they can be established as a general rule.
Norton Antivirus, Internet Security, System Works etc. will slow down your computer by 25% on a good day. Norton Antivirus also has a very limited definition of what a virus is, this means it won't catch many types of viruses.
AOL is also at the top of my list because of the companies poor business practices and proprietary software.
Programs like registry cleaners, system tuneup utilities and pop-up blockers often cause more problems than they resolve.
Some software that has won me over includes AVG antivirus, Cloudmark Desktop, CleanUp! and Mozilla FireFox. I love to discover new software that makes a complex job more simple or adds new exciting features to existing software. Unfortunately, there is a lot of garbage out there and every day I see people learn that lesson the hard way.
