veganism.social is one of the many independent Mastodon servers you can use to participate in the fediverse.
Veganism Social is a welcoming space on the internet for vegans to connect and engage with the broader decentralized social media community.

Administered by:

Server stats:

293
active users

#helpdesk

2 posts2 participants0 posts today

Live in Nor, Cali? wanna live in Nor Cali? Got some mad help desk chops? There is a #Job opening at the local community college, great pay, great benefits and an actual pension! (I know crzy right?)

Here's the listing..

schooljobs.com/careers/santaro

www.schooljobs.comDistrict-Wide Internal Transfers | SANTA ROSA JUNIOR COLLEGE CURRENT EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Why do #printers stop working when you need them?

I rarely use mine because I’m so sick but I really need to copy and print these documents.

Worked fine last time I used it several months ago now it’s randomly not feeding paper? WTF.
Not been connected online so no remote access from manufacturer.

I have nobody to fix it. No energy to do myself I’m so exhausted

Today a repeat client contacted me via text messaging (RCS). It was in the last half of a Friday afternoon. I was sitting at my desk doing paperwork. I texted back, “I can help you right now, if that works for you.” Their reply was, “Now would be great.” I called them, then connected remotely to their MacBook Air, and took care of the issue. And a little before 5pm, I emailed them the invoice.

The paperwork can wait. Speed matters.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

Doing tech support for my mother-in-law is like:

- "What app should I install so I can open PDF files without issues? Adobe asks me to pay them for literally everything, every step of the way..."

- "Oh for Windows 11? Well there is SumatraPDF, KDE Okular, here are links..."

- "OK I'll try that"

* a couple hours later *

- "Unfortunately I can't do it. It is not urgent but if you could help I would be grateful <3"

1/?

“It’s spooky to watch your computer doing things when you’re not touching it. It’s hard to let someone have remote control of your computer.”

I was talking to a client in Colorado yesterday. He was recalling the first time he let me work on his computer remotely from my office here in Seattle.

It does take a certain amount of trust. And right now, I’ll be the one to warn you not to let a complete stranger on the Internet have remote access to your computer! Word-of-mouth advertising and referrals mean a lot.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks

This morning I did a tech support phone call with an existing client. Based on her area code, I think she’s in California, but I don’t actually know that for sure. It’s kind of humorous! With credit card billing, I have to enter the billing zip code, but I don’t bother looking them up. The location just doesn’t really matter.

Anyway, back to the call. She visited a website for an animal rescue organization. Seems safe enough, right? She ended up with an uncontrollable, noisy pop-up that said her computer was infected. “Don’t turn your computer off!” it said, and it wouldn’t stop beeping.

She did the right thing. She turned her computer off! I’m so proud of her.

At some point, she turned her computer back on, and everything seemed normal. She called me to see if there was anything else to do. An extremely computer literate person in her life had recommended that she do a factory reset on her computer, but she was hoping she wouldn’t have to do that much work.

This is where risk assessment comes in.

I told my client that her advisor was not wrong at all. That was absolutely the safest and best advice.

But, usually those pop-ups are the baited hook, and not the malware. If my client had clicked on a link, or called the “support” phone number in the pop-up, the risk level goes up immediately. Instead, she did the one thing the cybercriminal told her not to do, because it defeats the infection attempt: she turned the computer off.

I offered to reset the browser, but warned her that doing so might delete some saved security settings, and she’d probably have to re-enter passwords on some of the sites she visits. I also told her that she could keep using the computer for a few days without any changes, and if the problem doesn’t reoccur, everything is probably fine.

Remember, the pop-up is the baited hook, not the malware.

For now, she chose to take no action. The call was ten minutes long. She offered to pay. I told her no, let’s call this one customer care. I told her that if she had agreed to have me to reset the browser or run a virus scan, and things like that, I would’ve charged her, but not for answering a few questions.

THE LESSON
The client is the person with the power. Explain options and risks. Let the client make the decision. It’s their equipment. It’s their life. It’s their money.

I could’ve taken advantage of the situation and said, “Oh, yes, your advisor is right! We must factory reset your computer! I’ll help you do that right now!” That’s how I would’ve made the most money today. Instead, I chose to keep a client for life. The money will come.

#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks