Don't you just hate...

[Kezzer]

The family computer. Full of viruses, spyware, adware and more. I don't know how they even manage to get a virus! Every week i've got to clean it out and this time it needs a format all 'cause my brother doesn't know the difference between surfing the internet and looking for pornographic material. My parents run their businesses using the internet and now they can't even get on it 'cause of my brother and he blatantly denies the whole lot.



I bet i'm not the only one to go through this though.

Fortunately i have my own systems but all being on the same network just really annoys me.

[Steve]

Install Mozilla - make the icon look like IE.

Setup the security as best you can to stop people being able to do things they shouldn't, and hope for the best.

Families & computers are not good together!

[Kezzer]

Well i've got to revert back to the ghost but i'm making sure that it's secure this time. I bet it's because of IE that happened. I don't know what they're going to do when i'm away lol.

[nichomach]

I know what you mean; fortunately, in my own household, I'm the only one who uses my machine and _I_ set up the wife's laptop, but the number of people at work who act shocked when they click "OK" on some random popup and get a load of spyware, diallers and pr0n links appearing on their machine is unbelieveable...and of course they "didn't do anything, honest".

Do you have separate profiles on the machine in question for different family members? Worth a shot - either that or simply bung an old machine at your brother and deny him access to the "family" machine. Explain to your mater and pater that you're concerned for the continuity of their business, that they should be the only ones using the machine that runs their business, and that you're concerned that amongst other things the machine could well be leaking confidential data (client records?) like a sieve, and that if the situation continues and they don't do anything about it, they could fall foul of data protection legislation, and that one complaint from a customer who had their email address siphoned off and is now getting a load of pr0n spam could impact their business REALLY quickly...

[Kezzer]

I agree, it's ok though, my mum already said that she won't allow anyone but whoever is running the businesses on the computer. Still, my dad is currently away for 3 weeks so i can't really format until he is back as there is private and important financial data on there.

[nichomach]

Sounds like you've managed the important part of security awareness training well...user buy-in. IT peeps can talk about security and safety all they want, but it doesn't go anywhere unless and until the end user appreciates the problem and the solution, which you appear to have got them to do. Well done, KeZZeR!

[Kezzer]

Well you get used to it when looking after a network which includes a family computer on it

[RVF500]

Sounds like you've managed the important part of security awareness training well...user buy-in. IT peeps can talk about security and safety all they want, but it doesn't go anywhere unless and until the end user appreciates the problem and the solution, which you appear to have got them to do. Well done, KeZZeR!

Agreed on that one. I was asked on a recent contract to upgrade and implement said upgrades for a wireles LAN which had absolutely no security measures on at all. I recommended the installation of a TACACS+ server which would be needed to use LEAP and secure their wireless as a minimum. Pointing out that they could use the server to centralise and tighten their network as a whole not just the wireless LAN. Their global WAN and server farms could also be protected and users could be accountable for their actions. Only the right people wouild be able to access the boxes.

In the end all they really wanted me to do was produce an idiots guide so visiting managers could set their laptops up to use on the local wireless

Then I had to put routers back together because some tw*t thought he would like to practice for his CCNA on a real router and reconfigured the OSPF network!!!!!! How?....because every Tom Dick and Harriet had the generic passwords to access the routers and there was no accounting so no one could be held responsible.

Bet they lost a lot more in downtime than the cost of a server and NT box.

[Grey M@a]

the amount of times I have had to do my brothers and mum's pc's after a while I started ignoring it as I was there for 3 or 4 times every few hours. In the end I refused to do it as rebuild after rebuild when they completely borked the systems took the mick :/

[turkster]

I know whats its like. Such ignorance . I live with a friend who just clicks OK when he doesnt understand a popup box . It drives me mad. We are on a very BROAD-band connection and he always ends up with loads of **** on his system. Havent had to format for him yet but i always end up cleaning out his system. Then he has the nerve to say that it is not worth building ones own system you'd be better off buying one from Dell and calling tech support whenever you download some adaware .

Ive a good mind to delete a few essential .dll files and then tell him to get it fixed himself .

Luckily my brother is fairly good with computers and my parents are so bad they can barely boot the system at all so i've little to woryy from them .

[GreenPiggy]

Had to talk the G'friends parents through removing the sasser worm the other day. you may not think that that is the hardest job in the world but they are both over 60 and have just got their first computer. Explaining what a link is and so forth. Great fun.

[Blub2k]

Best to only allow them on as restricted users, if it is a family pc, dont give them install rights or anything until they either notice that their rights are insufficient, that means they are reading the dialogs, or until they ask you for them, if they dont miss them then they dont need them. I do only adivse this where it is a family pc that a tech-savvy person has to use as well.

[daniel_owen_uk]

Best thing to do is build a pc for your bro, that way you can say "You broke it you fix it!!!"

See how long it takes him to figure out what he should and shouldn't do.

[Kezzer]

Well fortunately my network is behind a decent linux firewall but it's a shame people download virues as opposed to just get them then they have the nerve to tell me that they didn't.

Ah well, format time and more complaining time. I'm telling them this is the last time i'm doing it for them because that system has had a format 3 times in the past 4 months i think. Terrible.

[StarkMjolk]

I'm fortunate enought to have a quite talanted family when it comes to computers, so never really had that problem at home. Though that doesn't mean I don't have that problem...

Fixed my girlfriends computer... just about one week ago last. Her bro had rendered it fully useless. The system could hardly boot. Must say you need skills to get a system that bad. It ended with me having to reinstall the whole system, it was unrecoverable. But atleast I've gotten them to use Mozilla Firefox now. Hopefully I won't have to reinstall it anytime soon again

[Crazy Cricket]

Thankfully I have very little to do with any of my relatives full stop these days, let alone the PCs

Last one was a while back when me sis's PC went bang, over the phone it was clear the PSU had bitten the dust. When I asked if it was an AT or ATX machine she was blank. When I asked roughly how old it was, and what if any specs she could get me, she was just as blank. I gave up at that point.