If they've ignored your advice 3 times the just tell them you won't be coming back because it's not worth your time.
That's the beauty of it all - if it takes me longer than an hour or so to fix everything, I just take the box with me and do it at home. While I'm scanning and cleaning the machine, I can do other stuff for myself.
I charge less than a store, so they know they're getting help quick and cheap. And since I do not employ the "just wipe the drive and reinstall" method nearly every store nearby uses, people are very willing to pay me for my time and trouble.
Actually when you buy a computer you are NOT informed of the dangers of viruses and spyware etc. Infact, you see the microsoft blurb saying xp is the most secure windows ever etc etc.
That's about the same as with every other thing you can purchase on this planet. When you go out to by a car, the dealer isn't the one to tell you that you might get killed when driving it in a reckless fashion.
Everyone out there, trying to sell something, will make it look like his/her stuff is the safest, best, lowest priced, etc... consumer good there is - this is nothing new. But people by know now they should drive safe, they know they should use a toaster like it should be used, and a lot of other stuff.
As long as people don't gain the general knowledge needed to operate a computer and keep it secure, spam, spyware and virii will continue to increase.
Yesterday I visited someone whose PC I've cleaned 3 times before. After getting rid of dozens of new pieces of spyware, I asked them some questions:
did you update your scanner? spyware filter? answer: no, because you gave us the latest version, why should we update?
did you shut down your firewall? anwser: of course, how else could we play (insert dumb game here)
do you sometimes open emails and attachments from people you don't know? anwser: no! never! unless it's from Microsoft (or whatever fake header spammers can use in other words)
As long as this kind of mentality exists, computers will remain an easy target, no matter what fake sense of security a user has... No warning will change that, especially not the ones that will never be given.
Given the fact that after all those warnings there are still people out there who think they will be able to get rich quick by replying to some mail, this does not surprise me at all. Im not saying that people who buy such a license are planning on getting rich quick, but they have probably thought it through just as much as those people who reply to those scammers.
I personally know some people who are able to sell you your own property for double the amount you paid for it originally, and who will leave you behind smiling, thinking you've made a good deal.
It's all about finding the right person: gullible, easily persuaded and with lots of money to spend.
No wonder SCO is able to sell "their" linux licenses...
If I'm buying a new car there are no dents or scratches on it, so why should your screens be any different?
Troll or not, I just had to reply to this one sentence in your ramblings.
I you're buying a new car, there are no scratches or dents on it. True. But you do NOT want to know what happened with your car before your received it.
I know a lot of people in the automotive industry, ranging from people who build cars to people who sell them. There are a lot of things that could happen to your car prior to accepting your beautiful new vehicle, without you ever knowing any of it. Granted, this is more exception than rule, but it is true nonetheless.
Some examples? Ok: (I'm not going to name company names here)
dents can be repaired
scratches can be removed
I've seen motorblocks get faulty numbers, and I've seen workers file out the numbers and punch in new ones with a hammer and chisel (sp?)
ever wonder how they get a car out of the way that won't run, before they fixed the engine? Yep: start, motor halts, progress: 1 meter. Wash, rince, repeat. Afterwards, the engine is fixed, and no-one needs to know
Just because you can't see the damage (as with dead pixels) does not mean there is none. Caveat emptor.
I am a Bigpond customer and they presented you with a nice clear page saying that you are being redirected to the idol site. It also says if you REALLY wanted to see the porn stars site, than click here.
This cuts both ways: suppose I am a fan of that idol guy (so I know his name) and I guess his domain name, assuming that it ends in.com.au (as most.au domains I know do)... In that case, Bigpond is now offering me a link to the porn stars site which I would never have found otherwise!
Ok, I admit, it's a small chance - but it could happen. And if this were America, you could bet your money on the fact that someone would exploit just this situation to start a nice little lawsuit.
Personally, I do not consider Google nor Microsoft evil (there goes my Slashdot image), I merely consider them companies trying to get rich each in its own way. Nevertheless, it seems to be the trend nowadays, Google is your friend and more of the same nonsens.
In the long run, I'm more afraid of a "oh, it's from Google so it's OK" mentality than the old "it's Microsoft so it must be evil" one. There is such a thing as trusting something or someone too much...
Not everyone is like you. I have a life as well. I have a family as well. I no longer need to work to pay my bills, because working hard enough for the past few years has landed me in a very easy situation.
I work two jobs a day (2x8hours), work after hours as much as possible, sleep 4-5 hours a day. I work weekends as well. In doing so, I save huge amounts of money not spent on other stuff, which I invest to get even more money.
The purpose? Trying to get rich. Quick. While working, and enjoying what I do.
I don't mind working overtime, as long as they pay me.
I'm mid-20s now, and already I do not need to worry about money ever again. By the time I'm 30-35, I'll stop and retire to enjoy my life while you still need to work to support yourself.
Could anybody please explain to me why this is a bad idea?
I'd even pay MORE for such a system, where I would only pay for my car, my insurance, the gas I use and the miles I drive. No more taxes, road taxes, car taxes and whatever other taxes they impose on me/us right now!
Porn movies? Hardly. Given the amount of spam I get on some of my yahoo accounts from chicks who want me to visit them on site x to see their webcam, there are a lot of them out there:)
Allthough I'm all in favour of stashing each and every car out there with as much devices to increase safety, each time I read an article like this I still have my doubts.
The problem with all these safety features is that people feel too safe in their cars.
Going to fast? My wonderfull ABS system will bring me to a halt no matter what. Accelerating beyond my limits? Why, ASC will keep me on track. DSC will keep me on the road in those nasty corners. The new Citroen C5 has that nifty lane departure alert system, so why would I even keep my hands on the wheel, my car'll tell me when I'm flying off the road just in time!
Ok, ok, maybe I'm exagerating things a bit here, but you wouldn't believe the number of people that actually believe this stuff (or at least appear to be driving as if they believe it).
IMHO, the driver is and should always be responsible for his/her car, not some autopilot. People should be made aware of the risks of ignoring these systems more, than they should be made aware of situations they should've seen for themselves.
Know the limits of yourself. Know the limits of your car. If you go beyond either of those, no system out there now nor in future will keep you on the road.
Slashdot Mirror
If they've ignored your advice 3 times the just tell them you won't be coming back because it's not worth your time.
That's the beauty of it all - if it takes me longer than an hour or so to fix everything, I just take the box with me and do it at home. While I'm scanning and cleaning the machine, I can do other stuff for myself.
I charge less than a store, so they know they're getting help quick and cheap. And since I do not employ the "just wipe the drive and reinstall" method nearly every store nearby uses, people are very willing to pay me for my time and trouble.
That's about the same as with every other thing you can purchase on this planet. When you go out to by a car, the dealer isn't the one to tell you that you might get killed when driving it in a reckless fashion.
Everyone out there, trying to sell something, will make it look like his/her stuff is the safest, best, lowest priced, etc... consumer good there is - this is nothing new. But people by know now they should drive safe, they know they should use a toaster like it should be used, and a lot of other stuff.
As long as people don't gain the general knowledge needed to operate a computer and keep it secure, spam, spyware and virii will continue to increase.
Yesterday I visited someone whose PC I've cleaned 3 times before. After getting rid of dozens of new pieces of spyware, I asked them some questions:
As long as this kind of mentality exists, computers will remain an easy target, no matter what fake sense of security a user has... No warning will change that, especially not the ones that will never be given.
I personally know some people who are able to sell you your own property for double the amount you paid for it originally, and who will leave you behind smiling, thinking you've made a good deal.
It's all about finding the right person: gullible, easily persuaded and with lots of money to spend.
No wonder SCO is able to sell "their" linux licenses...
If they end one relationship to start another, it's still a monogamy!
Ok, someone has to say it...
Won't somebody please think of the RIAA???
Troll or not, I just had to reply to this one sentence in your ramblings.
I you're buying a new car, there are no scratches or dents on it. True. But you do NOT want to know what happened with your car before your received it.
I know a lot of people in the automotive industry, ranging from people who build cars to people who sell them. There are a lot of things that could happen to your car prior to accepting your beautiful new vehicle, without you ever knowing any of it. Granted, this is more exception than rule, but it is true nonetheless.
Some examples? Ok: (I'm not going to name company names here)
Just because you can't see the damage (as with dead pixels) does not mean there is none. Caveat emptor.
That's mostly because the developers who write applets, stick to the 1.1.8 JRE. This way, your applet runs on most browsers.
So whether or not you update your browser or JRE frequently does not matter - chances are it will be able to run the applet in question.
This cuts both ways: suppose I am a fan of that idol guy (so I know his name) and I guess his domain name, assuming that it ends in .com.au (as most .au domains I know do)... In that case, Bigpond is now offering me a link to the porn stars site which I would never have found otherwise!
Ok, I admit, it's a small chance - but it could happen. And if this were America, you could bet your money on the fact that someone would exploit just this situation to start a nice little lawsuit.
Personally, I do not consider Google nor Microsoft evil (there goes my Slashdot image), I merely consider them companies trying to get rich each in its own way. Nevertheless, it seems to be the trend nowadays, Google is your friend and more of the same nonsens.
In the long run, I'm more afraid of a "oh, it's from Google so it's OK" mentality than the old "it's Microsoft so it must be evil" one. There is such a thing as trusting something or someone too much...
I say trust nobody - it's safer that way.
Just because you're not a workaholic does not mean that others shouldn't be.
I work two jobs a day (2x8hours), work after hours as much as possible, sleep 4-5 hours a day. I work weekends as well. In doing so, I save huge amounts of money not spent on other stuff, which I invest to get even more money. The purpose? Trying to get rich. Quick. While working, and enjoying what I do.
I don't mind working overtime, as long as they pay me.
I'm mid-20s now, and already I do not need to worry about money ever again. By the time I'm 30-35, I'll stop and retire to enjoy my life while you still need to work to support yourself.
I'd even pay MORE for such a system, where I would only pay for my car, my insurance, the gas I use and the miles I drive. No more taxes, road taxes, car taxes and whatever other taxes they impose on me/us right now!
Porn movies? Hardly. Given the amount of spam I get on some of my yahoo accounts from chicks who want me to visit them on site x to see their webcam, there are a lot of them out there :)
Most chicks are freaky enough nowadays not to be scared away by a camera anymore. It's the 'I love Slashdot' sticker on your car that drives 'em away!
The problem with all these safety features is that people feel too safe in their cars.
Going to fast? My wonderfull ABS system will bring me to a halt no matter what. Accelerating beyond my limits? Why, ASC will keep me on track. DSC will keep me on the road in those nasty corners. The new Citroen C5 has that nifty lane departure alert system, so why would I even keep my hands on the wheel, my car'll tell me when I'm flying off the road just in time!
Ok, ok, maybe I'm exagerating things a bit here, but you wouldn't believe the number of people that actually believe this stuff (or at least appear to be driving as if they believe it).
IMHO, the driver is and should always be responsible for his/her car, not some autopilot. People should be made aware of the risks of ignoring these systems more, than they should be made aware of situations they should've seen for themselves.
Know the limits of yourself. Know the limits of your car. If you go beyond either of those, no system out there now nor in future will keep you on the road.