Granparents (WWII Era) + Computers = I now have a splitting headache...

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phrogpilot73

phrogpilot73

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A couple years back, I built a new computer for SWMBO's grandparents (surprisingly pretty savvy, they've even got a DSL connection). I installed all the security software they would need to protect them, and set it up for automatic updating, etc... That should have protected them.

Until they (or someone that visits them that THINKS they know about computers) UNINSTALLED it ALL. I've been on the phone with SWMBO for 2 hours, walking her through various different fixes/ideas. Malwarebytes AntiMalware, Spybot S&D, Avast, KillGozilla, CCleaner, etc... The beast is finally dead.

Sorry, just had to vent. And if I find out it was her uncle or cousin or some such nonsense that decided they knew more about computers than me - I'm going to find them and beat them about the head, face, and neck with my framed computer science degree - while shoving my software engineer resume in their face...

I need a beer.
 
I hear you. I've done that for my fiancee's grandparents just for their other children from previous marriage undid it all.
 
If someone is very click-happy, they can easily defeat any security installed. It's possible that they eventually clicked the wrong thing and started the ball rolling on completely infecting the system. Then someone else comes along and decides that it's the security software that is causing the computer to run slow. (well, it does, to a certain degree, but if you want protection you have to live with a bit of performance hit).

So now the best option is to get the machine back and start over from scratch or try to clean the stuff out of it and re-protect it.

Either way I feel your pain. No matter how hard I tried to tell my sister to stop letting her kids use her "school laptop", she still let them (beats listening to them argue over the "family computer". So it soon had all kinds of junk on it. Games, spyware, etc. I don't think it's too much to ask your kids to leave one computer in the house the hell alone.
 
Tell them whoever "fixed" their computer has now inherited the job going forth. Walk away, man. Walk away.
 

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