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Put GeekSquad Out of Business

Halleluja!
I knew that web technology would bring ease and comfort to my life! I can now help my mom out with a lot less trouble. This brings me a lot of happiness.

Be sure to check these guys out.

New Technology Tips and Tricks: Put GeekSquad Out of Business
Saturday, November 05, 2005
Put GeekSquad Out of Business

Whenever there is a computer problem in my family or circle of friends, I'm the first person they call. It's kinda like what Jay-Z describes as the gift and the curse. I'm gifted to know all of this computer stuff, but I'm cursed to spend the rest of my life doing tech support for everyone.

The problem was that it was hard to get people to click on the right things to diagnose the problem over the phone. I spent a lot of time just figuring out basic informaton about their setup before I could actually fix the problem for them. I wanted a way that I could just remote desktop into their computer and while on the phone with them find and fix the problem, and explain what I'm doing at the same time, so that they understand and can fix it themselves the next time.

Up until recently there were two ways to do this. You had to install a VNC or Remote Desktop type program on the person's machine then forward all of the ports in their router (and hope nobody messes with them). Or you could pay for an expensive service such as gotoassist.com which sets up an online helpdesk.

Here is the best (free) way to do the same thing that GoToAssist charges hundreds for...