I provide help and support for the elderly. Most of my clients live alone and have nobody to help, including with making sense of technology. However, all of them desperately need communication. Those who have grandparents or senior neighbors probably know that they grasp any opportunity to chat.
Unfortunately, I can’t spend a lot of time with each of them since I have too many to look after. That’s why I help them set up Skype (I noticed they find it the easiest to understand) or other communication channels to talk to their relatives, friends, and so on. It opens a “lifeline” for them.
Some of them use the PC or laptop they have just for that, but others exchange links and browse different websites, accumulating malware from clickbait titles.
I’ve installed Bitdefender for many and use a computer security checker to scan suspicious files for malware. However, it seems pointless because they manage to pick up tons of malware by my next visit, so I’m in an endless loop of spending too much time fixing their PCs.
I can’t say no when they complain and ask for help because I know they can’t afford professional help, but honestly - it’s exhausting because it goes on top of my usual chores and physical & moral support.
That’s why I need a solution on how to prevent them from picking up viruses and other malware.
I’m no computer wizard myself - I know only basic stuff, like downloading and installing apps. I need advice on setting up limits for the websites they’re visiting. Maybe some kind of software for kids that allows limiting their exposure to malicious websites?
I’d be eternally grateful for help in this matter.
Many thanks in advance, guys.
I used to do tech support for Bitdefender and I can say that outside of a handful of people from our team, we actually didn’t care for it as an antivirus. The free version in itself was more or less didn’t really do much anyway, at least at the time.
You can still use it for them, but I find that Windows Defender does a good enough job on its own - it’s also what I set up for my mom (almost 70) on her laptop + a very basic crash course of what to avoid (don’t click on links from strangers, if you get a message like “Is this you? The person in this video looks like you” don’t even look at it, and so on) and other basic internet safety tips.
Just in case, I’d maybe recommend setting up sometime (maybe once a month?) where you just run a scan on their computers to make sure everything’s alright; I’d recommend Malwarebytes for it, I remember it was what we used for remote interventions too, actually. I’m not sure if it’s doable by yourself, but maybe you can rope someone else into helping you with it.
Worst case scenario, you can always just set up parental blocls for them, actually. Set up what they can and can’t access and so on.