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.
There are a number of ways to restrict access but none are going to be bulletproof.
Mentioned previously are two apps that will restore the PC to a known good status every time it’s rebooted. Deepfreeze is a paid app, Reboot Restore RX is freeware. I believe that for both the saving of documents is not preserved. So pictures, docs, etc. saved after the last reboot will be lost when the PC is rebooted.
You can take an image of the drive with several free programs and then restore that manually. Same issue though, anything saved after the image is taken will be lost.
In both cases saving docs, pictures, etc. to an external drive may solve that issue as the software will probably only restore the main drive. Malware can infect the external drive but most will not.
Teamviewer is a paid program for remote access that is made available for personal use for free. I install it on every PC I’m asked to support. That however requires the client to start it at the remote location and give you a password. It can be set up for unattended access, which gives you unrestricted access to their PC. That requires a high level of trust and not anything I’d recommend.
I support a number of elderly users myself and I invest the time to educate them on basic security. (If you didn’t initiate the call, don’t trust it. Never click on links in email without verifying them, “Judy, did you send me a link?”, etc). I get emails/text asking “what is this, is it safe?” for common program updates and similar but I’d rather that than cleaning out an infection.