Can you help my parents with their computer remotely?

A very common call: somebody lives in Jacksonville, their parents are elsewhere in Florida or out of state, and the parents need help that a phone conversation is not solving. Advanced Computer Consulting handles this regularly.

What works remotely: most software problems, printer setup, email and account issues, removing adware, sorting out something that changed and confused them, checking whether a suspicious message is a scam, setting up video calling, and general tidying up of a machine that has got slow. Anything that does not require physically touching the computer.

What does not: hardware failures, a machine that will not turn on, screen damage, and anything needing parts. For those they need someone local, and we will tell you straight away rather than trying.

Setting it up so it is easy for them. The connection needs them to approve it, and for someone not confident with computers that first step can itself be the hard part. What we do is get a support tool installed once, while you are on the phone with them or during a visit, so that afterwards the connection is straightforward and does not depend on them navigating anything.

The safety piece, which matters more than anything else here. Because the tech support scam described elsewhere in this topic works by convincing someone to allow remote access, it is worth being clear with your parents about the difference. Give them one rule that is easy to remember: nobody connects to the computer unless you called them first, on a number you already had. Not a number from a screen, not a number from a caller. We will happily be that saved number, and we would rather they called us to ask whether something is a scam than take the risk. Those calls are short and they are worth our time.

Being the point of contact. Plenty of people set this up so that we deal with the parent directly and keep the adult child informed, which saves everyone playing telephone. Tell us how you want it handled and we will work that way. And if you would rather we just tell you honestly whether a computer is worth keeping, we will do that too.