Ask Slashdot: How Best To Set Up a Parent's PC?

CodingHero writes "My mother uses a recent enough PC running Windows XP and has a broadband connection, but her primary method of interacting with the online world remains the AOL software. She also likes to download and use various seasonal wallpapers, screensavers, etc. Usually all this works fine and I don't get family tech support calls, but occasionally something big goes wrong. Since she lives 400 miles away, that means I get to provide phone tech support. While I can usually get something fixed through simple instructions, sometimes it's just too complicated to properly diagnose and explain over the phone (e.g., a trojan infection that anti-virus won't get rid of on its own). I'd like to set up the system so that her account is not an Administrator and that I can easily (and securely) remotely connect to fix problems, install stuff she really wants to use (after proper vetting of course), and so on. Moving to Linux or a Mac is not an option. Upgrading the system to Windows 7 and breaking the AOL habit, while seemingly the best course of action, is going to mean a lot of my time up front to explain how to do things all over again, time that I don't have a lot of right now. Has anyone else had a similar experience? If so, what did you find was the best way to re-educate a parent and/or set up a method to securely and remotely manage a system, or at least lock it down to better protect it?"

Get TeamViewer

[twilight30]

Walking a parent through steps over the phone can be a frustrating experience. Even after moving my father to a Mac I still found myself having to deal with his issues for the first couple of months on a near-daily basis. Using TeamViewer helped this immeasurably. Free for personal use.

JoinMe or something similar

[cpm99352]

I've done this. Set your parent up in XP with a non-admin account. Ensure you can have her sign in as admin when necessary. Worst case, she signs in as admin and there's a big icon on the desktop (make the background color red or something to make ti really obvious) for running joinme session, and nothing else. On her default desktop, all the usual icons (as well as joinme). I also set up FIrefox w/ adblock, and the PC has been virtually problem free. Only had to walk through setting up a new printer.

Re:Get TeamViewer

[rwise2112]

Using TeamViewer helped this immeasurably. Free for personal use.

Even remote desktop connection will work fine in most instances. It's built into Windows XP and newer versions.

Rethink AOL on Win only.

[tloh]

Shame Linux isn't a option. Not only can my father not deal with an English only user interface, he has no sense of online security at all. So I installed Ubuntu with Chinese on a second hand P4 for his email and web-browsing habit. There is very little maintenance on my part because he doesn't do much of anything else. Occasionally I will go in and delete the unexecutable crap that gets downloaded unintentionally, but that's it. That was more than 3 years ago. Haven't had a serious problem yet. Haven't looked back since.

Two things have worked for me

[LoudMusic]

A) Users aren't administrators. Don't give them administrative access.

2) No Internet Explorer. Ever. At all. For any reason.

If you want to go above and beyond install Microsoft Security Essentials, Chrome, and some remote management tool like LogMeIn so you can see what they see. You will also need to have an administrator account (I prefer to have my OWN account with administrative access, rather than use the "administrator" account).

Re:Get TeamViewer

[dejanc]

I second this. TeamViewer is a fantastic piece of software, and best of all it's cross platform, so whichever combination of OS's you and your mom have, it will work. You can even do it from a tablet or a phone and it's pretty much zero configuration, no need to set up forwarding on the router, etc.

Re:Get TeamViewer

[pixelpusher220]

TeamViewer can be simply 'run' when needed so it's never even installed. My parents will turn it on and call me when they need remote support. If the system is hosed so much they can't run an application, remote software isn't going to help much.

Mac, or iPad

[rainer_d]

I moved my mom from SuSE to a Mac. Best thing ever.

The very few support calls I can solve with Teamviewer from work or home.

Windows isn't a system for the casual home-user. It only works reliably when an army of competent sysadmins pamper it daily. There's no point in giving a relative a Windows PC or laptop if you have to maintain it yourself.

I don't get paid enough at work to use Windows - I certainly don't want to play Windows sysadmin for free.

Re:Get TeamViewer

[Synerg1y]

What you said, except for an SSL tunnel instead of opening ports. Once you're in the network, vnc will work just as well. Surprised nobody else has mentioned VNC, it is THE solution for family remote support lol.

Re:Because it's not.

[SeattleGameboy]

Keyboard is not the only problem.

As you get older, your eyesight gets poorer. The regular font on iPad or (PC) is not that legible for my parents. I have created a set up where their laptop is easily connected to the 47" living room LED TV. Small tablet is not really convenient for old people.