[ale] Seeking ways to getting around spyware on Windows

[Jason Smith]

Geoffrey,

--- Geoffrey <esoteric at 3times25.net> wrote:

> I'm curious as to why windows for your parents.  Is
> there a specific 
> software package they require?  I've had my
> mother-in-law on Linux since 
> SuSE 7.2.  All she does is word processing
> (openoffice), email 
> (thunderbird) and browsing (firefox).
> 
> I can't tell you how much time this has saved me
> when it comes to fixing 
> things.  Before I was over there at least once a
> week, now it's simply 
> for upgrades.

Unfortunately I cannot go over when there is a problem
since my parents live on a different continent :) and
are on a dialup connection.

Reasons why I believe Windows is best suited for them:

1. They have been using it since 1999
2. They know how to install and run software and to
browse around the filesystem on Windows.
3. They are familiar with using the standard MS Office
package.
4. They use firefox for browsing the Internet.
However, they need some Windows only software such as
Yahoo Messenger for voice chat.
5. My father needs Excel for work related tasks and
uses many esoteric functions. Openoffice is hard sell
unless every single one of those functions worked just
the same as it does under Excel.
6. My mother know to use MS Paint for doing fun stuff.
She knows how to play music on Windows and is more
familiar with the config options on Yahoo messenger
than I am especially related to audio chat.
7. I sometimes send them hardware that they can plug
in and use. They know to follow instructions on the
screen  which prompt them to insert the CDROM and run
the installation program and so on.
8. They are comfortable with following instuctions on
Windows that I send them in an email or on the phone
or in a voice chat session.
9. Training them on Linux during a 3 week vacation is
likely to be difficult given everything else on the
agenda during a vacation :). Computer support later
for an unfamiliar environment (for them) will probably
be a challenge.  

My primary concern is that despite general awareness
of the spyware problem ... they have without their
knowledge installed software with adware/spyware in it
and I am seeking ways to contain/prevent it. 

Thanks








	
		
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