The machine is turned on with nothing obviously wrong. The Desktop is all that is visible. It has the default Icons and a few additional shortcuts. I reboot the machine, and while doing so, I begin to explain about the precautions each of us needs to take regarding security protection. I let them know that I am going to attempt to uninstall Norton 2004. Success! I reboot. Next I let them know that there are probably many programs running in the background, some perhaps they are aware of, and some perhaps that they are not aware of. I take them to the Msconfig Dialog Box, to the Startup Tab, and promptly uncheck nearly ninety percent of the programs listed. I reboot. They are impressed at how much faster the computer loads. Their eyes are riveted to every move I make, so I ask for a glass of water. They bring me a coke out of gratitude. “Now,” I explain to them, “I am going to download, install, update and run a free anti-virus utility, an anti-spy ware program, AdAware, and a firewall—all free.” I further instruct them what each program does, and I walk through and highlight the significance of the many options each uses so that they can be in control when I am not there. We are astounded to find that over three hundred evil files and registry entries need to be removed. They are smiling to have such a burden lifted from them, and I can sense they are feeling elated at ‘getting even’ with the violators and intruders that were given no invitation to impose themselves. I rebooted. They were amazed. But one more question concerned them…the program that made them a thousand dollars a day would no longer run. Could I help them? Uninstalling and reinstalling with some company configuration did the trick, and they were back in business. I did a Scandisk, and rebooted the computer twice to make certain no after-effects were trailing behind.
Everyone was happy. They joyfully paid me, they could make a thousand dollars a day, and their front door stayed open until my car door closed.
The next day at 11 AM. The phone rings. It was no longer the wife; it was her husband, wanting to tell me that the only thing he did was defrag the computer, and after it completed, shut it down for the night. When he woke at Eight O’clock the next morning and booted up, he could no longer use the Internet, and hence, his wife’s work program. He thought his ISP may be able to help him, so he called them. An hour and a half later, no success; he would wait until they came out the following morning to fix it. Meanwhile he called me up again. We spent about a half-hour and went over some things he could try, but again, no success. We would wait for the results tomorrow.
Tomorrow comes. I get no return call, so I decide to dial him. He tells me he will buy more memory and upgrade his computer to XP. I sense the harshness in his voice, so I simply ask him to tell me how he does. We hang up tensely.
That evening, I wrote him an email, explaining that I was sorry that his success was so short-lived, and that he could call me back for a free visit.
There was no further communication from him.
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