#fifonetworks — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #fifonetworks, aggregated by home.social.
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This is the second time in a week that I’ve removed a “web browser” called OneLaunch from a client’s computer. This was two different clients. In both cases, the client didn’t know how it got there. I’m still not sure how they’re downloading it, and without realizing it, approving the installation.
It’s a little dickens to get rid of. You can uninstall it, but then it’ll show up again after a reboot, so you have to find the loader file. The loader file for each client was different, so I can’t give you a simple solution here.
If you know what the “bait” is, I’d love to learn what it is my clients are clicking on to install this adware generator, so I can educate people not to click on it.
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This is the second time in a week that I’ve removed a “web browser” called OneLaunch from a client’s computer. This was two different clients. In both cases, the client didn’t know how it got there. I’m still not sure how they’re downloading it, and without realizing it, approving the installation.
It’s a little dickens to get rid of. You can uninstall it, but then it’ll show up again after a reboot, so you have to find the loader file. The loader file for each client was different, so I can’t give you a simple solution here.
If you know what the “bait” is, I’d love to learn what it is my clients are clicking on to install this adware generator, so I can educate people not to click on it.
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This is the second time in a week that I’ve removed a “web browser” called OneLaunch from a client’s computer. This was two different clients. In both cases, the client didn’t know how it got there. I’m still not sure how they’re downloading it, and without realizing it, approving the installation.
It’s a little dickens to get rid of. You can uninstall it, but then it’ll show up again after a reboot, so you have to find the loader file. The loader file for each client was different, so I can’t give you a simple solution here.
If you know what the “bait” is, I’d love to learn what it is my clients are clicking on to install this adware generator, so I can educate people not to click on it.
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This is the second time in a week that I’ve removed a “web browser” called OneLaunch from a client’s computer. This was two different clients. In both cases, the client didn’t know how it got there. I’m still not sure how they’re downloading it, and without realizing it, approving the installation.
It’s a little dickens to get rid of. You can uninstall it, but then it’ll show up again after a reboot, so you have to find the loader file. The loader file for each client was different, so I can’t give you a simple solution here.
If you know what the “bait” is, I’d love to learn what it is my clients are clicking on to install this adware generator, so I can educate people not to click on it.
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This is the second time in a week that I’ve removed a “web browser” called OneLaunch from a client’s computer. This was two different clients. In both cases, the client didn’t know how it got there. I’m still not sure how they’re downloading it, and without realizing it, approving the installation.
It’s a little dickens to get rid of. You can uninstall it, but then it’ll show up again after a reboot, so you have to find the loader file. The loader file for each client was different, so I can’t give you a simple solution here.
If you know what the “bait” is, I’d love to learn what it is my clients are clicking on to install this adware generator, so I can educate people not to click on it.
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Okay, I’m naive. And gullible. I just have to face the fact, and admit it.
So, here’s what’s going on. I have a pretty detailed spam filtering system for my email. I’m filtering on top-level domains (TLDs), keywords in the subject, keywords in the message body, and so on. Most messages go into a review folder before deletion, because I’ve made mistakes in the past with filtering parameters that were too broad.
Today, I had a brilliant idea: “I’m going to contact some of these people with compromised top-level domains and tell them, ‘Hey, someone is using your domain to send spam. It may be an employee computer that’s been compromised, or it may be an account in your email server that’s been compromised, but either way, I can find the problem and fix it for you.’”
Brilliant idea – or so I thought.
I picked an email, identified the TLD, and visited the homepage.
Uh-oh. It’s not a legitimate business. The website is a front. The whole TLD is owned by the spammer and exists for the sole purpose of sending spam.
So I picked another email, identified the TLD, and visited the homepage. Same thing. It sort of looks legitimate, but a lot of the “links” aren’t actually clickable.
All this time, I thought spam was coming from compromised businesses, and I’m sure some of it is. But a lot of it is from shell companies, not “real” domains at all.
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Okay, I’m naive. And gullible. I just have to face the fact, and admit it.
So, here’s what’s going on. I have a pretty detailed spam filtering system for my email. I’m filtering on top-level domains (TLDs), keywords in the subject, keywords in the message body, and so on. Most messages go into a review folder before deletion, because I’ve made mistakes in the past with filtering parameters that were too broad.
Today, I had a brilliant idea: “I’m going to contact some of these people with compromised top-level domains and tell them, ‘Hey, someone is using your domain to send spam. It may be an employee computer that’s been compromised, or it may be an account in your email server that’s been compromised, but either way, I can find the problem and fix it for you.’”
Brilliant idea – or so I thought.
I picked an email, identified the TLD, and visited the homepage.
Uh-oh. It’s not a legitimate business. The website is a front. The whole TLD is owned by the spammer and exists for the sole purpose of sending spam.
So I picked another email, identified the TLD, and visited the homepage. Same thing. It sort of looks legitimate, but a lot of the “links” aren’t actually clickable.
All this time, I thought spam was coming from compromised businesses, and I’m sure some of it is. But a lot of it is from shell companies, not “real” domains at all.
-
Okay, I’m naive. And gullible. I just have to face the fact, and admit it.
So, here’s what’s going on. I have a pretty detailed spam filtering system for my email. I’m filtering on top-level domains (TLDs), keywords in the subject, keywords in the message body, and so on. Most messages go into a review folder before deletion, because I’ve made mistakes in the past with filtering parameters that were too broad.
Today, I had a brilliant idea: “I’m going to contact some of these people with compromised top-level domains and tell them, ‘Hey, someone is using your domain to send spam. It may be an employee computer that’s been compromised, or it may be an account in your email server that’s been compromised, but either way, I can find the problem and fix it for you.’”
Brilliant idea – or so I thought.
I picked an email, identified the TLD, and visited the homepage.
Uh-oh. It’s not a legitimate business. The website is a front. The whole TLD is owned by the spammer and exists for the sole purpose of sending spam.
So I picked another email, identified the TLD, and visited the homepage. Same thing. It sort of looks legitimate, but a lot of the “links” aren’t actually clickable.
All this time, I thought spam was coming from compromised businesses, and I’m sure some of it is. But a lot of it is from shell companies, not “real” domains at all.
-
Okay, I’m naive. And gullible. I just have to face the fact, and admit it.
So, here’s what’s going on. I have a pretty detailed spam filtering system for my email. I’m filtering on top-level domains (TLDs), keywords in the subject, keywords in the message body, and so on. Most messages go into a review folder before deletion, because I’ve made mistakes in the past with filtering parameters that were too broad.
Today, I had a brilliant idea: “I’m going to contact some of these people with compromised top-level domains and tell them, ‘Hey, someone is using your domain to send spam. It may be an employee computer that’s been compromised, or it may be an account in your email server that’s been compromised, but either way, I can find the problem and fix it for you.’”
Brilliant idea – or so I thought.
I picked an email, identified the TLD, and visited the homepage.
Uh-oh. It’s not a legitimate business. The website is a front. The whole TLD is owned by the spammer and exists for the sole purpose of sending spam.
So I picked another email, identified the TLD, and visited the homepage. Same thing. It sort of looks legitimate, but a lot of the “links” aren’t actually clickable.
All this time, I thought spam was coming from compromised businesses, and I’m sure some of it is. But a lot of it is from shell companies, not “real” domains at all.
-
Okay, I’m naive. And gullible. I just have to face the fact, and admit it.
So, here’s what’s going on. I have a pretty detailed spam filtering system for my email. I’m filtering on top-level domains (TLDs), keywords in the subject, keywords in the message body, and so on. Most messages go into a review folder before deletion, because I’ve made mistakes in the past with filtering parameters that were too broad.
Today, I had a brilliant idea: “I’m going to contact some of these people with compromised top-level domains and tell them, ‘Hey, someone is using your domain to send spam. It may be an employee computer that’s been compromised, or it may be an account in your email server that’s been compromised, but either way, I can find the problem and fix it for you.’”
Brilliant idea – or so I thought.
I picked an email, identified the TLD, and visited the homepage.
Uh-oh. It’s not a legitimate business. The website is a front. The whole TLD is owned by the spammer and exists for the sole purpose of sending spam.
So I picked another email, identified the TLD, and visited the homepage. Same thing. It sort of looks legitimate, but a lot of the “links” aren’t actually clickable.
All this time, I thought spam was coming from compromised businesses, and I’m sure some of it is. But a lot of it is from shell companies, not “real” domains at all.
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Adding more Wi-Fi access points does not create more bandwidth.
Adding more Wi-Fi access points does not create more bandwidth.
Adding more Wi-Fi access points does not create more bandwidth.
Adding more Wi-Fi access points does not create more bandwidth.
Adding more Wi-Fi access points does not create more bandwidth.
Adding more Wi-Fi access points does not create more bandwidth.
Adding more Wi-Fi access points does not create more bandwidth.#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks +1 206-465-2422
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Adding more Wi-Fi access points does not create more bandwidth.
Adding more Wi-Fi access points does not create more bandwidth.
Adding more Wi-Fi access points does not create more bandwidth.
Adding more Wi-Fi access points does not create more bandwidth.
Adding more Wi-Fi access points does not create more bandwidth.
Adding more Wi-Fi access points does not create more bandwidth.
Adding more Wi-Fi access points does not create more bandwidth.#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks +1 206-465-2422
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Adding more Wi-Fi access points does not create more bandwidth.
Adding more Wi-Fi access points does not create more bandwidth.
Adding more Wi-Fi access points does not create more bandwidth.
Adding more Wi-Fi access points does not create more bandwidth.
Adding more Wi-Fi access points does not create more bandwidth.
Adding more Wi-Fi access points does not create more bandwidth.
Adding more Wi-Fi access points does not create more bandwidth.#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks +1 206-465-2422
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Adding more Wi-Fi access points does not create more bandwidth.
Adding more Wi-Fi access points does not create more bandwidth.
Adding more Wi-Fi access points does not create more bandwidth.
Adding more Wi-Fi access points does not create more bandwidth.
Adding more Wi-Fi access points does not create more bandwidth.
Adding more Wi-Fi access points does not create more bandwidth.
Adding more Wi-Fi access points does not create more bandwidth.#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks +1 206-465-2422
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Adding more Wi-Fi access points does not create more bandwidth.
Adding more Wi-Fi access points does not create more bandwidth.
Adding more Wi-Fi access points does not create more bandwidth.
Adding more Wi-Fi access points does not create more bandwidth.
Adding more Wi-Fi access points does not create more bandwidth.
Adding more Wi-Fi access points does not create more bandwidth.
Adding more Wi-Fi access points does not create more bandwidth.#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks +1 206-465-2422
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He did five tours in the Middle East. He came home with severe PTSD. He retired from the US Air Force a few years ago. He cut off communications with his mother and disappeared in 2020. She asked me to find him.
The dilemma with Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) research is “privacy versus information.”
His mother wants to know where he is, and if he’s doing okay. He apparently doesn’t want his mother to know those answers.
I took the job. Property records, voter registration, crime reports, obituaries, and of course, social media – there’s lots of publicly available information, if you have a few “starter” bits of information to work from.
I found him.
He moved to a different state in 2021. He owns a home. He’s married.
#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks +1 206-465-2422
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He did five tours in the Middle East. He came home with severe PTSD. He retired from the US Air Force a few years ago. He cut off communications with his mother and disappeared in 2020. She asked me to find him.
The dilemma with Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) research is “privacy versus information.”
His mother wants to know where he is, and if he’s doing okay. He apparently doesn’t want his mother to know those answers.
I took the job. Property records, voter registration, crime reports, obituaries, and of course, social media – there’s lots of publicly available information, if you have a few “starter” bits of information to work from.
I found him.
He moved to a different state in 2021. He owns a home. He’s married.
#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks +1 206-465-2422
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He did five tours in the Middle East. He came home with severe PTSD. He retired from the US Air Force a few years ago. He cut off communications with his mother and disappeared in 2020. She asked me to find him.
The dilemma with Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) research is “privacy versus information.”
His mother wants to know where he is, and if he’s doing okay. He apparently doesn’t want his mother to know those answers.
I took the job. Property records, voter registration, crime reports, obituaries, and of course, social media – there’s lots of publicly available information, if you have a few “starter” bits of information to work from.
I found him.
He moved to a different state in 2021. He owns a home. He’s married.
#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks +1 206-465-2422
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He did five tours in the Middle East. He came home with severe PTSD. He retired from the US Air Force a few years ago. He cut off communications with his mother and disappeared in 2020. She asked me to find him.
The dilemma with Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) research is “privacy versus information.”
His mother wants to know where he is, and if he’s doing okay. He apparently doesn’t want his mother to know those answers.
I took the job. Property records, voter registration, crime reports, obituaries, and of course, social media – there’s lots of publicly available information, if you have a few “starter” bits of information to work from.
I found him.
He moved to a different state in 2021. He owns a home. He’s married.
#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks +1 206-465-2422
-
He did five tours in the Middle East. He came home with severe PTSD. He retired from the US Air Force a few years ago. He cut off communications with his mother and disappeared in 2020. She asked me to find him.
The dilemma with Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) research is “privacy versus information.”
His mother wants to know where he is, and if he’s doing okay. He apparently doesn’t want his mother to know those answers.
I took the job. Property records, voter registration, crime reports, obituaries, and of course, social media – there’s lots of publicly available information, if you have a few “starter” bits of information to work from.
I found him.
He moved to a different state in 2021. He owns a home. He’s married.
#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks +1 206-465-2422
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Botnets everywhere...
The client’s firewall was installed with the default settings only. They changed IT resources and started paying me a monthly fee for network infrastructure monitoring (yay!). I tightened up the firewall’s security settings, and discovered they were paying licensing fees for seciurity features that had never been activated. Next, I reset the log counters, set up email alerts, and started paying attention.
Wow. In a couple of days I was seeing a lot of outbound traffic communicating with known botnet command-and-control (C&C) servers.
I notified the business owner, and he authorized me to do a network scan during working hours to identify the devices with the IP addresses recorded in the logs.
Good news! Every one of the compromised devices was a mobile device; some Apple, some Android. No servers, no workstations, no printers. This company has two Wi-Fi networks: StoreName, and StoreName Guest. The next step was to change the encryption key (what most people call the Wi-Fi password) for the StoreName network, and limit access to devices like wireless printers and security cameras. This ensured that no employee or customer phones were connecting to the enterprise LAN.
As a courtesy, employees were notified that there were some infected smartphones (“We don’t know who, but it may be you”) and offered the opportunity to compare their phone’s Wi-Fi IP address against the list derived from the logfile.
LESSON 1: A firewall installed with its default settings is good. A firewall configured by someone who knows what they’re doing is better. A firewall that is configured and actively monitored is best.
LESSON 2: A guest Wi-Fi network, isolated from the company network, isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity, if you’re going to let employees and customers use Wi-Fi in your building.
#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks +1 206-465-2422
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Botnets everywhere...
The client’s firewall was installed with the default settings only. They changed IT resources and started paying me a monthly fee for network infrastructure monitoring (yay!). I tightened up the firewall’s security settings, and discovered they were paying licensing fees for seciurity features that had never been activated. Next, I reset the log counters, set up email alerts, and started paying attention.
Wow. In a couple of days I was seeing a lot of outbound traffic communicating with known botnet command-and-control (C&C) servers.
I notified the business owner, and he authorized me to do a network scan during working hours to identify the devices with the IP addresses recorded in the logs.
Good news! Every one of the compromised devices was a mobile device; some Apple, some Android. No servers, no workstations, no printers. This company has two Wi-Fi networks: StoreName, and StoreName Guest. The next step was to change the encryption key (what most people call the Wi-Fi password) for the StoreName network, and limit access to devices like wireless printers and security cameras. This ensured that no employee or customer phones were connecting to the enterprise LAN.
As a courtesy, employees were notified that there were some infected smartphones (“We don’t know who, but it may be you”) and offered the opportunity to compare their phone’s Wi-Fi IP address against the list derived from the logfile.
LESSON 1: A firewall installed with its default settings is good. A firewall configured by someone who knows what they’re doing is better. A firewall that is configured and actively monitored is best.
LESSON 2: A guest Wi-Fi network, isolated from the company network, isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity, if you’re going to let employees and customers use Wi-Fi in your building.
#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks +1 206-465-2422
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Botnets everywhere...
The client’s firewall was installed with the default settings only. They changed IT resources and started paying me a monthly fee for network infrastructure monitoring (yay!). I tightened up the firewall’s security settings, and discovered they were paying licensing fees for seciurity features that had never been activated. Next, I reset the log counters, set up email alerts, and started paying attention.
Wow. In a couple of days I was seeing a lot of outbound traffic communicating with known botnet command-and-control (C&C) servers.
I notified the business owner, and he authorized me to do a network scan during working hours to identify the devices with the IP addresses recorded in the logs.
Good news! Every one of the compromised devices was a mobile device; some Apple, some Android. No servers, no workstations, no printers. This company has two Wi-Fi networks: StoreName, and StoreName Guest. The next step was to change the encryption key (what most people call the Wi-Fi password) for the StoreName network, and limit access to devices like wireless printers and security cameras. This ensured that no employee or customer phones were connecting to the enterprise LAN.
As a courtesy, employees were notified that there were some infected smartphones (“We don’t know who, but it may be you”) and offered the opportunity to compare their phone’s Wi-Fi IP address against the list derived from the logfile.
LESSON 1: A firewall installed with its default settings is good. A firewall configured by someone who knows what they’re doing is better. A firewall that is configured and actively monitored is best.
LESSON 2: A guest Wi-Fi network, isolated from the company network, isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity, if you’re going to let employees and customers use Wi-Fi in your building.
#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks +1 206-465-2422
-
Botnets everywhere...
The client’s firewall was installed with the default settings only. They changed IT resources and started paying me a monthly fee for network infrastructure monitoring (yay!). I tightened up the firewall’s security settings, and discovered they were paying licensing fees for seciurity features that had never been activated. Next, I reset the log counters, set up email alerts, and started paying attention.
Wow. In a couple of days I was seeing a lot of outbound traffic communicating with known botnet command-and-control (C&C) servers.
I notified the business owner, and he authorized me to do a network scan during working hours to identify the devices with the IP addresses recorded in the logs.
Good news! Every one of the compromised devices was a mobile device; some Apple, some Android. No servers, no workstations, no printers. This company has two Wi-Fi networks: StoreName, and StoreName Guest. The next step was to change the encryption key (what most people call the Wi-Fi password) for the StoreName network, and limit access to devices like wireless printers and security cameras. This ensured that no employee or customer phones were connecting to the enterprise LAN.
As a courtesy, employees were notified that there were some infected smartphones (“We don’t know who, but it may be you”) and offered the opportunity to compare their phone’s Wi-Fi IP address against the list derived from the logfile.
LESSON 1: A firewall installed with its default settings is good. A firewall configured by someone who knows what they’re doing is better. A firewall that is configured and actively monitored is best.
LESSON 2: A guest Wi-Fi network, isolated from the company network, isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity, if you’re going to let employees and customers use Wi-Fi in your building.
#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks +1 206-465-2422
-
Botnets everywhere...
The client’s firewall was installed with the default settings only. They changed IT resources and started paying me a monthly fee for network infrastructure monitoring (yay!). I tightened up the firewall’s security settings, and discovered they were paying licensing fees for seciurity features that had never been activated. Next, I reset the log counters, set up email alerts, and started paying attention.
Wow. In a couple of days I was seeing a lot of outbound traffic communicating with known botnet command-and-control (C&C) servers.
I notified the business owner, and he authorized me to do a network scan during working hours to identify the devices with the IP addresses recorded in the logs.
Good news! Every one of the compromised devices was a mobile device; some Apple, some Android. No servers, no workstations, no printers. This company has two Wi-Fi networks: StoreName, and StoreName Guest. The next step was to change the encryption key (what most people call the Wi-Fi password) for the StoreName network, and limit access to devices like wireless printers and security cameras. This ensured that no employee or customer phones were connecting to the enterprise LAN.
As a courtesy, employees were notified that there were some infected smartphones (“We don’t know who, but it may be you”) and offered the opportunity to compare their phone’s Wi-Fi IP address against the list derived from the logfile.
LESSON 1: A firewall installed with its default settings is good. A firewall configured by someone who knows what they’re doing is better. A firewall that is configured and actively monitored is best.
LESSON 2: A guest Wi-Fi network, isolated from the company network, isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity, if you’re going to let employees and customers use Wi-Fi in your building.
#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks +1 206-465-2422
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“That costs more than I thought it would.”
A residential client told me that she had talked to a friend who needed someone to restore her ability to print. She gave me the name and phone number of the prospect, with the woman’s permission. She also told me that the woman is about 90 years old. Her son had tried to get her printer working, but wasn’t able to, so she needed a tech support person.
Today I called. She said, “We have two printers, and I can’t get either one of them to work since I got a new router a couple of weeks ago.”
(Side note: wait, did she just mention her router? And did she say she and her husband have two printers? Yup, and it should come as no surprise. This is the new, common reality of working tech support with the elderly. They’re often more technically literate than you think. Do the math. Let’s say she’s a full 90 years old, and retired at the age of 65. That was in 2001. Computers were everywhere in 2001. If you know elderly people who don’t understand computers, it’s not because they’re old; it’s because they had a job that didn’t involve using computers. Today, there are 90-year-olds who were software engineers).
Back to the story... I told her yes, I could help her with that, and I have a “no fix, no charge” guarantee. She was all set to have me do the work. Then I said, “First, I want to be transparent about the cost.” I told her my hourly rate.
[silence for over a second]... “Okay, I’ll talk to my husband and let you know.”
My rate is the same for residential service as for business service. Many years ago I charged less for residential. I learned my lesson. Now, if anything, I’d say (only half joking) that residential clients could legitimately be charged a premium.
I charge the same because my costs are the same, and because I’m running a for-profit business. There are several other reasons, too, but we’ll leave it at that for this post.
THE LESSON
If you’re doing residential tech support, give serious thought to your fee structure. If you try to sell it cheap, you can end up working your tail off and struggling to make ends meet. Find clients who can afford to pay you at the current competitive rates.#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks +1 206-465-2422
-
“That costs more than I thought it would.”
A residential client told me that she had talked to a friend who needed someone to restore her ability to print. She gave me the name and phone number of the prospect, with the woman’s permission. She also told me that the woman is about 90 years old. Her son had tried to get her printer working, but wasn’t able to, so she needed a tech support person.
Today I called. She said, “We have two printers, and I can’t get either one of them to work since I got a new router a couple of weeks ago.”
(Side note: wait, did she just mention her router? And did she say she and her husband have two printers? Yup, and it should come as no surprise. This is the new, common reality of working tech support with the elderly. They’re often more technically literate than you think. Do the math. Let’s say she’s a full 90 years old, and retired at the age of 65. That was in 2001. Computers were everywhere in 2001. If you know elderly people who don’t understand computers, it’s not because they’re old; it’s because they had a job that didn’t involve using computers. Today, there are 90-year-olds who were software engineers).
Back to the story... I told her yes, I could help her with that, and I have a “no fix, no charge” guarantee. She was all set to have me do the work. Then I said, “First, I want to be transparent about the cost.” I told her my hourly rate.
[silence for over a second]... “Okay, I’ll talk to my husband and let you know.”
My rate is the same for residential service as for business service. Many years ago I charged less for residential. I learned my lesson. Now, if anything, I’d say (only half joking) that residential clients could legitimately be charged a premium.
I charge the same because my costs are the same, and because I’m running a for-profit business. There are several other reasons, too, but we’ll leave it at that for this post.
THE LESSON
If you’re doing residential tech support, give serious thought to your fee structure. If you try to sell it cheap, you can end up working your tail off and struggling to make ends meet. Find clients who can afford to pay you at the current competitive rates.#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks +1 206-465-2422
-
“That costs more than I thought it would.”
A residential client told me that she had talked to a friend who needed someone to restore her ability to print. She gave me the name and phone number of the prospect, with the woman’s permission. She also told me that the woman is about 90 years old. Her son had tried to get her printer working, but wasn’t able to, so she needed a tech support person.
Today I called. She said, “We have two printers, and I can’t get either one of them to work since I got a new router a couple of weeks ago.”
(Side note: wait, did she just mention her router? And did she say she and her husband have two printers? Yup, and it should come as no surprise. This is the new, common reality of working tech support with the elderly. They’re often more technically literate than you think. Do the math. Let’s say she’s a full 90 years old, and retired at the age of 65. That was in 2001. Computers were everywhere in 2001. If you know elderly people who don’t understand computers, it’s not because they’re old; it’s because they had a job that didn’t involve using computers. Today, there are 90-year-olds who were software engineers).
Back to the story... I told her yes, I could help her with that, and I have a “no fix, no charge” guarantee. She was all set to have me do the work. Then I said, “First, I want to be transparent about the cost.” I told her my hourly rate.
[silence for over a second]... “Okay, I’ll talk to my husband and let you know.”
My rate is the same for residential service as for business service. Many years ago I charged less for residential. I learned my lesson. Now, if anything, I’d say (only half joking) that residential clients could legitimately be charged a premium.
I charge the same because my costs are the same, and because I’m running a for-profit business. There are several other reasons, too, but we’ll leave it at that for this post.
THE LESSON
If you’re doing residential tech support, give serious thought to your fee structure. If you try to sell it cheap, you can end up working your tail off and struggling to make ends meet. Find clients who can afford to pay you at the current competitive rates.#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks +1 206-465-2422
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“That costs more than I thought it would.”
A residential client told me that she had talked to a friend who needed someone to restore her ability to print. She gave me the name and phone number of the prospect, with the woman’s permission. She also told me that the woman is about 90 years old. Her son had tried to get her printer working, but wasn’t able to, so she needed a tech support person.
Today I called. She said, “We have two printers, and I can’t get either one of them to work since I got a new router a couple of weeks ago.”
(Side note: wait, did she just mention her router? And did she say she and her husband have two printers? Yup, and it should come as no surprise. This is the new, common reality of working tech support with the elderly. They’re often more technically literate than you think. Do the math. Let’s say she’s a full 90 years old, and retired at the age of 65. That was in 2001. Computers were everywhere in 2001. If you know elderly people who don’t understand computers, it’s not because they’re old; it’s because they had a job that didn’t involve using computers. Today, there are 90-year-olds who were software engineers).
Back to the story... I told her yes, I could help her with that, and I have a “no fix, no charge” guarantee. She was all set to have me do the work. Then I said, “First, I want to be transparent about the cost.” I told her my hourly rate.
[silence for over a second]... “Okay, I’ll talk to my husband and let you know.”
My rate is the same for residential service as for business service. Many years ago I charged less for residential. I learned my lesson. Now, if anything, I’d say (only half joking) that residential clients could legitimately be charged a premium.
I charge the same because my costs are the same, and because I’m running a for-profit business. There are several other reasons, too, but we’ll leave it at that for this post.
THE LESSON
If you’re doing residential tech support, give serious thought to your fee structure. If you try to sell it cheap, you can end up working your tail off and struggling to make ends meet. Find clients who can afford to pay you at the current competitive rates.#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks +1 206-465-2422
-
“That costs more than I thought it would.”
A residential client told me that she had talked to a friend who needed someone to restore her ability to print. She gave me the name and phone number of the prospect, with the woman’s permission. She also told me that the woman is about 90 years old. Her son had tried to get her printer working, but wasn’t able to, so she needed a tech support person.
Today I called. She said, “We have two printers, and I can’t get either one of them to work since I got a new router a couple of weeks ago.”
(Side note: wait, did she just mention her router? And did she say she and her husband have two printers? Yup, and it should come as no surprise. This is the new, common reality of working tech support with the elderly. They’re often more technically literate than you think. Do the math. Let’s say she’s a full 90 years old, and retired at the age of 65. That was in 2001. Computers were everywhere in 2001. If you know elderly people who don’t understand computers, it’s not because they’re old; it’s because they had a job that didn’t involve using computers. Today, there are 90-year-olds who were software engineers).
Back to the story... I told her yes, I could help her with that, and I have a “no fix, no charge” guarantee. She was all set to have me do the work. Then I said, “First, I want to be transparent about the cost.” I told her my hourly rate.
[silence for over a second]... “Okay, I’ll talk to my husband and let you know.”
My rate is the same for residential service as for business service. Many years ago I charged less for residential. I learned my lesson. Now, if anything, I’d say (only half joking) that residential clients could legitimately be charged a premium.
I charge the same because my costs are the same, and because I’m running a for-profit business. There are several other reasons, too, but we’ll leave it at that for this post.
THE LESSON
If you’re doing residential tech support, give serious thought to your fee structure. If you try to sell it cheap, you can end up working your tail off and struggling to make ends meet. Find clients who can afford to pay you at the current competitive rates.#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks +1 206-465-2422
-
“Bob, when I tried to order a pizza I think my computer was infected with a virus.”
The infection was dramatic and instant. The client called me less than two hours after it happened.
THE SITUATION
This client in Nevada opened the web browser on his laptop and began typing the name of a popular pizza delivery service. If you’re in the USA, you’d recognize the name, they’re everywhere. He clicked on one of the search results – he thought it was the right one – and began selecting the pizza. Before he could complete the order, his laptop was unusable because of pop-ups telling him he had a virus. All of the "virus" alerts were fake.WHAT THE CLIENT DID NEXT
He set the computer aside, used his phone to order the pizza, and after dinner he called me. While we talked on the phone, I connected remotely to his computer.We were lucky. Some malware blocks remote connections.
Once I was connected, I was able to stop some malicious running processes to regain control of the computer and stop the pop-ups. But this is a temporary solution. The problem isn’t resolved until you eliminate the source file. I used System Restore to roll his Windows 11 configuration back a few days.
In a follow-up customer care check two days later, the client reported that his laptop is still working normally.
THE LESSON
If it’s a popular website, you can pretty much bet that a cybercriminal has created a look-alike site with a name that looks similar, but is spelled just a little different. Look carefully before you click on the search result. Then, it’s a good idea to bookmark a website that you’ll visit more than once. Instead of taking a risk every time you type the name, you can trust the bookmark (“favorite”) that you saved.#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks +1 206-465-2422
-
“Bob, when I tried to order a pizza I think my computer was infected with a virus.”
The infection was dramatic and instant. The client called me less than two hours after it happened.
THE SITUATION
This client in Nevada opened the web browser on his laptop and began typing the name of a popular pizza delivery service. If you’re in the USA, you’d recognize the name, they’re everywhere. He clicked on one of the search results – he thought it was the right one – and began selecting the pizza. Before he could complete the order, his laptop was unusable because of pop-ups telling him he had a virus. All of the "virus" alerts were fake.WHAT THE CLIENT DID NEXT
He set the computer aside, used his phone to order the pizza, and after dinner he called me. While we talked on the phone, I connected remotely to his computer.We were lucky. Some malware blocks remote connections.
Once I was connected, I was able to stop some malicious running processes to regain control of the computer and stop the pop-ups. But this is a temporary solution. The problem isn’t resolved until you eliminate the source file. I used System Restore to roll his Windows 11 configuration back a few days.
In a follow-up customer care check two days later, the client reported that his laptop is still working normally.
THE LESSON
If it’s a popular website, you can pretty much bet that a cybercriminal has created a look-alike site with a name that looks similar, but is spelled just a little different. Look carefully before you click on the search result. Then, it’s a good idea to bookmark a website that you’ll visit more than once. Instead of taking a risk every time you type the name, you can trust the bookmark (“favorite”) that you saved.#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks +1 206-465-2422
-
“Bob, when I tried to order a pizza I think my computer was infected with a virus.”
The infection was dramatic and instant. The client called me less than two hours after it happened.
THE SITUATION
This client in Nevada opened the web browser on his laptop and began typing the name of a popular pizza delivery service. If you’re in the USA, you’d recognize the name, they’re everywhere. He clicked on one of the search results – he thought it was the right one – and began selecting the pizza. Before he could complete the order, his laptop was unusable because of pop-ups telling him he had a virus. All of the "virus" alerts were fake.WHAT THE CLIENT DID NEXT
He set the computer aside, used his phone to order the pizza, and after dinner he called me. While we talked on the phone, I connected remotely to his computer.We were lucky. Some malware blocks remote connections.
Once I was connected, I was able to stop some malicious running processes to regain control of the computer and stop the pop-ups. But this is a temporary solution. The problem isn’t resolved until you eliminate the source file. I used System Restore to roll his Windows 11 configuration back a few days.
In a follow-up customer care check two days later, the client reported that his laptop is still working normally.
THE LESSON
If it’s a popular website, you can pretty much bet that a cybercriminal has created a look-alike site with a name that looks similar, but is spelled just a little different. Look carefully before you click on the search result. Then, it’s a good idea to bookmark a website that you’ll visit more than once. Instead of taking a risk every time you type the name, you can trust the bookmark (“favorite”) that you saved.#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks +1 206-465-2422
-
“Bob, when I tried to order a pizza I think my computer was infected with a virus.”
The infection was dramatic and instant. The client called me less than two hours after it happened.
THE SITUATION
This client in Nevada opened the web browser on his laptop and began typing the name of a popular pizza delivery service. If you’re in the USA, you’d recognize the name, they’re everywhere. He clicked on one of the search results – he thought it was the right one – and began selecting the pizza. Before he could complete the order, his laptop was unusable because of pop-ups telling him he had a virus. All of the "virus" alerts were fake.WHAT THE CLIENT DID NEXT
He set the computer aside, used his phone to order the pizza, and after dinner he called me. While we talked on the phone, I connected remotely to his computer.We were lucky. Some malware blocks remote connections.
Once I was connected, I was able to stop some malicious running processes to regain control of the computer and stop the pop-ups. But this is a temporary solution. The problem isn’t resolved until you eliminate the source file. I used System Restore to roll his Windows 11 configuration back a few days.
In a follow-up customer care check two days later, the client reported that his laptop is still working normally.
THE LESSON
If it’s a popular website, you can pretty much bet that a cybercriminal has created a look-alike site with a name that looks similar, but is spelled just a little different. Look carefully before you click on the search result. Then, it’s a good idea to bookmark a website that you’ll visit more than once. Instead of taking a risk every time you type the name, you can trust the bookmark (“favorite”) that you saved.#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks +1 206-465-2422
-
“Bob, when I tried to order a pizza I think my computer was infected with a virus.”
The infection was dramatic and instant. The client called me less than two hours after it happened.
THE SITUATION
This client in Nevada opened the web browser on his laptop and began typing the name of a popular pizza delivery service. If you’re in the USA, you’d recognize the name, they’re everywhere. He clicked on one of the search results – he thought it was the right one – and began selecting the pizza. Before he could complete the order, his laptop was unusable because of pop-ups telling him he had a virus. All of the "virus" alerts were fake.WHAT THE CLIENT DID NEXT
He set the computer aside, used his phone to order the pizza, and after dinner he called me. While we talked on the phone, I connected remotely to his computer.We were lucky. Some malware blocks remote connections.
Once I was connected, I was able to stop some malicious running processes to regain control of the computer and stop the pop-ups. But this is a temporary solution. The problem isn’t resolved until you eliminate the source file. I used System Restore to roll his Windows 11 configuration back a few days.
In a follow-up customer care check two days later, the client reported that his laptop is still working normally.
THE LESSON
If it’s a popular website, you can pretty much bet that a cybercriminal has created a look-alike site with a name that looks similar, but is spelled just a little different. Look carefully before you click on the search result. Then, it’s a good idea to bookmark a website that you’ll visit more than once. Instead of taking a risk every time you type the name, you can trust the bookmark (“favorite”) that you saved.#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks +1 206-465-2422
-
How to handle QuickBooks Desktop updates without giving the users Administrator privilege level: a case study.
THE SCENARIO
A small business runs QB Desktop, not QB Online. The data files are on a local server. There are three computers in the server room for Remote Access. Each RA computer has QB installed. Employees can work from home a certain number of days per week. They remote into these computers and run QuickBooks from there.THE PROBLEM
The remote workers don’t have Administrator privileges (of course). But... QuickBooks updates can’t be installed without Admin privileges. Periodically they get stuck and can’t work until someone logs into each RA computer and applies the QB updates. This wastes valuable time and occasionally puts deadlines at risk, like payroll.THE SOLUTION
The business owner now pays me a monthly fee to login to each RA computer twice a month and apply all updates. I do this the first time shortly after “Patch Tuesday,” so I can apply all Microsoft updates at the same time. I do it again near the end of the month. I do this after hours so it doesn’t interfere with the workflow.FIFO NETWORKS
I provide small business tech support, by the hour, for companies that are too small to need a full-time IT person on staff. It’s not automated. I’m a real human being who checks the logs, pays attention, applies the fixes, and verifies the fixes work. I taught IT and Cybersecurity at a couple of colleges for 17 years. Let’s talk, and find out if I can help you. -
How to handle QuickBooks Desktop updates without giving the users Administrator privilege level: a case study.
THE SCENARIO
A small business runs QB Desktop, not QB Online. The data files are on a local server. There are three computers in the server room for Remote Access. Each RA computer has QB installed. Employees can work from home a certain number of days per week. They remote into these computers and run QuickBooks from there.THE PROBLEM
The remote workers don’t have Administrator privileges (of course). But... QuickBooks updates can’t be installed without Admin privileges. Periodically they get stuck and can’t work until someone logs into each RA computer and applies the QB updates. This wastes valuable time and occasionally puts deadlines at risk, like payroll.THE SOLUTION
The business owner now pays me a monthly fee to login to each RA computer twice a month and apply all updates. I do this the first time shortly after “Patch Tuesday,” so I can apply all Microsoft updates at the same time. I do it again near the end of the month. I do this after hours so it doesn’t interfere with the workflow.FIFO NETWORKS
I provide small business tech support, by the hour, for companies that are too small to need a full-time IT person on staff. It’s not automated. I’m a real human being who checks the logs, pays attention, applies the fixes, and verifies the fixes work. I taught IT and Cybersecurity at a couple of colleges for 17 years. Let’s talk, and find out if I can help you. -
How to handle QuickBooks Desktop updates without giving the users Administrator privilege level: a case study.
THE SCENARIO
A small business runs QB Desktop, not QB Online. The data files are on a local server. There are three computers in the server room for Remote Access. Each RA computer has QB installed. Employees can work from home a certain number of days per week. They remote into these computers and run QuickBooks from there.THE PROBLEM
The remote workers don’t have Administrator privileges (of course). But... QuickBooks updates can’t be installed without Admin privileges. Periodically they get stuck and can’t work until someone logs into each RA computer and applies the QB updates. This wastes valuable time and occasionally puts deadlines at risk, like payroll.THE SOLUTION
The business owner now pays me a monthly fee to login to each RA computer twice a month and apply all updates. I do this the first time shortly after “Patch Tuesday,” so I can apply all Microsoft updates at the same time. I do it again near the end of the month. I do this after hours so it doesn’t interfere with the workflow.FIFO NETWORKS
I provide small business tech support, by the hour, for companies that are too small to need a full-time IT person on staff. It’s not automated. I’m a real human being who checks the logs, pays attention, applies the fixes, and verifies the fixes work. I taught IT and Cybersecurity at a couple of colleges for 17 years. Let’s talk, and find out if I can help you. -
How to handle QuickBooks Desktop updates without giving the users Administrator privilege level: a case study.
THE SCENARIO
A small business runs QB Desktop, not QB Online. The data files are on a local server. There are three computers in the server room for Remote Access. Each RA computer has QB installed. Employees can work from home a certain number of days per week. They remote into these computers and run QuickBooks from there.THE PROBLEM
The remote workers don’t have Administrator privileges (of course). But... QuickBooks updates can’t be installed without Admin privileges. Periodically they get stuck and can’t work until someone logs into each RA computer and applies the QB updates. This wastes valuable time and occasionally puts deadlines at risk, like payroll.THE SOLUTION
The business owner now pays me a monthly fee to login to each RA computer twice a month and apply all updates. I do this the first time shortly after “Patch Tuesday,” so I can apply all Microsoft updates at the same time. I do it again near the end of the month. I do this after hours so it doesn’t interfere with the workflow.FIFO NETWORKS
I provide small business tech support, by the hour, for companies that are too small to need a full-time IT person on staff. It’s not automated. I’m a real human being who checks the logs, pays attention, applies the fixes, and verifies the fixes work. I taught IT and Cybersecurity at a couple of colleges for 17 years. Let’s talk, and find out if I can help you. -
How to handle QuickBooks Desktop updates without giving the users Administrator privilege level: a case study.
THE SCENARIO
A small business runs QB Desktop, not QB Online. The data files are on a local server. There are three computers in the server room for Remote Access. Each RA computer has QB installed. Employees can work from home a certain number of days per week. They remote into these computers and run QuickBooks from there.THE PROBLEM
The remote workers don’t have Administrator privileges (of course). But... QuickBooks updates can’t be installed without Admin privileges. Periodically they get stuck and can’t work until someone logs into each RA computer and applies the QB updates. This wastes valuable time and occasionally puts deadlines at risk, like payroll.THE SOLUTION
The business owner now pays me a monthly fee to login to each RA computer twice a month and apply all updates. I do this the first time shortly after “Patch Tuesday,” so I can apply all Microsoft updates at the same time. I do it again near the end of the month. I do this after hours so it doesn’t interfere with the workflow.FIFO NETWORKS
I provide small business tech support, by the hour, for companies that are too small to need a full-time IT person on staff. It’s not automated. I’m a real human being who checks the logs, pays attention, applies the fixes, and verifies the fixes work. I taught IT and Cybersecurity at a couple of colleges for 17 years. Let’s talk, and find out if I can help you. -
Over the weekend a man in Oregon called for tech support (I’m in Washington). “Bob, I can’t get my printer to work.”
I connected remotely to his computer while we talked on the phone. He’s running Windows 11 Home, 25H2. I opened “Printers & Scanners” to see what’s up. He has one printer, and it had an error message. I started from the beginning: downloaded and installed the current driver package directly from the HP website, power cycled the printer, and rebooted the computer.
I tested printing from “Printers & Scanners” with the normal test page, then tested from Microsoft Word – oops! – it’s coming up in fax mode! I set the printer as default and tested again. Then I asked the client to try printing something, whatever it was that he couldn’t print before he called me.
He opened Outlook, opened an attachment, and printed it. Success.
You see, a lot of this isn’t hard. They just need a friend.
He’s a residential client. I looked in my records, and he’s been a client since May of 2019. This was the eighth invoice in seven years. The last invoice before this was in October, 2024 – 21 months ago! But he remembers me, and when he does need help, I get the call.
THE LESSON
Repeat business matters. But you also need to have a large, dynamic, growing customer base, because everyone doesn’t need your help every month.Does this seem insecure? Never knowing if, or when, a client will call back? No. It’s not insecure at all, if you build your client base.
The beauty of this business model is that no one person can ever fire you. No one can take away your income.
You’ve got to do the work, though, of providing consistently good service, and always be marketing. Continually be about the business of nurturing and growing your customer base.
-
Over the weekend a man in Oregon called for tech support (I’m in Washington). “Bob, I can’t get my printer to work.”
I connected remotely to his computer while we talked on the phone. He’s running Windows 11 Home, 25H2. I opened “Printers & Scanners” to see what’s up. He has one printer, and it had an error message. I started from the beginning: downloaded and installed the current driver package directly from the HP website, power cycled the printer, and rebooted the computer.
I tested printing from “Printers & Scanners” with the normal test page, then tested from Microsoft Word – oops! – it’s coming up in fax mode! I set the printer as default and tested again. Then I asked the client to try printing something, whatever it was that he couldn’t print before he called me.
He opened Outlook, opened an attachment, and printed it. Success.
You see, a lot of this isn’t hard. They just need a friend.
He’s a residential client. I looked in my records, and he’s been a client since May of 2019. This was the eighth invoice in seven years. The last invoice before this was in October, 2024 – 21 months ago! But he remembers me, and when he does need help, I get the call.
THE LESSON
Repeat business matters. But you also need to have a large, dynamic, growing customer base, because everyone doesn’t need your help every month.Does this seem insecure? Never knowing if, or when, a client will call back? No. It’s not insecure at all, if you build your client base.
The beauty of this business model is that no one person can ever fire you. No one can take away your income.
You’ve got to do the work, though, of providing consistently good service, and always be marketing. Continually be about the business of nurturing and growing your customer base.
-
Over the weekend a man in Oregon called for tech support (I’m in Washington). “Bob, I can’t get my printer to work.”
I connected remotely to his computer while we talked on the phone. He’s running Windows 11 Home, 25H2. I opened “Printers & Scanners” to see what’s up. He has one printer, and it had an error message. I started from the beginning: downloaded and installed the current driver package directly from the HP website, power cycled the printer, and rebooted the computer.
I tested printing from “Printers & Scanners” with the normal test page, then tested from Microsoft Word – oops! – it’s coming up in fax mode! I set the printer as default and tested again. Then I asked the client to try printing something, whatever it was that he couldn’t print before he called me.
He opened Outlook, opened an attachment, and printed it. Success.
You see, a lot of this isn’t hard. They just need a friend.
He’s a residential client. I looked in my records, and he’s been a client since May of 2019. This was the eighth invoice in seven years. The last invoice before this was in October, 2024 – 21 months ago! But he remembers me, and when he does need help, I get the call.
THE LESSON
Repeat business matters. But you also need to have a large, dynamic, growing customer base, because everyone doesn’t need your help every month.Does this seem insecure? Never knowing if, or when, a client will call back? No. It’s not insecure at all, if you build your client base.
The beauty of this business model is that no one person can ever fire you. No one can take away your income.
You’ve got to do the work, though, of providing consistently good service, and always be marketing. Continually be about the business of nurturing and growing your customer base.
-
Over the weekend a man in Oregon called for tech support (I’m in Washington). “Bob, I can’t get my printer to work.”
I connected remotely to his computer while we talked on the phone. He’s running Windows 11 Home, 25H2. I opened “Printers & Scanners” to see what’s up. He has one printer, and it had an error message. I started from the beginning: downloaded and installed the current driver package directly from the HP website, power cycled the printer, and rebooted the computer.
I tested printing from “Printers & Scanners” with the normal test page, then tested from Microsoft Word – oops! – it’s coming up in fax mode! I set the printer as default and tested again. Then I asked the client to try printing something, whatever it was that he couldn’t print before he called me.
He opened Outlook, opened an attachment, and printed it. Success.
You see, a lot of this isn’t hard. They just need a friend.
He’s a residential client. I looked in my records, and he’s been a client since May of 2019. This was the eighth invoice in seven years. The last invoice before this was in October, 2024 – 21 months ago! But he remembers me, and when he does need help, I get the call.
THE LESSON
Repeat business matters. But you also need to have a large, dynamic, growing customer base, because everyone doesn’t need your help every month.Does this seem insecure? Never knowing if, or when, a client will call back? No. It’s not insecure at all, if you build your client base.
The beauty of this business model is that no one person can ever fire you. No one can take away your income.
You’ve got to do the work, though, of providing consistently good service, and always be marketing. Continually be about the business of nurturing and growing your customer base.
-
Over the weekend a man in Oregon called for tech support (I’m in Washington). “Bob, I can’t get my printer to work.”
I connected remotely to his computer while we talked on the phone. He’s running Windows 11 Home, 25H2. I opened “Printers & Scanners” to see what’s up. He has one printer, and it had an error message. I started from the beginning: downloaded and installed the current driver package directly from the HP website, power cycled the printer, and rebooted the computer.
I tested printing from “Printers & Scanners” with the normal test page, then tested from Microsoft Word – oops! – it’s coming up in fax mode! I set the printer as default and tested again. Then I asked the client to try printing something, whatever it was that he couldn’t print before he called me.
He opened Outlook, opened an attachment, and printed it. Success.
You see, a lot of this isn’t hard. They just need a friend.
He’s a residential client. I looked in my records, and he’s been a client since May of 2019. This was the eighth invoice in seven years. The last invoice before this was in October, 2024 – 21 months ago! But he remembers me, and when he does need help, I get the call.
THE LESSON
Repeat business matters. But you also need to have a large, dynamic, growing customer base, because everyone doesn’t need your help every month.Does this seem insecure? Never knowing if, or when, a client will call back? No. It’s not insecure at all, if you build your client base.
The beauty of this business model is that no one person can ever fire you. No one can take away your income.
You’ve got to do the work, though, of providing consistently good service, and always be marketing. Continually be about the business of nurturing and growing your customer base.
-
A client upgraded their phone system for the first time in years. The old system was IP-based, but was down-converted to deliver voice and ringing to regular old copper line phone extensions. The new system is a true end-to-end VoIP system: you can literally plug that phone into any Internet-connected port in the world, and it’ll ring when someone dials its dedicated number.
The biggest problem for the client was configuring the call flow in the Comcast Business VoiceEdge dashboard. To solve this, I worked with them on creating call flow diagrams. After a few rounds of changes, we got two complete scenarios worked out that the owner and managers all agreed on.
From that point, it’s pretty easy: I just login to the dashboard and configure it.
The odd thing to me is that their Account Rep didn’t create those call flow diagrams before the cutover to the new system.
THE LESSON
When you’re installing a new phone system, or changing your business operations, give some thought to the call flow before you log into the phone system configuration dashboard. Your phone system works exactly as its instructed to. -
A client upgraded their phone system for the first time in years. The old system was IP-based, but was down-converted to deliver voice and ringing to regular old copper line phone extensions. The new system is a true end-to-end VoIP system: you can literally plug that phone into any Internet-connected port in the world, and it’ll ring when someone dials its dedicated number.
The biggest problem for the client was configuring the call flow in the Comcast Business VoiceEdge dashboard. To solve this, I worked with them on creating call flow diagrams. After a few rounds of changes, we got two complete scenarios worked out that the owner and managers all agreed on.
From that point, it’s pretty easy: I just login to the dashboard and configure it.
The odd thing to me is that their Account Rep didn’t create those call flow diagrams before the cutover to the new system.
THE LESSON
When you’re installing a new phone system, or changing your business operations, give some thought to the call flow before you log into the phone system configuration dashboard. Your phone system works exactly as its instructed to. -
A client upgraded their phone system for the first time in years. The old system was IP-based, but was down-converted to deliver voice and ringing to regular old copper line phone extensions. The new system is a true end-to-end VoIP system: you can literally plug that phone into any Internet-connected port in the world, and it’ll ring when someone dials its dedicated number.
The biggest problem for the client was configuring the call flow in the Comcast Business VoiceEdge dashboard. To solve this, I worked with them on creating call flow diagrams. After a few rounds of changes, we got two complete scenarios worked out that the owner and managers all agreed on.
From that point, it’s pretty easy: I just login to the dashboard and configure it.
The odd thing to me is that their Account Rep didn’t create those call flow diagrams before the cutover to the new system.
THE LESSON
When you’re installing a new phone system, or changing your business operations, give some thought to the call flow before you log into the phone system configuration dashboard. Your phone system works exactly as its instructed to. -
A client upgraded their phone system for the first time in years. The old system was IP-based, but was down-converted to deliver voice and ringing to regular old copper line phone extensions. The new system is a true end-to-end VoIP system: you can literally plug that phone into any Internet-connected port in the world, and it’ll ring when someone dials its dedicated number.
The biggest problem for the client was configuring the call flow in the Comcast Business VoiceEdge dashboard. To solve this, I worked with them on creating call flow diagrams. After a few rounds of changes, we got two complete scenarios worked out that the owner and managers all agreed on.
From that point, it’s pretty easy: I just login to the dashboard and configure it.
The odd thing to me is that their Account Rep didn’t create those call flow diagrams before the cutover to the new system.
THE LESSON
When you’re installing a new phone system, or changing your business operations, give some thought to the call flow before you log into the phone system configuration dashboard. Your phone system works exactly as its instructed to. -
A client upgraded their phone system for the first time in years. The old system was IP-based, but was down-converted to deliver voice and ringing to regular old copper line phone extensions. The new system is a true end-to-end VoIP system: you can literally plug that phone into any Internet-connected port in the world, and it’ll ring when someone dials its dedicated number.
The biggest problem for the client was configuring the call flow in the Comcast Business VoiceEdge dashboard. To solve this, I worked with them on creating call flow diagrams. After a few rounds of changes, we got two complete scenarios worked out that the owner and managers all agreed on.
From that point, it’s pretty easy: I just login to the dashboard and configure it.
The odd thing to me is that their Account Rep didn’t create those call flow diagrams before the cutover to the new system.
THE LESSON
When you’re installing a new phone system, or changing your business operations, give some thought to the call flow before you log into the phone system configuration dashboard. Your phone system works exactly as its instructed to. -
A man passed away recently. He had eight different email addresses, including a couple that belonged to his wife before she died in 2019. His family is paying me to close down his social media presence and close out the email accounts. I just closed an AOL email account that he opened in the 1990s. A couple of the other old emails (anyone remember Juno?) had no MFA, and the passwords consisted only of uppercase and lowercase letters.
These old email addresses are a spammer’s dream. Easy to crack into, well established addresses, and the deceased person won’t complain or tighten security.
If you have a loved one who passed away, make some decisions about their email addresses. Add MFA that you control if you’re going to keep the email active. And when it’s time, close the account. I know that’s a big emotional step. It seems so final. On the other hand, your loved one probably doesn’t want their old email address used for cybercrime.
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A man passed away recently. He had eight different email addresses, including a couple that belonged to his wife before she died in 2019. His family is paying me to close down his social media presence and close out the email accounts. I just closed an AOL email account that he opened in the 1990s. A couple of the other old emails (anyone remember Juno?) had no MFA, and the passwords consisted only of uppercase and lowercase letters.
These old email addresses are a spammer’s dream. Easy to crack into, well established addresses, and the deceased person won’t complain or tighten security.
If you have a loved one who passed away, make some decisions about their email addresses. Add MFA that you control if you’re going to keep the email active. And when it’s time, close the account. I know that’s a big emotional step. It seems so final. On the other hand, your loved one probably doesn’t want their old email address used for cybercrime.
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A man passed away recently. He had eight different email addresses, including a couple that belonged to his wife before she died in 2019. His family is paying me to close down his social media presence and close out the email accounts. I just closed an AOL email account that he opened in the 1990s. A couple of the other old emails (anyone remember Juno?) had no MFA, and the passwords consisted only of uppercase and lowercase letters.
These old email addresses are a spammer’s dream. Easy to crack into, well established addresses, and the deceased person won’t complain or tighten security.
If you have a loved one who passed away, make some decisions about their email addresses. Add MFA that you control if you’re going to keep the email active. And when it’s time, close the account. I know that’s a big emotional step. It seems so final. On the other hand, your loved one probably doesn’t want their old email address used for cybercrime.
-
A man passed away recently. He had eight different email addresses, including a couple that belonged to his wife before she died in 2019. His family is paying me to close down his social media presence and close out the email accounts. I just closed an AOL email account that he opened in the 1990s. A couple of the other old emails (anyone remember Juno?) had no MFA, and the passwords consisted only of uppercase and lowercase letters.
These old email addresses are a spammer’s dream. Easy to crack into, well established addresses, and the deceased person won’t complain or tighten security.
If you have a loved one who passed away, make some decisions about their email addresses. Add MFA that you control if you’re going to keep the email active. And when it’s time, close the account. I know that’s a big emotional step. It seems so final. On the other hand, your loved one probably doesn’t want their old email address used for cybercrime.
-
A man passed away recently. He had eight different email addresses, including a couple that belonged to his wife before she died in 2019. His family is paying me to close down his social media presence and close out the email accounts. I just closed an AOL email account that he opened in the 1990s. A couple of the other old emails (anyone remember Juno?) had no MFA, and the passwords consisted only of uppercase and lowercase letters.
These old email addresses are a spammer’s dream. Easy to crack into, well established addresses, and the deceased person won’t complain or tighten security.
If you have a loved one who passed away, make some decisions about their email addresses. Add MFA that you control if you’re going to keep the email active. And when it’s time, close the account. I know that’s a big emotional step. It seems so final. On the other hand, your loved one probably doesn’t want their old email address used for cybercrime.
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A couple of weeks ago a new small business client signed up for firewall monitoring service. After I got set up with remote access, I started poking around and discovered that they were paying for licenses for features that had never been enabled. It didn’t cost them any more money – I just had to flip the toggles on the dashboard and activate the features. Then, for a couple of those features, there were some choices to be made and settings to adjust to refine the operation.
THE LESSON
Buying hardware or software to protect your system is only the first step. That hardware appliance or app has to be configured correctly in order to do its job correctly.#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks +1 206-465-2422
Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP
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A couple of weeks ago a new small business client signed up for firewall monitoring service. After I got set up with remote access, I started poking around and discovered that they were paying for licenses for features that had never been enabled. It didn’t cost them any more money – I just had to flip the toggles on the dashboard and activate the features. Then, for a couple of those features, there were some choices to be made and settings to adjust to refine the operation.
THE LESSON
Buying hardware or software to protect your system is only the first step. That hardware appliance or app has to be configured correctly in order to do its job correctly.#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks +1 206-465-2422
Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP
-
A couple of weeks ago a new small business client signed up for firewall monitoring service. After I got set up with remote access, I started poking around and discovered that they were paying for licenses for features that had never been enabled. It didn’t cost them any more money – I just had to flip the toggles on the dashboard and activate the features. Then, for a couple of those features, there were some choices to be made and settings to adjust to refine the operation.
THE LESSON
Buying hardware or software to protect your system is only the first step. That hardware appliance or app has to be configured correctly in order to do its job correctly.#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks +1 206-465-2422
Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP
-
A couple of weeks ago a new small business client signed up for firewall monitoring service. After I got set up with remote access, I started poking around and discovered that they were paying for licenses for features that had never been enabled. It didn’t cost them any more money – I just had to flip the toggles on the dashboard and activate the features. Then, for a couple of those features, there were some choices to be made and settings to adjust to refine the operation.
THE LESSON
Buying hardware or software to protect your system is only the first step. That hardware appliance or app has to be configured correctly in order to do its job correctly.#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks +1 206-465-2422
Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP
-
A couple of weeks ago a new small business client signed up for firewall monitoring service. After I got set up with remote access, I started poking around and discovered that they were paying for licenses for features that had never been enabled. It didn’t cost them any more money – I just had to flip the toggles on the dashboard and activate the features. Then, for a couple of those features, there were some choices to be made and settings to adjust to refine the operation.
THE LESSON
Buying hardware or software to protect your system is only the first step. That hardware appliance or app has to be configured correctly in order to do its job correctly.#CallMeIfYouNeedMe #FIFONetworks +1 206-465-2422
Cybersecurity - Networks - Wireless – Telecom – VoIP