Your parents know how to turn on the computer and are getting better at sending texts. But let’s face it, they are basically clueless when it comes to technology. Have you ever once seen your mom pick up that iPad you and your brother chipped in to get her for Christmas? Probably not unless she’s reading a book. She doesn’t know how to use it. Now that you’re away at college and the other kids are already out of the house, your parents are floating around in technological darkness.
Since you’re not at their beck and call for tech support anymore, give them a helping hand. They’ve sent you plenty of care packages of the comforts of home since you’ve been at school. Why not do the same for them with an IT care package? Include items allowing your parents to handle their Internet and tablet needs on their own (or by you, remotely).
Spyware Protection
Most parents don’t have a clue how to protect their computers from spyware. They may not even know how important it is to do that or how easy it is for someone to hack into their computer. Fortunately, you do know and you can help them. Teach them how to avoid spyware by sending them your favorite anti-spyware program with instructions for how to install and use it. Include the tech support number for their Internet service provider if they have any trouble removing existing spyware from their computer. They’ll love you for it once they realize how important this is to computer security.
Skype
It’s inevitable. Your parents will need personal help from you every now and then until you get them independent enough to handle computer issues on their own. Send them to Skype and instruct them to download it. If they have a real problem that only you can solve, they can have a face to face conversation with you and you can walk them through it until they get it right. Just make sure they know that Skype is like the Batphone as far as you’re concerned — they should only use it to contact you in a computer-based emergency. You’re not a one-person tech support department who is always on call and this is something your parents have to learn.
Remote Assistance
Sometimes, even an in-person conversation isn’t enough to help parents solve their tech problems. You’ve simply got to do it yourself. In the past, this might have been a problem if you were across the country at school. Now, you can take charge of your parents’ computer wherever you are with Remote Assistance for Windows. This will only work if they have a PC, but most parents aren’t Mac-savvy (as you discovered with the iPad incident).
Remote access can be installed on both your computer and theirs. You can use it to simply get into their computer and fix the problem for them. Remind them that this option is to be used even less frequently than Skype. Ask them to consider Remote Assistance the 9-1-1 call of tech support for you. There may be financial penalties for misusing it, just like in the real world, such as having to send you extra gas or grocery money this month.
This is probably the simplest solution to any computer problem. It’s also the one your parents are most likely to overlook. Send them a big sticky note with the word Google.com written on it in their IT care package. Remind them that any tech question they have can often be answered by Googling it and then following the instructions found on a website Google provides. This should save a lot of unnecessary phone, Skype and Remote Assistance sessions with you, so you can finally untie those tech support apron strings and start to enjoy the college life at last, knowing your parents are on their way to becoming IT independent.
