[wplug] Windows - Is this happening to you too?

[Beth Lynn]

Howdy.

This thread is a bit off-topic brought back some horrible memories.

When I worked for PC Upgrade/Repair Best Buy back in 1997-98
they had a separate charge for the following
1. purchasing Anti-Virus software ($40-$80 depending on which one you
choose)
2. installing Anti-Virus software ($20)
3. removing viruses ($40)
4. reinstalling OS ($70)
5. data backup & restore ($60)

Some folks would blame it on their kids, then we could easily sell some
sort of Net Nanny software. The software would sell for $20-$40. It would
be another $20 for a tech to install it too.

Yup, if you walked out of there for under $100 for a single virus
incident, you were lucky.

The cost of ownership of a Windoze box is not cheap. If home users spend
this much only to have a $8/hour high school graduate to fix it, I do not
see how businesses can expect freebies from professional contract
sysadmins.

I'm so glad that I only support Linux/Unix now-a-days but I just wanted to
say that I feel your pain.

Hang tight,
Beth Lynn

On Sat, 29 May 2004, Bill Moran wrote:

> This is a case where people expect you and I to fix this for free.  What you
> can do to reduce the incidence: