Yes - infecting your computer with a virus is "user error"

[An Haddock]

Just had this one.

Yesterday woman brings back a laptop she bought from us a few months ago because it has a virus infection. Also says it's getting hot sometimes.

The reason it's getting hot? She sits it on her bed so it gets no circulation to dissipate hot air. We explain that to her. Fine.

We usually charge a couple of hours labor (over $100) to wipe out and reload Windows. They want to know to know why they have to pay money for that. Because viruses are user error. We cut her a break and tell her it will be ready in a day or two.


Cue ten minutes ago. The woman's aunt (I think - wasn't paying close attention to the relationship) comes in to pick up the laptop. I explain to her that I said yesterday it wouldn't be ready for a day or two and we'll call her when it's done.

Then the aunt starts asking why they have to pay money to get it fixed. Despite having previously explained it to both her and the niece yesterday, I reiterate that viruses/spyware are considered user error, just like spilling a cup of coffee on a keyboard. I briefly go over some ways to avoid it happening again, but tell her that ultimately I could do a 4-hour seminar on ways to avoid infecting a computer. She seems to accept this and leaves.

I was ready to use the metaphor on how, if you buy a car, the salesman doesn't teach you to drive the thing.* You take classes. Seemed it wasn't necessary, but I keep that on the back burner for people who think we'll hold their hand and teach them everything there is to know about computer use and web surfing.

The niece seems a little nicer, at least, but I'll bet the aunt comes in to pick up. Regardless of who picks it up, I'll still go into our schpiel about how viruses aren't covered under our warranty. Because SC's need that information drilled into their heads like a railroad spike.

*My car salesman taught me how to drive stick as I had only had automatics before that, but she didn't need to know that.

[Android Kaeli]

Did the laptop have any anti-virus/anti-spy sweeper things installed on it?

One would think that having such precautions would help, ya know?

[An Haddock]

Did the laptop have any anti-virus/anti-spy sweeper things installed on it?

One would think that having such precautions would help, ya know?

We don't let anything out of the shop without putting antivirus software on it at the very minimum. But we also put a very good antispyware program on as well, although it needs to be run manually. It doesn't work in "real time" like the antivirus does.

[Fufu487]

people are such idiots sometimes. its your fault (kind of) that the virus is on the compt. Obviously the techs arn't going to do it for free.

[An Haddock]

people are such idiots sometimes. its your fault (kind of) that the virus is on the compt. Obviously the techs arn't going to do it for free.

It pisses me off because people seem to think we should give them a seminar on how to use their computer. Well, no... it doesn't work that way. We will, however, do one-on-one training at an hourly rate.

[Midorikawa]

Did the laptop have any anti-virus/anti-spy sweeper things installed on it?

One would think that having such precautions would help, ya know?

none of my windows machines have AV on them...but then again, they get booted into 'doze once a year, and otherwise stay in Linux. I also have common sense while browsing, so it's not a huge deal. :-P

[HawaiianShirts]

And they will claim until they're blue in the face that it's not their fault they got a virus. Sure, they installed software from unknown sources! Sure, they downloaded porn or "free" music or "free" screensaver packages! Sure, they've been running LimeWire all day every day since they bought the machine and even went so far as to disable their firewall and virus scanners to give LimeWire more freedom to download stuff! But it's not their fault the virus got in! It's the virus writer's fault! And if it's not the customer's fault, the customer shouldn't have to pay for it.

I actually had a conversation along those lines with a customer once. He wasn't claiming such things--he actually bought computers from us and rented them to others. He was relating the opinion of one of his relatives regarding computer infections and computer repair shops charging to fix them.

And I lost track of how many times customers would tell me they didn't need security software. I told them time and time again that I didn't care at all what security programs they used ("You NEED some form of internet security. Buy it here or get it somewhere else. I don't care; just GET it!" was the sentence I used frequently), but they'd insist they were fine. Most of those customers either called up angry about some infection or brought their computer in and tried to claim that it was defective.

Ugh.

[PepperElf]

now i don't run anything on my tiny laptop but... that's because i really don't need it.
cos when i disabled the mini-beast's antivirus, i also disabled it's wifi too. it's never touched the internet nor will it ever

course i also don't protect the mac cos well to be honest i know how to fix it and i'm not afraid to change out the HDD
and whenever i find a site that has possible malware on it, my safari tells me and gives me the choice of going ahead or going back. i've never gone ahead

the xp desktop ... well i ahve to put xp back on it i think, that one does get norton corporate but it's not online much

[Pedersen]

But it's not their fault the virus got in! It's the virus writer's fault! And if it's not the customer's fault, the customer shouldn't have to pay for it.

Those customers do have a point. After all, if the person who wrote the virus (and engaged in the activity of harming others through doing so) had not gone down the unethical/immoral/illegal (in some jurisdictions), then the customer would not have to deal with it.

Yes, this is the same as why people lock their doors, or their cars, or put jewelry into safes, etc. Doesn't change the fact that the people who are victimized via these crimes are not actually at fault for what happened. The person who committed the crime is the one at fault.

Unfortunately, when reality steps in, we have to make these same people victims a second time, since fixing what occurred costs money and it is exceedingly rare to be able to get said money from the victimizer. Fixing it for free would make yet another new victim of the same crime, since someone else would have to pay for it.

All of which is a long winded way to say: They have a point, even though there's nothing that you can do about it.

[Broomjockey]

Unfortunately, when reality steps in, we have to make these same people victims a second time, since fixing what occurred costs money and it is exceedingly rare to be able to get said money from the victimizer. Fixing it for free would make yet another new victim of the same crime, since someone else would have to pay for it.

While it may be a valid point, a proper, in-depth analysis of the liabilities for viruses is likely a Fratching matter, so I think at this point we can all just agree that people who don't bother to take basic steps to secure themselves and their computers, then expect others to fix their fuck-ups for free are sucky.