Technical Assistance

I need stock in that Go to Assist. I'm not sure if it's part of Windows or some kind of special software. All I know is, it's been in use in my household lately.

Last weekend, I had the spyware virus thing, with the messages popping up about how I better install special spyware or all hell would break loose. I knew better than to fall for that, but unfortunately, it kept getting in the way, even though I hadn't clicked on it. So, McAfee and $89.95 later, with the Assist software taking over my computer, that was fixed.

Tuesday night, I got a message on my computer that the Dell Network Assistant software had expired. If I clicked the button, I could renew it at a cost of $39.95. When I refused, the network shut off. Since I was fortunate enough to have purchased a gold support plan when I bought my computer, Wednesday night I got the offending software off with the aid of the technician, again taking over my machine. She assured me I didn't need it to connect and she was right.

What fun! How can a person get anything done with all these roadblocks. Well, I'm trying anyway. I've got almost everything together for my Niles Public Library program on March 28, plus I'm plugging along on my thriller, Forever Young.

What about you? Have you had experiences with technical assistance, or are you a computer genius and can figure such stuff out yourself?