Ok. First, an explanation. I get called over to the houses of random people a lot, because I have developed a reputation for being good at “fixing” computers. Really, it’s not nearly as hard to fix these things as most people think, but that’s another story.
Anyway, I have this “kit”, a set of software programs on CD that I load onto every computer I fix. It includes a firewall, a virus scanner, a few spyware scanners and Firefox. There’s other stuff I load occasionally, but that’s the main set. 90% of the time, all I have to do is load up my kit and start stuff scanning. When I leave, I tell people that if they don’t use FireFox and/or disable my tools, their computer will get broken again. Every single case, this has been true.
Enter Google. This weekend, they released Google Pack. Its pretty muchly the contents of my personal computer security kit with some fun Googley apps thrown in. Most people will download it for the fun stuff, but they get a secure computer in the bargain.
It’s a great idea, because it allows even a novice to do something a computer repair shop would charge $100 for.
This is amazingly clever and long overdue.
My single complaint is that they don’t include a firewall. Quite honestly, the one that comes with Windows XP is (without using stronger words) lacking. All in all though, this is nice.
So, if you don’t have Google pack yet, what are you waiting for? Go download it!
I’ve got it and gave it later ..