Tech help that does not need me in the room.

What remote help is good for

Most of what goes wrong with a computer is software, and software can be fixed down a wire just as well as in person.

• Computers that have become slow, cluttered or full of things you did not install
• Email that will not send, receive, or sign in
• Printers that say offline, or will not connect to Wi-Fi
• Scam popups, browser hijacks and cleaning up after something you clicked
• Setting up a new computer, phone or tablet and moving everything across
• Password and account recovery, including the ones with two factor codes
• Backups, so that a dead machine stops being a disaster
• Being taught how something works, patiently, as many times as it takes

What it cannot do

Anything physical. A failed hard drive, a dead power supply, a cracked screen, a router that needs swapping, or a machine that will not turn on at all. If that is your problem and you are outside Santa Cruz County, I will say so and point you at what to look for locally rather than waste your time.

How a session actually works

1. You get in touch and tell me roughly what is happening.
2. We agree a time. I will give you a straight answer on whether remote can fix it.
3. I send a link. You click it. That is the whole setup.
4. I can see your screen. You can see everything I do, and you can end it instantly at any point.
5. When we are done, nothing stays installed on your machine.

If you have never done a screen share before, that first joining step is the part people find daunting, and it is the part I will walk you through slowly. It is genuinely two clicks.

How to tell me apart from a scam

This matters, because remote access is exactly what tech support scammers use, and I would rather you were suspicious than sorry.

• I will never call you out of the blue. You contact me, not the other way round.
• I will never say your computer has a virus I somehow detected remotely. Nobody can do that.
• I will never ask for a password. If something needs signing into, you type it.
• I will never ask for payment in gift cards, wire transfer or cryptocurrency.

There is more detail on this in how to spot a tech support scam, and it is worth reading even if you never contact me.

Who I usually help

Older people who want someone patient who will not make them feel stupid, and small businesses who need something fixed without a contract or a ticketing system. Same as my in person work, just without the drive.

Free things to try first

I would rather you fixed it yourself for nothing. The Tech Help Center has step by step guides for the most common problems, all free and with no sign up. If one of them solves it, that is a good outcome and you owe me nothing.