Grandma-Proofing a computer

[cwrivers]

I dont know where else to turn, hopefully you guys have some insight.

Some Backstory ----  My elderly grandmother is more computer savy than most elderly people i know, however, it seems that i cant stop her from getting viruses like crazy!

We are 1500 miles apart and i can usually fix any issues that she has remotely, but this last time has stumped me. She regularly downloads "cutting" files for craft cutters like silhouette and cricut, and i believe that she may be clicking on the ad "download" buttons on accident and flooding her computer with viruses and ransomware, Either that or its email attachments. Every six months or so i have to completely disinfect her computer even though its running Kaspersky, SAS, and Malwarebytes. Most of the time its an easy cleanup but this time, its bad, Consistent freezing when not in safe mode and every tool that i have thrown at it wont find anything. Im fairly confident its not hardware related, the computer was built about 15 months ago from scratch.  I have tried everything that i can think of to clean her PC but have failed, and she is currently going to ship her computer to me because its cheaper to ship than to take to a repair shop to have them clean it.

 

My question is: After i get her computer cleaned up and back to working order, is there anything that i can do besides Kaspersky, SAS, and Malwarebytes to keep her computer safe? I built a computer for my kids to use (6,9 Y.O.) and did some tweaking in the policy editor to block basically everything that could harm the system, is there something similar that i could do with her computer, but still have the freedoms that she has to download all the cr@p that she does?

 

Sorry if this is jumbled, kinda frustrated at this point.....

 

Thanks in advance guys!

[kb5zue]

To be honest, I don't know the answer to your question but you have a real job ahead of you.  Just want to wish you the best of luck.  You're going to need it.

[Phentos]

I am in the same situation with half of my elderly relatives who use computers.

 

What I do is if they contact me saying they've got "x virus" or "y malware" I RDP into their computer, transfer my collection of disinfection software over, clean out their computer, remove my software when cleaning is finished and end the RDP session. If the cleaning is going to take a while, I end the RDP session while the software is doing its job and ask them not to use the computer until it's done, and they always comply with that request. When cleaning is done, I do the usual steps I mentioned before. 

 

If their computer is in real bad shape, then I'll do it the old fashioned way.

[cwrivers]

Thats typically what ill do, and after using what i know works and even a few that i havent tried before, shes still having issues. Shes sending the computer to me so that i can reformat/reinstall. I hate having to do that but at this point i dont know any other options. I think im going to create an image of her computer at "fresh install" so future issues will be easier to deal with, but im looking for a fantasy super solution on how to avoid this in the future.

[imreloadin]

Honestly what I would do is make a nornal user account for her on the machine so she no longer has admin rights on it. Obviously make an admin account that you can login to and just have her contact you if she eants to install anything so you can review it. Once you get everything installed back she shouldn't need many new applications.

[cwrivers]

Installs arent an issue, Nothing has been installed as far as i can tell.

[iamdarkyoshi]

Just using adblock is enough for my grandmother.

 

However, the adwcleaner tool from malwarebytes as well as malwarebytes should be enough on top of adblock for just about anyone.

[cwrivers]

I ran, SAS, Malwarebytes, Adwcleaner, roguekiller, and MRT, but all have come out clean other than cookies

[NumLock21]

Even if it's 15 months old and it still new, it does not mean there won't be some problems with the hardware.

 

[Egg-Roll]

1 hour ago, iamdarkyoshi said:

Just using adblock is enough for my grandmother.

 

However, the adwcleaner tool from malwarebytes as well as malwarebytes should be enough on top of adblock for just about anyone.

I have 2 ad blocking services for chrome because none are perfect. But they are possibly the best protection if it turns out to be ads being clicked on.

 

Also like what Numlock21 said it could be hardware (or even software) simply messing up.

[Razor Blade]

I had the unfortunate experience of fixing an elderly neighbor's computer after he was syskeyed by a tech support scammer. It isn't the first time he got in trouble with malware or scammer either... I have been tempted to switch him over to Linux Mint so at least he can't accidently install crap without a password...or any exe files for that matter.

 

Not sure if that is a possibility for your Grandma with her craft cutter.

[Mooshi]

install a flavor of Linux with a Windows theme and be done with it.

[DeLorian]

On 26/04/2018 at 6:20 AM, Mooshi said:

install a flavor of Linux with a Windows theme and be done with it.

Pretty much this. Though if you want to use Windows I suggest ditching Kaspersky, because it has a bad rep. I'd pick up something like NOD32 or even free Microsoft Security Essentials. And oh man those fake download buttons... I'm so used to CyberSec from NordVPN and NOD32 built-in web protection to protect me from crap like this. Though I think it would be overkill in this situation.

[GloriousPain]

On 4/25/2018 at 11:20 PM, Mooshi said:

install a flavor of Linux with a Windows theme and be done with it.

If wanting to be overkill get a Linux antivirus, antimalware, and adblocking on top of this

[AlTech]

On 4/26/2018 at 3:30 AM, cwrivers said:

I dont know where else to turn, hopefully you guys have some insight.

Some Backstory ----  My elderly grandmother is more computer savy than most elderly people i know, however, it seems that i cant stop her from getting viruses like crazy!

We are 1500 miles apart and i can usually fix any issues that she has remotely, but this last time has stumped me. She regularly downloads "cutting" files for craft cutters like silhouette and cricut, and i believe that she may be clicking on the ad "download" buttons on accident and flooding her computer with viruses and ransomware, Either that or its email attachments. Every six months or so i have to completely disinfect her computer even though its running Kaspersky, SAS, and Malwarebytes. Most of the time its an easy cleanup but this time, its bad, Consistent freezing when not in safe mode and every tool that i have thrown at it wont find anything. Im fairly confident its not hardware related, the computer was built about 15 months ago from scratch.  I have tried everything that i can think of to clean her PC but have failed, and she is currently going to ship her computer to me because its cheaper to ship than to take to a repair shop to have them clean it.

 

My question is: After i get her computer cleaned up and back to working order, is there anything that i can do besides Kaspersky, SAS, and Malwarebytes to keep her computer safe? I built a computer for my kids to use (6,9 Y.O.) and did some tweaking in the policy editor to block basically everything that could harm the system, is there something similar that i could do with her computer, but still have the freedoms that she has to download all the cr@p that she does?

 

Sorry if this is jumbled, kinda frustrated at this point.....

 

Thanks in advance guys!

What kind of apps does she use?

 

If she only uses a browser and apps from the Store then Windows 10 S Mode would be worth looking into.