[new tech guy]

Well if it was the day it went missing that is the first thing id look for. Mine can show the ip, mac, and comp name of each pc connected .

[JStergis]

I wonder if Best Buy has an internet connection they plug PCs they're working on to. It'd be amusing to send one there set to start hamachi and just sit back quietly watching what they do on VNC.

[new tech guy]

Hey J, it sounds like an underocver test idea! Just pre set some stuipid problem on the pc and you can compare them to other services such as firedog and maybe a small local place and try to monitor what each does using hamachi and vnc.

[kostaskez]

I'll give it to you that there are some bad Agents, and that most of our counter staff doesn't know squat, but there are good agents that are qualified to do their jobs and do them well. I work with a lot of them, and I am one of them.

Sure, I don't have an I.T. degree, and I didn't pay good college money to get this job, but it's not something I'm going to do forever. I'm in college right now. I'm 20, and I've put more hours into replacing hard drives, installing OS's, and virus removal than most people I know. Everything I know I either taught myself or learned from someone that knew what they were doing.

I installed my first HDD when I was ten-years-old. I loaded my own drivers, installed my own OS, and upgraded my RAM on that computer alone. I was the default IT guy for my parent's office, when there was an issue they "called the kid in."

I've never had a Service Order that I've finished come back to me. It takes more time to fix mistakes than to do things right the first time. There's also this little thing called a 'cue', which is a group of anywhere from 50-100 computers that need diagnostics and repair, so I'm sorry if I'm not living up to the standards of BuFu-Nowhere TechShop because I handle more volume in a month than you do in a year.

Don't lump us all in here. You've all made mistakes too, and some pretty bad ones, I'm sure of it. Just don't go running around calling people incompetent because we have to follow policies. Did you know that we are not allowed to set passwords for routers because people lose passwords like they lose pens? And whatever ******* kept that OS disk should know better. If I took your OS disks you left in a computer and I knew that you had left them there, you'd be pissed.

[kostaskez]

Good luck getting through the Proxy...

[kostaskez]

GS doesn't do car installs. BBY has a department for that called CAR INSTALLS.

[AcaCandy]

Originally Posted by JohnWill

Uhh... I think you don't understand how the sites work.

If you use DynDNS and use their updater, it automatically renews your IP address, and renews you automatically as well. I go for months never looking at it, and it's always doing it's thing.

I always get an email from them to verify. And obviously if I go to their site from where ever in the world I am, the IP address won't verify What am I missing?

[JohnWill]

I don't know, but I suspect the DynDNS updater isn't running properly. FYI, the capability built-in to many routers doesn't seem to work properly, but if you run it on a computer that's always booted and running, it works flawlessly. I've had the service for three-four years, and the only time I ever got that email is when I tried to use the DynDNS capability built-in to a router.

[JStergis]

Originally Posted by kostaskez

Did you know that we are not allowed to set passwords for routers because people lose passwords like they lose pens?

That explains something for me! Every single GS setup I look at has no router password and it baffles me.

What I do is set a random password (alphanumerasymbolic) that I won't even remember for a few seconds, write everything about the Wi-Fi setup (SSID, Security Method, Password, etc.) on a card and warn them that if they lose that, the router has to be reset meaning not only reconfiguration of everything on that, but also every pc connected wirelessly would have to be set up with the new SSID and/or Password.

[JStergis]

Originally Posted by JohnWill

I don't know, but I suspect the DynDNS updater isn't running properly. FYI, the capability built-in to many routers doesn't seem to work properly, but if you run it on a computer that's always booted and running, it works flawlessly. I've had the service for three-four years, and the only time I ever got that email is when I tried to use the DynDNS capability built-in to a router.

I always tried to use the built in on my router and it failed miserably. I never really knew there was a proggy that would do it, but then I never really looked.

I'll have to look into that, because it would be nice to always be able to get to my machine on something that wasn't on my Hamachi network.

EDIT: I just installed the dyndns updater and it detected my ip as the current one. Either my ip hasn't changed in about a month (the last time I updated it manually), it has grabbed the same one, or the router is actually working with that for once. I suppose it wouldn't hurt if I left both going, that way if one misses an update for some reason, the other will get it.

FWIW, router is a Netgear WGR-614 v6. It's rock-solid stable compared to my linksys B one, my only complaint is the e-mail notifications don't work, because there's no username/password input to the SMTP server.

[JohnWill]

Originally Posted by kostaskez

Did you know that we are not allowed to set passwords for routers because people lose passwords like they lose pens?

If that's an issue, put a sticker on the bottom of the router with the passwords, security keys, SSID, etc., problem solved. If anyone has physical access to the router, there is no security anyway.

[AcaCandy]

Originally Posted by JohnWill

I don't know, but I suspect the DynDNS updater isn't running properly. FYI, the capability built-in to many routers doesn't seem to work properly, but if you run it on a computer that's always booted and running, it works flawlessly. I've had the service for three-four years, and the only time I ever got that email is when I tried to use the DynDNS capability built-in to a router.

I may have been trying to do that.........I can't say for certain, as I haven't worried much about it since I discovered Logmein.com

[Compiler]

I write down their user/pass info on a piece of paper and a sticky for friends / clients. The sticky goes under the router. It takes about a minute or two to explain. Otherwise, I think GS is asking for law-suits for charging $100~150 to setup an unsecure network!

My last setup with a wireless Linksys: I showed the lady that a wireless notebook can access her Router and WHY I made up a new password for the router. Since Linksys, Netgears, etc use standard passwords that any tech knows... it means anyone can control their network from the outside. Especially since many networks state they are netgears, Linksys, etc... argh!

[eliti5t]

I told myself I wasn't going to reply, simply to keep from adding to the online dilemma of idiocy that seems to overtake anyone with a keyboard. First of all, don't be sour just because Geek Squad happens to be doing business in your area. Instead, if your tech skills are better than that of any given Geek Squad agent, why aren't you running one of the top computer support shops? But rather, everyone who has lost business to Geek Squad, jumps online and decides that they're gonna bash this company or that. Here's a tip, if your service is better than Geek Squad, then the customers will follow. It's as simple as that!!!

Yes, I agree that some of the Geek Squad agents might be somewhat on the incompetent side. However, that isn't necessarily a fault of Geek Squad, as we all know, Geek Squad and Best Buy are partners... Enough said, point being; stop wasting your time complaining about the problem and try spending some time being productive in finding a solution.

[valis]

I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume you work for GS; unfortunately, you kinda hammered home the post with the duplicates.

Understandable.