[linuxphile]

The machine that was used for this review is a Dell Inspiron 9300 with 2GB of RAM running Windows XP. The installation of Windows is a fresh copy. Everything was in working order prior to me installing a random Trojan. I honestly could not tell you what the trojan actually accomplishes, except that it is similar to Sub7 and works via AOL Instant Messenger. Once the client side of the Trojan was launched my CPU usage spiked and maintained at 90%+.

So my journey with Support.com begins with a visit to their website. Running Internet Explorer 6 I was immediately greeted with a certificate error. This was not part of my staged problem. Being impatient and having and incredibly slow internet connection I wanted to get a jump start and install their software prior to calling the 800 number. In doing so I had to import their SSL certificate before being able to completely install the software.

With the software installed I proceeded to call the 800 number. I was greeted by a Solutions Engineer by the name of Travis. Travis was very polite and professional. After asking about my problem he immediately gave me the service option he thought would best suite my needs: Tune Up Service, at the cost of $74.95. Once I agreed to that service he inquired as to whether I had already installed the software. Having discovered that I had installed the software, Travis walked me through setting up a new account with Support.com. During the account setup no credit card information was provided. The credit card information was gathered over the phone after the account was created and a new support incident was logged.

With the support issue logged and the software installed and launched, Travis attempted to access my machine. He could not. The software was giving an error on their end which he had never before encountered. After a couple of "please holds" lasting no longer than about two minutes each, he came back and walked me through checking the time on my computer. Another unplanned event in this review. My freshly installed Windows XP laptop had a date long in the past.

Travis walked me through changing the date, uninstalling the software, rebooting, and reinstalling the software. Once the Support.com software was launched again he informed me it was time for a shift change. Insert internal groan here. Shift changes in the middle of a support request rarely go smoothly. I was pleasantly surprised when the change from Travis to Stephen was barely noticeable.

With Stephen on the phone and in control of my computer he collected my billing information and explained in detail what he was going to do. The first part of the process was to install their proprietary support/tune-up software. Having probed a Stephen a little bit I discovered that the parent company of Support.com, Support Soft, provides software to PC manufacturers such as Dell and HP.

Stephen checked out my hardware specifications while the software downloading. The laptop being used is a 1.7Ghz Intel Centrino, with a 60GB hard disk drive, and 2GB RAM. Stephen, while looking at the specifications, immediately noticed a process taking up my entire CPU. The offending process was client.exe. He referred to some internal notes or system and explained to me what this client.exe could be. There was a single entry for malware in his system with some of the other entries coming from a TV guide service, or another product from GipsyMedia.

Stephen ended the client.exe process and noticed a performance increase but continued with the tune-up process. While doing the tune-up Stephen informed me that the laptop's CPU was not up to the specifications currently being recommended by many software vendors. According to Stephen software vendors are recommending a 2.0Ghz processor. He also informed me that at least 15GB of hard drive space was also recommended. He laughed this off and stated plainly that he did not really understand why the 15GB of free space was required.

While the tune-up process was taking place Stephen explained each step. Noteably the start-up process review and disabling of unnecessary processes as well as disabling any unnecessary services. Stephen was reluctant to change any services as they could have adverse affects elsewhere and explained each one to me asking me if I knew of any software installed that might be affected by a specific service or process. The only service of note that Stephen was unaware or uninformed of was a service installed by DigiMedia for ProTools digital audio workstation software.

At the end of the tune-up process Stephen showed me how to check for start-up tasks in the future and disable them if necessary. He also informed me that a software restore point was created if I became unhappy with what was changed on my machine and I wanted to go back to the point where I called Support.com. Stephen did not discover the trojan I installed because I deleted the the offending executable prior to granting access to my machine. He did recommend that I obtain anti-virus software, but failed to recommend that I turn Windows Automatic Update on. He did note, however, that the laptop was running Windows XP Service Pack 2 which, in his words, "...is half the battle."

I must admit to being a skeptic of this support service when I was asked by Michael to write the review. In fact, that is probably why he asked me to do the review. I am probably not the best actor and am often quite impatient. The entire process from start to finish was a little less than an hour. I was very pleased with the professional service rendered by the company and would definitely recommend this to any end user in a pinch. This is a perfect service for users who experience problems after the local computer service and repair shops are closed.

[JohnWill]

Interesting... I was somewhat curious about these services, thanks for that review.

[Jason Ess]

Very interesting.
Ty

[hewee]

Did it also have a money-back guarantee?
Because on some of the service's list if you read about it it says...
"Our service comes with a money-back guarantee" so don't know if all service's have the money-back guarantee.

[linuxphile]

With just a little digging around on their site I didn't find any mention of a money-back guarantee.

[hewee]

Originally Posted by linuxphile

With just a little digging around on their site I didn't find any mention of a money-back guarantee.

Go here http://www.support.com/services and then click on.

Comprehensive Problem Resolution

Virus and Spyware Removal

Security Audit

The others services don't say...Our service comes with a money-back guarantee.

But at FAQs it says...
# Is the service guaranteed?
Our service comes with a money-back guarantee.

[linuxphile]

Michael and I received an email correction to my post. They do have a money back guarantee.

https://www.support.com/terms
https://www.support.com/faq#faq_9

[hewee]

Not bad with a money back guarantee.