For the Family Tech

Lincoln Spector over at PCWorld, with his typical wit and technical detail, offers ways for you to be a Tech Hero...And Incredibly Popular. Just help your family and friends fix their computer problems. Don't be surprised if you get hit up during Thanksgiving dinner for virus cleaning help.

Spector offers a good set of tools for your troubleshooting kit, and for friends and family to help themselves afterwards. He also links to a variety of FAQs for your family and friends to read to learn how to fix their own PCs. Of course, these won't do any good when their only computer won't reach the Internet, but it's a start.

I have a simple rule: I'll fix a computer for any friend, but only once. After they bring it over and I clean it up and tell them how to protect themselves after that, they better follow my directions. The people are welcome anytime, but the computer comes over once and never again.