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Ask HN: How do I help my elderly grandmother remotely?

5 points by emptysongglass ↗ HN
My grandmother has a Windows 10 PC that looks like it was set up by Geek Squad. We used the built-in Quick Assist app and while I was in I saw a new browser, "Wave Browser" [1], it looks like snuck into her AppData directory. There's also an anti-virus, Webroot, I believe was installed by Geek Squad, which is now out-of-license.

She's called me a few times since, complaining of not remembering her passwords and other small things. I'm worried she's going to have her identity stolen with passwords that are literally her username plus a symbol.

How can I best help in 2022? I've looked at Alexa Together [2], which provides everything but remote access. I'm considering getting her to use a password manager but I'm doubtful she'll remember how it works or that her passwords were generated by the built-in password generator if Chrome.

Sometimes she'll call me to ask for help but I'll tell her she needs to first open the Windows search menu then type in Quick Assist and exchange codes but even that whole process seems to stress her out. Should I suggest unattended access? And if so, what's the best option? Anydesk Unattended Access?

Windows seems like an incredibly hostile OS [EDIT: to her interests of a safe and secure compute environment) but I'm worried buying her a Chromebook will just be too much for her to handle even though it's just Chrome (which she already uses).

HN, I need your help!

[1] https://old.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/ql7x48/wavebrowser_malicious_browser_showing_up_across_a/

[2] https://www.amazon.com/Alexa-Together/b?ie=UTF8&node=21390531011

11 comments

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billconan
I feel you. I have the same frustration guiding my parents too.

I use teamviewer. I'm thinking maybe creating a special linux distro with built-in remote control and account management for this use case ...

uberman
I think a Chromebook is likely the best answer but why is Windows incredibly hostile? Do you feel that a malware browser or any of the other nefarious actions of Geek Squad are the fault of the OS? Do you feel that your grandma would have an easy time getting RDP to work on Linux? Hell, I can't even get it to work.
emptysongglass
I'm really not trying to blame anyone here. Perhaps I should have qualified that I think the architecture of Windows 10 results in an incredibly hostile environment to a naive user who isn't sufficiently aware of the risks of the open internet.

I don't think Linux would be a good solution for her and I'm the most pro-Linux evangelist I can think of. In my estimation, she needs familiarity most, which got me thinking of a Chromebook or a Chromebox even.

barbe
I don't know where you all are, but many U.S. communities have senior centers that have volunteers to help seniors with computer issues. Also, in the U.S. every county inn every state has an office called the Area AGency on Aging, and they provide free help to know what community resources are there, help seniors sign up for Medicare and Medicaid, and they also have an ombudsman office to help with assisted living and nursing home issues. Just google the county name where they live, then Area Ageny on Aging phone number, and it should come up.
hitsurume
Do you know if she's using her computer for anything financial related or just plain sending emails?

Depending on your own schedule, I would set her passwords for anything serious for her, like banking, and when she needs to login to those websites, you can remote in via teamviewer or what not and login for her, or tell her the password over the phone. You'd be essentially a human password manager, but this would allow you to help her with anything serious and important without consequences and also you would know her information in an emergency without jumping through hoops.

merciBien
Yes on recording all her passwords somewhere you will have access. We also took photos of all my grandma’s insurance and financial records, so we’re ready when they need updating.

She’s in her 80’s and any change to her routine completely frustrates her. Password update prompts are the stressful. I’d advise against changing your grandma’s computer if she’s anything like mine, a different keyboard and different screen resolution required me multiple visits to get right.

I have set up my own admin user on her computer, and remote in regularly with RDP on a non-standard port to keep the machine updated. If you have the knowledge, make sure her router is moderately secure.

mitchbob
It took a while, but my 92 year old mom is now comfortable using remote access in Zoom to let me help her. We use it often enough--typically a couple of times a week--that she stays in practice. She calls me on the phone anytime she needs help, I start a meeting, she clicks a link to my Zoom personal meeting room that I've put in her browser's Bookmarks bar, she shares her screen once she's connected (this was the part that took her a while to get), and I request remote access. We've both got fast internet connections, so we go from zero to remote access in under a minute.
TheGrkIntrprtr
I’ve mentioned this before on HN, but I had great service from https://www.clariscompanion.com/ . My grandfather was using it in his 90s before he passed away, and it really helped us stay in touch despite being far apart. Not sure if it would meet her needs, but have a look anyways.

It’s $30 per month, but well worth it IMO. If she has runs into issues, there’s a support line she can call. You can add apps to her “desktop” or remove them to keep things simple, etc. Sorry if this sounds like an advert, but I’m just super grateful to this company for their services - they really care about their customers and I was actually in touch with the owner (Paul, nice guy) for support on a number of occasions.

emptysongglass
This sounds like the best solution! How's the performance and battery life? I like that all communication is whitelisted and goes over a single app.

Is support able to remote in? Am I? I think that would be important.

Can you go a little into the features you used the most? Did you use the Claris app through another tablet on your end?

How's the web browsing experience?

I really like how you can pick and choose the apps they can access and can "ungate" them as they get more comfy.

TheGrkIntrprtr
We took the option of ordering one of the tablets they provide with the software installed already, since he didn’t have a tablet, but you can also just install the app onto a tablet that meets the specs listed on their website. The tablet we got was a large Lenovo one, and the performance seemed decent enough.

I don’t think they can fully remote in, but they can push updates to the tablet I think.

I think the extent to which you can access it remotely is limited to the options in their website/app for family members. You can add administrators with varying access levels, contacts with/without admin privileges , and add and remove links/available apps etc.

If she has pills to take, you can also set up various reminders, questionnaires on how she’s feeling today etc.

The features we used the most were the text messaging and video calling ones - he didn’t really do much browsing. I did try adding links for him, some YouTube videos etc., and it worked fine. The text messaging can be set up so that it sends to your email and/or phone.

Maybe not something you want to even think about, but one thing I really appreciated was having access to all of the messages etc. after he passed. We exchanged many messages, and their support team was able to give me a download link to all of them before ending services.

Hope you find the right solution for your grandmother :) I fully recommend Claris!

TheGrkIntrprtr
Re battery life, it was decent I think. We left it plugged in most of the time though - it comes with a long charging cable.