COMPUTER HELP: How do I not reveal ms to my computer guru???

Okay, here is a good one: I am buying a another laptop from a neighborhood guy who runs an established computer biz from home.

Of course when he asks, "So what do you mainly need it for?" the easy answer is internet access, BUT....when I ask him to sync my smartphone for either Bluetooth or USB cable photo uploads on to ms reports, what I can say to not reveal the true purpose is ms????

Is it plausible enough to say I have to submit reports for my day job, smartphone pics to be included?????????

Many Thanks and Happy Labor Day weekend to all of you...

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You need to read my thread on how to be a uber-geek and be dumb as a doornail here:

[www.mysteryshopforum.com]

You can have a labotomy with a couple of shots from a nailgun in the head, if needed

Why are you letting him have access to your real data? I'd have it backed up and a blank installed box for the shop with some fake data and NOTHING to do with MS on it.

Do you really need him to link the bluetooth for you, or to install the Android drivers on your OS?

I can assist you if this is a problem. It's easy.

Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 08/25/2014 03:45AM by scanman1.

I didn't read that he was doing a computer shop, just setting up a computer he is getting from someone.

But you don't need to tell him why you do what you do, only what you do.

You need to upload pics to online reports. You need to sync data with your cell phone.

But if you're not mystery shopping him, I don't know why you're worried about saying, "I do mystery shopping and I need to do ...blah blah blah..." And let him know this is confidential information he will be handling and he is not to mention any pictures or reports he happens to see because if anyone finds out who you work for and what you do it will cost you jobs.

If you don't want to use the "M" word, say you do confidential audits for several companies. He isn't going to care why you do it. He just needs to know what computer features you are using.

Time to build a bigger bridge.

Any tech worth thier salt, will only copy your personal and very private porn collection if your smoking hot.

Otherwise, they already have enough that it's not worth the effort to bother. I have dealt with the half assed computer repair "techs" (Cough) to know how they work, or not work. I worked for a fortune 100 company in a very tech role (Fiber optic cables, trans atlantic). Owr IT was outsurced by a Dell tech. that could barely replace the broken parts on the laptop and the spoution to all problems was to re-image the pc and loose all data.

Store repair shops basically have 2 modes:

1. Inspect the machine for data they want.
2. install the factory image with outdated drivers, and over 1 year behind on software updates and install software that what I call crapware that is also very dangerous.

Wait till you get virused up, lather and repeat.

Well, some photo audits aren't mystery shops at all. If you feel you must tell him why you're uploading pictures to an online report, just describe the bare bones of a business verification. There's nothing mysterious about that.

If you ever run across a stand alone computer repair mom'n'pop shop that never has a free space in front of it, and you have to wait 20+ minutes to get to the counter, then you can expect the following:

1. They will manually grab all of your browser data, bookmarks, plugins, saved passwords and all for Chrome, Firefox and IE, abd Thunderbird.

2. They will grab all data/folders on your desktop and user directory.

3. Recover all MS office data, and go out of thier way to get the last 3 years of outlook email and server login data you never backed up.

4. They will not make a personal copy or disclose to anyone what the data is, unless it's child porn. (Federal Law states this is mandatory reporting, as it should be)

5. They WILL have a 2 week backlog of repairs, and you wait or pay a hefty fine to jump the line.

I decided not to open a repair shop after chatting with the competition 3 blocks from me. He can barely pay the storefront with his jobs, and he is honest.

I have owned and operated my PC REPAIR business for right at 9 years.. and I hear this all the time.. I cannot speak for all but at my business.. who has time to search your PC for your crap and why would I want it? at any given time I am working on 4-6 computers and trying to deal with customers and I dont have time to take a lunch break because Joe Blow cannot go 8 hours without playing his facebook games.

The only time I see your files are when you need me to back up that 1 photo or those 2 files that we have to look for because you dont know the name of it.

Just my POV hope it helps.

I'm in a similar situation as a tax preparer. I have access to tons of very personal and intimate information (medical information on receipts, gambling income, what jobs people have worked, in some cases how much they have in investments, the value of their home, the amount of their debt, whether their kids are legitimate or not) and it means absolutely nothing to me once I print that tax return. I hit the mental "delete" key and go on to the next one.

So your computer guy might dimly recall, "I had a guy in here once who was a mystery shopper and there were a gazillion pictures of hamburgers on his computer. Made me hungry." But he's not going to go around to every hamburger joint in town and show your picture and say, "Watch out, this guy is a mystery shopper." He wants your business again the next time you need a computer.

Time to build a bigger bridge.

why are any of your folders named mystery shopping?
Mine are not and just use 3 random letters for the main
folders and abbrev for the rest.

problem solved.

= + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = +
There are no stupid questions, but there are a lot of inquisitive idiots
==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==
When you try to please everybody, you end up pleasing nobody

Here is the over the top solution. Use Truecrypt to create an encrypted volume and store your shopping data on a removable drive. And always back it up. Every storage medium will fail sooner or later.

This way if your PC dies, you can just plug your shopping data into the replacement or loaner PC while it's being worked on. I'd avoid public PC's at all costs. They are more than likely infected with a virus.

[www.grc.com]

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/25/2014 07:39PM by scanman1.

Everybody got off track, this is for a new computer purchase, not an existing one with ms data loaded into it already...

Arch--for my 'real" job, I have to upload receipts all the time. Often I take a photo of them but usually I use a Scan app on my phone and it converts them to a PDF. I have to do that if I want to get reimbursed for my expenses--hotels, travel, food, etc. It's completely plausible you would need to do that for work outside of Mystery Shopping. Also, I like to take photos, not that I like to take photos of gas stations normally, but I do

. I use my photo upload from my camera all of the time. I bought this computer a couple months ago and didn't realize it was not bluetooth...uggg... I use Dropbox now but still. I often would take a photo and then upload it via bluetooth to my computer to load on my photo file on there, random photos, my dog, the kids, whatever. It doesn't have to be a work reason. I think his question is more on the line of "do you know how to do that or not", not so much "do you need this for work"

Arch. Just simply tell him you need to be able to get the pics from your phone to your computer. No need to get into details of why you need to do it. As to the data on the machine you have now, I would strongly suggest you back that up yourself if possible.

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

I tell people I do auditing it usually ends there.

Arch Stanton Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ....when I ask him to sync my smartphone for
> either Bluetooth or USB cable photo uploads on to
> ms reports, what I can say to not reveal the true
> purpose is ms????

I would say, "Could you sync my smartphone for either Bluetooth or USB cable photo uploads?"
I can't imagine he'll say anything other than, "Sure."
And then be able to charge you a few extra bucks. Yay for him.

scanman1 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Any tech worth thier salt, will only copy your
> personal and very private porn collection if your
> smoking hot.
>
> Otherwise, they already have enough that it's not
> worth the effort to bother. I have dealt with the
> half assed computer repair "techs" (Cough) to know
> how they work, or not work. I worked for a fortune
> 100 company in a very tech role (Fiber optic
> cables, trans atlantic). Owr IT was outsurced by a
> Dell tech. that could barely replace the broken
> parts on the laptop and the spoution to all
> problems was to re-image the pc and loose all
> data.
>
>
> Store repair shops basically have 2 modes:
>
> 1. Inspect the machine for data they want.
> 2. install the factory image with outdated
> drivers, and over 1 year behind on software
> updates and install software that what I call
> crapware that is also very dangerous.
>
> Wait till you get virused up, lather and repeat.

Why would they want your porn, when they can go to tons of FREE sites to get it?

Perhaps if you have found better porn than they have?

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

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COMPUTER HELP: How do I not reveal ms to my computer guru???

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