[Tfug] Customer Service

[ewf]

      Well, it's a Micro$oft world out there, and people know I'm a 
Linux user and want them
to help me fix their computers.  They want:

                         1) their hard drives purged of 
viruses/adware/spyware.

                         2) preserved their personal files, e-mail, 
photos, etc

      I tell them that compromized systems can become so badly 
contaminated that the
only way to guarantee complete repair is to satisfy 1) but not 2). That 
is, the partition(s)
have to be erased and the OS/applications have to be reinstalled. After 
which I install
Anti-virus/adware/spyware modules to give them protection from future 
invasion. I've
done this once already.

      Is there a way to satisfy both 1) and 2)?

      Here's an ethical question: There are a lot of naive MS users out 
there. Should
we eduate the dupes and let them continue to use, (protected), MS 
products? I look
on with alarm as the amount of viruses/adware/spyware goes up exponentially.

                                                                        
                                                                        
 Cheers,
                                                                        
                                                                         
Erich