As any techie can attest to, there is always one person in the family that somehow falls for every old trick in the book and just can't keep their computer free of malware. Regardless of how many times you warn them not to click those "You won a free iPad!" advertisements, somehow you always end up cleaning up their virus-ridden computers.
Whether it's your parents, aunts, cousins or computer-challenged friends, the obligation to help can become frustrating and tiresome. Luckily for us and all of the malware-magnet computer users out there, one Kickstarter project may change it all. The Jumpshot project from Tulane University graduates David Endler and Pedram Amimi is touted as a "fully automated solution for solving PC frustration.".
The concept is simple: the user plugs the Jumpshot USB stick into the computer, and the device automatically wipes away any traces of spyware, bloatware, adware, viruses, worms etc. Best of all the device is community driven, meaning all Jumpshot devices will be able to learn from each other in order to better assist its owners.
As if the functionality wasn't enough to hook you, the designers have also created a wealth of loveable problem-fighting "minions" to help market the Jumpshot. Each minion serves a specific purpose and each Jumpshot comes loaded with "Officer Pete" and all of his cuddly "minions". With 17 days left to go the team has already amassed $132,691 of support, smashing their funding goal of $25,000.
If you'd like to get your hands on one of these sophisticated, monocle-toting USB sticks, head on over to the Kickstarter page and make a contribution. $35 gets you an 8GB stick while $55 gets you a 32GB stick.
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teh_chem You could...I dunno...install free anti-virus and anti-malware programs on the computer and make a limited-access account for the problematic users...? And never have to worry about an infection in the first place.Reply
You know, slightly unrelated, but Kickstarter used to be a neat place to come see some really awesome ideas--but now it seems like everyone is asking for support for some really puzzling products--not necessarily talking about this one in particular, but a lot. -
lanbaner as good as this solution might be I feel like the funding goal is always set to a lower expected amount so that they can "smash" their "expected" funding to create more hype arround the device.Reply -
unknownmember alternatively u could just use some common sense and goin to that shady part of the net so u don't get raped....Reply -
killerclick Just tell them to buy a Mac... and when they do tell them you don't know anything about Macs and that they're on their own.Reply -
myromance123 I used Ubuntu for my siblings, and I told them to click on those things just for the fun of it. Loved their shocked faces at the fact that it didn't cause the computer to die :)Reply
There are always other options. -
sa1nt killerclickJust tell them to buy a Mac... and when they do tell them you don't know anything about Macs and that they're on their own.I have done that but it sounds more evil when you say it that way.Reply -
rosen380 "Just tell them to buy a Mac... and when they do tell them you don't know anything about Macs and that they're on their own."Reply
Crap, I've been doing it all wrong-- I've been dissuading my malware infested dependents from Apple products *because* I don't know much about them. I'll reverse that immediately :) -
zhihao50 killerclickJust tell them to buy a Mac... and when they do tell them you don't know anything about Macs and that they're on their own.Reply
Why not tell them to get Linux and then tell then you don't know anything about Linux. That way they are slightly safer and you don't have anything to worry about and they save a fair bit of money as well so its win win.