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Without a doubt a large portion of us starting up our Computer Repair Businesses tend to put our efforts into targeting residential customers. This of course makes perfect sense. Even if you don’t have much of a technical background in terms of your career, it’s more than likely that your experience with home based computers is quite strong. Couple that with the fact that you’ve likely dealt with most home computer related issues and practically had on the job work experience fixing computers of family and friends (repeatedly?!). We ultimately start here because we feel comfortable in our abilities to deal with our customers’ needs quickly with a high level of understanding which translates to happy customers and hopefully increased business and profits.
Given the nature of our industry and the true and tried tested science that is “word of mouth”, some of us even without noticing straight away slip into the world of business computer repairs, quite an appealing world I might add. Not only does it give us the opportunity for an increase in customers but also the opportunity to flex and hone our own abilities by offering more interesting business related services on top of the usual computer repairs and troubleshooting. The process of incorporating businesses into your fold can be quite daunting for some. Making that transition needn’t be. Provided you follow a few simple rules and have a little understanding of what to expect you’ll be good to go.
Making the Transition
The transition usually happens in a few different ways.
- By Complete Accident
Typically this occurs when responding to what appears to be a residential customer, which appears to be the situation until you’re asked to invoice “the company”. Sometimes the business will consist of very few individuals and in most cases can be treated with the same regards as your residential customers. On occasion I’ve been asked for an increase in payment terms to 15 or 30 days but I’m usually happy to extend this courtesy. I know what running a small business is like and being flexible with your customer will likely get you invited back. - Feeling The Need To Grow
You’ve had some good experience working with home users and you’re now ready to up your game. Perhaps you’re good at web design or you’re quite experienced with Office 365 and other Cloud services, with these types of skills the small business may be the way to go. Small businesses in my eyes tend to be the one man/woman “cottage industries” working out of the home going up to the 10 or 20 bodies in a small office. It’s these small business which can’t afford dedicated IT help or simply don’t have time for things like website design and site management. That’s where you come in. Medium sized business consisting of up to a couple of hundred staff will either rely on external support, or they might have an IT department lacking the numbers or some necessary technical skills. Those of us targeting these businesses may have experience of larger IT environments in our previous employment or it might be that we’ve have had the experience working with the small businesses and again looking for another challenge and a chance to grow.
Common Issues and Avoiding the Pitfalls
Understand That All Businesses Are Different
Regardless of how you make your transition it’s important to be clear that every business is unique. The two secondary schools in my home town have very similar goals in what job they do but have completely different ideas when it comes to the implementation of their computers and services to their students. Regardless of similarities it’s important to approach any new business with a fresh perspective, of course offer your skills and experience but be sure to keep it to that whilst listening to your clients’ ideas, goals and needs. Telling a teacher how to use a PC to teach a student for example will likely get you a big red F grade, whilst getting the computer working will have you saving the day.
Business Support is 9 to 5 (In most cases)
I have a full time job as a network administrator so my tech support business gets attention during my evenings and weekends. This is a similar situation to lot of tech start-ups and when working with residential clients it’s actually a perfect situation, they love the fact that I can schedule unsociable hours without so much as blinking an eye. Businesses however are a different story, the majority have 9 to 5 hours and there’s a danger you’ll be turning away work on the pretence that you’re “fully booked”. It’s also common for businesses to expect an almost immediate response, even on the days that I could attend if I couldn’t do it within a few hours then they would quickly go elsewhere. This doesn’t apply so much to the small businesses but it will pay off if you have the flexibility to attend offices/sites during the day, if your business isn’t ready for this situation then do take care that it doesn’t backfire, approach cautiously until your hours of availability improve.
Offer Additional Business Focused Services
In an effort to attract businesses you must provide business related services .. of course. Whilst there tends to be a lot of overlapping between residential and business services there are more specialised services you could offer. These can be web design, SEO, servers and specialised network configurations for example, typically things you wouldn’t normally focus on at a residential clients. If your skills are extensive then its important to showcase these to attract more businesses which brings us onto …
Your Website & Advertising Campaigns
Usually one of the early tasks of any start-up is the preparation and sending out of targeted advertising. Regardless of the advertising methods you employ we usually need to step back and adapt our strategies a little when we’re after businesses. If you have website then make the necessary changes adding the additional business services and take time to research the various advertising techniques found on the Technibble articles and forums.
You Might Be Asked To Travel
Typically larger businesses like to retain technicians to avoid having to manage several; it is this frame of mind that can often lead them to ask you travel to other offices and sites. If you fix an issue at site A, why would they hire a second tech to fix it at site B, may as well get you there and fix the issue quickly. Prepare yourself for this possibility and prepare a suitable response should it occur, easy enough provided you’re aware of your schedule. If for whatever reason you’re unable to travel or get there at a suitable time for the client then offer your assistance in locating another tech. This will give you the opportunity to perhaps earn a commission for referring the work, build business relationships with other techs whilst most importantly staying in your clients good books.
Get Insured Now
In reality you should be insured regardless of your business situation for accidental damage or general liability, it becomes especially important when working with any business. The value of data, hardware and loss of working time can translate to serious sums of money and causing damage to any of these things through your actions could result in the business recovering losses from you. For any business it’s an awful situation but for small business tech it could prove disastrous to your business. If you haven’t done so already I urge you to see an insurance broker and at the very least factor it into your close future business plans.
Don’t Get In Over Your Head
It’s an important skill to know one’s own abilities in any business but the tech industry the saying stands more firmly. Mistakes are easy to make, even for the most experienced of us, it happens to me from time to time. But those with the experience can quickly fix those mistakes and that is the key difference, the result for those without the necessary skills could be countless hours digging around knowledge base articles and tech sites trying to diagnose their own slip up. If the mistake costs downtime or damage to data and hardware then its time to review your insurance policy as discussed in Get Insured Now above.
Don’t Be Afraid To Get Help
Despite the fact that we need to be multi-skilled individuals I do from time to time come across a situation or task that I simply cannot manage by myself. Specialist areas where a little help wouldn’t hurt and perhaps get some form of commission in the process isn’t a bad thing provided you’re prepared. A recent example was the need for a fiber run of around 700M to go from the main comms room to a separate office on the same site, not too much of a problem but running it through underground ducts and terminating it correctly was far too much for one tech to handle. Having a specialised third party available on the phone and agreeing/scheduling the work quickly serves to make you look professional and prepared. If you’re wanting some form of commission then make sure these things are arranged prior to calling especially if you’re in front of the client. Throughout my career I’ve built good relationships with these types of service providers on a you scratch my back basis, business relationships like this have been a good source of income for both parties involved and breaks the lone soldier feeling that our one man businesses can suffer from.
Increase Your Prices?
Price increases for businesses is always a hotly discussed topic here on Technibble and it simply appears that there is no right or wrong answer in this regard, my view is simple in that it just “depends”. All businesses vary in size and I’m very open minded to the fact that there are many small businesses out there like me. With the Cottage Industries of the world and small start-ups I tend to keep prices at my residential rates for the simple reason that their issues are very similar in type and complexity. Larger more demanding businesses requiring quicker turnaround times and more extensive knowledge of business related systems is of course another matter and I up the price accordingly.
Check Your Personal Image
Perhaps the most obvious of the points discussed but I’ve lost count of how many scruffy looking techs in ripped jeans and trainers I’ve seen walk into businesses. Not being dressed for the occasion serves to make you look unprofessional and unbothered that you’ve landed a job and unless you have a ridiculously rare skill you won’t be asked back. For example if you’re meeting with an architectural practice to discuss a new website then go suited and presentable. If you’re installing cable runs at a car repair garage then overalls might be the way to go. All it takes is a little research and common sense and will depend on the situation, if you’ve got several calls lined up then consider taking a spare set of clothes if needed.
Moving your residential only tech support business into the world of business support will prove to be an exciting time, the people you meet and the opportunities that open up can and will help drive your business forward, a little preparation is all that’s needed.
© Technibble - A Resource for Computer Technicians to start or improve their Computer Business
To get started with your own computer business, check out our Computer Business Kit.
Transitioning from Home Clients to Business Clients – Common Issues and Pitfalls
The image I had in my mind when starting my own business was completely different from the stark reality of the tech business world, the perfect picture consisted of me answering the phone and then accepting money for fixing a computer, something that I love doing whilst getting paid in the process, perfect. The reality is that turning up at a client’s home and fixing the computer is the easy part, as small business owners we quickly learn that we need to be wearing all the hats, but to the extent I hadn’t been prepared for. It’s all very well being the accountant and doing the marketing whilst in the office but not wearing those hats whilst away from the office (or supporting remotely) was slowing down my business and preventing me from tapping into additional revenue. On that basis I present My 7 Point Approach to Every Support Call.
Show Courtesy
Ok courtesy is an obvious and easy one but I include it to try and push its critical importance. Working on the front line of tech support we know we need to be the most polite and courteous people out there to help our customers feel at ease, obtain repeat business and to stay ahead of our competitors. Letting this tech support crux slide will absolutely endanger your business, so much so that I would rather pass on a potential call out if I thought that this important requirement might be put at risk.
The good thing is that if you’re already in the tech support industry then you’ve got some good grounding in what’s required of you and then common sense should prevail and take you the rest of the way. The littlest things such as taking off your shoes, taking interest in your clients issues and even pretending to love that cat clawing up your leg (and not cursing at it!) will earn you some points and set you down the right path.
Marketing Your Business
It took the good part of three months before I started leveraging direct marketing whilst on a call, I avoided it on the basis that it felt like the door salesmen’s approach which in reality only serves to aggravate most people. The wakeup call was when someone knocked on my door offering a window cleaning service, I hadn’t got round to looking for a cleaner but I did need one so it didn’t take him long to get a yes. I eventually came to realise that I wasn’t that door salesmen and that I was actually being invited in to someone’s home to address a very specific issue and following that I might actually be helping someone by offering a service that they could be very interested in.
Don’t be afraid to talk about your business, your services and any offers you might have running, if you’re still working on your sales pitch then any marketing materials such as leaflets and vouchers are the next best thing and a great way to end an onsite visit. On top of that don’t forget to talk about your website and drive clients to your social networks.
Add Value To Your Services
The coined term Value Added Services simply means to go above and beyond your customers’ expectations. Adding value to even the most mundane of support tasks is an excellent way to impress and give value for money and ALL customers love value for money. One winner for me is to clean any computer that reaches my work bench; everyone seems to love this and only adds another 5 minutes when done properly.
If that same computer gets returned with new software that my client should be aware of then there’s a complimentary 10 minute training session to cover the basics, another value added extra.
Offer On The Spot Training
Addressing on the spot training needs is a great way instil confidence in your clients and is an excellent way to reduce those pesky one/two minute phone calls from your clients wanting to know how to defrag their hard drive or run a virus scan using the new Microsoft Security Essentials software you installed on your last visit.
If you can’t identify training needs then offer anything you think might be remotely interesting or perhaps lacking in the basic maintenance areas. Excellent way to fill the quiet gaps, the download times and potentially save you time in the long run.
Be Fully Aware Of The Environment
It quickly becomes apparent that every home and not just the businesses operate some form of Local Area Network (LAN), add the fact that we’re in an era where a lot of homes have multiple computers and network connected devices and we see a growing complexity in the smallest of networks. This of course is a perfect example of the double edged sword, more to support so the potential for more business but more to be aware of whilst troubleshooting.
Something as small as rebooting the wireless router or changing an IP address can disrupt other connected PC’s, game consoles, Internet connected TV’s and smart phones and that less than extensive list is growing. It’s more important to communicate the potential effects and document the network as best you can for troubleshooting now and in the future.
Document Everything
Documentation has turned into the life blood of my business and I now find it critical for looking after my repeat business clients as well as developing my own marketing strategies on a per client basis. Some of my partners comment on the fact that I’m quite anal with this but it repeatedly saves me time, assists with my troubleshooting whether remote or onsite whilst maintaining a professional and attentive image. I do however document to such a high degree that I now have to include a clause in my contract which my clients are able to opt out of should they be uncomfortable with any particular point.
Beyond the obvious records of the work that takes place on any particular device I also include the logical network information, passwords, names of family members (lots of clients means that I easily), whether children live in the home and whether the computers they use are appropriately locked down and this list truly does go on and on to the point that I might dedicate an article about it one day. Most of my onsite documenting takes place on my Windows Phone using the OneNote app, its quick, easy and syncs to the cloud ready for editing when I’m back in the office.
Talk
Talking above and beyond the points mentioned so far can be hard for some, most techs like to draw lines between business and making friends which I can totally understand and something I practice myself. We draw the lines to ensure that our clients understand the business relationship, extending it any further can cause complications down the line which may risk repeat business. I occasionally work with local techs on some of the bigger jobs in the area and its very apparently that some techs are drawing the lines in the wrong place.
In a couple of cases it appears to verge on rude and could spell trouble for any small business, word of mouth is a powerful force. It really is as simple as listening and responding appropriately even if you do have to hear about how crazy the weather is for the seventh time in a day! If conversation does run dry then turn the conversation to what you’re good at whilst being sure not to talk your client into a coma, remember it’s a careful balance which is different with every individual.
As always your comments and feedback are invaluable, what important business practice do you take with every support call?
© Technibble - A Resource for Computer Technicians to start or improve their Computer Business
To get started with your own computer business, check out our Computer Business Kit.
My 7 Point Approach to Every Support Call
Unless you offer professional computer repair solely on a volunteer basis, your primary goal in exchange for honest service is payment from your customers. Some technicians prefer to operate on the payment on completion basis, and this works just swell for residential customers. However, for technicians who resemble any form of computer repair business, having a solid invoicing/billing system is key to watching over customers who owe money and providing a systemic history of all work performed.
Judging from some of the discussion on the Technibble forums, however, it seems that many newcomers in the business are unsure what techniques should be practiced and which should be avoided. At my computer repair company FireLogic, I am the final person who details and approves most of the invoicing that goes out to clients. Invoicing customers is just as much of an art as it is the ability to tell a logical story on paper for payment and record purposes. To avoid some of the pitfalls many techs stumble with in their first forays into invoicing, here are some of my best pointers:
DO have a good invoicing & billing system.
Most computer technicians prefer to stick to digital invoicing & billing solutions such as Quickbooks, Freshbooks, PC Repair Tracker, or other products. My company happens to use ZOHO Books for its invoicing & accounting needs and it serves us very well. Whatever you happen to choose as your backend, ensure that it matches your needs and fits into your business processes appropriately. Something that feels tacked on and doesn’t suit your requirements will ultimately cause problems, and when a product becomes a burden, its functionality and usefulness suffer in turn. Some techs prefer paper systems for their ease of use. Do your homework and pick something you like but be sure to weigh pros and cons before selecting anything.
DO flesh out invoice details for your customers.
As a computer repair professional, you are providing a service which is sometimes not entirely understood by the customer. Do your best to provide enough detail to justify each line item on an invoice. This history of your service will not only benefit the customer in the short term, but it could help answer questions for them in the future. The more passwords, user names, and related information you beef up on an invoice, the more likely you will not receive follow up calls asking for this information. Save time for yourself and the customer and justify your labor with good detail.
DO give out freebies to your best computer repair customers.
I don’t have to name the reasons for those you consider your best clients. As a business owner, you know exactly why they are so crucial to your success. Fast payment, reasonable requests, consistent usage of your services…. the list goes on. Make these customers feel appreciated and toss them a bone here and there. Throw in some free travel, or discount a half hour if they have given you a set amount of billable time in the last few months. All of the big companies give kickbacks to good customers – you should be doing the same, within reason. You don’t have to sell yourself cheap, but you should be able to pinpoint a rock-solid customer that deserves a freebie once in a while.
DON’T threaten to send invoices to collection too quickly or too frequently.
We all know what happened to the boy who cried wolf too many times without reason in the fairy tales. Don’t be that company which fits this description. The threat of collection on unpaid invoices should be a rarely used tool to wrangle the arm of only the worst offenders in your customer list. What kind of opinion do you hold of the common outlets which use this practice – namely medical offices? Not such a good one, I’d guess.
Don’t let your business get tossed into this category too easily. Use tactics that are proven to resolve payment disputes with much more ease. A simple follow up email or phone call is usually all that is needed for some customers. I recently had a long outstanding bill with a client that was merely unpaid because she had forgotten to forward it to her secretary. I followed up with an email and she got it straightened out in one day. You don’t always have to be the jerk to get paid.
DON’T artificially inflate invoices as a matter of policy.
If you’ve ever seen the movie “The Firm” with Tom Cruise, you know exactly the kind of shady practice I am referring to here. Overbilling by default, and having disgruntled customers pay settled amounts lower than the original inflated total is unfortunately a practice used by some companies. I don’t advise or support it, and believe you should stay far away as well. You may regret the day you are singled out by customers who happen to spread bad word of mouth if they happen to sniff you out. We live and die by word of mouth, so stay honest and bill only what you are owed. Ethics are a discussion for another article, but keep this virtue on your mind as well.
DON’T have unrealistic payment due dates.
This point pertains to business clients primarily. For most offices larger than 6-8 people, payments to vendors are generally cut no more than once or twice a month. Establish reasonable and appropriate payment terms with these customers to avoid confusion for both sides. They will know when you need your check cut, and in turn, you will know exactly when to expect payment. Necessitating business clients to have payment turnaround of a few days when they have 15 or 30 day terms with most other vendors is unrealistic and may cause them to go looking for a new computer repair tech. Whatever you establish as the norm with that client, ensure it gets in writing in some form, whether it be email or a signed document.
DON’T be over-technical in invoice descriptions.
While I stated previously that detail is key to proper records, making the mistake of going “geek commando” on your customers will only leave egg on your face. Some customers may find it insulting that you fluff an invoice with terms that are above their head. Others may simply talk your head off on a phone call to get explanations of what DNS or QoS actually mean.
Simplify your descriptions and choose wording that properly explains what you are trying to say without losing them after the first word. Nearly every technical term can be substituted with “plain English” without hurting the effectiveness of the invoice. Some things may need to stay intact in their original form, but be selective and use these sparingly. A customer that can understand his/her invoice is more likely to trust your services and foster a long term relationship with you and your brand.
These few pointers should get you off on the right foot when it comes to invoicing customers. Have other tips for good billing practices in the computer repair field? Feel free to post them in the comments area below.
© Technibble - A Resource for Computer Technicians to start or improve their Computer Business
To get started with your own computer business, check out our Computer Business Kit.
The DOs and DON’Ts of Invoicing Computer Repair Customers
What software tools do freelancers love to use? Whether you’re a seasoned freelancer, or just getting started, there’s a tool that is right for you.
We’ve written plenty of posts about resources for freelancers. A few months ago, however, we asked you to share your favorite software tools. Many of you did just that.
In this post, we list those software tools that you said you loved in one convenient place–over 35 of them! We also invite those of you who may have missed the original open thread to once again share your favorite software with us. (Note: Some of these tools are open source or freeware although some do cost money. Where possible, I’ve identified the free tools.)
Administrative Tools
These software tools can help you run your freelancing business:
- Basecamp–Allows you to manage projects using online collaboration tools.
- curdbee–Helps you with invoicing and billing. The lowest level package is free.
- Quoterobot –Helps you to create quotes and proposals.
- WORKetc–Allows freelancers to manage projects, bills, and more.
Blogging Tools
Since most freelancers have a blog, these blogging tools can help:
- LiveJournal–Site allows you to create a journal for free. You’ll get the chance to interact with thousands of other LiveJournal participants.
- Windows Live Writer–Create blog posts and preview them online.
- WordPress–Can be loaded onto your own site. You can also blog directly on the WordPress site at WordPress.com. WordPress is free.
Design Tools
If you’re a freelance designer, you may be interested in one or more of these tools:
- Adobe Suite and Design Premium–The suite packages of Adobe apps was at the top of the list for many.
- Adobe Illustrator–Allows you to draw and to modify drawings.
- Adobe Indesign–Page layout tool for online publishers.
- Inkscape–Open source tool allows you to edit SVG graphics.
Development Tools
These software tools are of particular interest to web developers and programmers:
- Aptana Studio–Development tool for open source IDE development.
- E Text Editor–Use this text editor to manipulate files quickly and easily.
- Firebug–Open source tool to help you debug HTML and JavaScript.
- Geany–Text editor based on GTK2 toolkit. This software is licensed under the terms of the GNU General Public License.
- Greenshot–Open source tool that allows you to make screenshots.
- Netbeans–Lets you develop Java, PHP, and C/C++ apps. This package is open-source and free
- Notepad++–Free source code editor.
- Zend Studio–Development and debugging tool for PHP applications.
Email Tools
Every freelancer needs an email package to stay in touch with clients and colleagues. Here are your favorites:
- gmail–Google’s email package.
- Yahoo! Mail– Another favorite email service.
Miscellaneous
These software tools didn’t fit into any particular category:
- 1password–Helps you track and manage your passwords. Includes a version for Mac, Windows, Ipad, Ipod, Iphone, and Android.
- Excel–Spreadsheet application is great for crunching numbers or keeping metrics.
- Keepass–An open source tool to help you remember your passwords. This tool is open source.
Operating Systems & Web Browsers
This browser and this operating system are your top choices:
- Chrome–Web browser from Google.
- Ubuntu Linux –Top-notch open source operating system.
Photo Manipulation Tools
For photo manipulation, you liked these software tools:
- Adobe Photoshop–Digital imaging and photography editing.
- GIMP–GIMP is a free tool for image composition and photo retouching.
- Photoshop Lightroom–Helps you to manage, edit, and manipulate photographs.
Productivity Tools
Every freelancer needs to work more effectively. Here are your favorite productivity tools:
- Dropbox–Allows you to access files from multiple computers by storing them online. This tool is free for Windows, Mac, Linux, and mobile use.
- Evernote–Helps you to save ideas and find them when you need them. This app is free.
- Focus Booster–Free online timer helps you to use the pomodoro technique to finish your tasks.
- OS X: Launchbar–Tool for the Mac that acts as a super efficient file manager.
- DragThing–Another Mac tool to help you organize your files.
Word Processing
These were your favorite word processing software packages:
- Google Docs–Google tool lets you create and share documents online.
- Microsoft Word–Popular word processing tool from Microsoft.
Your Turn
We freelancers need our software tools, but I’m sure this list is not complete. Did you miss the original post? Is your favorite software tool missing?
Why not add your favorite software tool (and a brief description) in the comments below?
Image by Brett Jordan
Related posts:
- Open Thread: What Software Tool Could You Not Do Without?
- Top 7 Collaboration Software Tools for Successful Freelancers
- 13 Office Productivity Software Suites for Freelancers and Others
Guest Post by Marco Rodi: Marco Rodi owns an IT Engineering university degree. He has his own computer repair business (OrdiRodi) that mainly does Apple Support.
There are a few articles here on Technibble about what is in a PC technicians toolkit. However, when you are an Apple Tech your bag is not quite the same. Whenever a client calls me for an emergency, these are the tools I always carry in my Apple technician toolkit, no matter what the problem is.
Lion/Snow Leopard Boot USB
Usually, when your client’s computer won’t boot into the OS the CD drive won’t work. Either a CD will be stuck inside and you can’t eject it, or you can’t insert a new CD as the system won’t recognize it. This is why I always bring a Bootable USB drive with either Snow Leopard of Lion on it. When you insert it in your client’s computer, you can hold the “Option” key (ALT key if you are using a non-Apple keyboard) while you boot the Mac and select your USB drive. To create this USB Key, you need your original Lion installation file or your Snow Leopard CD and use the Disk Utility application on your Mac. (http://www.cultofmac.com/105527/how-to-make-a-bootable-install-disk-of-mac-os-x-lion/)
Snow Leopard CD
I always bring the Snow Leopard CD. Sometimes you won’t need a USB drive as CD Drive will work just fine. If you install this version on your client’s Mac, you do not need a serial number.
Dust Blower
No matter what I do on my client’s computers, I always use the Dust Blower at the end of the job. It adds a professional touch to it and usually the client has never removed the dust. Here in Montreal, I always buy the DustOff Original Duster. You can buy a 10 pack of those for just $12.99.
Knopixx CD
Incredible tool that lets you boot in a complete Unix environment directly on the CD. You can access the hard drive and backup files. This is really helpful if the OS does not boot and you want to backup your client’s files. You simply need to insert this CD and an external drive to backup everything. (http://www.knoppix.net/)
Universal Drive Adapter
This will let you repair your client hard drive directly from your computer. You remove the hard drive from your client’s computer, plug it into this device, and access it via usb from your machine. This tool is good to repair disk permissions, backup files and to completely clear a hard drive. It works perfectly on both Mac and Pc. You can buy this one here: http://www.ifixit.com/Apple-Parts/Universal-Drive-Adapter/IF107-108
ProTech Base Tool
When you try to open your client’s Apple Computer and either change the RAM, remove the hard drive or change the motherboard, you will always have to deal with an unusual screw. Apple does it on purpose so nobody can open/fix their machine except them. You really need to bring all the tools necessary to remove all the pieces for your needs. I use this set of tool created by ifixit: http://www.ifixit.com/Tools/Pro-Tech-Base-Toolkit/IF145-072
It has everything you need to repair iMacs, Macbooks, MacPros, iPhone, iPod Touch etc.
RAM Memory
Sometimes, when you try to boot the computer and you hear one or two beeps, the RAM failed. I always bring extra RAM to test this issue and to sell it to my clients if this is the problem.
External USB Hard drive
I bring my pocket 1TB external hard drive for backup. (model no. WDBACZ0010BBK-NESN). Usually your client won’t have another drive to back up his files. I like this HP drive because it is Mac/PC compatible and it supports USB 3.
USB Key
I bring my 4gb USB key that includes all the free software Mac offers. I always install all of them on my client’s computer. I know this is personal but up until now, my clients love it! This usb key includes:
Suction Cups
The iMac is the most difficult machine in the world to change its hard drive. Why? Because you have to remove the huge front glass. The only way of doing it is with suction cups. I only bring those if my clients have a problem with an iMac. http://www.ifixit.com/Tools/Heavy-duty-Suction-Cups-Pair/IF145-023
Magnifying glass
I usually use this on Macbook’s problems. When you have to change the trackpad, keyboard, motherboard etc. http://www.ifixit.com/Tools/Helping-Hands/IF145-082
Kensington Contour Pro 17″ Nylon Laptop Case
I can easily fit all of those things in this bag. I also always bring my 15” Macbook pro in it. http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/kensington-contour-pro-17-nylon-laptop-case/10040886.aspx?path=28ee4468307abdf19cb8fdcfbaa5cd56en02
These are my main tools that usually cover everything I need. Whats in your Mac technician bag?
© Technibble - A Resource for Computer Technicians to start or improve their Computer Business
To get started with your own computer business, check out our Computer Business Kit.
Inside an Apple Technicians Toolkit
Rootkits are becoming more prevalent and more difficult to find. Technicians need to be aware of the best software tools that will detect and remove this elusive software. Here is a list of rootkit removal tools that will work on the major operating systems.
Windows Based
Rootkit Revealer
Rootkit Revealer is part of the sysinternals suite and is a free portable rootkit scanner. This tool was featured as a repair tool of the week.
Download
Sophos Rootkit Scanner
Sophos offers a suite of security software but most notably they have a free rootkit detector and removal tool available here:
Download
GMER
GMER is a powerful rootkit scanner and usually my first “go-to” rootkit scanner when I suspect suspicious activity above and beyond typical malware. It’s quite small and portable.
Download
TDSSKiller
A great free tool from Kaspersky. It’s portable and easy to use with a simple GUI. This tool recently helped me find a rootkit that was causing multiple browser hijacks. I could not find the rootkit with any malware scanner, HijackThis, Process Explorer, or a couple other rootkit scanners. I ran this tool and it found it almost instantly (this particular rootkit was part of the rootkit.win32.TDSS family). TDSSKiller will search for the win32.TDSS family of rootkits as well as bootkits (MBR rootkits/malware) and other suspicious services.
Download
Microsoft Standalone System Sweeper Beta
This is a fairly new application (still in beta!) that you can boot from a cd or flash drive. It is meant for situations where you can’t boot into a pc due to malicious software/activity. The program detects and removes rootkits and other malware.
Check it out here: Download
(NOTE: This is an excerpt from the Microsoft website regarding licensing for the System Sweeper Tool. Please read the license agreement at the bottom of the page or contact Microsoft for more information.
“INSTALLATION AND USE RIGHTS.
a. Home Use. If you are a home user, then you may install and use any number of copies of the software on your personal devices for use by people who reside in your household to test how it runs with your programs. As a home user, you may not use the software in any commercial, non-profit, or revenue generating business activities.
b. Small Business. If you operate a small business, then you may install and use the software on up to ten (10) devices in your business to test how it runs with your programs.
c. Restrictions.
d. Separation of Components. The components of the software are licensed as a single unit. You may not separate the components and install them on different devices.
e. Included Microsoft Programs. The software may contain other Microsoft programs. The license terms with those programs apply to your use of them.”)
AVG Rootkit Scanner
This is the rootkit scanner that comes bundled with AVG anti-virus. It was only available in the paid version up until AVG 2010 was released; now it comes bundled with the free anti-virus download. In my experience it works pretty well and has detected some rootkits that went otherwise unnoticed. Most well known anti-virus suites do come with a rootkit scanner.
Download
Prevx
Prevx offers a suite of paid security tools; however they do offer a free trial version that includes a rootkit scanner.
Download
RootRepeal
RootRepeal is a rootkit detector that seems to be in a perpetual beta, so use it at your own risk and take precautions. It has an advanced rootkit detector for Windows XP and Vista. This was also featured in a Repair Tool of the Week Article
Download
Linux and Apple Mac OSX Based
Let’s not forget our Unix based systems! It’s fairly slim pickings for rootkit scanners on these operating systems, but there are two that I know of that work well. As the popularity of these systems continue to grow I believe we will be seeing more security concerns, hence more tools.
chkrootkit
A rootkit detector that searches system binaries for modifications.
Download
rkhunter
This is a free tool that will search for backdoors and exploits by comparing MD5 hashes and strange file activity.
Download
Mobile Platform
Lookout Mobile Security
Lookout is a security application for Android, Windows phone7, and Blackberry mobile devices. It isn’t necessarily a rootkit tool but I wanted to include a security tool for the ever increasing mobile platforms. The more a platform grows in popularity the more it will be attacked.
Download
Do you have any other rootkit detectors you would like to share? Please let us know!
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Rootkit Detection and Removal Tools
Open source software is one my favorite tech topics. Linux is my preferred operating system kernel of choice and I use it on my main system (and virtualize other OS’s). I use it to run my business and I use it as a tool while on the job no matter what type of system I am working on. Here is a descriptive list of tools, systems, and applications that will help you on the job or in the office that are open source and will run in a Linux environment or live CD (based on Linux). All of these tools are available for free.
1. Puppy Linux
Puppy Linux is a live CD distribution that is small, lightweight, and can be booted directly to RAM. It only requires 128 of RAM to run (I’ve ran it on less and it worked fine to browse the internet) and is pretty quick, even on aged machines. Puppy is my main tool when a customer running Windows can’t boot or access their hard drive due to a crash, virus, or system file corruption. As long as the drive spins and is recognized in the BIOS, I can boot to Puppy and access the system hard drive. I can then back up any data and copy it to an external drive.
Linux can read NTFS and FAT file systems and ignores any file system permissions set within Windows, so as long as the data is unencrypted, you should be able to read, write, copy, and move. It’s a great tool if you can’t boot a system due to a virus, but would like to backup/recover any data before working on the system (just remember to check the files on the external drive to make sure the viruses didn’t attached themselves).
I was at an on-site job where my customer wanted to transfer all of her data from her old PC to a newer one; however the C: drive was almost full (literally a few MB’s free), not to mention whatever else was on there. It took about 15 minutes to fully boot and navigating was horribly slow. I took out my Puppy Linux CD, rebooted into Puppy, and was able to backup what she needed in less time that it took to originally boot into Windows! This was a huge time saver, and the customer appreciated that!
2. Darik’s Boot and Nuke (DBAN)
DBAN is a boot disk that will securely wipe a hard disk clean. It is great for bulk destruction or emergency sanitation. DBAN writes random data to the disk several times which ensures that the old data will never be recovered. A very useful tool when you want to make sure the data is totally erased.
3. GParted
GParted is an open source partition editor that runs off of a live CD. This is a fantastic tool that I have used many times to re-size hard disk partitions with great success. It has no trouble recognizing hardware and software RAID, and was recently used on servers at our software company to allocate more C: drive space on some older machines. No problems at all.
4. Virtual Box
Virtual Box is an open source virtual machine application and, in my opinion, the easiest to use. If you are new to virtual machines, give this program a try. It runs in Windows, Linux, OSX, and Solaris My main PC runs Linux Mint as its host operating system. When I need to use Windows I run it in Virtual Box. I use it for test environments and as a learning tool.
5. GNU Cash
GNU Cash is open source accounting software that runs on Linux and Windows. It is straight forward double entry accounting and is not anywhere near as powerful as Quickbooks; however, it gets the job done if your accounting needs are basic. GNU Cash is easy to use and set up, plus it’s free! If you are starting out or looking for a cost effective alternative (or Linux alternative) to Quickbooks, with less of a learning curve, give it a try. I use it in conjunction with some custom spreadsheets and honestly, it’s all I need (at least for now). My accountant had no problems with my documents at tax time.
6. Clonezilla
Clonezilla is an open source live CD application used to create disk images. I have used it many times with no problems. You can create a full disk image of a drive or drive partitions and save it over a network or to an external device. Obviously, you can restore the image from any of those devices as well. I keep this in my tool kit all the time.
7. Reconstructor and Remastersys
Reconstructor is an application that you can use to make customized ISO’s of Linux distributions. For example, when you download Ubuntu you get whatever applications and setup that the developers packaged into the ISO. With Reconstructor, you can take a base Ubuntu ISO, delete applications that you don’t want or add in applications that you need, and create a brand new Ubuntu ISO.
This is great if you want to make a customized “repair” version, or you want to keep an ISO backup with your added applications in case you need to reinstall the OS. You may want to use the OS on an older computer and want to lighten to load. Remastersys does the same thing, but I am more familiar with Reconstructor.
8. Truecrypt
Open source encryption software. Truecrypt can create a single file on your drive that you can mount as a virtual encrypted drive, or it can encrypt entire volumes. Anything that you put into a Truecrypt file/volume will be encrypted, and you need to mount it to Truecrypt and enter a password to decrypt. It’s a great tool for on the fly encryption for flash drives or external hard drives. You can also use it to encrypt Dropbox files for added security.
9. AVG Rescue Disk
This is not an open source application, however; the AVG rescue disk is a Linux based live CD that allows you to run a virus scan of the system hard drives. It is a free download. You can also download definition updates from the command line if you have an internet connection. It’s worked very well for me, especially when you are fighting a nasty virus and it’s difficult to boot to the OS.
10. System Rescue CD
A Linux based live CD that includes many of the tools mentioned above. It’s similar to the Ultimate Boot CD which contains many tools and also has a windows version.
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10 Must-have Open Source Applications for Computer Technicians
Here's a list of what I like to have in my tool bag when performing network admin duties. Suggestions for modifications or additions are welcome!
Crimpers
The iconic tool of network admins everywhere, twisted-pair copper crimpers are a critical component of your tool kit. Most crimpers will be able to terminate both RJ-45 (8P8C) and RJ-11 styles of modular plug and may also feature a built-in wire cutter. Some ratchet and some don't; I've never seen a use for it personally.
Crimpers are sold at a variety of price points and matching degrees of functionality. Sometimes you can find a deal, but I'd be wary of spending less than $30 USD on a pair of crimpers I intend to use regularly. What to look for when shopping:
- Thick steel construction which extends for the entire length of both handles
- Several pounds of pull between the handles; a weak spring makes for a flimsy feel
- The "teeth" should be mounted on a floating hinge to ensure that pressure is applied evenly across all pins when crimping (see below)
- Should not rattle when shaken
