Remote service fixes PCs in your home

Earlier this year, graphic designer Kevin Mercer noticed his Mac was running slower.

He downloaded a spyware detector called Spyware Doctor (www.pctools.com/spyware-doctor) and deleted his temporary Internet files.

"That was like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic," Mercer recalled. "It made me feel better, and I just went on working."

One day in April, Mercer booted up his Mac and opened up his e-mail and graphic-design programs. Then, disaster.

"Everything froze," he said. "I tried to reboot. I tried unplugging it. It would work for a short time and then crash again.

"I went to look for my business files, and they weren't where I left them. They weren't on the hard drive. At this point, I was in a panic."

Business hurt

Mercer designs collateral marketing materials. Clients were waiting for work. Deadlines loomed.

He didn't have the time to unplug his Mac and take it to a repair shop.

He started making phone calls and learned that his sister-in-law uses a service called HelpMeRemote (www.helpmeremote.com) for her college-age daughter.

Technicians work on your PC from their office; they can see everything on your screen and everything on your hard drive.

"You see what we're doing at the same time we're doing it," explained Robert Shoemaker, CEO of the seven-person IT company.

"So when an error message pops up, we can see it and you can see it. We can even have a video transcript of a [support] session recorded for your future reference."

Shoemaker said offering remote services to consumers and small businesses evolved from his on-site IT business, Professional Computer Associates, which has been operating since 2000.

"We were using remote-control techniques to work with our existing customer base, and we began thinking, 'We can use these remote-control techniques to expand our business.' "

About nine months ago, Shoemaker started HelpMeRemote.

Rates range from $30 for 15 minutes of support to $345 for five hours.

$80 for hour's help

Desperate, Mercer signed up, paying about $80 for 60 minutes of remote technical support.

"Basically, they called me and walked me through a couple of steps to open up my machine so their people can see it," Mercer said.

Typically, HelpMeRemote operates via a chat window.

Once Mercer's Mac was accessible to the company's technicians, he was advised he could leave the machine.

"They called me back about two hours later and I sat in front of the machine," he said. "The files were there again. And the computer seemed to be running smoothly."

Because the session ran long, Mercer had to buy additional time.

"But it's money very well spent," he said. "I didn't have to learn anything new to fix this. They came in a virtual way, fixed my computer and saved me the headache of carrying it to a repair shop."