PC Fear Factor readers comments

I have purchased your PC Fear Factor book and very much appreciate it and your informative web site. I also very much enjoyed your "Diary Of A Mad Man Or Sigh-Mantec Part II" article in Smart Computing (May 2004 Vol.15 Iss.5). I absolutely loved your “Thursday, Jan. 8, 2:30 p.m. EST” entry about the “knowledge base…repository of hidden documents.” You described all too well my own experience and frustration at the ridiculously slow pace of the developer to inform the consumer in a clear, upfront and timely fashion. Oh how I could relate!!! My problem was helping a customer who could not open up MS Word or Excel. After wasting nearly two hours of my time I solved the problem by simply uninstalling Norton Antivirus completely and installing the freely downloaded AVG antivirus program instead. There was no information that I could find at the Symantec site at the time that gave me a clue as why this was happening.

Alan, your insight and helpful computer world contributions are very much appreciated

Rui Belo

Trenton (Quinte West), Canada

November 30, 2003

I have PC Fear Factor and several of my friends now have it too, and we ARE impressed. What an incredible wealth of information, tips and suggestions.

Bud Hartman

November 23, 2003

I have just purchased you book PC FEAR FACTOR and I can't put it down .It is without question the best book on computing that I have known about Thank you so much for writing it.

John Hardin

October 23, 2003

Love your book and its integration with your website (or should I say your website's integration with the book?). Keep up the good work!

Staale Bremnes

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

October 8, 2003

Alan, Bought PC Fear Factor - read it - loved it. I really gained a lot from the book. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with me. I bought my first computer (a used one without any disks) less than a year ago and have been having fun (sometimes spelled frustration) learning to use it. One prime worry of mine was the potential of an unrecoverable crash. I breathed easier after reading your section on backing up the hard drive. I bought Ghost 2003 and after partially reading the Ghost User's Guide I see why you say it is confusing. I think I would rather stick my tongue in a fan than try to make a backup without having your book.

Thanks again.

Jim Barnes

October 3, 2003

Alan, I finished reading your very informative book last night (after only four evening sessions after work).The information that you have provided is going to help me tremendously.

Stan Mckerron

United Kingdom

September 15, 2003

Best book in my library of computer books!

Claude G Duval
Palmetto, FL

September 15, 2003

Excellent Book, just what I have been looking for to protect my computer.

Gary Van
Allan Romulus, NY

September 9, 2003

I absolutely LOVE your book.. at first.. I borrowed it from the library. I HAD to have it! So I ordered it from Nerd Books within a week. One of the things I love most is how you recommend certain products.

Thank you for a WONDERFUL book! Keep up the fantastic work! You hit it right on the nose! I would also look to see a book based on networking and remote access!

Thanks!
Michelle Hamilton

September 3, 2003

Alan:

Thanks so much for your wonderful book . I am a novice on my pc. Your book has been, and continues to be of much help to me. I've followed most of your recommendations, and am getting ready to follow some more. I've not yet had a disaster with my new OS, i.e. WinXP-Pro--it's a big improvement over ME.

William Wilson

September 1, 2003

Read in Pine Mountain Lake Computer Users Group Newsletter a reprint of "Doh! Avoid Self-Inflicted Computer Disasters" and liked it so well I went to Staples looking for the book (they used to carry Que books). They didn't have it. I live way out in the boonies, so jumped to my usual book source, Amazon.com. When I saw how many pages and the small print the book has, I kind of did an "oh, shit," but it's reading like a novel. I'm almost half way through after only one middle of the night reading session.

Leora Isbell
Groveland, CA

August 19, 2003

Though I am, as of now, only on page 61 having just received the book the other day I can already say that it seems to be exactly what I have needed for the last several years even though I didn't know it. I am now in the first stages, with the help of "PC Fear Factor", of filling in the chinks in my computer's armor. I look forward to future Alan Luber books. For such a technical subject they are informative and fun.

Bravo and Thanks,

Frederick D. Coleman
San Miguel de Allende
Guanajuato, Mexico

July 4, 2003

Hi Alan -

After reading your article in the July issue of "Smart Computing" magazine, I purchased your "PC Fear Factor" book on eBay. I must say that I have never enjoyed reading a technical book as much as this one. I read it cover to cover, every word. I couldn't believe how well you took a complicated technical subject and explained it so clearly in everyday terms that just about anybody could understand. I'm sure that I will refer to it over and again. You are to be congratulated on a very fine writing job. I wish that all technical authors could write this clearly. I look forward to your future Publications and articles in "Smart Computing". I will recommend your book to everyone. Keep up the good work.

Donald Rosa
Mattapoisett, Massachusetts

June 20, 2003

Hello Alan,

I've bought and read your book PC Fear Factor and thoroughly enjoyed it. So much so that i persuaded my sister to buy it also and use it religiously for her computer. I'm planning on reading it thru again and use it for all my computing needs. Wish I'd had it a couple of years ago, it would have saved me lots of crashes/headaches! Thank you for all the helpful info you've shared.

Judy Nix
Sulphur, LA

May 22, 2003

Your book is great -- I enjoyed it immensely!

William Becher
Ann Arbor, MI

May 10, 2003

Dear Alan:

I own PC Fear Factor and have been teaching it to the employees of the company where I am employed. My office and laptop use XP Professional but my home has windows 98SE which is in the midst of upgrading. I am trying to avoid a disaster and feel your book is an asset in the right step. Once again thanks for publishing such an informative book and I will let the word out about it. I am always looking for complimentary publications to assist the individuals that I am teaching.

Michael W. Schneiderman
Middlesex Management
Highland Park, NJ

May 5, 2003

Dear Alan:

GREAT book, I enjoyed it very much and it will become my BIBLE on computer info!

Roger Niebruegge

Columbia, Missouri

April 15, 2003

Dear Alan:

This is a wonderful book! I have recommended it to two friends and will certainly recommend it to more, including the two computer clubs that I belong to. I also plan to give it to my son and grandson.

William H. Peniston

Carmichael, CA USA

March 21, 2003

Dear Alan:

This is THE book I have long been looking for.....wished I had found it a year ago....just discovered it on the Web last week..... received it yesterday and can hardly put it down.....it is easy to read and understand for a novice like myself and has already solved a couple of mysteries I have been dealing with since I left the corporate cocoon of system administrators and PC support people.......thanks for a great service....I can start computing with more confidence now.

Jerry Kallberg
Graham, NC USA

March 10, 2003

Alan, just to let you know I ordered the book from amazon.ca in Canada, it has arrived - it is excellent and very readable - I am the type of person that has no common sense when it comes to computers and really need the 1,2,3 steps until I have done it a few times.

Jara
Tottenham, Ontario, Canada

March 8, 2003

I am so glad I purchased it - wish I had known about it when I purchased my first PC.

Sasha Thomas-Purdy
Beckenham, Kent

United Kingdon

February 17, 2003

Just started reading book. Seems to be full of good advice delivered in a good old fashioned way. (Did not mean the author is old fashioned!!!!)

John Madden
Spinnngdale, Sutherland, Scotland

February 15, 2003

Hello Alan,

I bought your book , PC Fear Factor. It is the BEST computer I have read! I also just read all the links on your update page and will continue to read it and e-broadbandnews.

Charles Burge

February 8, 2003

Hi Alan. I love your book, PC Fear Factor. My kids are impressed with the improvements I've made so far after waiting so long for me to try to get someone to fix our PC.

Shirley Harvie
St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada

February 8, 2003

Hello Mr. Luber,

Thank heavens for your book. I finished reading it on Thursday 6th last week and tonight I got the exactly same virus hoax message as the one on page 170 of your book I never had this message before, but thanks to your book I recognized it for what it was.

I will be recommending your book to all and sundry from now on.

Celestine Henderson, Tyne and wear, England

January 30, 2003

Alan

I'd just like to say that your book PC Fear Factor is excellent, I know how to do the partitioning and formatting etc, but this method is much easier. I don`t care if "experts" can get a hard drive up and running in an hour. Will it have the same files on it? I don`t think so.

I am going to advise people to buy this book it explains complex procedures in a way that is easily understood, and shortens procedures like the backing up email.

The fact that you take time to actually evaluate software and tell people what to use is a breath of fresh air

Pete Gledhill
York, Yorkshire, UK

January 27, 2003

Super book! Just what I was looking for. Answered questions I had been asking my computer friends for months.

Charles Burge
Orlando, Florida

January 27, 2003

I am in the process of buying a new computer and am so very happy to have read about you and your book in the local newspaper, the Roswell Neighbor. Thanks a lot. I'm learning a ton about what I need to buy and what I need to do to protect myself and my computer.

Thanks again for such an insightful, informative book.

Cynthia Kornetzke
Roswell, GA

January 4, 2003

Hi Alan -

I think your Book "PC Fear Factor" is great! Your book is exactly what I was looking for. I use computers a lot - we have Dell computers at work too. I have never understood the "computer speak" enough to be able to do the sort of routine checks and disaster prevention you explain. You have a great ability to communicate sometimes complex ideas in an easy to understand way. Thanks for creating such a fantastic, educational and useful book - it's a gem!

Marilyn
Sydney, Austrailia

December 26, 2002

I find your book "PC Fear Factor" the first comprehensive guide on the subject of PC Backup. Finally I can proceed with confidence with a Backup of my PC using your suggested practical procedures. This book is so well written that I could hardly put it down when I got my hands on it. It fully addresses every subject listed in the book in well structured, informative, easy to follow clear language. Provides knowledge every PC owner should acquire.

Andrew Rericha
Orangeville, Ontario
Canada

November 16, 2002

Great book! Well laid out and easy to understand.

Peter Mitchell
Telford, Shropshire
United Kingdom

November 15, 2002

I love your book, PC Fear Factor! I can hardly put it down. Well written, but I also have a big incentive since I recently had to rebuild my hard drive after one of those mysterious crashes!!!

Bill Davidson
Truckee, California

November 9, 2002

I'm only on page 102, but so far I've been very impressed with this book. I've already learned many things and can't wait to get to the "meat" of the book. Just one example : I have DSL with a Linksys router but didn't understand how it knew what to allow "in". Your explanation gave me a better understanding. This is just one example of many things that you've helped to clear up already. Too many times an author just gives a quick explanation and moves on and the reader is left thinking "huh?". I consider myself an intermediate user (at least compared to my friends), but I'm confident that when I'm finished with your book I'll be a power user. Many thanks

Richard Apodac
Los Angeles, California.