Many of us ask how can we get the IT support we all need without breaking the bank, and without having our blood pressure go through the roof.

We take a look at the problems of finding the right type of technical support for the right price 21st Century.

We All Need a Little Support Sometime. With so many of us using so much technology it's not a surprise that the estimated costs of technical support is in the hundreds of millions in fact is 335,700,000 this year.

With over 83% of PC owners have problems with their computers each year and there are reportedly 73 million iPhones, 56 million tablets, Over 1 billion computers, 32 million android phones, Millions of printers, 2 billion cell phones, and over 50 million routers it is not a surprise that we are all need tech support at least once a year, and why we expect the best quality service.

The tech support players.

In the tech support world there are really 4 main players, they are: Remote IT these are services you can call, but generally they can make onsite visits if necessary. Local IT, which are like the local repair shops and services like the geek squad that have local locations throughout the United States. In House IT when you have one or more permanent staff members employed for the purposes of IT. Then last but not least, family members. We discuss each below.

Remote IT charges normally $50-$300 per fix, and has hourly and fixed pricing onsite. You will commonly hear quotes like these "Over 90% of computer problems can be resolved remotely.", "fixed rate onsite equals big savings.", "One Word.... Guaranteed".

The pro's of remote IT services are many, and they take the prize for being the best solution for most consumers when it comes to price, time to repair, and ease of use. Remote IT services can boast proactive maintenance, affordability, reliability, convenience, scalable solutions, and is pretty dang fast to have most computer and tech issues resolved.

The con's of Remote IT services are few. The most common complaint is it is hard to understand the technicians consumers are speaking to.

Local IT Services charge anywhere between $50 - 100$ per hour and you can expect to pay around $200 - $1000 per fix. Though some of the responses from consumers can be less than enticing.

"Yeah, he smelled really bad, charged me $200, and didn't fix anything."

The pros of local IT is that they are convenient, and are less expensive that employing in house IT staff.

The cons of local IT is that it can be extremely unreliable in some cases. Generally the requirements to be a technician in local repair stores are very low, meaning that you are subject to the knowledge of whomever is working on your tech. It is also more expensive than most remote IT solutions, and is generally slower. Turn around is normally over 24 hours, where Remote IT is normally under 24 hrs.

In House IT is by far the best choice for large companies that must have a Tech solution that is available 24 hours a day 365 days a year. But it is also the greatest expense, you can expect to pay $60k - 150k per year per employee. This expense is easily justifiable for most businesses because it is well known that "Technology & tech maintenance is one of the great expenses for all businesses."

The pro's of In House IT solutions are many. They are normally most reliable, fast, and consistent of all IT solutions.

The con's though for normal businesses and the average consumer is that it is just not an option. The best solution for both is normally inexpensive maintenance and membership services provided through remote IT services.

The final IT solution we will look at is Friends & Family, it is the most inexpensive, but can be the most dangerous as well. We all have an unkle or a sibling that says they know it all, but we hesitate trusting them with the oven, short of trusting them with expensive and important tech. But you can expect to pay almost nothing for help, and will probably hear something like this from a family member. "Yeah I can fix that." or "I can come over tomorrow and take a look." or is some cases "Oh sorry, I didn't know computers were flammable."

The pro's list for friends and family is short, it is free or cheap.

The cons are a little more disconcerting, to start you have no guarantees there will be a fix, and if it is broken, they are not liable for replacement. You may also have to wait several days for them to look at the problem, and there is a serious question of reliability. One may even say it is down right dangerous to have a friend or family member repair your tech.

We are not saying every family member or friend is a dangerous option, many of us have a IT specialist as a friend or family member, and they are most likely certified to do the work we need, but the question is will they be available right when we need them?

With the myriad of support available to consumers today, and the wide range of prices, and service reliability remote IT solutions are becoming the most popular and practical solution for any type of tech support and IT needs.But many of us ask who is really fixing our computers?

When contacting technical support and remote IT solutions your conversation can commonly go something like this "Can you hear me now?", "I'm Sorry what did you say?", "Could you repeat that?". It begs to ask the question, is all tech support now overseas?

You can find really two types of tech support being a consumer in the united states. The first is Kinda U.S. Support where you may call a U.S. Company but can be directed overseas immediately, then repairs can be completed by another obscure third party repair company. Its reported that ⅕ of "U.S." tech support is outsourced overseas.

This is where you contact a U.S. company, speak directly to a diagnostic tech that sends you directly to a repair technician. All without traveling outside the U.S. This make a big difference for consumers. You can rest knowing that first your tech is in the hands of professionals that will easily understand you, and can easily communicate to you what can be done.

Many U.S. remote IT companies keep costs low through through good business, ethics, and quality service. That means you don't have to wait for your computer or tech to be fixed twice, but that it is fixed right the first time, and normally within a few hours of your first contact.

As Time tech and originally SplashData reported their list of the Top 25 worst passwords of 2012. SplashData specializes in creating password management applications, similar to the save password feature on your browsers, but more robust and secure.

SplashData has compiled a list of the top 25 most used passwords and posted online by hackers. This means if you have a password on this list, you may have the highest potential for being hacked, and potentially identity theft. The list is as follows

If you have a password on this list change it! You may also be interested in our article on "how to make a strong password", or our article on "Why passwords are important"

Over the last several months you may have noticed we have had incremental updates to the sites visual look and feel, as well added more functionality that allows members to instantly connect to a technician and improved navigation menu's, and improved layout to help with easier reading and interaction.

Yesterday on the 29th of August, 2012 we released the fully updated and fully functional Pc Care Support website. It includes;

Easier navigation:

Access your favorite sections of PCS easier than ever. We take navigation seriously and think it is important to be able to get where you need to go faster and easier.

Connect button:

Members can connect to a technician easier than ever before. Simple click the connect button on the top right of every page to instantly connect to a representative.

PCS University:

We are very excited to open the doors to PcCareSupports newest and greatest addition to our services, PCS University. The university section of our website offers online training and education for all things tech. Enjoy our guides, courses, techipedia, videos, and answers sections to your heart's content.

Clean and sleek home page:

Possibly the most noticeable change to PCS is the new homepage. With it's new clean and sleek look it more adequately displays our mission to provide the best computer support and repair service available anywhere today.

Improved blog layout and functionality:

For regular readers of our news section, you will enjoy a better presentation and navigation that helps make readers more comfortable while spending hours reading what's new in the tech and security universes.

Facelift to services pages:

For new and old visitors to our services pages, you will see a dramatic change to layout and design. We hope this new look and feel makes our services easier to understand and easier to find than it ever before.

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