A customer recently called me for help with her computer. Once I arrived and started looking at the problem, another concern quickly became more important than the repair itself.

She didn’t want the computer to leave her house.

The computer contained financial information, and she was understandably concerned about handing it over to someone she had just met.

But that situation raises an important issue that every computer owner should think about before hiring a computer technician:

At some point, you have to decide whether you trust the person working on your computer.

And having the technician work while you’re standing nearby doesn’t eliminate that issue.

Your Computer Probably Contains More Personal Information Than You Realize

Most people don’t think about everything stored on their computer until someone else needs to work on it.

Your computer may contain tax returns, bank statements, photographs, saved passwords, browser history, emails, business records and other personal information.

That’s one reason choosing a reputable computer repair professional matters just as much as finding someone capable of fixing the problem.

A technician may need access to Windows, user profiles, browsers, applications, system files or other areas of the computer simply to diagnose the problem. Our access to those files is related to and limited to the purpose of fixing your computer. Preventing access to anything personal while expecting someone to diagnose and repair your computer isn’t always realistic.

Onsite Computer Repair Doesn’t Eliminate the Privacy Issue

There’s an assumption that keeping the computer inside your home somehow makes the repair inherently safer.

It may make you more comfortable, but it doesn’t fundamentally change the access required to repair the computer.

When diagnosing Windows problems, removing malware, troubleshooting software or repairing another system issue, I’m still working on the same computer.

The only thing that has changed is location.

For simple problems, onsite computer repair works perfectly well. A technician can diagnose the issue, make the repair and be finished relatively quickly. Other repairs simply aren’t practical to complete that way.

Why Some Computers Need to Go Back to the Shop

I generally can’t spend several hours working inside someone’s home — it’s not just practical.

There are distractions and interruptions. I cannot possibly bring every tool, cable, adapter, replacement component, or diagnostic equipment with me.

Computer repairs often take considerable time.

A computer may need extended diagnostics, malware scans, large downloads, repairs, updates, data transfers, or extensive hardware testing.

At the shop, these processes can run while I work on something else. I also have access to equipment I need if the diagnosis changes.

So it is often more efficient for both the technician and customer.

Trying to force a three-hour repair into an onsite appointment does not make the repair safer, just slower, more disruptive, and more expensive.

So How Do You Trust Someone You’ve Never Met?

This can be difficult for the consumer who is calling someone they have never met and must base their decision upon available information before the appointment.

Ask how long the company has been in business.  Does personnel appear professional and highly trained?

Read reviews. Look at the company’s website. Verify the services provided. Pay attention to how the technician communicates with you. Are they able to explain what they’re doing? Do they answer questions?

If the equipment is being taken off site, how does the technician document what they are taking?

Use available information to make an informed decision.

I’ll Admit — It Can Feel a Little Insulting

My company has been in business in Florida since 2000. Before that I worked in internal IT Departments wherein the company owned the computer equipment.

I understand why someone who has never met me might be cautious. You’re handing a stranger a computer that may contain some of the most private information in your life.

From the technician perspective, after doing computer support for as long as I have, being treated as I might go digging through someone’s financial records can feel insulting.

I’ve spent years working on computers containing things far more sensitive than most people will probably ever realize. Corporate secrets, secret secrets, customer files, business records, financial information, saved passwords, personal photographs and private communications are simply part of the environment a computer technician works in to effect a service.

Unless files are directly tied to the issue, they’re not my concern. They’re somebody else’s data.

Professional computer technicians operate in an industry where respecting other people’s information and client confidentiality isn’t an optional courtesy, it’s part of the job.

The Bigger Privacy Risk May Already Be on Your Computer

There’s also a certain irony in worrying that the computer technician might see your financial information when the reason you’ve called that technician may be because the computer has a security or privacy problem in the first place.

If sensitive financial documents are sitting on the computer in plain, unencrypted files, they’re potentially far less protected from malware, unauthorized remote access, account compromise or someone who gains access to the computer than they are from the professional you’ve hired to repair it.

That’s especially important when I’m called because a computer may already be infected or compromised.

The technician sitting at your kitchen table isn’t necessarily the biggest threat to your privacy. The unknown software running silently in the background may be.

I’ve been doing computer support for a very long time. I’ve worked on computers containing financial records, business documents, personal photographs, passwords and just about every other kind of private information you can imagine. At this point, I don’t care what’s in your files.

I care about why your computer isn’t working and whether your information is secure.

That’s also why protecting sensitive information shouldn’t depend entirely on trusting the person sitting in front of the computer. Truly sensitive information should be appropriately protected in the first place—with good account security, backups and encryption where appropriate.

If the only thing protecting a financial document is the hope that nobody ever opens the folder it’s sitting in, that document wasn’t particularly well protected before the technician arrived. That’s also why protecting sensitive information shouldn’t depend entirely on trusting the person sitting in front of the computer.