There are plenty of Microsoft Certified Professionals out there that work in a computer store (and I'm one of them, and I've been certified since 1993). I think you'll find that many of us work at local reputable stores that charge less than $99 for the same service.

There are a number of people on Craigslist and Kijiji around here that will do that sort of work for that sort of price, but I am unclear if most consumers are willing to give their computer to someone from an online advertisement. Obviously there isn't as much overhead as with a computer store for those who are doing this.

The company I work for has been in business since 1995. I figure we target much the same consumer as Microsoft in this case: a reputable place to send the computer for service for those who are unable to do the sort of work themselves, or really don't have the time or inclination to do so.

Sure, you can do it yourself, but my point is that I think their price is a little steep compared to the standard market price for this sort of work. Plus, many business-class computers like the Acer TravelMate and Acer Veriton computers don't have much bundled with the system in terms of OEM software in any case.

I'm sure we are not alone, along with other computer stores in the area, we do a "wipe and reload" of the OEM Windows (XP, Vista, or 7) for $65 plus the applicable taxes, and we'll even load the latest service pack for Windows on the computer. It can make the computer run faster, but frankly I don't think it is really necessary for most new computer systems. The Acer TravelMate and Acer Veriton (business class) systems that we sell comes with very little in terms of additional OEM bundled software.

At the computer store where I work in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, we see at least 3-4 computers each week with these rogue anti-virus and anti-spyware applications. These programs are a real pain to deal with, both for our customers and for our computer store as well, since the programs are often difficult to remove and take up a lot of time that would otherwise be used to help our customers find solutions that make them more productive.

However, given the fact that new versions of these programs are being developed on a regular basis (for example, as of late we are seeing a new rogue program called Trusted AntiVirus), and the fact that the organizations behind them are often located offshore and in multiple jurisdictions, I wonder how much a dent this judgement will make into the scammers' operations. Hopefully, at least, this will be a start.

Part of the problem, of course, is user education. We have users that receive warning messages that tell them that this program is possibly a virus, and ask them if they would like to run the program anyway. Many users that do not know any better will run the program even though the warning is telling them this may not be a good idea. Helping the user understand what the legitimate warnings are on the system tends to reduce the problem.

I work at a computer store in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. However, I would like to point out that as far as my comments are concerned, I speak only for myself here, not where I work.

ASRock is not ASUS. Hua Ching, the subsidiary that was spun off from ASUS is not any longer a part of the ASUS organization. See http://www.theinquirer.net/en/inquirer/news/2002/11/05/asus-distances-itself-from-asrock-subsidiary for details. There are a number of companies locally and elsewhere that have been pushing cheap ASRock mainboards as being the same quality as ASUS mainboards. We have seen many issues with the ASRock mainboards, both in premature failure and incompatibilities, that we have not seen at all in ASUS mainboards. ASUS has its own low-end set of mainboards and they are much better than the ASRock, from my experience. The sooner this sort of misinformation gets sorted out, the better informed the consumer will be.