Getting an IT Help Desk Job For Dummies

Chapter 16

Ten Tools You Should Own

In This Chapter

• Examining the author's personal toolkit so that you can prepare to build your own
• Finding out more about the number and low cost of lots of indispensable tools
• Discovering that being prepared is one of the best tools you can ever have

I've tricked you. This chapter is more about a few categories of tools than just ten individual tools. You will find a number of options for useful programs helpful when engaging in technical support work. Think of this chapter as a collection of ten things you will find indispensable.

You're not going to see a lot of Mac OS X utilities on this list, mostly because Macs don't need a lot. A lot of capable tools are already built into Mac OS X, and there aren't a lot of things that go wrong in the first place. I just don't want you to feel like I've left Apple out on purpose. To that end, you aren't going to see any Linux tools here.

Don't just count on this list, however. As you work on a wide range of issues, you will discover the need for a number of different tools and add them to your collection. This one should get you started.

Malware Tools

The most common emergency you will face on a regular basis is likely malware-related. Some of them are a real pain to deal with, too. These tools will come in handy:

• MalwareBytes (http://malwarebytes.org): While there is a paid version, the free version is just about the best tool there is for cleaning up stray issues. Make sure to get the latest version ...