Uh oh! Your computer is acting up again, and you’re not a techie. If only your daughter (or son or grandson or granddaughter) were there it would get fixed without a hitch. If only there were a magic wand that would just make it all work again.
Taking the “you don’t have to be there to be there” of today’s communications technology even further, there is a way to get a tech expert into your computer without either one of you having to leave your desks.
When an octogenarian in New Hampshire wanted to finally learn to use a computer, his grandson, a graduate student in California, set it up while he was home on winter break. The computer set up was easy; what was harder was showing his granddad how to do the things on it that he would decide he wanted to do, since they would be thousands of miles from each other.
Long cross-country telephone conversations was one way. But the grandson found a better way — a program called CrossLoop, where a free download offers a way for computer wiz grandson to get into his grandfather’s computer remotely. That way he could actually demonstrate to his grandfather how to do what his grandfather wanted to do, from Googling to email.
There’s even a video demonstrating the simple process on both sides.
This is what the CrossLoop site says about how it works:

CrossLoop is an easy-to-use desktop sharing tool that allows any two people anywhere in the world to connect live via computer. When both users install CrossLoop (a free and secure program based on TightVNC), one can easily connect to the other. From there, you can see and control everything on the other persons PC, making remote troubleshooting remarkably easier. For a complete walkthrough on setting up CrossLoop, continue reading.

You say that you don’t know anyone with the tech savvy to help you? Well, in that case CrossLoop has way to connect you with someone who can — and you will pay a service fee, of course. Even so, it’s got to be easier than hauling your computer in to a place for service or having someone local come to your home and spend hours trying to figure out what’s wrong.
I have been using a similar fee-for-service for years. It’s much less expensive, and I’ve never been disappointed.
(I know, you would think that I could hook up with my son b!X remotely through CrossLoop. But he’s a Mac person, and I have a PC. And he’s not really a techie.)
For non-techie computer users like me, a program like CrossLoop can save you a lot of aggravation trying to figure out, for example, why your Microsoft Word program keeps locking up.