The perfect gift for your tech-challenged family is here — and it’s 35 percent off

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Help your parents get better use of their tech with Yahoo Plus Secure (photo: Getty)
Help your parents get better use of their tech with Yahoo Plus Secure (photo: Getty)

If you have a knack for changing a WiFi password, connecting a laptop to a printer or setting up a smart-home system, congratulations: You're probably your loved ones' dedicated IT expert! We're kidding, but that sure is what it feels like when you're the most tech-savvy person in the family.

It's nice to feel useful from time to time, but there needs to be a long-term strategy. Sure, you can leave written instructions for every eventuality or drop everything for emergencies, but frankly, who has that kind of time? It's almost impossible to forecast which issues your 'rents will encounter anyway.

Wouldn't it be nice if there was a way to outsource the job of family tech support, like they do in office settings? Well, there is. It's called Yahoo Plus Secure, and it's on call 24/7. This industry-best service supplies real-life representatives (yes, humans!) who provide troubleshooting over the phone at all hours.

Honestly, a more perfect gift for tech-challenged parents, aunts, uncles does not exist. Now, you can get an entire year of Yahoo Plus Secure for $100 — it’s 35 percent off for the holiday season.

Shop it: Yahoo Plus Secure, $100 for a year-long subscription (that’s 35 percent off!), subscriptions.yahoo.com

Enjoy 24/7 tech support with Assist by Yahoo — it's part of Yahoo Plus Secure

There are some things that require device maintenance. But plenty of times, there are just simple culprits to blame for technical snafus. For instance, too many applications or files can cause a computer to slow to a crawl. It's an easy fix, but your parents may not be able to identify the problem on their own.

Yahoo Plus Secure has a service called Assist by Yahoo, which gives your parents 24/7 tech support over the phone for issues with computers, tablets, printers, network, smart TVs and much more. Representatives will even help them set up home entertainment, home office devices and other gadgets.

Yahoo Plus Secure agents are there to help your family members navigate their tech, and they do it with a people-first mindset. This includes assisting with their actual Yahoo email and general account issues, including billing, account recovery and updating account information.

You (and your loved ones) can ask questions with the kind of peace of mind that is vital when something happens to precious devices — and everyone will be able to move on to other subjects, like what's for dinner tonight or who gets to pick the movie this time.

McAfee: The secret cybersecurity weapon of Yahoo Plus Secure

Yahoo Plus Secure.
Yahoo Plus Secure.

One of the most legit things about Yahoo Plus Secure is that it uses McAfee to protect against viruses and malware. This award-winning brand works around the clock, in the background, to make sure malicious software is denied entry into whichever device it's installed in, be it a PC, Mac, smartphone or tablet. One subscription handles up to five eligible devices, so a family's tech needs are covered.

Of course, give your family members a heads up about common traps from hackers. Let them know that software companies or laptop manufacturers will never ask for their passwords or other login information. Hackers use this trick to lockout account holders and ransom their devices. In the meantime, Yahoo Plus Secure will alert your parents to suspicious emails or websites BEFORE they click and offer up sensitive information.

Never forget passwords with Last Pass technology

Keep family time for catching up, not for troubleshooting tech issues (photo: Getty)
Keep family time for catching up, not for troubleshooting tech issues (photo: Getty)

Speaking of passwords, many parents use easy-to-guess ones. Let's face it: we kind of all do! What's worse, they use the same non-secure password, or variations of it, on every site they frequent. These are all major mistakes to any cyber security expert you talk to.

Using Yahoo Plus Secure can help your parents create long and strong passwords, and then store all of their passwords so they don't have the burden of remembering it. Isn't that cool. The service incorporated here is called Last Pass, and it keeps all passwords connected to all your accounts safeguarded in a virtual 'vault'. Each family member is logged in automatically from any of their devices, and they only need to remember one password — the one to their Last Pass account!

Shop it: Yahoo Plus Secure, $100 for a year-long subscription (that’s 35 percent off!), subscriptions.yahoo.com

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