Awkward Silences

I was asked by a neighbour to come and check his computer because he thought he had been infected by a virus. I went over and could see that he’d had several virus and malware infections. I sat there and worked through with anti-virus software and anti-malware/spyware software, rebooting – scanning in safe mode – cleaning the Reg etc. All the while i was sitting there watching the screen and typing away my neighbour was sat peering over my shoulder.

I felt as though I was being monitored myself in case I tried to steal all his information or install some hacking software. The PC wasn’t particularly fast so the silence was deafening as the progress bars ticked along slowly and we sat there, me in my trousers, smart shirt and shoes, him a 60 year old man in his vest, shorts and slippers.

I began to wonder if there was something on there that he didn’t want me to see. (bomb plans, seditious essays or nasty letters to the BBC about the swearing on ‘Eastenders’, you know….the usual stuff) and what would happen if something popped up on screen that I wasn’t meant to see. It was a little creepy.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what topics of conversation I could use to avoid those long awkward silences?