Date: Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Resource: Daily Herald

MICHELLE VONGPHAKDY - North County Staff
Finding someone who can fix computer problems is as easy as flipping through the yellow pages.

Finding someone who is both experienced and affordable is not.

This is the dilemma that inspired Steve Stockmal, a network engineer with five years of IT experience, to start his business, EagleNet Networks, LLC.

Stockmal said, "I want to be able to provide personalized education and technical services at prices that are significantly lower than my mainstream corporate competitors."

One of the reasons Stockmal said he can do the work for a reasonable price is that he doesn't have the overhead that many of his competitors do.

His business, which he started this November, is based out of his Eagle Mountain home.

Most work, however, is performed onsite, so customers don't have to move any heavy equipment.

"A potential client can call me and I will make arrangements to come to their home and provide a free technical consultation before any work is performed," says Stockmal.

Another reason that his prices are affordable is because Stockmal believes most companies overcharge for a necessary.

He wants to meet these needs at reasonable prices. And the need for technical support is on the rise with the increasing number of viruses and other maladies that affect computers.

Spyware, for example, is an problem that plagues many computer users. Some of the software designed to remove these nasty files are complicated and may not remove everything.

EagleNet Networks charges $49 to take care of this problem.

Other services that the company provides include basic computer set up and optimization, virus removal and wired or wireless network set up. Stockmal can also set up security features to protect these highly vulnerable networks.

"Wireless networks are very easy to set up out of the box. However, securing them is where it becomes more difficult and requires more technical knowledge," he said.

He recently drove around many of the subdivisions in Eagle Mountain equipped with his laptop. He said he was "amazed to find out how many home networks had no security settings whatsoever."

He explains that a lack of security in a network places consumers at risk for neighbors using them for free internet access or even worse, the hacking of their personal information.

Stockmal can be reached at 789-5682 or on at www.eaglenetnetworks.com.