Dumb question

JJ · Post by JJ » Fri Jun 29, 2007 11:57 pm

Hi ...I am no longer covered by the anti virus software on our school network...namely Symantec. Do I need-to buy security software for myself...is there some that is free? I downloaded Stopzilla. but I'm not sure that is free.....that is not all I need, right??? Thanks in advance...JJ

barbaranoela · Post by **barbaranoela** » Sat Jun 30, 2007 6:53 am

hiya Jill------Wayne will no doubt advise U---he has helped lou out with many issues

ME----COMPUTER DUMB!!!

And now we are having problems here also----
Lou inserted something into the speaker part----and my entire puter is screwed up--
So right now Mr. Lou is in a very irate mood

cus my mouth is going a mile a minute with the whys--how comes and what fors!!!

If I wanna hear something I use this laptop----and turn on his speakers

So now I am on laptop---which I hate----

Good luck---along with a good weekend too
Barbara

PS. my last words to Lou-----LEAVE MY PUTER ALONE!!!!! I like it the way it is!!!!

This didnt add to the *happiness*

Post by **tex** » Sat Jun 30, 2007 10:01 am

Hi Jill,

I used to be a big fan of Peter Norton's products. Since Symantec bought him out, though, I've had too many problems with them slowing down my computers, and corrupting my operating system. Plus, I've had problems with them failing to detect some viruses that other programs caught. I'm sure a lot of people have good results with it, though, and like it.

My current favorite is PC-cilin Internet Security 2007, by Trend Micro Inc. It also takes care of spyware, and similar malware. It's available at a lot of places, including Wal-Mart, for around $30, as I recall, and can be used on up to 3 computers for the same price. With it installed on your computer, if you visit a website that installs spyware, viruses, worms, etc., it will pop up a window, warning you of the risk, and advising you to close your browser. I've only used it for a few months, but I like it a lot.

I still use CA EZ-Antivirus, by Computer Associates, on several of my computers, and it does a good job, without noticeably slowing down your computer. Updates download quickly, and it doesn't take up a lot of storage space on your computer, the way that the Symantec products do. I haven't tried Computer Associates' suites, that provide a firewall and spyware detector. They also have an anti-virus program that can be downloaded and used free for a full year, but it is for the new Vista operating system, only. If you need that URL, I can look it up for you, if you remind me.

There are probably a lot of other programs, that work well. These are just my favorites.

If you want to try freeware, here are some possibilities:

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/5390/lng/us ... virus-free

http://www.clamwin.com/content/view/18/46/

I looked at "avast", but my PC-cillin told me that it was a risky site, (that is, it downloads spyware/worms), so I can't recommend it. Or, if you want to try some others, here's a site with an extensive list of free anti-virus/firewall/spyware programs:

http://www.freebyte.com/antivirus/

I haven't tried any of these, so I can't guarantee that any of them work. I can recommend Spybot, Search & Destroy, as a free spyware detector/remover, however. I've used it for years, and it works great. The current version number is 1.4, and you can download it at their website, (click on the download icon, at the top of the page, to go to a page with download options):

http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html

If you need any help, please let me know.

Tex

JJ · Post by JJ » Sat Jun 30, 2007 12:27 pm

Thanks Tex...so if I have Spybot, I still need anti virus protection too? I downloaded something this morning...think it's Norton/Symantec via Google...it found 26 problems and removed them. What is Stopzilla...I downloaded it too...maybe I should just go buy the $30 thingy and get rid of the rest????? Will it stop pop-ups? Sorry for so many questions....there is so much to learn...sigh...TTFN...JJ

annie oakley · Post by **annie oakley** » Sat Jun 30, 2007 3:45 pm

Hi There....do you really use the spybot and do you reccomend it?
Also What is a good prgram for securtity or will spybot do the job??? I had norton free trial on this computer when I bought it, but it is expired. Love Oma

grannyh · Post by **grannyh** » Sat Jun 30, 2007 3:52 pm

I use Adaware
www.lavasoftusa.com

AVG and the new AVG spam software from
www.download.com

all are free!
grannyh

Post by **tex** » Sat Jun 30, 2007 4:20 pm

Hi Jill,

Stopzilla is a spyware remover, Adware remover, and pop-up blocker. It should take care of most threats of that type, but you still need a good anti-virus program. If you have Stopzilla, you could probably get by without Spybot, but sometimes one will find spyware that the other misses, so it doesn't hurt to have both. You can have as many spyware removal programs as you want on your computer, but you should never have more than one firewall in operation at any time, and never have more than one anti-virus program operating at any given time, especially if one of them is a Symantec program.

The problem with having Norton/Symantec programs on a laptop, is that if it swarms on you, or for any other reason you should want to uninstall it, and/or reinstall it, you cannot completely remove it from your registry, and it has a propensity for corrupting operating systems, which requires the OS to be reinstalled. IOW, if it causes problems, uninstalling it may not resolve the problem. Reinstalling the operating system on a laptop, usually requires advanced expertise that most computer users do not have. IOW, it requires repartitioning and reformatting the hard drive, and reinstalling the operating system by means of a system disk. Most laptops these days, do not even come with a system disk, which means that you have a real problem on your hands, if the computer will not boot, because of an OS problem. Also, some of them, (Dell comes to mind), use proprietary software which will prevent anyone except Dell technicians from repartitioning and reformatting the hard drive.

What was the name of the program that you downloaded from Symantec, or what is the URL? Was it supposed to be an anti-virus program? I'm not aware that Symantec offers free anti-virus downloads, so I'm guessing that if you downloaded an anti-virus program, you probably downloaded a trial version, which will probably run for something like 30 days, before requiring that it be purchased. Symantec also offers free virus checks on their website, but this is just a remote one-time virus scan.

If it was an anti-virus program, and you like the way it works, then you are set, (until the free trial period runs out). If it was not an anti-virus program, then you still need one.

As far as pop-ups are concerned, you don't need a special program for that. Almost all current browsers offer the option to block pop-ups, if you choose to do that. The problem with doing that, however, is that if you block pop-ups, you will no longer be able to receive pop-up notifications that you have a Private Message, nor various other notifications that use pop-ups to get your attention. I'm not sure, but some instant messaging services may not work correctly without pop-ups, and services such as Skype, and many other useful programs use pop-ups.

Tex

PS I see that Grannyh has made some recommendations for free software while I was writing this post. You might want to try them, since she is apparently happy with their performance, if she's recommending them.

Post by **tex** » Sat Jun 30, 2007 4:53 pm

Oma,

Yes, I really use Spybot, but it is only for removing spyware - it's not an anti-virus program. As I said in my first post above, I use either CA EZ-Antipvirus or PC-cillin to keep out viruses. They both offer suites, which also include a firewall/spyware remover/adware blocker, in addition to anti-virus protection, if you like do-all suites.

On a new computer, I also download and install PC Decrapifier, which will remove all that irritating junk that keeps popping up on a new computer, to nag you about buying it. Evidently, computer makers must think that buyers enjoy seeing that aggravating crap, because they seem to be loading new computers up with more and more of it. You can download it by clicking on the "Download" link at this site:

http://www.pcdecrapifier.com/

It won't remove anything that you need - it only targets "free trial programs", and especially those that constantly nag you about buying them. You only have to use the program one time, because it will remove them permanently. Don't use it though, if you have fallen for the sales pitch, and purchased any of those offers, because it will probably remove them anyway, even though you paid for it. It targets any programs that come with a new computer as a "free-trial" offer.

Love,
Tex

P S The first thing I do if I buy a new computer, is to uninstall any Symantec programs which might be on it, and install either CA EZ-Anti-virus, or Trend Micro PC-cillin, and Spybot, Search & Destroy.

grannyh · Post by **grannyh** » Sat Jun 30, 2007 6:23 pm

The first thing i did when I bought my laptop was to uninstall all of the Norton stuff and lost my sound icon. I also get an error every time I turn the fool computer on... sigh

I notified gateway since it was under warranty and they said it was a known problem and it is almost impossible to remove the "Norton" stuff without causing problems and they can't even get rid of all of it if I paid Best Buy to do it!
grannyh

annie oakley · Post by **annie oakley** » Sat Jun 30, 2007 6:30 pm

Thanks Tex..I will look at the site and whats offered. Love Oma

Post by **tex** » Sat Jun 30, 2007 7:19 pm

Grannyh,

Well, that certainly sucks. I've had that happen too, and it's one of the reasons why I built my last new computer from parts. I figured that doing it that way, I wouldn't have to uninstall anything. Unfortunately, I decided to upgrade to Vista, and damn if it didn't do what you described - it deactivated my sound system, and no matter what I did, I couldn't get it back. LOL. In fact, I tried it on two computers, one of them a laptop, (which I'm using right now). Rather than try to edit the registry, (since I'm not that good at it, and it can be very time consuming, and hair-raising to boot), I repartitioned the drive, and installed XP Pro, and haven't had any problems since, with either computer.

If you want to try to eliminate that boot error, and you're sort of handy with geeky stuff, you can probably find the problem and eliminate it by clicking Start, then Run, and typing msconfig into the window that opens, and clicking the "OK" button. That will open the System Configuration Utility. Look at the tabs at the top, and select the "Startup" tab. If you see any Symantec or Norton program names in the list of startup programs there, uncheck them, click okay, and then reboot your computer to see if that solved the problem.

If it didn't, open the "Services" tab, and look for Symantec or Norton program names there. If you find any, de-select them, and "OK" it, and try rebooting again to see if that solves the problem. You can also de-select all services, and reboot, to see if your problem is somewhere in that list. If you do that, though, use the "Disable All" button - do NOT, under any circumstances, disable all of them manually, because some of the services on this list absolutely have to run, or the computer will not boot. To see which ones, click the "Disable All" button, and then look at the list to see which ones are still checked to run. You might want to make a note of those, if you decide to do any wholesale disabling, by manual means.

Actually, it's much easier to do this if you download a utility that will allow you to do things like expand the window, so that you can more easily see the program details. An excellent program for doing things like this is WinPatrol, and it will allow you to do wondrous things with the programs that operate in the background on your computer. It also comes in handy for spotting unauthorized programs, (spyware), that might be in your startup menu, or somewhere else on your computer. If your spyware detection programs fail to detect a program, you still locate it this way. You can download WinPatrol at:

http://www.winpatrol.com/download.html

It's absolutely incredible how many programs are running in the background on most computers - they number in the hundreds, if you have many applications installed. Microsoft also offers a free download utility that will allow you to do pretty much the same things as WinPatrol, but I don't have that URL on this computer, and the site is very difficult to locate on the web, (at least I haven't had much luck searching for it). I'll post it later, when I get to one of my desktop computers.

Tex

P S The possibility also exists that one of the programs that you need in order to load your sound icon has somehow been de-selected for loading, and if it has, you will be able to see that in the list of "Services", or "Startup" programs. Generally, every item on those lists should be checked, unless you, (or someone else), have manually de-selected them.

P P S If the "corrupt" command is not in the "Startup" or "Services" list, it is probably in either the "System.ini" or "Win.ini" files. These can be edited also, but you have to kinda know what you're doing, as any mistake in any of these files is likely to prevent the computer from booting. Also, rather than to edit out a command, it's much safer to "comment" it out, IOW, convert it into a "Comment" that the computer will ignore during the boot process. You can "Comment" it out by adding a semi-colon, (;), in front of the line. If you should want to try to do this, and you want some guidance, just let me know - I'll be happy to help in any way I can.

Post by **tex** » Sat Jun 30, 2007 8:33 pm

Grannyh,

Here's the link to that other utility that I promised:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysint ... oruns.mspx

The download link is toward the bottom of the page. This is for Microsoft technicians, and it's far superior to using the built-in msconfig utility.

Tex

grannyh · Post by **grannyh** » Sat Jun 30, 2007 8:48 pm

Thank you for the links!

I tried turning the sound back on.. but it was already on according to the check box. I undid the check and redid it..no help...

So I found a link that tested the sound system and made a shortcut on my desktop.. the icon isn't in the tray but at least it brings up the sound stuff so I can use it.

My latest problem happened last weekend. I was using my laptop to copy files from a cd. I had just finished when we had a power outage.. lasted only seconds and the laptop seemed to continue to work fine.

I removed the cd and shut the computer down... 5 hours later the computer would not start..kept asking for the boot cd! I don't have a boot CD.. somehow it remembered the cd I had been using before the power blip but it was NOT a boot cd and when I put it in the drive... that would not allow the computer to work either.

Went into the bios and sure enought the boot drive had been changed to the CD drive. why I do not know... all is well now but it was a pain til I figured out what was wrong:)
grannyh

Post by **tex** » Sat Jun 30, 2007 10:07 pm

Hey, you're a pretty good geek. As you've found, there's usually more than one way to skin a cat, especially if it's Bill Gate's cat. LOL.

Computers do weird things sometimes. I've had my boot drive mysteriously changed too, before, and like you say, it's a real PITA until you figure it out.

You could probably qualify as a computer support technician - you're better at solving problems than a lot of those guys. If it isn't in the manual, some of those so-called professionals are lost, and most of the really tough problems, aren't in the manual.

If you want to add an icon to the system tray for that shortcut that you have created, you should be able to do it with this little program, (it's free), called BeTrayed:

http://www.brothersoft.com/utilities/sy ... 33680.html

This should work for applications, URLS, folders, files - anything you want to add to the system tray.

Tex

grannyh · Post by **grannyh** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 8:52 am

WOW, THANKS! Never knew there was something that would put things in the system tray:) Usually I make do with whatever workaround I manage to come up with..LOL

I know more than the average old lady about computers.. learned when I found out how much it costs to get them "repaired". In the old days I would just format the hard drive and start over .... never had to get help after that..LOL
grannyh

MICROSCOPIC COLITIS SUPPORT

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