Originally Posted By chickendumpling So what should I be using? I'm feeling kinda naked out here with just Norton 360. What do you guys use? Help! Thanks.
Originally Posted By hopemax We have McAfee which we paid for. Then Ad-Aware, Spybot and SpywareBlaster which DH runs every weekend.
Originally Posted By avromark After the free period of Norton, I'd go with AVG Anti-Virus (Free and more frequent updates, uses less memory). Ad-Aware SE, Spybot Search and Destroy, AVG Anti-Spyware (download off grisoft.com, not download.com for this one) are good to use. Also surf with Mozilla Firefox, not Internet Explorer. Good luck Chicky Darlin'!
Originally Posted By chickendumpling Thanks for the quick response guys! I love LP. And thanks for the tip about not downloading off of download.com avromark. Where should I download the other stuff from? I just downloaded Firefox and can I just say WHOA! The font is HUGE! LOL. (And very cute calling me Chicky Darlin' to make up for all the "c_dump" stuff! LOL! You are IMPOSSIBLE!) (sorry for sidebar everyone - we don't have PM's here.)
Originally Posted By avromark You can download those off download.com, including AVG Anti-Virus, it's just much easier to get AVG Anti-Spyware off grisoft.com (download.com doesn't even list it) If you like you can always try www.tucows.com , tucows allows you to choose the download site closest to you. After awhile you'll find what gets to you fastest. For example for me it's a site in West Coast not East (where I am) Canada. If you want to download directly try AVG-Anti-Virus, AVG Anti-Spyware. www.grisoft.com -> downloads (2nd from left under the banner), under Home and Small Office. Like hopemax said I'd run the scans weekly (say quick scan setting) then bi-monthly I'd do a complete system scan. Of course you should adjust this to what feels "right" to you. For Spybot Search & Destroy <a href="http://tucows.com/preview/310138" target="_blank">http://tucows.com/preview/3101 38</a> After updating, don't forget to "immunize" and click on all the block (for IE, for Opera) under the immunize tab. For Ad-Aware SE <a href="http://tucows.com/preview/236049" target="_blank">http://tucows.com/preview/2360 49</a> Oh and if you want to make the font smaller in firefox, go to the View Menu, then text size, voila you can now select a smaller font. I'd customize firefox by right clicking on the Toolbar, move the buttons and address bar up to the same level as the file menus, I'd put the new tab and new window buttons to the left of the address bar. Then I'd hide everything else. Then I'd select show small fonts. You'll now have a bigger window area with easy access to all the important functions you use.
Originally Posted By chickendumpling Okay. The spybot licensing agreement is freaking me out! lol. Is this for real?
Originally Posted By avromark Yeah, did you ever read the Windows Vista licensing agreement? Many people use Spybot. But it's your call whether you choose to use it or alternative programs. Only you can decide what's best for you. Good luck CD, (I still own LPs as well ) LP's own CD our musical member.
Originally Posted By chickendumpling Well, I went ahead and installed Spybot and AVG as well as SpywareDoctor which an IT friend of mine recommended. So now I'm running that, Norton and Spybot. I uninstalled AVG because right after I installed it I started having all sorts of problems including 2 blue screen warnings that had me a little worried. Anybody else ever have problems with AVG? I'm kinda worried that the blue screen of death warnings are being caused by something else that I haven't figured out yet. My computer is only 8 months old, how can it be messing up already? Ugh.
Originally Posted By chickendumpling Oh, and SpywareBlaster too. I had to uninstall that too because my computer started freaking out after I downloaded it. I must've done something wrong. I really do appreciate the suggestions you guys made about what to run and I don't understand why I had problems with them.
Originally Posted By ShivaThDestroyer I was trying to stay out of this because I work on too many computers. I finally stopped fixing them for friends and co-workers for free and now ask for a small donation to Team Disney's MS site. The "computer repair" business hasn't slowed down too much but at least some money is going towards a good cause. It wasn't too long ago that I dealt more with hardware issues. Now, the vast majority have either viruses or spyware. I have a certain resistance to internet security programs that take control of too much of your system and also slow it way down. A good anti-virus program like Kapersky or Norton and anti-spyware progies like Spybot, HijackThis! and Ad-Aware are adequate for my needs. I'm very careful about what sites I visit and don't click on links I don't recognise. If all else fails, I keep a Ghost image of my "C" drive handy and can restore my system in a very short time. Sadly, all it takes is one wrong click and many bad things can happen. One last thing, I just love the name chickendumpling. It's so cute! ºoº
Originally Posted By roberts1398 Chicken -- I've used Adaware and Spybot for a number of years. They're great, and each usually finds something the other missed.
Originally Posted By avromark Well it may be some software/driver issue... (This is where the Mac fans here will point out Windows is "funny". @ Home & Work I have Acer's, White Boxes, Dell's, IBM's, HP's and Compaqs and have had many issues. Some things are easier to diagnose sitting in front of your system. Just too many variables/combinations of hardware/software/problems for a general answer.
Originally Posted By ShivaThDestroyer <<Some things are easier to diagnose sitting in front of your system. Just too many variables/combinations of hardware/software/problems for a general answer.>> truer words were never spoken. I get asked those kinds of questions everyday and I'd rather have 5 minutes in front of thier machines than the long drawn out stories by less advanced users. chickendumpling, I'm going out on a limb here because I might have missed something. You never said whether or not you uninstalled Norton 360 prior to installing AVG. Multiple AV programs running simultaniously generaly interfere with each other and the shared resources might have been what was causing the "blue screen of death" warnings.
Originally Posted By ShivaThDestroyer avromark, like you said..<<Some things are easier to diagnose sitting in front of your system>> I wasn't really clear on what AVG program or combination of programs she installed. I do however have certain opinions about the malicious users who write and spread viruses and spyware. (not fit for this gentle forum)
Originally Posted By chickendumpling <<I just love the name chickendumpling. It's so cute! ºoº>> Aw gee, thanks. I like your name too - reminds me of a nickname we had for my daughter when she was little (she had a penchant for knocking down other kids lego towers! LOL. Good thing she was so well-liked cause they'd a smacked her if she weren't.) And yes, avromark is right I was referring to AVG anti-spyware. I had Norton first and never uninstalled it when I installed any of the other programs. I don't think I even shut it off. I got a bad pool caller once and then, again tonight, I was greeted by the blue screen and the word BIOS. That ain't good. LOL. I made sure all my photos were uploaded to Shutterfly just in case...
Originally Posted By bloona I use the free AVG and the AVG anti syware too, always been very impressed. I had PC Cillin, I didnt like that, it kept saying someone was trying to hack into my files, I spent the whole time worried ...lol
Originally Posted By avromark When you install anything right click on Norton and disable "until reboot" Norton is famous for messing up and hanging installations of any software (Ie, Office, Games etc). I like AVG anti-virus updates more often, uses less memory then Norton and is free to boot. Win-win to me
Originally Posted By ShivaThDestroyer chickendumpling, this is starting to sound more like a hardware related issue than software. Pool errors are most commonly caused by driver conflicts (especially when using USB ports), bad ram or faulty connections inside the PC. I think I would do the easy things first. Try downloading Memtest86 (www.memtest86.com/download.html) and see if it finds any bad memory. If it doesn't, then disconnect any USB cables from the tower and see if that helps, if the problem persists, crack the case and look for any PC cards that might not be fully seated in the slots and any ribbon cables and power plugs that might not be all the way in. If the problem does go away by unplugging the USB cables, determine what devices they go to, uninstall the software/drivers, follow arvomark's instructions about disabling your AV program and reinstall the software/drivers. I would re-install one USB device at a time and test the system in hope of determining the problem child. You may also want to check on-line for more current versions of the drivers. If you still have further episodes of the "blue screen of death" write the Microsoft error code down and post it on this thread. Good Luck!! I still think you have the cutest name on LP : )
