Hey all, I've missed you guys. I picked up 2 computer viruses (through a spyware scan) a week ago and have been computerless ever since. After about 8 hours on the phone with Norton and about 3 hours with Dell, I was worse off than I was with the viruses (but I did learn the Bombay dialect). I finally said @#$% with it and replaced the 4 year old computer.Still setting it up and trying to learn Vista, but I'll be back soon!
Ontrack,
Hoping you get back "on track" soon... :o :o :o
Arcs_n_Sparks
Thanks arcs-I've missed this site more than any other...I never thought a computer was such a must have until I went a week without one. Now I just gotta figure this Vista thing out... ::)
I can relate Ontrack. I have 2 systems at home and another 7 at the office to look after. It seems as though there is never a month that goes by with out something breaking or at least not functioning the way it should.
Good to have you back.... naaa I cant repeat Arcs line! ;)
Mike
Hang in there Ontrack !
Coyote
Sorry to hear about your problem. Do you recall what viruses you got? It's gotten to a point, that I have so much protection, it's beginning to slow down my Internet performance.
What operating system were you using? Since it looks like you are at a point were you would need to reformat the hard drive and do a new install anyway, if you were running XP I would keep the old computer just to have a second one on hand.
Ontrack, I bought a new computer a year ago. I went from windows 98 to vista ultimate. Vista seems OK to me.
Brad
Thanks for the support, guys. I was running XP and and doing a weekly update on Spybot Search and Destroy. I've had this anti-spyware program for several years, and have had a virus "sneak" through it before, but Norton caught it. Not this time..I got the Trojan.vundo virus and a second one which I can't remeber the name of. I know several people in my area who have Norton and have gotten viruses in the past couple of weeks. Habs, I thought I was "overprotected" and slowing down, too. When I let Rajib from Bombay Norton take control of my computer, he screwed up more than he fixed, and Dell support was only slightly better. So, be careful out there guys, the gremlins are lurking... >:(
Quote from: Ontrack on January 09, 2008, 08:17:54 PM
Thanks arcs-I've missed this site more than any other...I never thought a computer was such a must have until I went a week without one. Now I just gotta figure this Vista thing out... ::)
I'm in the same boat Ontrack!!! Had to buy a new laptop a couple of weeks ago and now I have to learn Vista. Keep me posted will you. I've already found out Vista doesn't work to well with a lot of the accessories I try to plug on to it. It took me five tries to find a USB to serial port adaptor that would work with it for loading channels into my sat receiver boxes.
I guess I'm sort of an old dog - new trick sort of guy even though I was never any good at learning tricks to begin with!!! :D
Good luck.
Pat
Hey Pat, I'm an "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" kind of guy, but it was so I did. Well, actually I replaced instead of fixed. I have heard some stories about Vista being very "uncompatible", but I guess I'll cross that bridge...So far I've pretty much figured out the basics, but I'm sure it'll get complicated as I get more advanced. I'll let you know if I find any valuable secrets, and please do the same for me! :)
I bought the Mrs. a new laptop for Christmas and had them put XP on it because of the things I had heard about Vista. I have been very happy with the XP laptop, no problems getting it on my network, etc. I now have 3 computers in my house and I am trying to decide on my virus software. I really don't want to pay 3 Norton anual subscriptions. A friend of mine told me about some virus software that allows you to register 3 computers. It gets high ratings on consumer reports but I can't remember the name. I always hate it when I first upgrade computers. Usually takes me about a month just to get it all set up how I like it. Hope you get it all figured out On track!
Thanks, bigred. I got the he!! away from Norton this time and went with McAfee. My sister-in-law was telling me about her virus protection on 3 home computers, but I can't remember the name of it. I'd actually never heard of it, but she said all of the computer mags had it rated #1. I get McAfee's $120 package free through Comcast, so I thought I'd give it a try. Couldn't be much worse than what I had...
If you guys remember the virus protection for 3 let me know. I don't want to pay triple either.
I will find out tomorrow and let you guys know.
I use AVG. It seems to works well with Vista. I have not had a virus. It has blocked some but nothing is perfect.
Brad
I've heard of AVG, Brad, but I don't believe that the one I've been hearing about. Could be, though, memory sure isn't what it used to be... :P
I also use the AVG free version and have for a number of years. I have never had a problem with it and it's not a memory hog either. Here is a link to the free version:
http://free.grisoft.com/
Mike
If the AV software were perfect, the manufacturers wouldn't doing a good job of paying for the virus creators to come up with more viruses. They would need to create updates for perfect software and they would loose that money they charge the consumer for weekly protection. How do you think they have the fixes so fast? What takes them longer is when their competitors creat the virus, they don't already have the source code fix. :)
ZoneAlarm Security Suite Pro, by Check Point Software allows you to install on three computers, at least the last time I paid a subscription. It costs $50 per year. I was just on the website and it looks like the license for 3 computers may now be a limited offer (whatever that means). I no longer have to pay for it because my DSL provider provides it for free. I've been using their firewall for years. About three years ago I added their security suite, because I was having too many problems with Norton. Norton was really bogging down my machine, and I was getting too many infections.
ZoneAlarm used to be hard to set up, and when they first introduced the security suite, they rushed the product and it was full of bugs. They learned their lesson and now they have made a lot of improvements, have a good product which is very consumer friendly.
http://www.zonealarm.com/store/content/catalog/products/sku_list.jsp
Trend Micro offers the 3 pc option on their software. They got high reviews on consumer reports and in a lot of the trade mags. The new software and 1 year of their internet security pro version is like 69.95. Best buys also carry the product but not sure of the price.
Terry
Thanks for the reply guys. Looks like I've got some research ahead of me. I did find out last night that MTA my provider does offer some type of virus protection program. I didn't think of them before. I guess it's worth a call to see what they have though.
Trend-that's the one I was talking about yesterday. I knew somebody would come up with the answer...
Quote from: Ontrack on January 11, 2008, 01:03:50 PM
Trend-that's the one I was talking about yesterday. I knew somebody would come up with the answer...
Did you figure out where spell check is when you typing on the forum. I'm lost on this one. Understand I am not a computer type person so bear with me.
OnTrack was refering to the brandname of Trend Micro mentioned by Bigredsmoker on the anti-virus software that is licensed for multiple computers at home.
I hope that is what you were referring to Ice.
Iceman, I don't care if you spell shi^ with a capital R. You have always and will always be a hero of mine.
Thanks Gizmo, I need all the help I can get...