"Larry Blanchard" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Tim Taylor wrote:
>
>> What anti virus do you all use? Seems my Symantec product wants me to
>> send
>> them some more money for another year. Seriously considering the free
>> AVG.
>>
>
> Linux.
>
> --
> It's turtles, all the way down
Believe me, I've seriously thought about that!!!! Or a Mac.
Tim Taylor wrote:
> "CW" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:RDc%[email protected]...
> > If enough people go that way, they will have just as much virus problem.
> > Viruses are written for maximum effect. That means Windows.
>
> Yea I realize that, but it seems to me Mac users along with Linux users are
> among the minority, at least for now. So, that's why I'm leaning away from
> Mr. Gates' and the popular Windows theme.
IIUC Windows has always eschewed Code-Data separation.
That results in orders of magnitude more security 'holes' than
in software written to 1980 industry standards.
--
FF
CW wrote:
> No doubt about it as anyone that has tried to uninstall Norton will attest
> to.
Gah, no kidding. Took me a year to finally clean all that crap off my
old desktop.
AVG is good, especially used in conjunction like AdAware. Though I've
given it up in favor of something better. As much as I liked AVG, I
found it bogged down my computer more than I cared for. Granted, my
laptop isn't the best in the world, but it's not exactly a weak
machine. I'm using Prevx (www.prevx.com) now. It makes AVG look like
Norton. Doesn't bog down the system resources, their virus database is
updated about every ten minutes (you can do a Google search for the
filename and many times Prevx's online database is the only info on a
virus too new to show up elsewhere), it remembers what choices you pick
on certain programs so it doesn't try to authenticate everything you
start unless you tell it to (AVG and I had a little "discussion" about
its tendency to ignore my input), and I've found it to be a lot more
effective.
Earlier this year I got smacked with a Trojan. AVG and AdAware
recognized it, but were unable to do anything about it. As soon as they
tried to remove it, the damned thing kicked into action and shut both
programs down. Even worse, the Trojan propagated itself and the new
programs would change their file name to appear to be legitimate
processes. I spent almost a week going insane from this. I happened to
find Prevx's web site when I searched for a virus filename; in fact,
Prevx was the only thing that had shown up. By this time, the new
viruses were too new to be recognized by AVG or AdAware (or anyone
else).
Prevx was able to isolate all the viruses from the rest of the system
and eliminate them completely on the first try. I still ran it a few
times along with AVG and AdAware because by then I was paranoid, but
all the subsequent scannings resulted in no viruses.
Prevx scans your system on startup, when a new application opens,
updates itself frequently (though not anywhere near as annoying as
Norton or Windows Update reminders since it doesn't require a computer
restart and doesn't bog the system down), and can be used in
conjunction with any other antivirus software you have (i.e. it doesn't
get all conflicty and cranky like McAfee did to me). it's got a very
easy to use interface and lots of settings that can go anywhere from
"ah use teh computars" to "i program computers." The only thing is for
some reaosn, Windows does not recognize it as an antivirus program so
it will occasionally remind me that not only have I blasphemed by
turning off my firewall, but now I have no antivirus program. Windows
is an idiot.
You do have to pay for Prevx. It's all of $20 a year. They also give
you a 30 day, fully functional trial, which is why I was initially
impressed. Most other pay antivirus programs tell you there's a virus
but won't do anything about it during the trial period.
So anyway, that's my little story and recommendation. I've been so
thrilled with it that I tell anyone who asks for antivirus help. I just
wish I got a commission.
Also, I'm a previous (and current) Mac user. Two years ago I started
using Windows computers (business purposes) and have gotten one hell of
a crash course in how to deal with viruses.
-k
Prometheus wrote:
> ...
>
> As an aside- if the Linux world could get better at providing
> documentation with the programs (and perhaps it has, I haven't messed
> with it in a couple of years) it would be a lot more accessable. The
> thing that turned me off it was downloading a program and finding that
> it had no manual or installation instructions. Fine for basic stuff,
> I'm sure, but a lot of them wanted specific extensions when untarring,
> etc. Without any documentation, there was a lot of frustration
> involved in what should have been very simple tasks. Probably second
> nature to a Unix guy, but a steep learning curve that requires a lot
> of arcane knowledge for the average end-user.
Well FWIW I've downloaded Windows programs and found they
had no documentaion or 'tautological' documentation--e.g. "the
copy command is used to copy files form one location to another."
What is really needed is an easy-to-use user interface and there
are a few.
Indeed, IIUC, Apple's newer OS is a GUI built on top of Linux.
Port that to PCs and you're in business.
--
FF
[email protected] wrote:
>
> Tim Taylor wrote:
>> "CW" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:RDc%[email protected]...
>> > If enough people go that way, they will have just as much virus problem.
>> > Viruses are written for maximum effect. That means Windows.
>>
>> Yea I realize that, but it seems to me Mac users along with Linux users are
>> among the minority, at least for now. So, that's why I'm leaning away from
>> Mr. Gates' and the popular Windows theme.
>
It'll be a cold day in you know where before Linux takes over from Windoze.
The amount of additional knowledge required to properly maintain a Linux
system will always be a deterrent to most. Not that it's hard to learn, but
it requires more effort than many are willing to give.
> IIUC Windows has always eschewed Code-Data separation.
> That results in orders of magnitude more security 'holes' than
> in software written to 1980 industry standards.
>
Agreed. Unless you can get root/admin permissions on any Unix-ish system,
it's difficult to destroy very much. Of course, that implies that the system
was set up to take advantage of the security features.
--
It's turtles, all the way down
On Mon, 23 Oct 2006 18:00:06 -0400, "Tim Taylor"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>What anti virus do you all use? Seems my Symantec product wants me to send
>them some more money for another year. Seriously considering the free AVG.
>
>
There are three good free for home use anti-virus products:
Avira AntiVir - My preferred anti-virus. It updates automatically
almost every day and can be set to do full scans on a schedule. It
does open a splash screen when it updates and this annoys some people.
I don't mind it as I know I got an update if it happened while I
wasn't at my computer.
AVG Antivirus - used this before AntiVir. Has been since updated.
Avast - haven't used this, but gets high praise from that do.
All three of these free packages get high marks from users and
reviewers. I wouldn't touch Norton with your ten foot pole. It was
once a good program, but now-a-days, it seems to cause almost as many
problems as it prevents.
HTH
Bill
"Tim Taylor" <[email protected]> wrote in news:-
[email protected]:
>
> "Larry Blanchard" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
*snip*
>>
>> Linux.
>>
>
> Believe me, I've seriously thought about that!!!! Or a Mac.
>
>
Go with OS/2. You can attempt the same things people attempt now, and
since it's so unpopular you don't have to worry about viruses!
Puckdropper
--
Wise is the man who attempts to answer his question before asking it.
To email me directly, send a message to puckdropper (at) fastmail.fm
"Leon" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:Hyf%[email protected]:
>
> "CW" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:oOd%[email protected]...
>
>>
>> No doubt about it as anyone that has tried to uninstall Norton will
>> attest to.
>
>
> I don't think NAV has anything over AOL. LOL...
>
>
>
I treat them about the same when removing them: FORMAT C: /S
Puckdropper
--
Wise is the man who attempts to answer his question before asking it.
To email me directly, send a message to puckdropper (at) fastmail.fm
"CW" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:RDc%[email protected]...
> If enough people go that way, they will have just as much virus problem.
> Viruses are written for maximum effect. That means Windows.
Yea I realize that, but it seems to me Mac users along with Linux users are
among the minority, at least for now. So, that's why I'm leaning away from
Mr. Gates' and the popular Windows theme.
"Kat Burright" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> CW wrote:
>> No doubt about it as anyone that has tried to uninstall Norton will
>> attest
>> to.
>
> Gah, no kidding. Took me a year to finally clean all that crap off my
> old desktop.
>
> AVG is good, especially used in conjunction like AdAware. Though I've
> given it up in favor of something better. As much as I liked AVG, I
> found it bogged down my computer more than I cared for. Granted, my
> laptop isn't the best in the world, but it's not exactly a weak
> machine. I'm using Prevx (www.prevx.com) now. It makes AVG look like
> Norton. Doesn't bog down the system resources, their virus database is
> updated about every ten minutes (you can do a Google search for the
> filename and many times Prevx's online database is the only info on a
> virus too new to show up elsewhere), it remembers what choices you pick
> on certain programs so it doesn't try to authenticate everything you
> start unless you tell it to (AVG and I had a little "discussion" about
> its tendency to ignore my input), and I've found it to be a lot more
> effective.
>
> Earlier this year I got smacked with a Trojan. AVG and AdAware
> recognized it, but were unable to do anything about it. As soon as they
> tried to remove it, the damned thing kicked into action and shut both
> programs down. Even worse, the Trojan propagated itself and the new
> programs would change their file name to appear to be legitimate
> processes. I spent almost a week going insane from this. I happened to
> find Prevx's web site when I searched for a virus filename; in fact,
> Prevx was the only thing that had shown up. By this time, the new
> viruses were too new to be recognized by AVG or AdAware (or anyone
> else).
>
> Prevx was able to isolate all the viruses from the rest of the system
> and eliminate them completely on the first try. I still ran it a few
> times along with AVG and AdAware because by then I was paranoid, but
> all the subsequent scannings resulted in no viruses.
>
> Prevx scans your system on startup, when a new application opens,
> updates itself frequently (though not anywhere near as annoying as
> Norton or Windows Update reminders since it doesn't require a computer
> restart and doesn't bog the system down), and can be used in
> conjunction with any other antivirus software you have (i.e. it doesn't
> get all conflicty and cranky like McAfee did to me). it's got a very
> easy to use interface and lots of settings that can go anywhere from
> "ah use teh computars" to "i program computers." The only thing is for
> some reaosn, Windows does not recognize it as an antivirus program so
> it will occasionally remind me that not only have I blasphemed by
> turning off my firewall, but now I have no antivirus program. Windows
> is an idiot.
>
> You do have to pay for Prevx. It's all of $20 a year. They also give
> you a 30 day, fully functional trial, which is why I was initially
> impressed. Most other pay antivirus programs tell you there's a virus
> but won't do anything about it during the trial period.
>
> So anyway, that's my little story and recommendation. I've been so
> thrilled with it that I tell anyone who asks for antivirus help. I just
> wish I got a commission.
>
> Also, I'm a previous (and current) Mac user. Two years ago I started
> using Windows computers (business purposes) and have gotten one hell of
> a crash course in how to deal with viruses.
>
Thank you for that recommendation. I will definitely check it out.
I have been having some problems with some redirect adware. Throwing several
spyware packages, windows defender (which keeps telling me that everything
is OK), and AVG (which also gives me an OK) I managed to stop the redirects
from going to the ad pages. But I still get redirected to a blank page.
Thus losing the original page I wanted.
Although I am generally happy with AVG, it is a resource hog when it comes
to checking my email from the spam buffer. My spam filter software directs
all email to a separate location to be filtered. Only authorized email ends
up on my reader. AVG will really bog down and will sometimes take twenty
minutes on a single email before just giving up on it.
All the time this is happening, I cannot send emails or newsreader posts. I
suppose I could change spam filters. But once it is trained, it is the best
spam filter I have found. It is a little hands on heavy at first. But when
it is tuned, it works wonderfully. I am getting about 98% spam filtered
right now. The spam filter is Spam Slueth and the URL is
(http://www.bluesquirrel.com/products/spamsleuth/). I should point out when
heavy filtering is done like I am doing that many first emails will not get
through. I just go to the buffer, review everything and if I want to make
somebody a friend, I can do so. Not a big thing to do when removing
literally hundreds of spam messages a week.
Anyway, thanks for the heads up on Prevx. I will be checking it out.
Lee Michaels
"Tim Taylor" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> What anti virus do you all use? Seems my Symantec product wants me to send
> them some more money for another year. Seriously considering the free AVG.
>
>
NOD32 on my laptop
Norton on my desktop. It would be NOD32 everywhere if Norton were not so
difficult to remove. Maybe if I start a month or so in advance, I can get
Norton exorcised.
Jim
>
"CW" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:oOd%[email protected]...
>
> No doubt about it as anyone that has tried to uninstall Norton will attest
> to.
I don't think NAV has anything over AOL. LOL...
If enough people go that way, they will have just as much virus problem.
Viruses are written for maximum effect. That means Windows.
"Tim Taylor" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Believe me, I've seriously thought about that!!!! Or a Mac.
>
>
"Tim Taylor" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> What anti virus do you all use? Seems my Symantec product wants me to send
> them some more money for another year. Seriously considering the free AVG.
>
Yeah, free AVG. That's what we use, seems to work well, two years running.
"Tim Taylor" wrote in message ...
> What anti virus do you all use? Seems my Symantec product wants me to send
> them some more money for another year. Seriously considering the free AVG.
AVG ... but all anti-virus software is is more or less a virus itself,
albeit friendly.
--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 10/22/06
Always had Norton never had a problem. Latest seems great find everything I
don't want but a bit of a pain in the ass to get up with out it asking
questions. Yahoo offers a discount. Best to get CD then you can always have
it instead of a file downloaded.
"Puckdropper" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Tim Taylor" <[email protected]> wrote in news:-
> [email protected]:
>
>>
>> "Larry Blanchard" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:[email protected]...
>
> *snip*
>
>>>
>>> Linux.
>>>
>>
>> Believe me, I've seriously thought about that!!!! Or a Mac.
>>
>>
>
> Go with OS/2. You can attempt the same things people attempt now, and
> since it's so unpopular you don't have to worry about viruses!
>
> Puckdropper
> --
> Wise is the man who attempts to answer his question before asking it.
>
> To email me directly, send a message to puckdropper (at) fastmail.fm
I have used AVG Professional version for several years.
Pay a little each year. It has saved my machine several times.
I have been very happy with it.
http://www.grisoft.com/doc/1
CC
"Tim Taylor" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> What anti virus do you all use? Seems my Symantec product wants me to send
> them some more money for another year. Seriously considering the free AVG.
>
>
>
On Mon, 23 Oct 2006 18:00:06 -0400, "Tim Taylor"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>What anti virus do you all use? Seems my Symantec product wants me to send
>them some more money for another year. Seriously considering the free AVG.
Didn't use any for a while- just checked the registry periodically,
and used the Symantec site's free instructions for manually removing
viruses. After a few that were particularly tough, I switched to AVG,
and it works fine.
Couldn't pay me to have Norton or McAfee. Tried them both, and they
were worse than viruses with the amount of crap they ran on the
systems.
If you do go the AVG route, it pays to download something like SpyBot
(also free, last time I checked) to remove spyware and adware. Don't
recall if the big two mentioned above check for those or not, but AVG
does not. A lot of times, spyware is worse than a virus- at least in
terms of annoyance and system drain.
On Tue, 24 Oct 2006 21:18:47 -0700, Mark & Juanita <[email protected]>
wrote:
Note grammatical corrections (can't believe I did that!)
> One of the things that really pushed me was when I had to re-load my OS
>several months ago and the absolute pain of having to reinstall every
>application despite the fact that those apps were still present on the hard
>drive, they just didn't exist in the registry. Wouldn't have been an issue
>with a unix system -- just making sure the paths were correct and that if
>needed, the apprpriate license manager is running, and your back in
>business.
That should have said:
appropriate license
you're back in business
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
If you're gonna be dumb, you better be tough
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
On Tue, 24 Oct 2006 08:17:59 -0700, Larry Blanchard <[email protected]>
wrote:
>[email protected] wrote:
>
>>
>> Tim Taylor wrote:
>>> "CW" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>>> news:RDc%[email protected]...
>>> > If enough people go that way, they will have just as much virus problem.
>>> > Viruses are written for maximum effect. That means Windows.
>>>
>>> Yea I realize that, but it seems to me Mac users along with Linux users are
>>> among the minority, at least for now. So, that's why I'm leaning away from
>>> Mr. Gates' and the popular Windows theme.
>>
>
>It'll be a cold day in you know where before Linux takes over from Windoze.
>The amount of additional knowledge required to properly maintain a Linux
>system will always be a deterrent to most. Not that it's hard to learn, but
>it requires more effort than many are willing to give.
>
Given the apparent plans for Windows Vista as far as code activation and
other "Big Brother" features in that code, as well as the tightening grip
of the new Office document format ("all your data are belong to us"); it is
very possible that MSoft is going to start pushing people over the edge
into the Linux world. I know that I will be very seriously looking at
Linux for my next machine -- the only three apps that I have a problem with
will be Mind Manager, Quicken, and TurboCAD. Everything else, there are
alternatives in Linux. There may be Linux alternatives for Quicken, I just
haven't looked very hard yet since I'm a ways off from having to upgrade
computer systems.
One of the things that really pushed me was when I had to re-load my OS
several months ago and the absolute pain of having to reinstall every
application despite the fact that those apps were still present on the hard
drive, they just didn't exist in the registry. Wouldn't have been an issue
with a unix system -- just making sure the paths were correct and that if
needed, the apprpriate license manager is running, and your back in
business.
Good reads at www.gripe2ed.com
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
If you're gonna be dumb, you better be tough
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
On Mon, 23 Oct 2006 18:00:06 -0400, "Tim Taylor" <[email protected]>
wrote:
>What anti virus do you all use? Seems my Symantec product wants me to send
>them some more money for another year. Seriously considering the free AVG.
>
>
Been using AVG on one machine and Avast! Anti-virus on two other
machines. Both seem to work well, for no quantifiable reason, I'm more
inclined toward Avast!
www.avast.com
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
If you're gonna be dumb, you better be tough
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
"Swingman" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Tim Taylor" wrote in message ...
> > What anti virus do you all use? Seems my Symantec product wants me to
send
> > them some more money for another year. Seriously considering the free
AVG.
>
> AVG ... but all anti-virus software is is more or less a virus itself,
> albeit friendly.
No doubt about it as anyone that has tried to uninstall Norton will attest
to.
>
> --
> www.e-woodshop.net
> Last update: 10/22/06
>
>
>
On Tue, 24 Oct 2006 08:17:59 -0700, Larry Blanchard
<[email protected]> wrote:
>[email protected] wrote:
>
>>
>> Tim Taylor wrote:
>>> "CW" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>>> news:RDc%[email protected]...
>>> > If enough people go that way, they will have just as much virus problem.
>>> > Viruses are written for maximum effect. That means Windows.
>>>
>>> Yea I realize that, but it seems to me Mac users along with Linux users are
>>> among the minority, at least for now. So, that's why I'm leaning away from
>>> Mr. Gates' and the popular Windows theme.
>>
>
>It'll be a cold day in you know where before Linux takes over from Windoze.
>The amount of additional knowledge required to properly maintain a Linux
>system will always be a deterrent to most. Not that it's hard to learn, but
>it requires more effort than many are willing to give.
As an aside- if the Linux world could get better at providing
documentation with the programs (and perhaps it has, I haven't messed
with it in a couple of years) it would be a lot more accessable. The
thing that turned me off it was downloading a program and finding that
it had no manual or installation instructions. Fine for basic stuff,
I'm sure, but a lot of them wanted specific extensions when untarring,
etc. Without any documentation, there was a lot of frustration
involved in what should have been very simple tasks. Probably second
nature to a Unix guy, but a steep learning curve that requires a lot
of arcane knowledge for the average end-user.
If that was straightened out, I might consider using linux on one of
my machines- but for now, windows is just fine.