Just downloaded and installed the McAfee 30 day trial...

[W1GUH]

Been condom-less too long...it was time to rectify. Picked it solely because it was the only name I recognized amongst MS's suggestions. Anything in particular I should check-out or be aware of during the trial? Don't have to pay for a month.

Thanks!

[N2CHX]

Avast. :)

[KA9MOT]

Avast. :)

Yes! And it's free!

[N2CHX]

Yes! And it's free!

Yep. You couldn't pay me to use McAfee. Epic bloatware. I used to use AVG but then it started to become bloated so I switched to Avast for the few machines I have that run Windows.

[KA9MOT]

I used to swear Norton was the best thing since peanutbutter. Thankfully I edumicated myself!

[W1GUH]

Thanks! And I DID get a strong impression that McAfee was bloatware...thanks for the second opinion.

And here, I was thinking that Avast was referring to "condom-less!" :doh:

[W1GUH]

Just checked-out Avast. I'd probably get one of the "pay-for" ones...they seem to include stuff that I'd want. But do I really want that stuff?

[KJ3N]

I used to swear Norton was the best thing since peanutbutter. Thankfully I edumicated myself!

Back in the late 90s, I used to swear by Norton. Now, I swear at it every time I find it on a machine.

McAfee isn't any better.

[NQ6U]

Avast. :)

Arrrr, avast there yeself, ye lubber!

[WØTKX]

If you are willing to pay, Kaperski and G-Data are the front runners.

I use G-Data on my main shack PC, as it is the best for latency issues. I use that PC with my Flex-3000 and audio/music apps, so avoiding latency is the issue... just like it is for your studio PC.

Been using Panda AV on my laptop for over a year... this is a free version and it works very well.
MalwareBytes is on all my machines, it finds things others might miss. Especially new attacks.

Avast works well, but it's a resource hog, with latency issues. The big players like Norton are targets of opportunity, just like Windows itself. Viruses and Trojans hijack these programs all the time, so the user thinks it's OK... and in reality they've been punked.

Google the text string "anti virus reviews". :yes:

[KG4CGC]

Norton and McAffee are the new viruses of the modern age. They often come bundle up with something else and then they are a bitch to get rid of. If you go hunting them folder by folder, like old AOL software, they are everywhere.
AND, for whatever reason, having a faster and more badass machine just makes them use even for cpu cycles bogging down even the hottest computers. Why is this? It's quite simple really. They're assholes, it's your machine and they don't give a flying squirrel turd what happens after you shell out your money.

[WØTKX]

Yupper. HP "helper apps" suck too. A new PC is full of that crap.

[KC2UGV]

Dump McAffee, and get Avast, or AVG (Avast is preferred). Or, just save yourself the trouble, and install a *nix OS.

[W1GUH]

I've found google to be just as bad. While doing what Sibelius suggested to make their software work I noticed that I had google toolbar. WTF? Also Google desktop. What the hell is that? Got rid if them. Found some other google stuff in the "change or remove programs" window. Respect for them dropped precipitously! Well, I've got 30 days to mess with mcafee....but it sure sounds like there's an Avast! in my future. Thanks for all the helpful comments, all.

[KC2UGV]

Google stuff is pretty easy to remove, however.

[W1GUH]

True.

[PA5COR]

Free Microsoft Security essentials virus etc software, much less hogging the system sources and working fine for over a year now.

[KC2UGV]

Free Microsoft Security essentials virus etc software, much less hogging the system sources and working fine for over a year now.

MS Security Essentials is pretty much useless.

---EDIT---
I have to add, I think it's your browsing behavior keeping you safe, not MS Essentials :)

[W1GUH]

Free Microsoft Security essentials virus etc software, much less hogging the system sources and working fine for over a year now.


Just can't help myself...please forgive me. :twisted:

And besides, nuke power is much too dangerous to trust from now on.!

Oh, I'm so bad!

[W1GUH]

McAffe is getting very close to getting the hook. It's been popping up a window saying "A new update has been installed" regularly all afternoon and evening. That was easy to turn off; but each time it does something stupid like that I come closer and closer to getting rid of it. It also asks me if I want to scan my printer every time I print. If I say yes, the print gets cancelled. AAARRRGGGHHHH!!!!! Wonder how many times I'm going to have to turn off a dumb feature? It's got two strikes now...one more and it's outta here!

Avast ye swabs....let's get this tub under way!!!

[KG4CGC]

I guess it was about a year ago(???) Florence Henderson was running a TV ad with some kind computer protection download for X amount of dollars each month. Wonder what the target demographic was?

[KA9MOT]

The only real fix for Microsoft's security issues is Linux....He said while using his Winders 7 machine...

[KG4CGC]

The only real fix for Microsoft's security issues is Linux....He said while using his Winders 7 machine...

Winders 7 looks so damn pretty on TV but in real life, the commercial was shot with computers using LED displays.

[NQ6U]

I guess it was about a year ago(???) Florence Henderson was running a TV ad with some kind computer protection download for X amount of dollars each month. Wonder what the target demographic was?

Morans, I think.

[W1GUH]

OMG! Mcaffe just got the boot. Started messing with my desktop color setting -- streeeeeriiiike threeeeeee. Youre outta here!

Off to get the free Avast.

Thanks for all the info!

[W1GUH]

Well, OK, I've got avast, but it already has two strikes against it.

1) It, too, tried to mess with FF without asking permission.
2) Those annoying voice popups
2.5) Not east to find how to turn those off

It's on thin ice here.

[W1GUH]

Ok, found silent mode. Take off a half a strike. Strike two stays cuz it didn't ask permission for the popups.

[W1GUH]

I think I just called strike three. It, too, is messing with desktop color. Very close to being outta here, too.

[KC2UGV]

I think I just called strike three. It, too, is messing with desktop color. Very close to being outta here, too.

No offense intended, but given your history with computers (By your postings here); I don't think it's the AV. I think you've got something wrong with the machine.

[KJ3N]

No offense intended, but given your history with computers (By your postings here); I don't think it's the AV. I think you've got something wrong with the machine.

I concur. No AV that I'm aware of changes desktop color settings. :-?

[W1GUH]

No offense intended, but given your history with computers (By your postings here); I don't think it's the AV. I think you've got something wrong with the machine.

GFY

[W1GUH]

OK, now that I'm awake, have had coffee and a smoke....complete answer....

For sure, there's something about my nVidia graphics that gets messed with a lot. No question about a compatibility issue there. No problem, really, just a PITA to restore defaults every time I unlock my machine. But considering the goodness of nVida, that's a very small price to pay. Besides, in the past, Vista has fixed that for me. It takes a little while, but eventually it gets the message that I WANT the defaults and obliges. Calling that the "third strike" was a stretch, but I wanted to keep my "three-strike" policy.

The real problem was avast!, also, felt it had the right to mess with FF without my permission, and it, too, had obnoxious pop-ups. I was just itichin' to find an excuse to belay it.

Ah, well, I've spent copious time with no condom on my computer with no ill affects at all; Vista does appear to provide an adequate level of protection. Besides, it always feels better to go in bare-handed, anyway! Plus, FF seems to do a good job of scanning for bad stuff when I download.

Cheers!

[WØTKX]

Umm, yea. But you might want to mess around with checking your video drivers after a point.

I'm upgrading a bunch of stuff on my main PC, and it's annoying. New 800 watt power supply to replace the 350 watt, 3 more large hard drives, and a new ATI PCI-E graphics card.

Not done yet. Damn chassis cut my hand and made me bleed a little. :rant:

[W1GUH]

Thanks for the tip. I did check recently (but maybe not recently enough) & it was up-to-date. But thanks!

[WØTKX]

Is it motherboard graphics or a card in a slot?

If it's on the mobo, you should download the video drivers from the mobo manufacturer, not NVIDIA.

[W1GUH]

Dunno, and check.

Fact is, it's no big deal at all. Two quick clicks on a wake-up and all's well. Not really anything to get my panties in a knot about, at all! Besides, as previously mentioned, there's a good chance the Vista will recognize this as something I really want to do everytime and will be happy to accommodate my desires. It's been very good to me like that.

This is a small price to pay for the excellent Nvidia graphis, for sure!

[WØTKX]

Meh. I like ATI + AMD. But I'm more into CAD and rendering than games.

[W1GUH]

Boo!! <--just bustin!

Yea, they're excellent to!

BTW, this laptop, an Asus with nvidia, cost about $500 in '08, is OUTSTANDING for the MS Flight Sim, my personal benchmark for graphics performance. While my graphics isn't top of the line, it's close enough to max a lot of the settings. Looks beautiful!

And it's way good enough for all the music shit I'm currently doing.

[WØTKX]

Mind you, I'm not anti Intel or NVIDIA at all. I keep looking at benchmarks and such, and the ATI/AMD combo is better for my interests.

Barely. They both work great for video, including editing.

[KC2UGV]

The real problem was avast!, also, felt it had the right to mess with FF without my permission, and it, too, had obnoxious pop-ups. I was just itichin' to find an excuse to belay it.


Avast! has never altered my FF settings (Something I would know, since I use FF exclusively on I2P).

[W1GUH]

Usually happens to me, too. The historical reason I'm an nVidea guy is that's what Dell put into their high-end laptop that was my first computer. Before I ordered it I checked some reviews & they were raves about that top-of-the-line graphics processor. It it'd been ATI (I was dead-set on Dell) I'd probably be an ATI guy!

[W1GUH]

For 'UGV"

Wow. Wonder why the difference? Not really, doesn't really matter. FF DOES warn me somebody's messin', tho'. I'm very high on FF!

[WØTKX]

Yea FF is good for that. I like Chrome too, but use FF the most.

[W1GUH]

The only time I really used Chrome was in the hotel in Dayton. For some reason, the ISP there hated what FF did and wouldn't let me on. It liked Chrome, tho', and it's a good thing. Didn't have to use IE! Chrome worked just fine.