Search results

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    Kaspersky 2009: How is it?

    I installed KIS 2009 a few days ago and so far it's been great (I switched from Symantec). Full scans are actually faster than Symantec and I'm not noticing any buggy or bloated behavior so far.
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    Need a Security Suite Recommendation

    Thanks a lot for the info. Yes, KIS 2009 is what I'm leaning towards but the cheapest I could find it for was $60 until you suggested Best Buy. Thanks for the tip!
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    Need a Security Suite Recommendation

    Can anyone recommend a good security suite from one provider that would offer anti-virus, firewall, and anti-spyware? I'm thinking about going with Kaspersky but I know there are lots of other good ones out there as well like ESET, ZoneAlarm Pro, etc. Thanks for any suggestions!
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    Strange Hard Drive Activity

    I'm running XP Pro with SP3 installed with all the latest MS security patches. The only security stuff I have running is Symantec Anti-Virus (Version 10.1.6.6000), PC Tools Spyware Doctor (Version 5.5), and the free basic Zone Alarm firewall (which is also up-to-date). I am running PerfectDisk...
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    Strange Hard Drive Activity

    Sometimes when I have my PC on my hard drive will just take off with a bunch of activity. The activity light starts flickering on and off and I can hear the drive making noises like data is being accessed or written. This will go on for usually 3-5 minutes non-stop and then it pretty much gets...
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    Windows XP, Service Pack 3

    I had problems last night installing SP3. It downloaded okay and started to install okay but when it got to the end of the installation I got an hourglass and it just hung there. It was on the last step of the installation where it said, "Finishing installation, preparing processes after...
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    How Hard Is It to Network a Mac and a PC?

    Thanks. I used to have a dual-boot system with XP Pro and Ubuntu and then XP Pro and Xandros. It was pretty cool but I'm just getting a bug to try a Mac for some reason :cool:
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    How Hard Is It to Network a Mac and a PC?

    LOL...actually I've been using a PC for years but just wanted to buy a Mac to play around with (a local store is having a sale on them this month). But, with the money I'd be spending on the Mac I could do some serious upgrading to my current PC...hmmm....now you got me thinking!
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    How Hard Is It to Network a Mac and a PC?

    Nah, I mainly just want them both to have internet access and to be able to print...that's about it. Just kind of a project to play with for now.
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    How Hard Is It to Network a Mac and a PC?

    I know very little about networking but I'm thinking about buying a Mac (mainly just for fun and for something to do) and trying to network it together with my desktop PC. Can anyone give me an idea of what exactly this involves? I know it's a bit more than just buying a router and hooking...
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    Can I Use Western Digital Diagnostic Tools

    Great, thanks...I'll just stick with using the Seagate tools then.
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    Can I Use Western Digital Diagnostic Tools

    Oh so you get an error message or something then?
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    Can I Use Western Digital Diagnostic Tools

    I replaced my Western Digital HD with a Seagate (nothing wrong with the WD, just wanted to try something different). I've already downloaded and used the Seagate HD diagnostic tools on my new Seagate drive but I still have my old WD diagnostic tools. Do you think it would hurt a Seagate hard...
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    CPU-Z is a Trojan horse?...

    I second this suggestion. I've used Virus Total a few times to confirm suspicious files and it's turned out to be a very useful tool. Good luck.
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    Which is the best defragmenting software?

    Thanks for the illustration. Do you ever have any problems defragging external drives? I have a 500GB external HD and sometimes PD will hang during the analysis portion (before the defrag starts). It will get to 99% finished with the analysis and just sit there without actually going into the...
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    Which is the best defragmenting software?

    Thanks for the info. I just upgraded to PerfectDisk 2008 last night but haven't used it yet. Are you saying the actual defrag process is faster? That would be great because I have a 500GB HD that takes awhile under PD Version 8 (the version that PD 2008 replaces).
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    Which is the best defragmenting software?

    There must have been something wrong with your HD to begin with. I've never heard of either PD or DK ruining a healthy HD...not saying it's impossible but I'd have to say highly unlikely.
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    Which is the best defragmenting software?

    Here is some info that might help: PerfectDisk Diskeeper Some people still say there is no difference between the Windows defragger and PD/DK so I guess you just have to familiarize yourself as much as possible with what's out there and then decide for yourself...good luck!
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    Which is the best defragmenting software?

    Here is a comparison of PerfectDisk vs. Diskeeper. One thing I forgot to mention is that PerfectDisk is MS Certified whereas Diskeeper is not. Either one is very good, though...kinda like comparing a BMW to a Mercedes... :D
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    Which is the best defragmenting software?

    I've used both PerfectDisk and Diskeeper over the past several years on different machines. Both of them are very good but PerfectDisk is rated as slightly better by some of the PC and software magazines. Other reviews say they are both equal. Either one is very good and better than the...
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    So... you think Vista is bloated...?

    I have to agree with you on that one. I just bought a 500GB Western Digital SATA-300 drive for $119...Vista's footprint (and whatever comes after that) doesn't worry me at all. :cool:
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    Leaving a PC on at Night

    Thanks for the feedback everyone. The "expert" I heard was actually on NPR and it was just a 5 minute interview...it wasn't like he was hosting his own hour-long show. Towards the end of the interview he was giving a "top 5" security checklist...anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall, MS updates...
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    Leaving a PC on at Night

    Maybe they were thinking about physical security? In other words, say I live in a dorm hall or something and I leave my PC on all day while I'm gone. Conceivably more than a few people in the hall may (or may not) have access to my room and PC...so that's why they were saying to turn it off...
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    Leaving a PC on at Night

    I heard a PC security expert say on a radio show that it's a bad idea to leave a PC on when you're not around it (like leaving it on at night when you sleep). Does that make sense? Are you more vulnerable to getting hacked if you're away from your PC at night for 6-8 hours as compared to if...
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    whats so bad about 2 firewalls?

    All the "experts" out there recommend not running two at the same time. The reason for this is that they are both performing the same task and they'll start to conflict with one another. "I'm blocking this port..." "No, I am..." "No, you're not...I am!!" Well, I don't know if they...
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    Oh vista, why must your torment me so

    Sorry about that then...my apologies! Thanks for the correction. :cool:
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    Oh vista, why must your torment me so

    Did you install SP1 yet? I believe that came out just two weeks ago and apparently it fixed a number of issues...
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    a program that will encrypt a folder

    PGP has been around for many years but they're kind of expensive. They have software that will encrypt your entire HD for $150 I believe or software that can create encrypted volumes on your HD for $80. I've used them for years without any problems (except the initial cost of course).
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    Sunbelt personal firewall

    Wow, Zone Alarm Free (one of the most widely used firewalls) received a Very Poor rating...yikes!!
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    Encryption question inspired by another thread

    Thanks, bsobel...it was the Washington Post where I read that article...appreciate the quote. What was somewhat funny from the article was one HD they couldn't crack. They had been trying literally for more than a year to crack the encryption code without any luck (using their network of 4,000...
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    Encryption question inspired by another thread

    I read an article a year ago explaining how the Secret Service, to help them investigate counterfeiting and other crimes, was networking all of their computers together in every single SS field office to create a distributed computing network (sort of like a super computer). The main goal of...
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    ever feel deliberatly attacked by a hacker?

    I would take mechBgon's advice. He helped me out with a virus/malware problem I had a few weeks ago and I'm good-to-go now. One of the first things spyware/malware/viruses do is to try to shut down any anti-virus or anti-spyware software you have running on your system so it sounds to me like...
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    Registry Cleaners For Pros & Experienced...

    Just wanted to say thanks for this thread and all of the replies. I'm debating whether or not to use a Reg cleaner on a new system I just built but after reading some of these responses I think I'll pass. They seem to offer very little benefit with very high potential risks! :Q
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    XP Pro is Creating User Accounts By Itself

    Well, I just found an online coupon for Kaspersky for only $39 so I'm going to go with that...thanks again for everyone's advice and support!
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    XP Pro is Creating User Accounts By Itself

    Just one final question...assuming I wanted to spend the $59 for Kaspersky...is it really worth that much money? The hourly updates would be nice. They seem to get pretty high marks from everyone...just not sure if it's worth that much money though.
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    XP Pro is Creating User Accounts By Itself

    Great, thanks alot mechBgon. The $29 version of AntiVir looks pretty good and I may go with that. Thanks again for all of your other posts. The info you provided was very helpful. :thumbsup:
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    XP Pro is Creating User Accounts By Itself

    I just wanted to say thanks again to everyone for all of the great suggestions and help. I'm up and running again. Got everything reinstalled and updated. In addition to Spyware Doctor, I'm also running Ad Aware, Spybot and Windows Defender. Now I just have to decide on a virus scanner (not...
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    XP Pro is Creating User Accounts By Itself

    Nope...I'm single and live alone. I don't have anyone coming over when I'm not around (unless someone is really out to get me and is sneaking into my house when I'm not here)...let's hope that's not happening!
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    XP Pro is Creating User Accounts By Itself

    That's the big mystery. I honestly don't know how this thing installed itself. It had a creation date of 4/28/06 but I completely rebuilt my system from scratch four weeks ago so the 4/28/06 date doesn't make any sense. I've looked at a few videos on YouTube in the past four weeks but I...
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    XP Pro is Creating User Accounts By Itself

    Thanks, yes I've decided I'm going to do a complete reinstall at this point. I'm getting ready to nuke the HD with WipeDrive so I probably won't be back on this board for a good 12 hours or so. I'm going to do everything that mechBgon suggested: full DEP, use a non-Admin account, set-up...