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2. I've been trying to download Windows Defender with IE (they won't let you
download it with Firefox), with no luck. Could be the infection.
3. I don't use IE.
4. I don't use IE.
5. Please don't tell me not to use IE.
startup was to update Java, which I did. Never thought to disable it. Should
have.
I would run Chrome but I do need Firefox to manage my S3 and EC2 accounts.
Thanks for the tips.
recommend the info found in that thread regarding Java and general precautions.
the reality of running in a windows environment is that more precautions than ever need to be taken to avoid this stuff. I was lax about it and got hit with something similar.
I set up my system with many of these precautions, but I find the usability of the system to be far decreased as constantly popping alerts from firewall programs, anti-spyware trackers and the like.
it's a shame and something that microsoft really ought to work on. We ought to be able to secure this stuff without having to resort to an almost unusable work environment.
[1] I don't use Symantec products. I consider them virii themselves, due to the way they abuse the windows registry. They jumped the shark about 10 years ago.
[2] Avast is a great free anti-virus these days. Best of the lot.
[3] I don't use Windows Defender. Too much of a performance hit. Spybot TeaTimer's a good substitute if you've had problems w/ things attaching themselves into startup slots.
[4] Never had a problem w/ Java being a source of infections.
[5] ZoneAlarm firewall has also jumped the shark. That's okay, as the Windows Firewall has matured to the point that it's a good product.
[6] For sites that INSIST on IE as a browser, there's a great Firefox add-on, IE Tab, that lets you set up URLs for embedded IE handling.
More data than you ever needed, eh ?
-- stan
ps -- the 1000HE is a remarkable little machine. I've now got 2 customers w/ them, and have just ordered my own. thanks Asus.
Run MalwareBytes Anti-Malware from in there.
Run RunScanner from in there.
That'll let you get most known current rootkits.
-- stan
there's no point. So that means either Windows or Mac, until someone does a
port to Linux.
Is there any way to move everything Frontier does, or at least the subset you do on your Eee, to the web? I'm still pretty green when it comes to Frontier and its scripting language, so this may be trickier than it sounds, but I know the Frontier Admin screen is web-based and making outlines in text fields is simple with Markdown. I ask because a web-based, front end would seem to solve your problem with using Linux-based netbooks.
Not hard to install, and seems to run very well. You might consider trying it
I made a Hacintosh out of my MSI Wind in about 20 minutes of effort, interspersed with some download time and some (obvious) time waiting for the installer to run. It was very simple to get a copy of the OS X Installer on a memory stick, boot from it, and complete the install. There are a few subtle points that the how-to I used neglected, so if you really get into it, I am glad to pass along more details. But it was generally painless.
There are 2 distinct methods that people will advocate, either using an external DVD drive and a stock OS X install disk with some custom boot block code on the internal drive, or a method using a largish USB memory stick and a copy of the OS Installer disk image on the stick.
I opted for the latter method with the Wind. The conceptual overview goes something like this (using a 4 gig stick and assuming you have a Mac to help with the process):
1. Obtain a copy of the OS X disk image suitable for your machine. There was a torrent out there for the MSIWindOSX.dmg file that I used. I am sure there is something similar for the Asus. I'll poke around and see if I find a torrent file I can forward. Only difference would be a few hardware-specific drivers since the machines are mostly clones of each other.
2. Use the OSX86Tools.app on a Mac (or equivalent utility on PC) to make the memory stick bootable by a PC and properly formatted.
3. Use the OS X DiskUtility program to restore the disk image file to the memory stick.
4. Boot the Asus into the BIOS screen and tell it to boot from USB first, then insert the stick and reboot.
5. From this point on, you should be dealing with the normal Mac OS X installer screens. You'd probably need to use one of the menu options to bail out of the installer and format the Asus internal drive appropriately (GUID partition table), then proceed with the normal install after the hard drive is prepared.
Once all that was done, I found that I needed to get a few more drivers to enable some stuff like multi-touch gestures on the trackpad and the non-standard WiFi hardware that the Wind ships with. However, I get the impression that the Asus has had more "Hackintosh" effort applied to it and should be an easier process.
appreciate it. At the right time, I'm going to do this. But not now.
I had a brilliant breakthrough idea (if I do say so myself).
Amazon will let me return this thing, for full credit.
Think about that. I can rid myself of this virus and let THEM worry about
reformatting and reinstalling the OS.
I'll just change a few passwords and that's the end of that.
Sometimes the best thing to do is what Indiana Jones did with the Turkish
knife thrower.
Dave
are not infected with anything, and work exactly like my Macs. I don't know
what's in it for you to trash Windows like this, but you're wrong. (Whoever
"stwf" is.)
I've never had that happen on a Mac, not even once. Have you figured out how your current system got trashed? If not then its just a matter of time until it happens again, right?
Of course if the Mac had as big market share it would have viruses too, but its a moot point, since they don't. I also doubt Apple would so easily tell you to use 3rd party software, I like to think they'd go out of their way to handle it themselves.
Deep down we all know MS no longer cares about viruses in XP, since their future depends on you upgrading to Vista.
If it is not available I have a PDF version of the article knowing it may be deleted. May I suggest using Avast A/V instead of trying to download Windows defender? I use Avast on my XP, Vista, and Win7 box without any problems.
I guess that's not something we have to worry about for a long time, eh?
Exactly, Dave. I've been told by tech support before that they wouldn't help unless I switched to MSIE. This makes no sense, and is a non-starter as a technical solution. Which browser you run shouldn't matter one iota. Blaming a computer problem on a browser is like blaming God for the weather. It just doesn't matter.
Keep digging.
how they stood by and did NOTHING when their users were being picked off by
malware. This is the company that viciously defended its turf against
Netscape, yet when the threat really was harmful, when they went after their
customers, never got the clue that they needed to get inbetween the
vulnerable users and the predators. They still don't get it. If I use
Firefox on Windows -- they're still making most of the money. Some of that
should go to defending Firefox users against the craziness.
But damn that interface is pretty. I'll be getting my MBP17 some time this spring. Why? Because it's UNIX underneath it all and I'm a UNIX geek. And it's the UNIX GUI everyone's been searching for all these years.
Trinity Rescue Kit or TRK is a free live Linux distribution that aims specifically at recovery and repair operations on Windows machines, but is equally usable for Linux recovery issues.
http://bit.ly/EYUaN
Try www.reimage.com/home to fix your PC. The service basically reimages your OS and should get rid of the malware without touching your user files. No spyware (I am an investor).