Bryan
I agree with you 100%. AV software is nothing more than a bandage at times. However, for file scanning for known virus definitions they invaluable.

Most virus are actually more along the lines of malware. A great example of that would be the fake anti-virus software I got on one of my computers yesterday actually. You can be on a site you would consider safe, click on the wrong thing and be infected. I knew something happened before it even started running as Avast started blocking the website and program while it was running. It couldnt get rid of it entirely, but it did notify me that something was up. I immediately looked at the software that was running and killed the process. Then loaded Malwarebytes and deleted the files for the program. Then a quick run through the registry and the user profile, and it was clean.

The number 1 mistake people make when they get a virus is reboot! Once you do that, it becomes much harder to fix the problem.

 

I agree. My favorite AV software is always the last FREE one that saved my a$$. And when that has failed--> "system restore".

 

My oldest son got his laptop from his grandparents as a graduation present a couple of years ago. They bought it from the discount club they belong to. The first time he fired it up some kind of anti-virus software popped up telling him he had a boatload of malicious programs running. I asked if he'd been surfing some unsavory sites and he said he just turned it on for the first time and hadn't gone on the net yet. The anti-virus software was kind enough to offer to fix the problems for $50, how considerate. It was on the computer from new. I got on my computer and did a search of the anti-virus software and found it was malware and that it would fix the alleged problems which were bogus if you paid their fee. I found a site that had software to eliminate the problem and it worked. I'm no IT guy but I've been able to find a lot of answers to my computer problems on line. I only use advice and software, if necessary, from trusted sites and after doing a lot research to make sure what I am doing is safe. If I'm not sure I consult with people I know who know what they're doing. Most times it's just a simple tweaking of program setting but you have to know where on your computer to look.

 

Good point. I usually encounter some sort of malware like that and just drop the blade on it prematurely.

The company I work for started a corporate email server about 7 or 8 years ago. ONE single employee decided to take it upon himself to send every single chain email and joke that ever existed to all of us daily. Nobody would stop him. We warned the administrators and told them to stop him, but they must have thought it was funny and didn't stop him. To this day, I've probably sent less than 5 emails to co-workers and received about 20. But my inbox right now has 1600+ unread junk messages. All thanks to the "email fairy".

 

dell desktop here too, windows 7 and i use firefox. So far my internet connection was down for about 3 weeks after talking to my internet provider, overseas dell and MANY "fix it" programs off the internet I had to re-install windows. Everything seems ok now, but I ALWAYS have a back up (external hard drive) and back-up my stuff once a month.

 

Was talking to my daughter today about computors . NEWS FLASH they are the past . IPAD/ IPHONE . The same laptop that costed 2000 last year will cost you 400 this weekend. Happy turkey day to you all on FTE. GONE HUNTING !!!!!

 

Bob,
Thats pretty much how I tackle it. When things start looking and acting goofy I pull up the Task Manager and see what processes are running. I then go and do a Google search and research the ones I don't recognize. After researching I can usually effectively kill the questionable process or remove it. So far so good.
I'm no IT whiz but I can usually manage to get things fixed. Everyone once in awhile I have to call on a buddy.

Bobby

 

Got an iphone last week, and I'll tell ya, that statement is true.

 

I-phones, I-Pads, I've seen them but have never tried either. Sometimes I enjoy not being hooked up the the rest of the world. I do have a cell phone and some times it drives me nuts. I'll go days without a single call but then, it seems, I get a day when the stupid thing won't stop ringing. Usually it's never good news, usually it's some one telling me something is wrong and it's going to cost me time or money, usually both.

Honestly, what are the advantages of the new fangled tools?

 

Advantage for me, is I'm looking at FTE on my phone as I type. FTE anywhere I go, lol.

 

My wife would really like that, she thinks I spend way too much time on the net with my two clunky desk tops I have. She thinks if I buy a lab top I'd be on it even more. I can only think what she would say if I could carry the net around in my pocket. I'd probably walk into a pole while surfing on my I-phone if I had one.

 

If I had a young man's eyes I might consider a net-phone.. and if I had another 400 bucks a year for access. Right now i'm in Seattle with a netbook I got for $300, has nearly a full-size keyboard, and a screen I can read without my glasses. Great for travelling but I don't ever use it otherwise.

 

Welcome to the neighborhood, Ross! Look out your window to the south east about 220 miles, you'll see me waving to you.

 

I'm real confused, Wayne; there's this stuff falling from the sky, night and day, it makes things wet and slippery?? Never see it back home... How does anything made of steel NOT vaporize around here?!

Seriously, I'm right near the I-5 bridge east of downtown, that is one impressive structure!! Mind-boggling!

 

Ross, don't get nervous. We can talk you through it. That white stuff falling from the sky night and day is call "S N O W". It's frozen water particles. It won't hurt you if you respect it and don't drive like a kook. I strongly suggest you don't stay there long, especially if you see big trucks spreading another white substance on the ground. That other substance is called "SALT", just like the stuff you sprinkle on your French Fries but in larger granules. It's very bad for your car, that's the stuff that really makes our iron dissolve. Oh yeah, the wide horizontally curved pieces of metal attached to the front of those big truck spreading the salt are called "SNOW PLOWS". They push the accumulated snow to the side of the road so we have disgusting black piles to look at most of the winter.