Look here, many will diagree, however through my experience i have seen alot of misconceptions....

1) YOU CANNOT get a virus from roaming websites... You must install somthing for it to be on your computer... simply going to a site will not give u a virus...

2)If your computer is running slow most likely a virus is not doing this... GASP! I know, very few in fact do somthing close to this. Most of the time you people dont read what your installing, and add it to your (System Tray), (bottom of the right screen) If more than 5-6 icons are there when you open windows id consider this as being an option, not paying 100 for someone from bestbuy to run a msconfig... OR uninstall a couple programs from your add/remove programs this will take care of those Quick launch, well some..

3) Most of you dont need an anti-virus software... GASP! yes i know, Anti-virus software/firewalls ect. these programs were actually originally designed for businesses... think about if you were a hacker... what would you hack... residents pcs? Try again.

4) all software is free. Never pay for spy-ware,antivirus firewall programs your wasting you money, they all do the same thing, the only thing about the software that actually costs money is it has more features which slow your pc down.... =\

5) And yes stop saying your pc is slow because of a virus, thats getting annoying =)

Not true, some sites contain scripts that can do things to your computer such as instruct it to download and run applications - an application (such as a virus), does not need to ask permission to install especially as most people tend to run their computers under admin accounts.

Then there are things like port scans and attacks based on known security flaws that can instruct the computer to download and execute applications.

Quick launch is not the correct place to look, the system tray is, quick launch is just a short cut to apps, system tray is a partial list of the programs that are running on your machine.


Definitely they will hack private PCs. They might not make any money directly from them but they can use them to create zombie networks and co-ordinate DDOS attacks which they CAN and DO make money from.


Not all software is free. There are free versions and there are versions you pay for. The free ones may, in principle, do the same thing but you can bet your ass that the ones you pay for are better tested and better supported.



Sadly in most peoples cases they are probably right as they don't tend to keep their software up to date (latest security patches, etc.). Want to keep your computer free of a virus and/or slowdowns? Don't install anything and don't connect it to the web.

you express the 1 person in the world that may have this happen, then again i should carry a gun since someone could come up to my house and shoot me.. The fact that people are too afraid of the internet is amazing...


and opps one the quick launch your right... ill change that

free programs provide more, true. at the expense of your ram. Look at AOL, they have thier own firewall virus scanner spyware scanner running do u know how much resources this takes? plus AOl itself? and these people still get unwanted programs on thier computer becasue they have allowed it...

Ive fixed many computers... same problems, too much security not enough common sence about the software they are using. and for this i recommend the basics.

No, not may happen, can and does. I wouldn't say carry a gun, if you want to use the computer analogy then maybe take the guns out of the hands of those that misuse them OR make your house gun proof!

That would be impossible to do and you know this...

Really? If it's possible to put a gun in someone's hand you don't think it's possible to take it away? You don't think it's possible to make a house gun proof? You don't think it's possible to make computing safe? These are all possible, what's lacking is the desire to make them happen. If you KNOW all the ways possible to attack a system then you can protect against them. Windows code is notoriously badly written (read Code Complete, supposedly required reading for all Microsoft programmers).

weeds illegal and people still get thier hands on it, to be rather honest, impossible to stop as well as impossible to stop the hackers.... computing is too public to keep it 100% safe... the problem with a safe system is it never is safe.. Think of a house, every wire that runs out side in the WWW is a back door and never can be 100% safe.. Shoot even with a firewall and Anti virus software ur not safe, u know this.

Weed is not impossible to stop, again, it's the desire to do so. Same with computing. It can be made a hell of a lot safer but it's not in everyone's interests to do so.


I am more than well aware of this but if you were a burglar and you had a choice between two identical houses, one locked up with an alarm and security guards and the other with an open door and no security at all, which one are you going to go for?

Banks are not 100% secure either, do you prefer to bank somewhere with great security as it makes the probability of your money being stolen lower or do you keep your money in a bank with no security at all except maybe some mickey mouse safe?

Im agreeing with you, im talking about the probability vs the panic. its not even, people are very afraid of viruses and spyware, when they shouldnt be, GRANTED it can happen as you put it, and i know this.

Probability that your house gets robbed, again i lived at my mothers house for 21 years, and 3 months at my home.. never got robbed. other people get robbed once a month..

Let me let you in on a little secret, a person is generally smart but a bunch of people are usually idiots. People worry about things that they don't understand, they get third hand information, etc etc etc.


And they can reduce the probability of being robbed in several ways!

Im agreeing here... So why say "i think i have a virus" because your computer is running slow, STOP HAVING PROGRAMS RUN IN THE SYS TRAY =)

MOST PROGRAMS DON'T RUN IN THE SYSTRAY!

WHERE DO THEY RUN THEN!!!!!!

IN MEMORY AS PROCESSES, MOST PEOPLE THAT KNOW COMPUTERS KNOW THIS!

argggggg technically yes your right, LOOK AT YOUR SYSTEM TRAY, ITS SHOWING PROGRAMS THAT ARE TAKING UP MEMORY!!!!! THESE ARE REMOVABLE, REMOVE THEM!!!!!!

Got iTunes on your computer? No system tray icon but about 6 processes running. Just one example, there's many many more. All non-system processes are removable, not just the ones in the system tray (of which some are not removable, you can just hide them as they are system processes ;) )

i tunes does not run in my memory, nor systray...

well again look at my original response, if you have 5-6 process, you probably need to do a msconfig... meaning, there are alot more, talldub i dont have to explain in explicit detail, i was explaining to the basic user what to look for. and i already know all of this.

Well then take your AV program, that has many processes in memory but only one system tray icon.

If you have 5-6 processes you need to IDENTIFY them and make sure that they are safe to remove. And if you want to run a GUI application to get rid of items from startup then run a decent one, like autoruns.

You're right, you don't have to explain in explicit detail but given the glaring inaccuracies of your original post then that's probably for the best.

The average user is completely unaware of what is going on with a computer. So this is extremely misleading. And what does "install" something mean to a user? Are they going to understand what that little pop-up means?



No, it's probably ad-ware, spy-ware or a virus. I have NEVER gotten a virus, ad-ware or spy-ware, but my computer used to get them all the time. My girlfriend and kids were installing the crap without ever realizing it. Just because YOU wouldn't click "yes" to install something doesn't mean the average user wouldn't.



Terrible advice. Everyone should have anti-spyware / Adware / Virus software.



Really really really bad advice. Programmers don't work for free, not all software is "free". You are in essence, encouraging people to commit software piracy. NOT ALL SOFTWARE IS FREE! Please, nobody believe this pile of baloney.



It might be a virus or spyware or adware! They strike AVERAGE users all the time.

This guy really shouldn't have made this post. It's like he's a hacker trying to trick people into stupid behavior. I'm sure he means well, but this is terrible advice on all accounts.

1) YOU CANNOT get a virus from roaming websites... You must install somthing for it to be on your computer... simply going to a site will not give u a virus...


I don't want to do anything but expound on the premise here by reminding everyone that 'active content', whether FROM your local pc, or FROM the web, is 'active' because you have already given it permission to download something (your keystroke or mouse movement on the screen / or, folder contents, or...), otherwise we would not be able to see it at all. If it can download to the screen FROM your pc - OR FROM the web, then something has obviously happened, and this is how people get hammered by malicious websites. And some things you cannot see!!!

Even if I click on the 'X' rather than selecting 'install', that 'X' could have been also programmed to close the window while installing something. Once our signal goes out to someplace (my pictures folder or the web either one) the computer if its a local call, or the router if it's a web call - we expect a response and that is when we get into trouble because our pc if local, or router if web, is not only expecting a response, it welcomes the response. And web wise, that is because the way tcp/ip is designed. And it is this design which allows both our good experiences, as well as those promoted by malicious people who abuse these foundational computer principles, which allow us to be here on the web at all. So harden your security.

Many people believe that they have a good firewall installed. Maybe. If your pc can call out, the incoming signal cannot be easily stopped, if at all.

To see if your firewall works, use this tool to see if your pc leaks information that you cannot stop (it doesn't install it just calls out as a test and if very safe, see the site)

http://www.grc.com/lt/leaktest.htm

To make this easy...if I move my cursor over a link, or a hidden object on a page, I have signed a legal waver to let them do something that is headed my way. It might be just a link that turns a color, it might be spyware, but by passing my cursor over the link, it has permission to do whatever it is designed to do.

IMO, a persons security cannot be too hardened.

So the real question becomes, why does anyone get pop ups at all? I don't get them and I don't need to use any pop up blockers !!!