Computer Vaccination Checklist ...
-
I'm about to help dad clean up his computer ... On my list I have :* Ad-aware
- Spybot - Search & Destroy
- CWShredder
- ToolbarCop
- SpamBayes
And the usual antivirus, he bought norton anti-virus, and last time I checked, was working Any other tools that can be usefull ? or any procedures I have to do ? I would prefer not to re-install everything, since I pretty sure that even if I backup his stuff, I will miss some important data that wasn't saved in the right place. Thanks.
Maximilien Lincourt Your Head A Splode - Strong Bad
-
I'm about to help dad clean up his computer ... On my list I have :* Ad-aware
- Spybot - Search & Destroy
- CWShredder
- ToolbarCop
- SpamBayes
And the usual antivirus, he bought norton anti-virus, and last time I checked, was working Any other tools that can be usefull ? or any procedures I have to do ? I would prefer not to re-install everything, since I pretty sure that even if I backup his stuff, I will miss some important data that wasn't saved in the right place. Thanks.
Maximilien Lincourt Your Head A Splode - Strong Bad
I'd strongly suggest Firefox. Strangely enough, it's easier to explain to an user that a page does not look the same in Firefox than to explain them how to not get their machine infected with IE (do not click on links, do not click on "Ok" or "Yes" if it's saying it'll run anything, update your machine, run an AV, run an anti-spam, run an spyware catcher, run a popup blocker, run a privacy proxy, etc). Yes, even I am blogging now!
-
I'm about to help dad clean up his computer ... On my list I have :* Ad-aware
- Spybot - Search & Destroy
- CWShredder
- ToolbarCop
- SpamBayes
And the usual antivirus, he bought norton anti-virus, and last time I checked, was working Any other tools that can be usefull ? or any procedures I have to do ? I would prefer not to re-install everything, since I pretty sure that even if I backup his stuff, I will miss some important data that wasn't saved in the right place. Thanks.
Maximilien Lincourt Your Head A Splode - Strong Bad
Might want to update his hosts file to stop ads whilst browsing How To Block Ads (& Web Bugs) Without Extra Software[^] Michael CP Blog [^]
-
Might want to update his hosts file to stop ads whilst browsing How To Block Ads (& Web Bugs) Without Extra Software[^] Michael CP Blog [^]
Thanks Micheal. That seems like a great solution that will be even better after I write a service that looks for changes to the online host file and apply them to the local machine host file and IE settings. Or have you already done that and you can give it to me? :-D
"No matter where you go, there your are." - Buckaroo Banzai
-pete
-
I'm about to help dad clean up his computer ... On my list I have :* Ad-aware
- Spybot - Search & Destroy
- CWShredder
- ToolbarCop
- SpamBayes
And the usual antivirus, he bought norton anti-virus, and last time I checked, was working Any other tools that can be usefull ? or any procedures I have to do ? I would prefer not to re-install everything, since I pretty sure that even if I backup his stuff, I will miss some important data that wasn't saved in the right place. Thanks.
Maximilien Lincourt Your Head A Splode - Strong Bad
windows update, defrag, drivers, popup blocker ? "Do not inflate plain things into marvels, but reduce marvels to plain things." - Francis Bacon
-
I'm about to help dad clean up his computer ... On my list I have :* Ad-aware
- Spybot - Search & Destroy
- CWShredder
- ToolbarCop
- SpamBayes
And the usual antivirus, he bought norton anti-virus, and last time I checked, was working Any other tools that can be usefull ? or any procedures I have to do ? I would prefer not to re-install everything, since I pretty sure that even if I backup his stuff, I will miss some important data that wasn't saved in the right place. Thanks.
Maximilien Lincourt Your Head A Splode - Strong Bad
In addition to those listed, I find a few others handy: KeyFinder - a tool that displays user passwords that are normally concealed by ***** in dialog boxes. It's especially helpful for things like recovering access to the Internet when a user has no idea what password was used originally. WhosLocking - a tool that allows you to identify what process is currently keeping a .dll open so that you can't delete or rename it. Very handy for eliminating suspicious files, you run it on the suspected file, view what process owns it, then double click to shut down the owner. ActivePorts - a handy tool for viewing all of the open ports on a machine, the addresses of all hosts connected (you'd be surprised at some of them), nd which programs are using them. I also make a practice of immediately backing up all address books, email account settings, and making copies of any .dbx (email contents) files. If there are any hardware-related folders containing .inf files, I also back them up along with any other files in the same folder, just in case the user has lost the original installation disks for some hardware devices. Although it's not always possible, you can sometimes get a card installed without the original media by pointing the Add Hardware wizard and the related .inf file. Have fun!:rolleyes: "My kid was Inmate of the Month at Adobe Mountain Juvenile Corrections Center" - Bumper Sticker in Bullhead City
-
In addition to those listed, I find a few others handy: KeyFinder - a tool that displays user passwords that are normally concealed by ***** in dialog boxes. It's especially helpful for things like recovering access to the Internet when a user has no idea what password was used originally. WhosLocking - a tool that allows you to identify what process is currently keeping a .dll open so that you can't delete or rename it. Very handy for eliminating suspicious files, you run it on the suspected file, view what process owns it, then double click to shut down the owner. ActivePorts - a handy tool for viewing all of the open ports on a machine, the addresses of all hosts connected (you'd be surprised at some of them), nd which programs are using them. I also make a practice of immediately backing up all address books, email account settings, and making copies of any .dbx (email contents) files. If there are any hardware-related folders containing .inf files, I also back them up along with any other files in the same folder, just in case the user has lost the original installation disks for some hardware devices. Although it's not always possible, you can sometimes get a card installed without the original media by pointing the Add Hardware wizard and the related .inf file. Have fun!:rolleyes: "My kid was Inmate of the Month at Adobe Mountain Juvenile Corrections Center" - Bumper Sticker in Bullhead City
WhosLocking Thanks for telling us about this one. :) I was recently thinking of writing a util to do this myself, but the one you mentioned has more features than I was planning to implement.
"A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both."
-- Dwight D. Eisenhower -
I'm about to help dad clean up his computer ... On my list I have :* Ad-aware
- Spybot - Search & Destroy
- CWShredder
- ToolbarCop
- SpamBayes
And the usual antivirus, he bought norton anti-virus, and last time I checked, was working Any other tools that can be usefull ? or any procedures I have to do ? I would prefer not to re-install everything, since I pretty sure that even if I backup his stuff, I will miss some important data that wasn't saved in the right place. Thanks.
Maximilien Lincourt Your Head A Splode - Strong Bad
I used to use RegClean from M$ to fix registry problems, but when i looked for a download link on their site i found this from KB article 299958... MORE INFORMATION The RegClean utility is no longer supported and has been removed from all Microsoft download sites. Does anyone know of a currently supported utility (from anyone) that scans the registry for errors? ps: when i say i used to use it, i mean i used it up until now :) Laterness... Doug