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  • Virus infested computer

    My brother came down to fix our toilet again (a long story in itself, luckily we have 3 ), and his wife brought their computer.
    They have only recently (a couple of months) gone on the Internet, and I'd told them to instal antivirus software, but I think they must have delayed a bit! 12 viruses later, they could only access one Internet page and a security warning kept showing. Unfortunately, although their anti-virus software coped with 11 out of the 12, it couldn't put the final one right, because it had changed a system file. This eventually resulted in them not being able to log into Windows at all.
    The quickest fix (from my point of view) was a back to factory settings job, but now she'll have to spend tomorrow re-installing all their applications. However all their files are still there, which as a self employed contractor, was pretty important to my brother. No back up kept of any of the files of course, and very few hardcopies .
    I was pleased it worked, otherwise I could see me having to take out their hard drive to access their documents from my computer or some other time consuming solution.
    Moral of the story - install and keep anti-virus software up to date, and keep back up copies of any important documents.
    Mind you how many of us remember to back everything up? I have to say I'm as guilty as the next person about practising what I preach
    I could not live without a garden, it is my place to unwind and recover, to marvel at the power of all growing things, even weeds!
    Now a little Shrinking Violet.

    http://potagerplot.blogspot.com/

  • #2
    I`ve got Norton anti-virus. With this version you can backup your files onto there system and if your computer goes down or if you get a new one you can just get it back.
    I refuse to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person.

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    • #3
      I've never liked norton antivirus, as it once let a virus through onto my hard drive.

      I much prefer Panda titanium anti virus.& have ghost software on my system to do a system rebuild if need be.

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      • #4
        We had Panda at my last Job. Their Computer techie fella said it was the best. Never heard of it before that.
        All the best - Glutton 4 Punishment
        Freelance shrub butcher and weed removal operative.

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        • #5
          lol I use panda as well, purely 'cuase the package came with 2 licenses....
          Never test the depth of the water with both feet

          The only reason people get lost in thought is because it's unfamiliar territory....

          Always remember you're unique, just like everyone else.

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          • #6
            I have no idea I just lwave it to oh
            Gardening ..... begins with daybreak
            and ends with backache

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            • #7
              I currently use Zone Alarm, but I only view my emails on the servers now because they all use their own preferred Anti-Virus software, which reduces the infection risk considerably. I now also have an additional program that searches for, and destroys bugs and viruses. But I do have to remember to keep checking it once a week, as I had a Trojan Virus recently, and I wondered why my computer was s o s l o w.
              All the best - Glutton 4 Punishment
              Freelance shrub butcher and weed removal operative.

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              • #8
                Originally posted by BarleySugar View Post
                Moral of the story - install and keep anti-virus software up to date, and keep back up copies of any important documents.
                Mind you how many of us remember to back everything up? I have to say I'm as guilty as the next person about practising what I preach
                Moral of the story - buy a Mac! (also, you don't have to remember to back up - it is done automatically)
                Last edited by digthatchick; 22-02-2009, 01:11 AM.
                http://www.robingardens.com

                Seek not to know all the answers, just to understand the questions.

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by digthatchick View Post
                  Moral of the story - buy a Mac!
                  Why?.........

                  Is it raining?

                  Geo..

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by digthatchick View Post
                    Moral of the story - buy a Mac! (also, you don't have to remember to back up - it is done automatically)
                    ..or install Linux, which is free!

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                    • #11
                      Don't forget Anti-virus software are 'catch up' pieces of software as they do not know when or what the virus is until it surfaces, so many people get them before a remedy has been sourced.

                      A good reason to move to Linux, I did it and have never looked back.
                      HAPPY 'Growing My Own'
                      Dale

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                      • #12
                        Norton is excellent but is a resource-hog and if you've got an older PC with not a huge amount of RAM it can slow things down. Kaspersky does a fine job and the 2009 version recently found a worm lurking on one of my backup discs which had been there a VERY long time and completely ignored by Norton and F-Protect (which is also a memory hog).

                        With prices constantly falling, there's not too much excuse not get an external hard drive (Amazon have some hugs discs at good prices).

                        I've used Windows for nearly 20 years now and way back in the early days had a disc fail at work which caused us all sorts of problems, lessons like that get learnt very quickly! Subsequently I have had hard discs fail on home PCs but never lost any data.

                        BTW, I don't use Backup software - if you do so you are tied to that system and there is a risk that you may not be able to read/reinstall data at a much later stage. As external drives offer such relatively cheap storage my simple "Backup" routine is to make a COPY of all my data folders and files. I do this about once every two weeks and don't delete the previous backup folder. About once a year when discs start to get full I have a clean out, it's not complicated and it works for me. If you make a Backup system too complicated you won't do it more than twice

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                        • #13
                          What actually is Linux?
                          the fates lead him who will;him who won't they drag.

                          Happiness is not having what you want,but wanting what you have.xx

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                          • #14
                            It doesn't matter what operating system you use, no one is immune to hardware failure, so there's no excuse for not taking backups of your important stuff. How much, how often and where to will depend on your individual circumstances, but external USB drives are a relatively inexpensive solution these days.

                            If you're running Windows, SyncToy is quite a useful (& free) utility.
                            Last edited by HotStuff; 22-02-2009, 10:04 AM.
                            There are 10 kinds of people in the world, those that understand binary and those that don't.

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by andi&di View Post
                              What actually is Linux?

                              Linux is another operating system, an alternative to Windows, the name Linux refers to Linus Torvalds who was involved in it's early development. There are a number of variants of Linux that are available for free. It used to be regarded as something for geeks but is gradually becoming more popular & mainstream.
                              There are 10 kinds of people in the world, those that understand binary and those that don't.

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