RE: * sp2 bREAKS eVERYTHING!!!!! *

July 14, 2007

RE: ***** sp2 bREAKS eVERYTHING!!!!! *****

I wish i had read this befor i installed .Nothing but grief here now and not

a computer genius.. so im in a no win situation here .. Anyone any ideas ??

"nAN" wrote:

> dON'T INSTALL SP2! i HAVEAND NOW MY COMPUTER CAN'T TALK

> TO TOHER PC'SANYMORE HERE AT HOME, AND IT COMPLAINS ABOUT

> FIREWALL ANF ANTIVIRUS. cANT ACCESS VARUOIS WEBPAGES AND

> EVEN THE WAY MY COMPUTER LOOKS WHEN IT IS STARTING UP IS

> DIFFERENT!!! yOU WOULD BE WELL WARRNED TO STAY AWAY!!!

>

July 14, 2007

Re: ***** sp2 bREAKS eVERYTHING!!!!! *****

Breezy wrote:

> I wish i had read this befor i installed .Nothing but grief here now and not

> a computer genius.. so im in a no win situation here .. Anyone any ideas ??

No - unless you tell us what EXACTLY is happening....

July 14, 2007

Re: ***** sp2 bREAKS eVERYTHING!!!!! *****

"Breezy" <Breezy@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:E1059E1E-31F7-4C00-A0FC-19E6B88E5681@microsoft.com...

>I wish i had read this befor i installed .Nothing but grief here now and

>not

> a computer genius.. so im in a no win situation here .. Anyone any ideas

> ??

>

> "nAN" wrote:

>

>> dON'T INSTALL SP2! i HAVEAND NOW MY COMPUTER CAN'T TALK

>> TO TOHER PC'SANYMORE HERE AT HOME, AND IT COMPLAINS ABOUT

>> FIREWALL ANF ANTIVIRUS. cANT ACCESS VARUOIS WEBPAGES AND

>> EVEN THE WAY MY COMPUTER LOOKS WHEN IT IS STARTING UP IS

>> DIFFERENT!!! yOU WOULD BE WELL WARRNED TO STAY AWAY!!!

>>

How are we supposed to help you when your post is so bare of detail? Do you

think we're mind-readers?

July 14, 2007

Re: ***** sp2 bREAKS eVERYTHING!!!!! *****

"Breezy" <Breezy@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:E1059E1E-31F7-4C00-A0FC-19E6B88E5681@microsoft.com...

>I wish i had read this befor i installed .Nothing but grief here now and

>not

> a computer genius.. so im in a no win situation here .. Anyone any ideas

> ??

>

You don't have to be a computer genius to make a backup of your OS.

Especially so before you make major upgrades to it.

Like others have said. What is happening?

July 14, 2007

Re: ***** sp2 bREAKS eVERYTHING!!!!! *****

Millions have installed SP2 with no problems.

"Breezy" <Breezy@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:E1059E1E-31F7-4C00-A0FC-19E6B88E5681@microsoft.com...

>I wish i had read this befor i installed .Nothing but grief here now and

>not

> a computer genius.. so im in a no win situation here .. Anyone any ideas

> ??

>

> "nAN" wrote:

>

>> dON'T INSTALL SP2! i HAVEAND NOW MY COMPUTER CAN'T TALK

>> TO TOHER PC'SANYMORE HERE AT HOME, AND IT COMPLAINS ABOUT

>> FIREWALL ANF ANTIVIRUS. cANT ACCESS VARUOIS WEBPAGES AND

>> EVEN THE WAY MY COMPUTER LOOKS WHEN IT IS STARTING UP IS

>> DIFFERENT!!! yOU WOULD BE WELL WARRNED TO STAY AWAY!!!

>>

July 14, 2007

Re: ***** sp2 bREAKS eVERYTHING!!!!! *****

Breezy wrote:

> I wish i had read this befor i installed

It's complete nonsense; nAN doesn't know what he's talking about. I've

personally installed SP2 on all three of my machines with no problems at

all, and I've installed it on several other machines with no problems at

all. And more significant than my personal experience is that of the

*millions* of others who have installed it without problems.

In general, the only people who have had problems with it, are those who

have started out wit malware-infested machines.

The experience that nAN reports below says much about his computer skills

than it says about SP2.

*Everyone* should have installed SP2 long ago, because of its important

security enhancements.

>.Nothing but grief here now

> and not a computer genius.. so im in a no win situation here ..

> Anyone any ideas ??

If you're looking for help with problems, you need to describe exactly what

your problems are, including the exact verbatim text of any error messages

you recive. Nobody can help you if you don't describe what's going wrong.

--

Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User

Please reply to the newsgroup

> "nAN" wrote:

>

>> dON'T INSTALL SP2! i HAVEAND NOW MY COMPUTER CAN'T TALK

>> TO TOHER PC'SANYMORE HERE AT HOME, AND IT COMPLAINS ABOUT

>> FIREWALL ANF ANTIVIRUS. cANT ACCESS VARUOIS WEBPAGES AND

>> EVEN THE WAY MY COMPUTER LOOKS WHEN IT IS STARTING UP IS

>> DIFFERENT!!! yOU WOULD BE WELL WARRNED TO STAY AWAY!!!

July 14, 2007

Re: ***** sp2 bREAKS eVERYTHING!!!!! *****

>> "nAN" wrote:

>

> >> dON'T INSTALL SP2! i HAVEAND NOW MY COMPUTER CAN'T TALK <<

>> nAN doesn't know what he's talking about. <<

Seems it did break his capslock key through ;-)

July 15, 2007

Re: ***** sp2 bREAKS eVERYTHING!!!!! *****

nAN wrote:

> dON'T INSTALL SP2! i HAVEAND NOW MY COMPUTER CAN'T TALK

> TO TOHER PC'SANYMORE HERE AT HOME, AND IT COMPLAINS ABOUT

> FIREWALL ANF ANTIVIRUS. cANT ACCESS VARUOIS WEBPAGES AND

> EVEN THE WAY MY COMPUTER LOOKS WHEN IT IS STARTING UP IS

> DIFFERENT!!! yOU WOULD BE WELL WARRNED TO STAY AWAY!!!

Breezy wrote:

> I wish I had read this before I installed. Nothing but grief here

> now and not a computer genius... So I'm in a no win situation here...

> Anyone - any ideas??

First idea - ignore nAN. nAN is someone (and you may be in the same boat)

who not only decided to install Service Pack 2 *years* after it was

released, but then could not be bothered to research and prepare for said

upgrade after/during all of that time.

Next idea - you need to supply us with information. We cannot see your

computer. Only you can. Only you can tell us what we would need to know to

go any further than making WAGs and throwing possibly scenarios at you -

something you could have gotten just fine without ever posting and just

doing a Google search or a few...

Last idea - cleanup your system (antivirus, antispyware, disk cleanup,

uninstall software, shrink your system restore size to about 1GB, shrink

your Temporary Internet Files to less than 256MB and empty them, chkdsk and

defrag), update it with drivers and make sure your applications do not have

any updates you have not applied to them.

Need more step-by-step?

Microsoft has these suggestions for Protecting your computer from the

various things that could happen to you/it:

Protect your PC

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/

Outfitting a new computer for the Net

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/update/newcomputer.mspx

Getting started with a new PC

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/moredone/yournewpc.mspx

Although those tips are fantastic, there are many things you should

know above and beyond that. Below I have detailed out many tips

that can not only help you clean-up a problem PC but keep it clean,

secure and running at its best.

I know this text can seem intimidating - it is quite long and a lot

to take in for a novice - however I can assure you that one trip

through this list and you will understand your computer and the

options available to you for protecting your data much better -

and that the next time you go through these steps, the time it

takes will be greatly reduced.

Let's take the cleanup of your computer step-by-step.

Yes, it will take up some of your time - but consider what you use

your computer for and how much you would dislike it if all of your

stuff on your computer went away because you did not "feel like"

performing some simple maintenance tasks - think of it like taking

out your garbage, collecting and sorting your postal mail, paying

your bills on time, etc.

I'll mainly work around Windows XP, as that is what the bulk of this

document is about; however, here is some places for you poor souls

still stuck in Windows 98/ME where you can get information on

maintaining your system:

Windows 98 and 'Maintaining Your Computer':

http://www.microsoft.com/windows98/usingwindows/maintaining/

Windows ME Computer Health:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsME/using/computerhealth/articles/

Pay close attention to the sections:

(in order)

- Clean up your hard disk

- Check for errors by running ScanDisk

- Defragment your hard disk

- Roll back the clock with System Restore

Also - now is a good time to point you to one of the easiest ways to find

information on problems you may be having and solutions others have found:

Search using Google!

http://www.google.com/

(How-to: http://www.google.com/intl/en/help/basics.html )

Now, let's go through some maintenance first that should only have to be

done once (mostly):

Tip (1):

Locate all of the software you have installed on your computer.

(the installation media - CDs, downloaded files, etc)

Collect these CDs and files together in a central and safe

place along with their CD keys and such. Make backups of these

installation media sets using your favorite copying method (CD/DVD Burner

and application, Disk copier, etc.) You'll be glad to know that if you

have a CD/DVD burner, you may be able to use a free application to make a

duplicate copy of your CDs. One such application is ISORecorder:

ISORecorder page (with general instructions on use):

http://isorecorder.alexfeinman.com/isorecorder.htm

More full function applications (free) for CD/DVD burning would be:

CDBurnerXP Pro

http://www.cdburnerxp.se/

DeepBurner Free

http://www.deepburner.com/

ImgBurn (burn ISO images)

http://www.imgburn.com/

Final Burner

http://www.protectedsoft.com/products.php

Another Option would be to search the web with Pricewatch.com or

Dealsites.net and find deals on Products like Ahead Nero and/or Roxio.

Ahead Nero

http://www.nero.com/

Roxio Easy Media Creator

http://www.roxio.com/

Tip (2):

Empty your Temporary Internet Files and shrink the size it stores to a

size between 128MB and 512MB..

- Open ONE copy of Internet Explorer.

- Select TOOLS -> Internet Options.

- Under the General tab in the "Temporary Internet Files" section, do the

following:

- Click on "Delete Cookies" (click OK)

- Click on "Settings" and change the "Amount of disk space to use:" to

something between 128MB and 512MB. (Betting it is MUCH larger right

now.)

- Click OK.

- Click on "Delete Files" and select to "Delete all offline contents"

(the checkbox) and click OK. (If you had a LOT, this could take 2-10

minutes or more.)

- Once it is done, click OK, close Internet Explorer, re-open Internet

Explorer.

Tip (3):

If things are running a bit sluggish and/or you have an older system

(1.5GHz or less and 256MB RAM or less) then you may want to look into

tweaking the performance by turning off some of the 'resource hogging'

Windows XP "prettifications". The fastest method is:

Control Panel --> System --> Advanced tab --> Performance section,

Settings button. Then choose "adjust for best performance" and you

now have a Windows 2000/98 look which turned off most of the annoying

"prettifications" in one swift action. You can play with the last

three checkboxes to get more of an XP look without many of the

other annoyances. You could also grab and install/use one

(or more) of the Microsoft Powertoys - TweakUI in particular:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx

Another viable (decently inexpensive) option is to increase the amount

of memory (RAM) your computer has. You can get an idea of what you

need by visiting:

Crucial Memory AdvisorT Tool

http://www.crucial.com/

Then either buy direct from there or write down the specs you get and

visit: http://www.pricewatch.com/ and locate the best price on what you

need. 512MB up to 1GB total memory should be more than enough for

the normal home user.

Tip (4):

Understanding what a good password might be is vital to your

personal and system security. You may think you do not need to password

your home computer, as you may have it in a locked area (your home) where

no one else has access to it. Remember, however, you aren't always

"in that locked area" when using your computer online - meaning you likely

have usernames and passwords associated with web sites and the likes that

you would prefer other people do not discover/use. This is why you should

understand and utilize good passwords.

Good passwords are those that meet these general rules

(mileage may vary):

Passwords should contain at least six characters, and the character

string should contain at least three of these four character types:

- uppercase letters

- lowercase letters

- numerals

- nonalphanumeric characters (e.g., *, %, &, !, :)

Passwords should not contain your name/username.

Passwords should be unique to you and easy to remember.

One method many people are using today is to make up a phrase that

describes a point in their life and then turning that phrase into their

password by using only certain letters out of each word in that phrase.

It's much better than using your birthday month/year or your anniversary

in a pure sense. For example, let's say my phrase is:

'Great new job in November 2006'

I could come up with this password from that:

'Gr8n3wj0bNOV2006'

The password tip is in the one time section, but I highly

recommend you periodically change your passwords. The suggested time

varies, but I will throw out a 'once in every 3 to 6 months for

every account you have.'

Also - many people complain that they just cannot remember the passwords

for all the sites they have - so they choose one password and use it for

everything. Not a good idea. A much better method would be to use a

Password Management tool - so you only have to remember one password,

but it opens an application that stores your username/passwords for

everything else - plus other valuable information. One that I can

recommend:

KeePass Password Safe

http://keepass.sourceforge.net/

It can even generate passwords for you.

Tip (5):

This tip is also 'questionable' in the one time section; however -

if properly setup - this one can be pretty well ignored for most people

after the initial 'fiddle-with' time.

Why you should use a computer firewall..

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/viruses/fwbenefits.mspx

You should, in some way, use a firewall. Hardware (like a nice

Cable Modem/DSL router) or software is up to you. Many use both of

these. The simplest one to use is the hardware one, as most people

don't do anything that they will need to configure their NAT device

for and those who do certainly will not mind fiddling with the equipment

to make things work for them. Next in the line of simplicity would

have to be the built-in Windows Firewall of Windows XP. In SP2 it

is turned on by default. It is not difficult to turn on in any

case, however:

More information on the Internet Connection Firewall (Pre-SP2):

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/320855

Post-SP2 Windows Firewall Information/guidance:

http://snipurl.com/atal

The trouble with the Windows Firewall is that it only keeps things

out. For most people who maintain their system in other ways, this is

MORE than sufficient. You may feel otherwise. If you want to

know when one of your applications is trying to obtain access to the

outside world so you can stop it, then you will have to install a

third-party application and configure/maintain it. I have compiled a

list with links of some of the better known/free firewalls you can choose

from:

BlackICE PC Protection (~$39.95 and up)

http://blackice.iss.net/

Comodo Free Fireall (Free)

http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/

Jetico Personal Firewall (Free)

http://www.jetico.com/index.htm#/jpfirewall.htm

Outpost Firewall from Agnitum (Free and up)

http://www.agnitum.com/products/outpostfree/

Sunbelt Kerio Personal Firewall (KPF) (Free and up)

http://www.kerio.com/kpf_download.html

Symantec's Norton Personal Firewall (~$49.95 and up)

http://www.symantec.com/sabu/nis/npf/

ZoneAlarm (Free and up)

http://www.zonelabs.com/

You should find the right firewall for your situation in that

list and set it up if you feel the Windows XP firewall is

insufficient.

Every firewall WILL require some maintenance. Essentially checking for

patches or upgrades (this goes for hardware and software solutions) is

the extent of this maintenance - you may also have to configure your

firewall to allow some traffic depending on your needs.

** Don't stack the software firewalls! Running more than one software

firewall will not make you safer - it would possibly negate some

protection you gleamed from one or the other firewall you run. It is

fine (and in many ways better) to have the software firewall as well

as a NAT router.

Now that you have some of the more basic things down..

Let's go through some of the steps you should take periodically to

maintain a healthy and stable windows computer. If you have not

done some of these things in the past, they may seem tedious - however,

they will become routine and some can even be scheduled.

Tip (6):

The system restore feature is only a useful feature if you keep it

maintained and use it to your advantage. Remember that the system

restore pretty much tells you in the name what it protects which is

'system' files. Your documents, your pictures, your stuff is NOT

system files - so you should also look into some backup solution.

Whenever you think about it (after doing a once-over on your machine

once a month or so would be optimal) - clear out your System Restore

and create a manual restoration point.

'Why?'

Too many times have I seen the system restore files go corrupt or get

a virus in them, meaning you could not or did not want to restore from

them. By clearing it out periodically you help prevent any corruption

from happening and you make sure you have at least one good "snapshot".

(*This, of course, will erase any previous restore point you have.*)

- Turn off System Restore.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310405

- Reboot the Computer.

- Review the first bullet to turn on System Restore

- Make a Manual Restoration Point.

http://snipurl.com/68nx

That covers your system files, but doesn't do anything for the files

that you are REALLY worried about - yours! For that you need to look

into backups. You can either manually copy your important files, folders,

documents, spreadsheets, emails, contacts, pictures, drawings and so on

to an external location (CD/DVD - any disk of some sort, etc) or you can

use the backup tool that comes with Windows XP:

How To Use Backup to Back Up Files and Folders on Your Computer

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308422

Yes - you still need some sort of external media to store the results

on, but you could schedule the backup to occur when you are not around,

then burn the resultant data onto CD or DVD or something when you are

(while you do other things!)

Another option that seems to still be going strong:

Cobian Backup

http://www.educ.umu.se/~cobian/cobianbackup.htm

A lot of people have wondered about how to completely backup their system

so that they would not have to go through the trouble of a reinstall..

I'm going to voice my opinion here and say that it would be worthless to

do for MOST people. Unless you plan on periodically updating the image

backup of your system (remaking it) - then by the time you use it

(something goes wrong) - it will be so outdated as to be more trouble than

performing a full install of the operating system and all applications.

Having said my part against it, you can clone/backup your hard drive

completely using many methods - by far the simplest are using disk cloning

applications:

Symantec/Norton Ghost

http://snipurl.com/13e00

Acronis True Image

http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/trueimage/

BootItT NG

http://terabyteunlimited.com/bootitng.html

Tip (7):

You should sometimes look through the list of applications that are

installed on your computer. The list may surprise you. There are more

than likely things in there you know you never use - so why have them

there? There may even be things you know you did *not* install and

certainly do not use (maybe don't WANT to use.)

This web site should help you get started at looking through this list:

How to Uninstall Programs

http://snipurl.com/8v6b

How to change or remove a program in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307895

A word of warning - Do NOT uninstall anything you think you MIGHT need

in the future unless you have completed Tip (1) and have the installation

media and proper keys for use backed up somewhere safe!

Tip (8):

Patches and Updates!

This one cannot be stressed enough. It is SO simple, yet so neglected

by many people. It is really simple for the critical Microsoft patches!

Microsoft put in an AUTOMATED feature for you to utilize so that you do

NOT have to worry yourself about the patching of the Operating System:

How to configure and use Automatic Updates in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306525

However, not everyone wants to be a slave to automation, and that is

fine. Admittedly, I prefer this method on some of my more critical

systems.

Windows Update

http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/

Go there and scan your machine for updates. Always get the critical ones

as you see them. Write down the KB###### or Q###### you see when

selecting the updates and if you have trouble over the next few days,

go into your control panel (Add/Remove Programs), insure that the

'Show Updates' checkbox is checked and match up the latest numbers you

downloaded recently (since you started noticing an issue) and uninstall

them. If there was more than one (usually is), uninstall them one by one

with a few hours of use in between, to see if the problem returns.

Yes - the process is not perfect (updating) and can cause trouble like I

mentioned - but as you can see, the solution isn't that bad - and is

MUCH better than the alternatives.

Windows is not the only product you likely have on your PC. The

manufacturers of the other products usually have updates. New versions

of almost everything come out all the time - some are free, some are pay

and some you can only download if you are registered - but it is best

to check. Just go to their web pages and look under their support and

download sections. For example, for Microsoft Office you should visit:

Microsoft Office Updates

http://office.microsoft.com/

(and select 'Check for Updates' and/or 'Downloads' for more)

You also have hardware on your machine that requires drivers to interface

with the operating system. You have a video card that allows you to see on

your screen, a sound card that allows you to hear your PCs sound output and

so on. Visit those manufacturer web sites for the latest downloadable

drivers for your hardware/operating system. Always get the manufacturers'

hardware driver over any Microsoft offers. On the Windows Update site I

mentioned earlier, I suggest NOT getting their hardware drivers - no matter

how tempting.

How do you know what hardware you have in your computer? Break out the

invoice or if it is up and working now - take inventory:

Belarc Advisor

http://belarc.com/free_download.html

Once you know what you have, what next? Go get the latest driver for your

hardware/OS from the manufacturer's web page. For example, let's say you

have an NVidia chipset video card or ATI video card, perhaps a Creative

Labs sound card or C-Media chipset sound card...

NVidia Video Card Drivers

http://www.nvidia.com/content/drivers/drivers.asp

ATI Video Card Drivers

http://ati.amd.com/support/driver.html

Creative Labs Sound Device

http://us.creative.com/support/downloads/

C-Media Sound Device

http://www.cmedia.com.tw/?q=en/driver

Then install these drivers. Updated drivers are usually more stable and

may provide extra benefits/features that you really wished you had before.

As for Service Pack 2 (SP2) for Windows XP, Microsoft has made this

particular patch available in a number of ways. First, there is the

Windows Update web page above. Then there is a direct download site.

Direct Download of Service Pack 2 (SP2) for Windows XP

http://snipurl.com/8bqy

Order Windows XP Service Pack 2 on CD

http://snipurl.com/d41v

If all else fails - grab the full download above and try to use that.

In this case - consider yourself a 'IT professional or developer'.

Tip (9):

What about the dreaded word in the computer world, VIRUS?

Well, there are many products to choose from that will help you prevent

infections from these horrid little applications. Many are FREE to the

home user and which you choose is a matter of taste, really. Many people

have emotional attachments or performance issues with one or another

AntiVirus software. Try some out, read reviews and decide for yourself

which you like more:

( Good Comparison Page for AV software: http://www.av-comparatives.org/ )

AntiVir (Free and up)

http://www.free-av.com/

avast! (Free and up)

http://www.avast.com/

AVG Anti-Virus System (Free and up)

http://free.grisoft.com/

ca Anti-Virus (~$49.99 and up)

http://snipurl.com/13e0u

eset NOD32 (~$39.00 and up)

http://www.eset.com/products/

Kaspersky Anti-Virus (~$39.95 and up)

http://www.kaspersky.com/kav6

McAfee VirusScan (~$39.99 and up)

http://www.mcafee.com/

Panda Antivirus Titanium (~$39.95 and up)

http://www.pandasoftware.com/products/antivirus2007.htm

(Free Online Scanner: http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/)

Symantec (Norton) AntiVirus (~$39.99 and up)

http://snipurl.com/13e12

Trend Micro (~$44.95 and up)

http://www.trendmicro.com/en/products/desktop/tav/

(Free Online Scanner:

http://housecall.trendmicro.com/housecall/start_corp.asp)

Most of them have automatic update capabilities. You will have to

look into the features of the one you choose. Whatever one you finally

settle with - be SURE to keep it updated (I recommend at least daily) and

perform a full scan periodically (yes, most protect you actively, but a

full scan once a month at 4AM probably won't bother you.)

Tip (10):

The most rampant infestation at the current time concerns SPYWARE/ADWARE.

You need to eliminate it from your machine.

There is no one software that cleans and immunizes you against

everything. Antivirus software - you only needed one. Firewall, you

only needed one. AntiSpyware - you will need several. I have a list and

I recommend you use at least the first five.

First - make sure you have NOT installed "Rogue AntiSpyware". There are

people out there who created AntiSpyware products that actually install

spyware of their own! You need to avoid these:

Rogue/Suspect Anti-Spyware Products & Web Sites

http://www.spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm

Also, you can always visit this site..

http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm

For more updated information.

Install the first five of these: (Install, Run, Update, Scan with..)

(If you already have one or more - uninstall them and download the

LATEST version from the page given!)

Lavasoft AdAware (Free and up)

http://www.lavasoft.de/products/ad-aware_se_personal.php

(How-to: http://snipurl.com/atdn )

Spybot Search and Destroy (Free!)

http://www.safer-networking.net/en/download/

(How-to: http://snipurl.com/atdk )

SpywareBlaster (Free!)

http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/sbdownload.html

(How-to: http://snipurl.com/ate6 )

IE-SPYAD2 (Free!)

http://www.spywarewarrior.com/uiuc/resource.htm#IESPYAD

(How-to: http://snipurl.com/ate7 )

SuperAntiSpyware (Free and up)

http://www.superantispyware.com/

CWShredder Stand-Alone (Free!)

http://www.trendmicro.com/cwshredder/

Hijack This! (Free!)

http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/downloads.html

(Log Analyzer: http://hjt.networktechs.com/ )

Bazooka Adware and Spyware Scanner (Free!)

http://www.kephyr.com/spywarescanner/

(How-to: http://snipurl.com/ate3 )

ToolbarCop (Free!)

http://windowsxp.mvps.org/toolbarcop.htm

Ccleaner (Free!)

http://www.ccleaner.com/

Browser Security Tests (Free Tester)

http://www.jasons-toolbox.com/BrowserSecurity/

Popup Tester (Free Tester)

http://www.popuptest.com/

The Cleaner (~$49.95 and up)

http://www.moosoft.com/

Sometimes you need to install the application and reboot into SAFE MODE in

order to thoroughly clean your computer. Many applications also have

(or are) immunization applications. Spybot Search and Destroy and

SpywareBlaster are two that currently do the best job at passively

protecting your system from malware. None of these programs (in these

editions) run in the background unless you TELL them to. The space they

take up and how easy they are to use greatly makes up for any inconvenience

you may be feeling.

Please notice that Windows XP SP2 does help stop popups as well.

Another option is to use an alternative Web browser. I suggest

'Mozilla Firefox', as it has some great features and is very easy to use:

Mozilla Firefox

http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/

So your machine is pretty clean and up to date now. If you use the sections

above as a guide, it should stay that way as well! There are still a few

more things you can do to keep your machine running in top shape.

Tip (11):

You should periodically check your hard drive(s) for errors and defragment

them. Only defragment after you have cleaned up your machine of

outside parasites and never defragment as a solution to a quirkiness in

your system. It may help speed up your system, but it should be clean

before you do this. Do these things IN ORDER...

How to use Disk Cleanup

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310312

How to scan your disks for errors

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315265

How to Defragment your hard drives

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314848

I would personally perform the above steps at least once every three months.

For most people this should be sufficient, but if the difference you notice

afterwards is greater than you think it should be, lessen the time in

between its schedule.. If the difference you notice is negligible, you can

increase the time.

Tip (12):

SPAM! JUNK MAIL!

This one can get annoying, just like the rest. You get 50 emails in one

sitting and 2 of them you wanted. NICE! (Not.) What can you do? Well,

although there are services out there to help you, some email

servers/services that actually do lower your spam with features built into

their servers - I still like the methods that let you be the end-decision

maker on what is spam and what is not. I have a few products to suggest

to you, look at them and see if any of them suite your needs. Again, if

they don't, Google is free and available for your perusal.

SpamBayes (Free!)

http://spambayes.sourceforge.net/

Spamihilator (Free!)

http://www.spamihilator.com/

MailWasher

http://www.mailwasher.net/

As I said, those are not your only options, but are reliable ones I have

seen function for hundreds+ people.

Tip (13):

ADVANCED TIP! Only do this once you are comfortable under the hood of your

computer!

There are lots of services on your PC that are probably turned on by default

you don't use. Why have them on? Check out these web pages to see what all

of the services you might find on your computer are and set them according

to your personal needs. Be CAREFUL what you set to manual, and take heed

and write down as you change things! Also, don't expect a large performance

increase or anything - especially on today's 2+ GHz machines, however - I

look at each service you set to manual as one less service you have to worry

about someone exploiting.

Service Configuration Tips

http://www.tweakhound.com/xp/xptweaks/supertweaks6.htm

Configuring Services

http://smallvoid.com/tweak/winnt/services.html

Task List Programs

http://www.answersthatwork.com/Tasklist_pages/tasklist.htm

Processes in Windows NT/2000/XP

http://www.reger24.de/prozesse/

There are also applications that AREN'T services that startup when you start

up the computer/logon. One of the better description on how to handle these

I have found here:

Startups

http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_content.php

If you follow the advice laid out above (and do some of your own research as

well, so you understand what you are doing) - your computer will stay fairly

stable and secure and you will have a more trouble-free system.

--

Shenan Stanley

MS-MVP

--

How To Ask Questions The Smart Way

http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

July 15, 2007

Re: ***** sp2 bREAKS eVERYTHING!!!!! *****

nAN does not know what he is talking about. Nothing wrong with the SP2 package. As a matter of fact you should be installing it. If you have an issue then post here

--

Peter

Please Reply to Newsgroup for the benefit of others

Requests for assistance by email can not and will not be acknowledged.

"Breezy" <Breezy@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:E1059E1E-31F7-4C00-A0FC-19E6B88E5681@microsoft.com...

>I wish i had read this befor i installed .Nothing but grief here now and not

> a computer genius.. so im in a no win situation here .. Anyone any ideas ??

>

> "nAN" wrote:

>

>> dON'T INSTALL SP2! i HAVEAND NOW MY COMPUTER CAN'T TALK

>> TO TOHER PC'SANYMORE HERE AT HOME, AND IT COMPLAINS ABOUT

>> FIREWALL ANF ANTIVIRUS. cANT ACCESS VARUOIS WEBPAGES AND

>> EVEN THE WAY MY COMPUTER LOOKS WHEN IT IS STARTING UP IS

>> DIFFERENT!!! yOU WOULD BE WELL WARRNED TO STAY AWAY!!!

>>

July 15, 2007

Re: ***** sp2 bREAKS eVERYTHING!!!!! *****

On Sat, 14 Jul 2007 13:50:01 -0700, Breezy

<Breezy@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

>"nAN" wrote:

>

>> dON'T INSTALL SP2! i HAVEAND NOW MY COMPUTER CAN'T TALK

>> TO TOHER PC'SANYMORE HERE AT HOME, AND IT COMPLAINS ABOUT

>> FIREWALL ANF ANTIVIRUS. cANT ACCESS VARUOIS WEBPAGES AND

>> EVEN THE WAY MY COMPUTER LOOKS WHEN IT IS STARTING UP IS

>> DIFFERENT!!! yOU WOULD BE WELL WARRNED TO STAY AWAY!!!

I had no idea that SP2 would break the Caps Lock Key??????

July 15, 2007

Re: ***** sp2 bREAKS eVERYTHING!!!!! *****

Guys, the original post is now soooooooooooo old, Nan is most likely using

Vista now..

"Stan" <spamblock@nowhere.com> wrote in message

news:4ejj93tmjmq3o26caksghdsjhtcst7d6dg@4ax.com...

> On Sat, 14 Jul 2007 13:50:01 -0700, Breezy

> <Breezy@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

>

>>"nAN" wrote:

>>

>>> dON'T INSTALL SP2! i HAVEAND NOW MY COMPUTER CAN'T TALK

>>> TO TOHER PC'SANYMORE HERE AT HOME, AND IT COMPLAINS ABOUT

>>> FIREWALL ANF ANTIVIRUS. cANT ACCESS VARUOIS WEBPAGES AND

>>> EVEN THE WAY MY COMPUTER LOOKS WHEN IT IS STARTING UP IS

>>> DIFFERENT!!! yOU WOULD BE WELL WARRNED TO STAY AWAY!!!

>

> I had no idea that SP2 would break the Caps Lock Key??????

--

Mike Hall

MS MVP Windows Shell/User

http://msmvps.com/blogs/mikehall/

July 16, 2007

Re: ***** sp2 bREAKS eVERYTHING!!!!! *****

Typical Troll post. Come on guys "Don't feed the trolls".

--

Harry Ohrn MS MVP [shell\User]

http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp

"Breezy" <Breezy@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:E1059E1E-31F7-4C00-A0FC-19E6B88E5681@microsoft.com...

>I wish i had read this befor i installed .Nothing but grief here now and

>not

> a computer genius.. so im in a no win situation here .. Anyone any ideas

> ??

>

> "nAN" wrote:

>

>> dON'T INSTALL SP2! i HAVEAND NOW MY COMPUTER CAN'T TALK

>> TO TOHER PC'SANYMORE HERE AT HOME, AND IT COMPLAINS ABOUT

>> FIREWALL ANF ANTIVIRUS. cANT ACCESS VARUOIS WEBPAGES AND

>> EVEN THE WAY MY COMPUTER LOOKS WHEN IT IS STARTING UP IS

>> DIFFERENT!!! yOU WOULD BE WELL WARRNED TO STAY AWAY!!!

>>

July 16, 2007

Re: ***** sp2 bREAKS eVERYTHING!!!!! *****

Mike Hall - MVP wrote:

>

> Guys, the original post is now soooooooooooo old, Nan is most likely using

> Vista now..

>

Or most probably died or he liked SP2 so much that he can't wait for SP3

to come out!!

July 16, 2007

Re: ***** sp2 bREAKS eVERYTHING!!!!! *****

=?Utf-8?B?QnJlZXp5?= wrote:

>

> I wish i had read this befor i installed .Nothing but grief here now and not

> a computer genius.. so im in a no win situation here .. Anyone any ideas ??

http://www.bootdisk.com/xptop20.htm#1

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