Ckb69
12-07-2008, 09:05 PM
So , I found a little Emachines PC @ Wallyworld for $289 .
Windows XP , keyboard , mouse , speakers , no monitor .
I had a $100 gift card burning a hole in my pocket anyway , so I grabbed it .
AMD Athlon 1.6GHz , 1GB RAM , 250GB HD , DVD lightscribe burner , blah blah blah ...
Not great performance , but , very good for the price .
Just for S&G's , I installed a free version of Limewire on it .
Within 15 minutesI knew I had been victimized .
Slow performance , pop -ups , etc...
The 60 day free trial of Norton 360 was blissfully unaware of ANYTHING , despite being updated and scanning since the moment I fired this machine up .
I uninstalled Norton , and , several other pieces of worthless bloatware , ran system restore ,then downloaded a free version of Avast ( my favorite windows cleaner , for a reason ....).
Avast turned up 2 trojans within minutes , and cleaned them without a whimper .
VIOLA!
The machine is now running fine , and I am scanning my backups for any stragglers .
Lesson #1 NORTON SUCKS BALLS ! If you are running Norton anything , lose it and get anything else .
Lesson # 2 Limewire and any other P2P software is inherently risky , especially when run in a windows environment . Beware and be aware .
Lesson # 3 Limewire is LYING when it says it is "spyware and adware free " !
The trojans that hit my machine were installed with the program , with the express intention of serving targeted advertisements , and , illegaly collecting private information .
I thought I should pass this on for what it's worth , for the benefit of those who run Windows exclusively , and , are using Norton products in a vain attempt to secure a very insecure platform .
Windows XP , keyboard , mouse , speakers , no monitor .
I had a $100 gift card burning a hole in my pocket anyway , so I grabbed it .
AMD Athlon 1.6GHz , 1GB RAM , 250GB HD , DVD lightscribe burner , blah blah blah ...
Not great performance , but , very good for the price .
Just for S&G's , I installed a free version of Limewire on it .
Within 15 minutesI knew I had been victimized .
Slow performance , pop -ups , etc...
The 60 day free trial of Norton 360 was blissfully unaware of ANYTHING , despite being updated and scanning since the moment I fired this machine up .
I uninstalled Norton , and , several other pieces of worthless bloatware , ran system restore ,then downloaded a free version of Avast ( my favorite windows cleaner , for a reason ....).
Avast turned up 2 trojans within minutes , and cleaned them without a whimper .
VIOLA!
The machine is now running fine , and I am scanning my backups for any stragglers .
Lesson #1 NORTON SUCKS BALLS ! If you are running Norton anything , lose it and get anything else .
Lesson # 2 Limewire and any other P2P software is inherently risky , especially when run in a windows environment . Beware and be aware .
Lesson # 3 Limewire is LYING when it says it is "spyware and adware free " !
The trojans that hit my machine were installed with the program , with the express intention of serving targeted advertisements , and , illegaly collecting private information .
I thought I should pass this on for what it's worth , for the benefit of those who run Windows exclusively , and , are using Norton products in a vain attempt to secure a very insecure platform .