Korean Job Discussion Forums

ThisCharmingMan · Joined: 11 Jan 2004

I got around to downloading Service Pack 2 and noticed now my computer has a Microsoft Firewall and Virus protection in addition to McAfee's Firewall and Viruscan that I've been using before.

Would it be feasible to remove the McAfee program and just rely on Microsoft's own software or is it really inconsequential to have both software installed?

peppermint · Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2004 6:35 pm Post subject:

I dislike the microsoft security features. They don't play nicely with Korean websites at all.

Industrial Strength · Joined: 02 Dec 2003

SP2 doesn't give you the same virus protection that Norton or McAfee do. It just reports that you have either installed and that they are current and running. That's it. So basically, don't get rid of your McAfee.
And most 3rd-party firewalls are much better than Microsoft's built-in one. For one thing, Microsoft's firewall doesn't protect you from inbound traffic/attacks.
IS

Demophobe · Joined: 17 May 2004

If it doesn't protect you from unsolicited inbound attempts, then why do they call it a firewall?

danielcraig · Joined: 17 Aug 2004 Location: Indiana, USA

When it comes to Windows, redundancy is GOOD. Keep your 3rd party software. Also, get the Google toolbar to block pop-ups and turn the new Explorer blocker off.

Demophobe · Joined: 17 May 2004

danielcraig · Joined: 17 Aug 2004 Location: Indiana, USA

Demophobe · Joined: 17 May 2004

Sigh.....Ok....simpler terms then:

The google toolbar is believed by many to be a form of spyware.

So, running 3 or 4 firewalls is cool? How about 6 AV progs then.....viruses are nasty. And 5 spyware progs...those are ugly too.

Laughing

I bet you had trouble with Win98.....figure that out.

danielcraig · Joined: 17 Aug 2004 Location: Indiana, USA

That would get a little expensive....

No clue what the Win98 reference is Embarassed

schwa · Joined: 18 Jan 2003 Location: Yap

coolsage · Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2004 9:08 am Post subject:

I use Win XP Pro, with the Opera browser. Ad-Aware catches the junk, and Avast deals with the viruses. And my four-year-old Samsung laptop whizzes along. I make sure to change the oil once a week.

Demophobe · Joined: 17 May 2004

The google toolbar uses your search to log page hit statistics, which in itself is no big deal. The "sinister" part is that it also logs the origin of the source, your I.P. in that search hit. Of course, as with all privacy concerns, one may say "I have nothing to hide", which theoretically, could also be a pro-spyware argument. Spyware does the same thing, but nobody likes that it logs things...why is it that Google has escaped as a "good guy" who would never do anything but for "inside" use with the information garnered?

Well, trust them for some reason if you will, but even Gmail has said it will scan your e-mails. It's just another way of looking at what is ours, in a sense. What we use Google for is indeed their business, but we needn't be uniquely identified through that use.

I won't pretend to know the exact difference between loading the Google page on your browser and searching, and having the resident program on your system, but I think that it isn't too hard to see where the differences lie. The fact that it's on the system and is used for logging/possible tracking services screams spyware (granted, in a milder way) to me and many others. Does it use the same proxy as your browser may be using? (If you use a proxy at all, that is) Does it use it's own port, skirting proxies? These are questions which could esily be answered through a bit of reading, but I haven't bothered. I just know it's a grey area, and that's enough for me not to use it.

I set the Google page as my home page, so getting there to search isn't much less convenient than having the toolbar installed. Just hit the "home" button or hotkey.

Win98 had only single .dll library files. If 2 pieces of software had a simultaneous call on a single .dll (in a library), the result was an infamous lock-up. This meant that great care had to be taken when installing possible redundancies, as they could often crash the system, requiring a bit of "safe mode" work or worse to unlock the machine.

WinXP installs multiple copies of .dll files, one for every instance that a piece of software calls for it, resulting in far fewer lockups, as the aforementioned lockups didn't occur because all programs had their own copy of these library files.

When one installs a program, it is not an independant entity. It will use many files that are in WinXP (library files) in order to run. This is where the NT kernel-based OS is superior, as it creates duplicates of these library files in order to avoid conflicts, a.k.a. lockups.

One's overlapping of software was often catastrophic on Win98 machines, and most people who used Win98 are instinctually not so cavalier towards software installation. Once bitten, twice shy.

coolsage · Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2004 8:38 am Post subject:

Demophobe: You've managed to explain the cyber-workings in a way in which a computer-dummy guy like me can 'get it'. I'm suddenly smarter than I was ten minutes ago. Really. Now how do I get a nifty avatar like yours? Cheers to you from the Lake City.

Demophobe · Joined: 17 May 2004

And cheers to you from the same said city! We shall have to get together sometime, neighbor. Wink

I had a fine Saturday evening with a new addition to the Chuncheon clan....a fine fellow indeed. We could do a coffee together.

Avatars....well, just look in the corners of the net. They are always kicking around there...