MS Windows

[Hi Ho]

I've been using Windows 7 since January. It is a big step up from Vista and I could never go back to XP. I have not used IE for years. Firefox all the way. At the very least, the fact that Firefox does not support ActiveX should be THE reason to use it instead of IE. ActiveX is IE only and it is a security nightmare.

Isberian, I assum you know enough not to get into trouble and not installing updates may be fine for you but the average user should ALWAYS install security updates. They patch major vulnerabilities that allow a malicious site to take over a machine without any interaction from the user and not installing updates is just inviting viruses and spam bots into the average users machine.

I know how not to get bitten but I still install updates. I have never had any issues, though I have not run XP for a couple years. I do not run antivirus software, however.

 

[Tomorrow]

I've been using Windows 7 since January. It is a big step up from Vista and I could never go back to XP. I have not used IE for years. Firefox all the way. At the very least, the fact that Firefox does not support ActiveX should be THE reason to use it instead of IE. ActiveX is IE only and it is a security nightmare.

Isberian, I assum you know enough not to get into trouble and not installing updates may be fine for you but the average user should ALWAYS install security updates. They patch major vulnerabilities that allow a malicious site to take over a machine without any interaction from the user and not installing updates is just inviting viruses and spam bots into the average users machine.

I know how not to get bitten but I still install updates. I have never had any issues, though I have not run XP for a couple years. I do not run antivirus software, however.

Hi Ho, thanks for your post. What is it about W7 that you like? Are you using the beta or a commercial version?

 

[jonnythan]

There are just as many, if not more, regular security updates for Ubuntu and OS X as for Windows.

The poster who said that he doesn't install Windows updates because he doesn't trust MS is a complete idiot. Leaving a computer intentionally unpatched is the single dumbest, most irresponsible thing you can do. It's people like that who are as much responsible for botnets and DDOS attacks as the actual virus writers themselves.

 

[Hi Ho]

Hi Ho, thanks for your post. What is it about W7 that you like? Are you using the beta or a commercial version?

I started with the beta in January and installed the release candidate when it came out and that is what I'm using now. 7 is faster, lighter weight, and has an improved UI. It boots much faster. It is what Vista should have been in the first place. I was bored so I put together a quick Screentoaster video of how I typically do things in 7:

<object id='stVE9TS0xIR1xdQ1VbX1lfU15S' width='425' height='344' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' data='http://www.screentoaster.com/swf/STPlayer.swf' codebase='http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,115,0'><param name='movie' value='http://www.screentoaster.com/swf/STPlayer.swf'/><param name='allowFullScreen' value='true'/><param name='allowScriptAccess' value='always'/><param name='flashvars' value='video=stVE9TS0xIR1xdQ1VbX1lfU15S'/></object><div style='width: 425px; text-align: right;'><a href='http://www.screentoaster.com/'>Screencasts and videos online</a></div>

The video is a bit jerky. It's all silky smooth in real life. All the little things add up. The ability to hit the Windows key on the keyboard and type the name of whatever I want (file, program, folder, anything) and have it show up and open instantly is something I can't go without. This was in Vista but it didn't work as well. Aero snap, shown in the video, allows windows to snap to the edges of the screen. I do a lot of stuff where I have two windows open and want to compare the contents and simply being able to drag them to either side of the screen and have them perfectly lined up is really nice. There is a lot more to Windows 7 then what I conjured up in the video but those are some of the things I use all the time.

The Firefox tab switching is an addon that anyone can use (FoxTab) and I have a smooth scrolling addon that makes Firefox scroll like the flick scrolling on an Iphone (YetAnotherSmoothScrolling).

 

[Nemo128]

Disable automatic updates, click Custom when it prompts to install, see what they are.

All mine lately have been Defender definition updates.

 

[Nemo128]

Leaving a computer intentionally unpatched is the single dumbest, most irresponsible thing you can do. It's people like that who are as much responsible for botnets and DDOS attacks as the actual virus writers themselves.

The problem with those that "know computers" is that the more knowledge people get, the more they think they are invincible and they don't need the manufacturer's patches. The more I've learned, the more I've realized I don't know more than MS does about their own OS and I'm certainly not more capable than someone who really wants to do the damage. It's kinda like the guy who leaves his front door unlocked when he's home because he thinks his 12-gauge makes him invincible.

 

[lsiberian]

There are just as many, if not more, regular security updates for Ubuntu and OS X as for Windows.

The poster who said that he doesn't install Windows updates because he doesn't trust MS is a complete idiot. Leaving a computer intentionally unpatched is the single dumbest, most irresponsible thing you can do. It's people like that who are as much responsible for botnets and DDOS attacks as the actual virus writers themselves.

I've been running windows since the 3.1 days and I can tell you that many updates have done more harm than good for my machines. There are literally thousands of exploits in windows and no update can or will patch them all. I've found in my years of tech work and software engineering that giving an update a couple of weeks is a wise choice.

I've had Microsoft updates like an IE 4 update screw up my computer majorly. If you've ever had MS updates screw up your machine then I think you'd be a little less harsh in your criticism. MS isn't alone in patches or upgrades breaking things. This is a common issue in Software Engineering. Usually it's the result of shortchanged quality assurance or an unforeseen test case.

 

[lsiberian]

I've been using Windows 7 since January. It is a big step up from Vista and I could never go back to XP. I have not used IE for years. Firefox all the way. At the very least, the fact that Firefox does not support ActiveX should be THE reason to use it instead of IE. ActiveX is IE only and it is a security nightmare.

Isberian, I assume you know enough not to get into trouble and not installing updates may be fine for you but the average user should ALWAYS install security updates. They patch major vulnerabilities that allow a malicious site to take over a machine without any interaction from the user and not installing updates is just inviting viruses and spam bots into the average users machine.

I know how not to get bitten but I still install updates. I have never had any issues, though I have not run XP for a couple years. I do not run antivirus software, however.

1. Don't forget that updates can create other vulnerabilities.
I advise any computer user to allow an expert to handle security updates, anti-virus and program installation. If such a person isn't available then feel free to ask Nemo, myself or any other techie here for advice.

2. I suggest a manual update of commonly used software every couple of weeks.

3. For anti-virus, firewalls and spyware you should always keep your computer updated.

4. Most importantly back up your important files. Store non system files on a separate partition so you can easily reinstall windows without losing your data. This is by far the best method of defense.

5. Windows now has the restore feature. This should be enabled and can be used if something bad happens. Basically it will revert your configuration to a previous state. I've used this a couple of times myself.

I may run my machine very lean to maximize it's performance. I also don't got to naughty websites with it. Every person has different requirements for a machine. My requirements are speed and stability. I wouldn't recommend my configuration to most folks at all.

Windows is a lot better than it used to be, but it's still not perfect. No software is.

 

[jonnythan]

I've had Microsoft updates like an IE 4 update screw up my computer majorly. If you've ever had MS updates screw up your machine then I think you'd be a little less harsh in your criticism. MS isn't alone in patches or upgrades breaking things. This is a common issue in Software Engineering. Usually it's the result of shortchanged quality assurance or an unforeseen test case.

I have had MS updates screw things up. Majorly, in fact. I'm a system admin in charge of (among other things) testing and distributing software updates to a large corporate network, so I've seen a few things go boom.

But the solution is not to simply turn off updates. That's like solving a "sometimes my keys get locked in my car" problem by removing the car's door locks entirely.

 

[lsiberian]

I have had MS updates screw things up. Majorly, in fact. I'm a system admin in charge of (among other things) testing and distributing software updates to a large corporate network, so I've seen a few things go boom.

But the solution is not to simply turn off updates. That's like solving a "sometimes my keys get locked in my car" problem by removing the car's door locks entirely.

I acknowledge your opinion and understand what your saying. I think it's best we agree to disagree. I think we are looking at this from completely different angles. Kinda like the blind men and the elephant story.

My bias against MS is very high so I don't think I can speak logically on the matter.

Have a nice day.

 

[njedpx3]

My rec stay with IE7

IE7. Perhaps I should upgrade?

I upgraded to IE7 and ended up backing off because I had so many access "security" problems. The only good thing about IE8 is that it is a specific program update, that can be identified explicitly and backed off by iteself.

Many of the Microsoft fixes are security updates, because it is a fairly common hacker target. If you run a good antivirus, anti-spyware/grayware a lot of the updates ( if not most or all) are not necessary. I run Symantec's Endpoint Protection, along with AD-AWARE and Spybot search & Desroy occasionally and have no problems.


As also, mentioned previously there are a lot of other good browsers. I use Mozilla Firefox a lot of the time.

Good Luck.

 

[jonnythan]

I acknowledge your opinion and understand what your saying. I think it's best we agree to disagree. I think we are looking at this from completely different angles. Kinda like the blind men and the elephant story.

My bias against MS is very high so I don't think I can speak logically on the matter.

Have a nice day.

Whatever your bias towards MS, security updates are essential. There's no two ways about it. Unpatched Windows systems connected to the internet are often infected within hours, without ever even opening a browser.

I use Linux, I use Windows, I use Solaris, I use OpenBSD. If you don't trust your OS vendor's security updates, you shouldn't be using the system at all.

I will leave it there though.

 

[vizionut]

bad experience with updates

I went to install updates the other night and went ahead and installed even optional updates for realtek and it f'ed up my bluray player video had to roll back the updates and wait for ms to reisue the critical updates today. Just saying watch out for optional updates from anybody other that ms.

 

[lsiberian]

I suggest you configure your updates with the "download updates but let me choose when to install them option". For your personal(non-work) computer. Reading the use of an update is helpful too.

 

[vizionut]

hp is sending windows 7 upgrade

So i got a e-mail from hp the other day that said they were sending me the free upgrade to windows 7 The only problem is i have two choices here first choice is upgrade which means not a clean install. The second chioce is hard drive format and install of windows 7.

I am kinda worried about the hard drive format and install and the upgrade is not a total install of windows 7(it will leave some of vista files intact). My question is what would you do?

I am wanting a fresh start so option two is what i will do. I am going to wait a few weeks though and see what happens.

 

[Nomo]

So i got a e-mail from hp the other day that said they were sending me the free upgrade to windows 7 The only problem is i have two choices here first choice is upgrade which means not a clean install. The second chioce is hard drive format and install of windows 7.

I am kinda worried about the hard drive format and install and the upgrade is not a total install of windows 7(it will leave some of vista files intact). My question is what would you do?

I am wanting a fresh start so option two is what i will do. I am going to wait a few weeks though and see what happens.

I'd spend a couple of weeks backing up everything I can think of and go for option 2.
I like to reformat about once a year anyway, and don't keep a great deal of files on my hard drive, so maybe it's a bit easy for me to say.....

 

[vizionut]

Yeah i know about backing everything up I have a couple of full backups already i will backup everything before i start the install Music,movies and picutres is all i am worried about though.

oh by the way i found a free copy of winx dvd ripper platinum today I just finished ripping lost season 1 disk 1 to hard drive. I guess i should hold off on ripping anything else unitl windows 7 is installed

 

[pzaur]

So i got a e-mail from hp the other day that said they were sending me the free upgrade to windows 7 The only problem is i have two choices here first choice is upgrade which means not a clean install. The second chioce is hard drive format and install of windows 7.

I am kinda worried about the hard drive format and install and the upgrade is not a total install of windows 7(it will leave some of vista files intact). My question is what would you do?

I am wanting a fresh start so option two is what i will do. I am going to wait a few weeks though and see what happens.

Buy an external hard drive and back everything up overnight. Write down all the programs you currently have running on your machine and then do a clean install after double checking that all files were backed up.

Easily the simplest way to back things up. Fry's is constantly having sales on external drives. Costco also has a few for a reasonable cost.

-pat

 

[pattinsonrobert]

Hi Everyone..

Currently I am using Windows Vista And I have not notice any updates So If somebody know then post it here its helpful to us.
Thanks.

 

[pzaur]

Hi Everyone..

Currently I am using Windows Vista And I have not notice any updates So If somebody know then post it here its helpful to us.
Thanks.

Run the update program yourself. It doesn't have to be automatic. Personally, I dislike the automatic update feature because it updates many things I don't use or need. Outlook is a prime example. I've got it disabled and I'm still offered the updates.

-pat