This is the last time that we should discuss a Windows issue on this forum. This one is okay because it sharpens the distinction between "No charge" software and GPL software.
It was by doing a google search for Fast Stone. The site purported to be the Fast Stone site. When I installed, it would no longer let me uninstall programs or make changes to them, saying that I did not have permission. (I am the only user on that machine and I had never set up an administrator password.) A system restore helped, but it denied me access to my backed up files (that Window's System Restore creates) I had to run Linux from a CD and copy the files to flash drives to get them out. Linux doesn't know or care about Windows permissions, which is why I don't dual boot. It is a question of time before you screw up your Windows install using Linux to reach into the Windows partition. It's also twice as much work maintaining two systems on one machine. Then I single booted Linux. That is the way that it will stay. It is too time consuming to download all of the service packs needed to bring XP up to date, and it is more vulnerable to viruses than Pista or Pista Salvaged, (also known as Windows 7). I am about quadruple backed up. I put Linux back in because Nautilus does a better job of identifying duplicate files that Windows Explorer and most of those files are duplicates. Konqueror is also better at this than Windows Explorer. I had only had Windows back in for about a month. My five year old would benefit from some games written for Windows 95 that my daughter outgrew. But he didn't pick up on them because their way of keeping you from copying the CD is that the program won't run without the original CD in the drive. It is a stretch to ask a five year old to insert the correct CD and wait for it to boot. They run too slowly in Wine to be of any use. Wine is mostly for low graphics applications like configuring a wireless modem. It can't run serious graphics fast enough. My kid also got used to the faster booting Ubuntu and kept trying to open Firefox whle Xtra P was still making an internet connection. The XP wireless network finder isn't as good as the Linux one and, once you get it gummed up, it is hard to untangle. Trying to surf before you are online drives it nuts. I was also freaked out at the chaotic way that you download or update Windows programs but have no way of knowing how safe the site that you are using is. The Linux distros are checked out with a fine tooth comb before they are released to the mirrors, so they are much more secure. I have downloaded at least three or four viruses from "download.com." There are some Linux viruses and Trojan Horses, but the distros filter them out. Be careful about downloading a Linux program from an unknown site. Many "no charge" programs are only free so that somebody you don't know about can "data mine". Installing the program can give your firewall a permission that you didn't intend. Sometimes when you uninstall a "free" Windows program, it doesn't uninstall the part that is sending information back to the program's source. Do an internet search for the "Wild Tangent Web Driver." It comes installed on every new Windows PC as part of the game ware. When I used Windows, I would zero fill the hard drive every six months and reinstall from the CD's I think that part of the reason why I don't get spam is because I am Linux only. Gmail probably also has the best spam filters in the business. Yahoo's and AOL's are terrible. Sorry to run on, but going Linux was less time consuming than running my system in "seige mentality." Ant-virus programs only find old viruses. You find a new one when your system gets screwed up. On 7/6/10, WestHurley ComputerReCycling <[email protected]> wrote: > Mark, > > Where did you download FastStone IV Virus? > > Also what was the virus and how did you remove it? > > Thanks, > > Gene > > _______________________________________________ Mid-Hudson Valley Linux Users Group http://mhvlug.org http://mhvlug.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mhvlug Upcoming Meetings (6pm - 8pm) MHVLS Auditorium Jul 7 - Patent Absurdity - The Movie Aug 4 - Samba Sep 1 - BOINC
