[LMB] AKICOTL: Computer Question

[Azalais Aranxta]

On Sat, 26 Jan 2008, James wrote:

> This is actually a very good point - a lot of PCs come loaded with
> tons of crap on them - lots of trialware and demo software.

Yeah, this is why I always get ThinkPads, and don't bother with
home user oriented companies like Gateway and Dell--the only
thing IBM gives me that I don't want is Norton (it's not bad
antivirus software but it eats memory, so I always take it off
and install AVG instead).

You also have to be careful of peripherals.  My Firefly
flashdrive came with a bunch of crap software installed on it.  I
once bought a Logitech mouse that came with a lot of crap
software on the install CD--and if you didn't UNcheck all the
right boxes when you ran setup, it would auto install no end of
garbage.

A lot of these programmes are designed to "phone home" when you
get on the internet.  I don't let any of my programmes "phone
home" except my antivirus and antispyware software, which want
updates.  And I have Windows set to notify me of updates but NOT
to auto install them, or else it not only installs new versions
of IE, which I don't use, but tries to install through IE, which
is blocked from contacting the internet via my firewall because
IE is the primary tool in a virus developer's box of fun.

~malfoy :)

****************************************************************
Azalais Aranxta (~malfoy)
ataniell93 on LiveJournal and Vox
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/malfoymadness

"I know the true world, and you know I do. But we needn't let it
think we all bow down." --Christopher Fry