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Post by clarencebunsen on Oct 2, 2014 12:15:23 GMT -5
I had a painful experience while browsing Clippers this morning. Normally if there is a link in a posting, I click on it and it opens in a new tab. I can read it and go back to the thread without loosing my place. Today one of the links opened 2 additional tabs. I learned this by accidentally clicking on one (inattention on my part). It was for something called Reimage which claimed I had problems and needed to run their scan. From reading this is another scam but has the power to mess things up & demand purchase of the "Pro" version to fix. When I tried to close the tab naturally it opened a dialog box to prevent closure.
I used Task Manager to shut down Firefox but the tabs reappeared when I restarted. I rebooted and they still reappeared. At that point I ran MalwareBytes (which found nothing), CCleaner (which cleans out downloads, browser caches and browser histories) and an Avast scan (which was probably overkill). I rebooted & restarted and everything appears to be working normally but I'm still irritated. Trouble is I don't know who to be mad at.
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Post by dave on Oct 3, 2014 7:15:26 GMT -5
I had a painful experience while browsing Clippers this morning. Normally if there is a link in a posting, I click on it and it opens in a new tab. I can read it and go back to the thread without loosing my place. Today one of the links opened 2 additional tabs. I learned this by accidentally clicking on one (inattention on my part). It was for something called Reimage which claimed I had problems and needed to run their scan. From reading this is another scam but has the power to mess things up & demand purchase of the "Pro" version to fix. When I tried to close the tab naturally it opened a dialog box to prevent closure. I used Task Manager to shut down Firefox but the tabs reappeared when I restarted. I rebooted and they still reappeared. At that point I ran MalwareBytes (which found nothing), CCleaner (which cleans out downloads, browser caches and browser histories) and an Avast scan (which was probably overkill). I rebooted & restarted and everything appears to be working normally but I'm still irritated. Trouble is I don't know who to be mad at. I had a similar bug this week and also ran the same list of programs, plus Spybot. Didn't fix it because it was something done to the Firefox browser (I later found) that appeared OK to cc cleaner, malware bytes, etc. The malware kicked off when I clicked on a price on ebay and it sent me to places with alternative prices. It was named FVD something, so I did a Firefox about:config with a filter for "FVD" and found a full page of new instructions that I simply turned off all the switches on and that took care of the problem. Had that not worked, my next step would have been to uninstall Firefox and delete all the AppData files (which I don't know if Windows 7 will allow you to do, since it gets finicky about your software rights after it collects your money for them. I get annoyed when I pay for a program product and it tells me I don't have access to certain areas of it.) |
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Post by clarencebunsen on Oct 3, 2014 8:09:25 GMT -5
Thinking about it this morning, the episode doesn't really count a a major pain, more of an annoyance when I had other stuff to do. I did change some FF settings. I don't really want to uninstall. I have FF set up the way I want it and synced across three machines and I'm feeling lazy right now. I did adjust some FF settings & I'll probably run Spybot today. Really though, I should spend some time on my wife's machine today. That's Win 8 which I still barely tolerate.
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Post by dave on Oct 3, 2014 10:22:20 GMT -5
I actually liked Win8 more than Win7 and took down Wn8 only because of the lack of drivers. That was over a year ago. I had bought a special inexpensive download of win8 online from Microsoft, but when I changed computers they wouldn't allow me to download a second time, so I lost my money.
Yes, uninstalling FF and/or deleting the AppData files would definitely lose your setups. I've gotten used to it for one reason or another and frankly don't mind the opportunity to cull my bookmarks and speed dial. The main reason why I've had to re-install is because when installing I forget to uncheck "update me automatically." I'll be in the midst of working on something and all of a sudden the browser updates itself and I alight in the Land of Oz and can't understand how the hell to do anything on the browser until I begin to look up, e.g., where is the tools menu or where are the developer tools? It's a pain.
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Post by dave on Oct 3, 2014 10:48:18 GMT -5
I appreciate the position software developers are in when they want to change the user interface for the good of the product and know they'll face opposition from users. I spent the last ten years of my career as a software planner for a large company. Among other duties, I was the guy who took the calls from the marketing folks after they hung up with a customer who was livid because we had changed something in the interface that caused his users to lose time and get the payroll out late or some other crucial application. I'd strap on my guns and head for the cellar (where we kept our programmers) and there'd be hell to pay when I found the first line manager whose group did this without warning us and without an opportunity for the marketing rep to prepare the customer for the change. Also, I was supposed to approve any user interface change for my products. Needless to say, I was seldom open to any changes in the interface and so from time to time the developers would try to slip one by and not mention it.
Still, I could understand that sometimes a change affecting the user was necessary. I seldom admitted it. Why fashion their argument for the developers when it was their job to convince us it was needed.
I don't think Microsoft runs their company the same way we ran ours twenty years ago. Microsoft's business depends upon advertising and quantity discounting. Our business depended upon relationships between marketing people and customer executives and line management. It was a business where price certainly mattered, but so did one's forthrightness and honor.
One can say anything about business and honesty today, but although I learned honesty at home as a child and probably forgot most of it in my teens, I re-learned it on the job as I came to understand one's best asset was one's candor and reputation for honesty and fairness.
I'm sure it isn't that way today. I'm glad I'm retired.
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Post by clarencebunsen on Oct 3, 2014 12:14:47 GMT -5
My impression of Win 8 is probably colored by the fact that it is my wife's computer and I only get called in if there is a problem or it is misbehaving in as manner she doesn't understand. However, my impression is that many of the changes made were for the sake of change or to look more "modern" without any improvement in efficiency or ease of use.
Example: my first contact with Win 95 was a call from a neighbor who couldn't get his new computer to shut down. I'm used to tech support calls from him but I was a little embarrassed that I had to consult the manual in order to learn how to power down. I still can't imagine who thought it was a good idea to click on "Start" in order to stop. Over the course of almost 20 years I think most people have gotten used to that but I still think it ranks as one of the most anti-intuitive features ever designed.
Along comes Win 8 with a clean sheet design and a chance to make simple something which should be simple. Instead it takes the same number of unnecessary steps and is even more cleverly hidden.
How would I do it if given the power? I'd put an obvious Shut Down button in the middle of the Task Bar, left click to shut down, right click to get the Restart/Sleep/Hibernate menu.
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Post by dave on Oct 3, 2014 15:39:50 GMT -5
You're right, of course. But there's an element to modern computers that makes me suspect a few guys and girls stayed up late one night thinking up little tidbits that would purposely not make logical sense but somehow impart a special charm to all of it. Like I can visualize one of the group saying, "Hey, I got it. Make 'em hit start to stop the PC!"
"Well, that's perfect," said his cube mate. "Who else would do that but us techies."
"It'll mess with their heads," complained a third worker.
"Yeah, but," said the first guy, "only for a little while and then they'll feel special 'cause they are the only people who know it for a while."
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Post by clarencebunsen on Oct 3, 2014 18:11:48 GMT -5
I'm feeling a little embarrassed right now. I did get to Barb's machine this afternoon. She has it set up to open on the desktop rather than the Start Screen and that's normally where I stay. I did some updates and one required a restart. Went over to the Start Screen and learned that one of the Win 8 updates changed the shut down to something rational. It's in the upper right rather than bottom center but otherwise pretty much as I described it should be. No idea when that happened.
Anyway, it's all updated and scanned for now so I can leave it alone for a bit.
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Post by dave on Oct 4, 2014 7:15:04 GMT -5
I'm feeling a little embarrassed right now. I did get to Barb's machine this afternoon. She has it set up to open on the desktop rather than the Start Screen and that's normally where I stay. I did some updates and one required a restart. Went over to the Start Screen and learned that one of the Win 8 updates changed the shut down to something rational. It's in the upper right rather than bottom center but otherwise pretty much as I described it should be. No idea when that happened. Anyway, it's all updated and scanned for now so I can leave it alone for a bit. I suppose one could say it matured.  |
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Post by chris on Oct 5, 2014 12:10:40 GMT -5
Get ready for Windows 10 (no 9) soon
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Post by clarencebunsen on Oct 5, 2014 13:42:58 GMT -5
Although it looks interesting, I will probably follow my usual pattern and wait at least 6 months before even considering Win 10.
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Post by dave on Oct 5, 2014 13:43:25 GMT -5
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Post by chris on Oct 9, 2014 8:31:45 GMT -5
I am still using my XP and have had no problems. (just need to get some time to decide what I want and what I want on it....am I pressing my luck or was everyone scared off into rushing to upgrade)
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Post by clarencebunsen on Oct 9, 2014 9:27:18 GMT -5
I haven't seen any reports of any major new XP exploits since support ended. The last I saw about 23% of the computers on the internet are still running XP although a big chunk of that is in China. My personal XP has been off line since I loaned the monitor to my son-in-law. If you are going to continue to run it you should probably make sure that your anti-virus/ anti-spyware/ firewall are kept up to date and scans are run regularly.
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Post by chris on Oct 10, 2014 18:46:40 GMT -5
Yes I do using my Avast CB
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