Netbook & Firefox

rmg1

Hi RussJK

I'm trying to learn abut this stuff (it's heavy going though).
Is it worth pruning the startup items like Adobe Reader (which also appears to be out of date)?

RussJK

rmg1 wrote: »

I'm trying to learn abut this stuff (it's heavy going though). Is it worth pruning the startup items like Adobe Reader (which also appears to be out of date)?

Yes on both points. Overall they won't make as much of a difference than sorting out the antivirus situation, so it'd be something I'd suggest to the OP depending on how she gets on with the main stuff.

Also I've found that disabling the many unnecessary browser plugins in Firefox makes more of a difference that a few minor startups. e.g. I've seen FF browsers rendered nearly unusuble due to the accumulation of dozens of old Java consoles and Java updates.

In the past I would give highly detailed answers in my first post - only to have people never followup. Now I just save myself some time and effort by saying a few simple steps to follow - and only go into things more for people who are doing the heavy lifting and giving feedback on their progress.

You can use sites like the following to learn more about startup items:
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/startups/
http://www.systemlookup.com/lists.php
http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_search.php
http://startups.cesam-antimalware.com/En/ (only sometimes)

In reality, in a lot of cases you can mostly get away with almost no startup items without noticing a problem - but it's always best to be a bit conservative when it's someone else's machine. It's things like antivirus programs, function key controllers (e.g. ATK hotkey for Asus laptops), soundcards, etc that usually need to startup.

rmg1

RussJK - If I wanted to learn more about this sort of thing, do you (or any other techies) have any pointers in where to pick up info?

tankgirl1

RussJK wrote: »

No you identified the main issue with her netbook, so no one else needed the respond really

I would use Appremover (www.appremover.com) to remove Norton, McAfee, and AVG. Then I'd follow up with the individual removal tools from each vendor, i.e. the links that Espresso posted, as well as the AVG removal tool (http://download.avg.com/filedir/util/avgrem/avg_remover_stf_x86_2012_1796.exe).

Then install something light like Avast, Avira, or Panda (just one this time!)
http://www.avast.com/free-antivirus-download
http://www.avira.com/en/support-download-free-antivirus
http://www.cloudantivirus.com/en/

Thankyou everyone for the help. I can't believe what a difference its made uninstalling the anti-virus - I shouldn't be allowed near a computor lol:o

Any recomendations on which of the above ones to go for?

tankgirl1

OnAndUp wrote: »

Also Tankgirl1 - When you get all the anti virus stuff sorted. Have you tried using Chrome instead of Firefox I have noticed that it works much smoother/faster than IE on my netbook? But on my desktop I don't notice much difference!

Hiya

No I haven't tried chrome, but was toying with the idea of d/l it - I think I'll give it a go - cheers

rmg1

My personal favourite is Avira. It's small, unobtrusive and generally just gets on with the job quietly.
I've used Avast but found the user-interface a bit harder to deal with.

tankgirl1

Thanks

Just downloaded Chrome btw - It's brill - I'm a convert :T

spud17

rmg1 wrote: »

RussJK - If I wanted to learn more about this sort of thing, do you (or any other techies) have any pointers in where to pick up info?

HERE (clicky)

I'm self taught over the last 6 yrs and am nearly as old as debitcardmahem and Ritchie.

I've also learned a lot by getting hold of peoples discards etc, then having a go at building one working one, out of perhaps 4.
Just run Linux, another learning experience.
When you get bored, bung it on Freecycle.

RussJK

rmg1 wrote: »

RussJK - If I wanted to learn more about this sort of thing, do you (or any other techies) have any pointers in where to pick up info?

I think it's just a mindset really - click on all the options in programs you use, look at what others do, search for answers.

We've all broken our computers more times than we'd want to admit playing around with them But this gives an impetus to learn how to fix them.

The only way to learn is by doing, and it's easier when you have a problem in front of you - and the hardest way to learn is reading from a book about stuff you've never done or seen. Knowing what's normal makes it easier to know what's abnormal - but the reverse is true too.

spud17

Good point from Russ about clicking all the options.

I learned a fair bit on my first Win98se pc (2005) by going through all the options of the installed programs. Also I wasn't afraid to have a look at the Windows folder.
I didn't have internet access, so worked through Dummies guide for Win 98 and the MS hand book that came with the 98 os disk, all due to be thrown out.
Learned a bit about networking, how to set up all sorts of stuff, the basics are still relevant today.

When I eventually messed up, I had to learn to re-install, all with no internet.

Click and investigate, but don't delete, you should be o.k.