Tarun

Use what works best for you. Who cares what others think. It's about what you are happy with. Personally, I like Opera but to me it lacks the customization I prefer. Firefox has some extensions that I use frequently for numerous things and Opera unfortunately lacks this (or if it has it, there's not much ease-of-use at all). With Firefox, I can place my bookmarks toolbar where I want and basically tweak it how I need it. So, bottom line. Who cares what others think. Use what works best for you. Offer or suggest that someone tries something; but don't force it down their throats, it'll only push them away.

You're quoting a Wiki. Nothing on Wiki's should be taken as solid facts since any user can edit them at any time.

SpywareBlaster would be a great start. Also, using Spybot you can Immunize the system.

Not a single problem, ever. Software cannot damage your hardware. You probably had the errors on your hard drive and were unaware of them. I see it happen from time to time.

Fasterfox is bad, and will get you banned from -many- websites due to the "prefetching".

Please read this KB that will help you out.

Call Microsoft or your OEM (Gateway, Dell, etc). Any other method could be considered as piracy.

I too would use Opera if it had better adblock methods. The widgets (same as extensions in Firefox) are nice and all, but so many are just useless. Everything I need, Firefox has and is VERY flexible with customization. More of my rants about Opera are here.

Or a much safer method: regsvr32 /u %windir%\system32\shmedia.dll

I've been wondering which does better. PerfectDisk or Diskeeper. I've been using PowerDefragGUI with Contig on machines too.

Just trash it. You can also take it apart and take a lighter to the film for added security and some pyromaniac fun.

My previous post covered what they need to do. Thanks though guys.

I'm contemplating switching to Avast from AVG, but the thread mentions conflict with ZA, which I have (the free ed.). Since version 2, ZoneAlarm has had several issues. Those include memory leaks, stability issues and more. The software even slows the pageload time for websites. :\

I think the OP should be shot for posting this trash.

You may find this AVG vs. Avast an interesting read.

Download Dial-a-fix and click Fix Windows Update.

Make sure you're not holding shift when you delete them too.

Avast is the best freeware anti-virus. Many tech shops recommend it as well. Anything > Norton.

Any chance of getting away from the .NET framework?

You have restrictive policies that have disabled the Windows Firewall. This can often be caused by a virus/trojan. You can fix the policy issue using Dial-a-fix v0.60.0.15 (build date: 2006-06-27). Dial-a-fix will prompt you to fix any restrictive policies as soon as you start it. It's a very safe way to fix policy issues. As for the virus, get Avast and scan your computer to completely remove it.

Please refer to the Introduction To Anti-Malware & Cleaning, follow all of the directions and please repost your log as per the directions in a new topic.

Still true.

I use that as well and absolutely love it!

PageDefrag by SysInternals for the win.

Pretty much any intelligent tech will tell you that you do not need to set your pagefile to a fixed size. It really is best to leave it alone. Reason: Anything you are working with will STILL seek to use the pagefile. Now, should you be gaming or editing graphics in Photoshop; you'll still need the pagefile (it works with your RAM after all). When it needs more memory (RAM or pagefile) and Windows is in control, it will automatically make the necessary adjustments. If you're on a fixed pagefile and you have no more memory when an application needs it, it's highly probable that the program will crash (unless it's been coded VERY well). The article may be dated at the end of 2004, but it hasn't changed because it's accurate. It should be practiced more. Unfortunately, flame wars often erupt from the pagefile discussions as many do not know the difference between what is right and wrong. The version of Windows Memory Management by biznatchio is correct. Let Windows manage your pagefile, it will be fine.