How to get rid of Norton Antivirus:
1. Go to Start – Control Panel (Start – Settings – Control Panel)
2. Open Add/Remove Programs
3. Now you will want to remove the following items:
4. Restart your computer when prompte
512mb of RAM is not enough for Windows Vista…any flavor. Vista has been out almost three months now, and I have setup almost a dozen Vista machines. Thankfully, they are rolling out slowly. All the machines I setup, until today, came with 1 GB (1024mb) or 2GB of RAM. And although not blazing, the computer's ran at an acceptable speed.
I just finished spending nearly 2.5 hours setting up a laptop with Vista Basic and only 512mb of RAM. It was painful. Normally, I can clean all unwanted and trial software (crapware) from a new computer, install and update AVG Antivirus, optimize the startup and Internet settings, shut off unnecessary special effects, setup email and test both email and the Internet all in under 1.5 hours. This little laptop required extraordinary wait times to get anything installed or uninstalled. Very frustrating.
Today I had an appointment that spanned almost every area of what I do on a daily basis. The appointment lasted roughly three hours.
In that time I…
Helped setup a new iMac. She is making the switch from Windows and wanted some of the features that she was used to in her PC. I set her computer to ask for her password whenever it was turned on or came out of sleep mode so her kids couldn't get online without her permission. I also setup a gmail account and a POP3 email program that worked like Outlook Express.
Use this tool to completely remove McAffee Security 2005, 2006, or 2007.
Here is another McAfee Uninstaller that you can try from Tucows.
Disable unprotected File Sharing on Windows XP Home
If you use Windows XP Home Edition, then you should avoid sharing files over the campus network and make sure that file sharing is disabled on your computer. NOTE: File sharing is enabled by default when Windows XP Home is installed onto your computer. Since Windows XP Home does not support password-protected file sharing, any person or virus will be able to access your computer without your knowledge if file sharing is enabled. Follow the instructions below to disable unprotected file sharing.
When you have a program that won't unstall, read through this page , install the program it links to and follow the directions.
This program removes all of the install information from the Windows registry. From this point you should reinstall the program and then unstall it the normal way.
I've helped many new people this fall move to a new computer. Like moving to a new house, it takes time and patience before everything gets just right on your new computer. It is important to know that you can't simply hook up a new computer and start using it. You need to uninstall any unwanted software, properly configure and update your security software, setup your Internet and email connections, and then most importantly, transfer your data from the old computer to the new one.
Inevitably, when I work with a new computer customer, I get the deer in the headlights look when I if there data is backed up or know what data they want to move and where it is stored. You have heard me mention many times how important file management and backup are, but I have also mentioned that this is the most difficult part of computing to learn and understand. Many computer users can get by not learning about files, folders and backup for years, but when moving to a new computer, this will make the transition a lot tougher and longer.
Today I visited a client who listens to the show regularly, or so she said.
I was there because the computer was running very slow and locked up often. On her computer were three programs (or groups of programs).
1. AOL
2. AOL Security Center (AOL's antivirus, antispyware and popup blocker)
3. Norton System Works
"I know you guys say not to use these programs but my son said I need them, he works for a big computer company in California."
As I explained that her problems were caused by AOL, AOL Security Center and Norton she said, "I knew you were going to tell me that I shouldn't be using those programs but…"
Wow, it would have almost been faster to backup the data, reformat the hard drive, and reinstall everything from scratch. The long install was of the grossly over programmed Norton Internet Security Suite. Here's the breakdown of my appointment:
| 8:26am | Arrive at customer's house. He tells me that his computer is running extremely slow. |
| 8:32am | I sit down and hit the power button on the computer. |
| 8:36am |
Still staring at the Windows XP startup logo, I ask the customer to bring in the laptop since he wants me to look at it also. |
| 8:40am |
The laptop is booted up and I'm already looking it over. |
| 8:41am |
Desktop is finally up…9 minutes!! Yikes! |
| 8:46am |
Add/Remove programs is finally up and the list populated. I find Norton Internet Security and click the Remove button. |
| 9:41am |
55 minutes later, I can finally work on the computer. The actual uninstall procedure took about 50 minutes and then another five for it to reboot after removal of Norton. |
| 10:07am |
I installed and updated both AVG Anti-virus and anti-spyware, tested the Internet connect, tested MS Word (which wasn't working at all an hour earlier) and started the AVG scans all in this past half hour. |
The moral of the story is that Norton products slow down even the fastest computers significantly more than any other security product. The installs are long, the updates are long, the uninstalls are long, and the protection is mediocre. Please, save yourself money, time and grief and don't buy or install Norton products on yours or other people's computers.
Today I had lunch at a local burger place. I try to eat a hamburger a week just so I don't forget how bad they are for me.
While I was eating six Geek Squad guys came and set down at the table next to me. For those who don't know, the Geek Squad is Best Buy's computer repair team. Essentially they are a bunch of kids with book learning but little real-world experience outside of the routine jobs that they do on a daily basis.
As I heard them talk I began to wonder if it is truly possible to Wal-mart-ize computer help. This comes from a very biased point of view admittedly. My business is in direct competition to the Geek Squad.