igotout

We went to Vegas in celebration of my 50th birthday last month. This is what I did in remebrance. It is 17 stories high. Scary! It is right by Circus Circus. Notice the tiny litle cars and that we are on the same level as the tower structure in the background. Awesome! All reunion attendees are expected to do this. It will prove to us that you do not have the spirit of fear and will help you stay awake all day: [This message was edited by igotout on September 20, 2003 at 2:54.]

Valerie - I think your thread is under attack. Your thread is being spammed by other corps. See some of us married other Corps such as Hope in the sickth. Now it becomes a 6th Corps reunion as well if some of those sickth people show up. Now the Reahards (1st Corps, here in Tampa) are in a traveling mode all over the place with their newly purchased motor home. Suppose they want to rove out to Vegas for a bash? Do we refuse pillars like these to participate? And the 9th....they must needs be there to serve us and make us laugh. Oh Tuttle, "come out to Vegas and help us". JohnR 1:1

Excathedra, you have AdAware already from what I understand. Just run it as Paw suggests. This also from the tips thread that I posted a few months ago: __________________________________________ Has your browser ever been "hijacked"? Mine has. Some websites contain malicious code that will change your home page and add "helpers" or links to your toolbar without even asking you. Some even go so far as to install programs on your system to make the damage repeat itself every time you boot up. How rude! Fight back with this little freeware program! Click here to see this program It runs in the background and alerts you before the damage is done and helps you to easily undo the intrusions if they happen. Since I do not like things running in the background you could install it and use it until the problem is solved and then uninstall it. (And yes, there is a way to reinstall Internet Explorer 5 or 6 but it is usually not necessary unless your browser is really screwed.) JR

With XP I recommend at least 512 MB ram. If it is only a year old it should be a PEntium 4 which is also what I recommend. But less will work too. This should be speedy if you are using XP and modern equipment. Last resort - Reinstall XP. Just back up all your critical files and wipe out the hard drive and start with a fresh install. Better yet, if you decide to do this just get a new hard drive, 120GB at least. More storage and they are so cheap these days. Or just use the old one as a 2nd hard drive. I won't say this is easy as some make it out to be. Installation is not so hard but after that is where all the work begins. THere are a myriad of details to tweak XP so that it performs best. Same with each program you will have to reinstall. For example Office 2000 is up to Service Pack 3. You will have to download ALL the many Windows updates as well. As I said it is a last resort. Your current rig should be fixable but it is difficult to determine why it is slow. Couldn't hurt to defrag the hard drive. Also read the other thread about turning off stuff: I believe it is n the Tips section as follows: Go to Start / Control Panel / Administrative Tools / Services. Open up your services, At the bottom, select the tab that says Standard. (it is easier to view). The list is alphabetical. Look for one called Messenger. Stop that service!! Put the startup type on disable, not manual. Be sure to Stop this service. While you are there, look for one called NVidia Driver helper service. Stop that service!! Put the startup type on disable, not manual. Be sure to Stop this service. You will have less popups by disabling and stopping Messenger. Your computer will definitely start faster by disabling the buggy NVidia thing which seems to serve no practical purpose anyway. If you have NVidia Driver helper service listed that means you have a graphics card based on the popular Nvidia chipset.

Now I know I'm there! I have been searching for years trying to learn how to SIT in the language of the people absent. Will you lead me in? I know it has somethng to do with breathing out but I just don't get it. (I don't mind if you smoke like a house afire.) Valerie and Paul, you must allow the 9th, our younger Corps, to attend so we can see how these our people have grown up.

Geer... Ha! Ha! Great idea. What specific days are you talking about getting together? We'd love to come. Grand Canyon is not too far either. Hey... Dave Pexxxit lives in LV now too. John R. Tampa, FL [This message was edited by igotout on September 17, 2003 at 2:22.]

Download and run Ad Aware. It is free: Ad Aware Delete all the spyware you find and let us know if that helps. BTW - what kind of computer is this? Brand Name? Processor? Hard drive size? Amount of RAM? Right click on My Computer and go to Properties to find some of this out.

I hope they go out of business along with that company that produces the spyware Gator and Bonzi Buddy.

Here is therouter that is on both ends, and the connection is DSL on both ends. SMC7004WFW No computer is in DMZ. Port Forwarding?? Not sure what you mean really but this router is supposed to have VPN capability built in: the Wireless Barricade Plus has a built-in VPN tunnel that supports IPSec and PPTP Client/Server connectivity. This VPN functionality is the perfect solution for remotely accessing a network securely by establishing an authenticated and encrypted tunnel over the Internet. No matter what connection you set up, you can be well assured that your data is being transmitted and exchanged in the most secure manner. This integrated VPN connection is an ideal solution for both individuals who telecommute from home or small offices that need to create a single VPN connection to securely connect remote offices, but do not want the hassle of a confusing server set-up. Steve---- all C drives on all computes at both ends are shared.

Me too. We (amateurs) have not been able to get this to work using Front Page 2002. We did what our article said but it still does not show up.

Wow, what a detailed article, Click-n. Thanks. Love those. Here is their conclusion for those who need a quick summary: ______________________________________ Conclusion Although the USB 2.0 is speedier than the FireWire, the latter beats it when used in high-speed storage devices. Probably, future products will unveil and use the full potential of the USB 2.0 bus. If we take only the storage devices sphere, the optimal solution would be a combo USB 2.0/FireWire -IDE bridge. In this case a user would get the maximum flexibility when choosing the ways of connection of data storage devices. ______________________________________ And now.... take a look at some of these kinds of articles: Firewire 800, twice the speed This new Firewire format boasts twice the spped of USB2 & current Firewire! Good days ahead for us users! But where are the Firewire "Pen Drives" like this awesome one? 1GB USB2 Pen Drive [This message was edited by igotout on September 14, 2003 at 18:22.]

Steve may have hit the nail on the head. I believe you have one of the latest viruses on your comoputer. If you do not have anti-virus software on your computer purchase the best...Norton Antivirus 2003. It is cheap and a small price to pay for saving your computer. Install it and run it. But first you must update Norton. Go to their Live Update section and install all Live Updates for the program and restart. You may have to do this two or even three times. Then perform a full virus scann on your computer. Just follow the easy directions. If it finds a virus just follow the recommended prompts, allowing you to isolate that virus and put it in "jail" Quarantine. Then you should go to Windows Updates and download every single update that is there. Keep doing this until it tells you that your computer is fully up to date and there are no new updates to install at this time. It mught take a few hours over a dial up connection. But you MUST do this. So should every computer user out there. After doing all these things, if you still have trouble please let us know. There are other important steps you can take to prevent this from happening again such as disabling the Messenger service and the Universal Plug and Play Service. Also you should download iand install Lavasoft's free Ad Aware program. Run it to elininate all traces of Spy Ware from your computer. I ran it on a friends trashed computer recently and he had over 350 pieces of Spyware deeply embedded into his Registry, rendering it unusable. These are not detected by Antivirus software but they are just as damaging in some cases. Don't give up. What you have is very fixable but you must take some preventative measures and get up to date. You will be glad you did.

TURN OFF THE INDEXING SERVICE Thanks for mentioning this one Zixar. Here are specific instructions to do what you suggested: Windows XP keeps a record of all files on the hard disk so when you do a search on the hard drive it is faster. There is a downside to this and because the computer has to index all files, it will slow down normal file commands like open, close, etc. If you do not do a whole lot of searches on your hard drive then I suggest turnning this feature off: 1. Open my computer 2. Right click your hard drive icon and select properties. 3. At the bottom of the window you'll see "Allow indexing service to index this disk for faster searches," uncheck this and click ok. 4. A new window will pop up and select apply to all folders and subfolders. It will take a minute or two for the changes to take affect but then you should enjoy slightly faster performance.

I can make my VPN connection and I can see my work (remote) computer in My Network Places. But I when I click on it I am denied access. What would you suppose is the cause of that? I have administrative rights on both ends. Could the firewall aspect of the router be causing this? Thank you for the insight. John R.

I used to think (but forgot how) that Mike Fertita and Mary Wehmenen should have married. They were a perfect match. She was the one who used to go out on Saturdays all afternoon by herself on her bicycle and go farmhouse to farmhouse witnessing in the outskirts of Emporia. I also found her asleep under a desk once in the old OSC building at HQ. She said she had to work all night. But she always slept on the floor, anyway. Preferred that. Since I am self employed I type at work and home since they are both entertwined. Being self employed gives you the freedom to be in bondage to the world. (I don't know what that means, just sounded funny).

Thanks Bluzeman - I am getting Windows Server 2003 so cheap I just can't pass it up, like 75% off for a 5 client license, about as much as I would pay for XP Professional. Anyway, I hope it works for me in my small business and at my small home network. I hear some of the Microsoft employees use some of these new products at their homes to become familiar with it. That's what I am going to do. I'll have to try to release some of the default security. It is a fresh install on modern equipment so I do not anticipate any issues with install. I just hope they allow me to install it twice on two different machines. I have done that with XP Pro by just calling them and re-registering over the phone. I like using PC Anywhere for remotly working on computers. I am in the process of establishing a VPN tunnell from router to router. I just want to see what it is like having a VPN connection compared to using software. VPN is supported on these routers. But it seems to still be a pain to get working properly. It is kinda complicated. And when I do make connection, I am not able to access computers or get to the files, even though I have Administrative rights. PC Anywhere on the other hand is cool. I have been using it for years. It is probably similar to XP's remote software. I feel that PC Anywhere probably has more bells and whistles, like file transfer and multiple connections (ability to connect to and view many different computers at the same time. A lot of fum on multiple monitors) , chat, CTL-ALT-DEL function, and other things. Having never used remote desktop I can not compare. I know it is a hot item, gaining in popularity. Does VPN hold any any advantage over PCAnywhere and Remote Desktop?

I'd love to guzzle one with you ex. Next time I am in your area promise me we will do that for old times sake. Only difference for me after all these years is that it will be Samuel Adams or Corona instead of Bud. You hereby win an award for the person who has made the most posts. I am glad you are back to fellowshipping daily and no longer tripped out. It's almost like you are in a cyber Way Home. Have we all not lived in a Way Home at one time or another? When our kids are grown and gone we are going to start one again. Be prepared to relocate to Tampa in about 6 or 7 years, some of you. We won't charge much rent. There will be internet connectivity in all rooms.

Zixar - I devoted another thread to this. Comment there too please.

Until Zixar and Flay mentioned getting rid of the Service called UPnP in another thread, I was I was not aware that it was such a potential security threat. So I began investigating and found this site. Among other things it states The FBI has Strongly Recommended that All Users Immediately Disable Windows Universal Plug n' Play Support Check it out:Artiicle from grc.com Grc.com is a site where you can learn about all manner of internet security and how to protect yourself from vulnerabilities. I particulary like their section where they will test your system remotely for vulnerabilities. Go to their Shields Up section: Shields Up WHat did I do? Downloaded their cool little utility which instantly and safely disables UPnP. Download it here: http://grc.com/files/UnPnP.exe What does it do? Apparently it stops two services and puts them in the disabled state as Flay suggested. Universal Plug and Play SSDP Discovery Service According to the extensive article above, these two things are not needed. Always somethng new to learn. Comments appreciated. John R. PS - Short version for those of you who are bored to death with the details. 1. Download that neat little utility mentioned above 2. Click on it after you download it. [This message was edited by igotout on September 06, 2003 at 0:02.]

How does your Dell work these days? Tom I live in Tampa, Home of the Super Bowl champions. How can you make fun of this great city. And don't call us Tampons. You God dam so and so.

Are you talking about me. Rafael? If so, I am far from brilliant. I didn't even finish college. This is just my middle age hobby I think. I really enjoy computers. But sometimes I have thought of doing like a computer geek friend of mine recently did. Something revolutionary and quite different. He gave it all up! Yes he turned off his computers and email, put them in the closet, and even got rid of his fax machine and does not even discuss technology. He said he likes a more simple life now. Personally, I think I would physically die. But it is an interesting concept. And I'm not scary. Sometimes I scare my cats but really I am a nice guy, trust me. JR

Zixar?? What about you?

Zixar - I am interested in what you said. I enjoy killing services that are not needed. Here is a quote from a site about services regarding UPnP: Used in conjunction with SSDP Discovery Service, it detects and configures UPnP devices on your home network. For security reasons and for the fact that I doubt that you have any of these devices, disable this service. If any EXTERNAL device does not function because of this service being disabled, place it back in to automatic. MSN Messenger uses this service in conjunction with supported UPnP devices, to provide support for networks behind a NAT firewall or router. Also, if you are experiencing difficulty connecting to multiplayer games that use DirectX(7,8,9), place this service to automatic and ensure you download all security updates. Furthermore, if you use Internet Connection Sharing and wish to make use of the ?allow others to modify this connection? feature, enable UPnP. Take note: UPnP is NOT PnP. UPnP is for connectivity on networks via TCP/IP to devices, such as scanners or printers. Your sound card is PnP. Do NOT disable Plug and Play service. Can you put it in plain English for us? It was the last sentence that made me think is should not be on disabled: UPnP is for connectivity on networks via TCP/IP to devices, such as scanners or printers. In fact many people use shared printers today. Can you explain further. Currently my UPnP Service is set to Automatic, although it is not Started. I will gladly set it to manual pending further enlightenment. :)--> Thanks John R. (See what you started Rafael? :D-->)

I believe if you set your monitor refresh rate too high it can eventually harm the monitor. For that reason they do not allow settings to be shown that the monitor can not handle. I could be wrong, but that is what I have seen so far. 75 should be fine for most CRT monitors. I can not say for sure about thos flat LCD monitors since I have not used those. Nut most of the time I find that people have ther refresh rate too low, causing less than the best quality as explained by Steve.

Just turning off AIM from starting up when the computer starts should not have had very much of an effect in boot up time unless you are on dial up. Are you using 56k dial up connection to the internet or are you on broadband always on connection?