comp/net virus protection

[Shawnee123]

Well guys, I got rid of avast, and downloaded AVG and Spybot. I ran spybot first (before getting rid of avast) and it found 13 pieces of crap.

AVG seems friendlier to a novice like me.

After all that I ran netsh winsock reset and rebooted.

So far so good. Later I want to look at some of the stuff tw wrote about.

Thanks so much for all your help, and for teaching me a few things. If you're ever in my neck of the woods let me know. Dinner's on me.

[Shawnee123]

I was having trouble again last night. Tonight I will look around some more. I may call one of my old IT buddies. Any of them would do it for a couple drinks, but I would like to offer a little better than going rate for a housecall. Just to make sure everything is good. What is the going rate?

[tw]

Originally Posted by Shawnee123

I was having trouble again last night. Tonight I will look around some more.

Maybe I have not explained it properly. Posted are not solutions. Posted was what you execute when it is working. Then execute again when it is not working.

Not to fix it. Long before fixing anything, first the problem must be identified. Currently nobody even knows yet what your problem is.

So, you did all those "PINGs" when it worked fine. Then when it was not working, you did those "PING" programs again. Those are critically essential facts.

Same with "IPCONFIG /ALL". What did the anti-virus scan report some hour plus later when it finished working? Where is the information from system logs and Device manager? Those also were not idle questions. They were critically important facts that reported your system was still completely failed when you thought it was working.

What were the lights doing on the wireless router both during good and failed operations? What is your OS? What is the computer?

You probably have access to talent far superior to anything that the Geek Squad or you friend can provide. But you are stifling it by not answering all questions and doing everything requested - regardless of whether the machine is working or not.

Are the wireless drivers current? That also was not a question to avoid because you did not understand it. What did www.windowsupdate.com report? What does the manufacturer report as the latest drivers? Again, not to fix anything (even though it might). To identify a problem that still exists even the machine appears to be working.

What exactly did "netsh winsock reset" report? Nobody can be helpful if you filter out facts.


Command prompt provides an easy way to cut and past every numeric detail from that window. Right click on the C:\ icon in the top left corner. In Edit, Select Mark. Then select everything on the screen to copy. Right click on the icon again to select Copy. Now the critical numbers that mean nothing to you can be pasted in a post. Those unanswered questions and every fact that means nothing to you is probably the critical fact that says what is wrong. Therefore you have stifled your help.

Numerous questions and requests for information were posted. Most were not answered. Answers them all. Otherwise spend money on a less knowledgeable repairman. What's the going rate? $70 per hour? Either you can do the labor or pay someone else to do these same things.

[xoxoxoBruce]

tw, you do realize this isn't a bullshit session in the geek break room, don't you?

Originally Posted by Shawnee123

AVG seems friendlier to a novice like me.

I think Shawnee speaks for the majority there, I know I'm in the same boat.
You and Mitch post great information, but the fact is most of us only grasp bits and pieces of it, and to attempt to accomplish your diagnostic procedures is frankly intimidating. IPCONFIG, Command prompt, and stuff like that, are a completely foreign language.

When our machines start making funny noises, or break down beside the road, we appreciate the help but keep in mind we're drivers, not mechanics.

[tw]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

IPCONFIG, Command prompt, and stuff like that, are a completely foreign language.

Then ask details so that the next reply adds new information. Otherwise spend $70 per hour and learn nothing.

Only reason to fix things is to learn. If the solution is posted and not understood, then ask or quit. Those are the two options. Therefore learn or not learn.

Most every reason for doing those things (netsh winsock reset) were never provided - intentionally. If not done, then one does not learn why they were so critically important. But again, fix things first and foremost to learn. Or stay ignorant and pay someone $70 per hour to do what is not really complex. It only looks complex because it is unknown.

Again the point because so many are bad at problem analysis. Don't try to fix it immediately. First objective is to only learn what is wrong. Fixing comes much later. Those who never fixed things always want instant solutions. Rarely learn how to break problems - even non-technical problems - down into parts.

Command prompt is where Shawnee entered "netsh winsock ..." IPCONFIG is also entered there. You would not know that if you had not yet done what Shawnee did. If you also do not do it (if you only read), then you also do not learn anything.

I never used that "netsh ... " option. So I too did what mbpark recommended. Why? Otherwise I also would have no idea what he posted. To learn means 1) all those actions must be performed, 2) all those questions answered, and 3) anything not understood requires asking for details. Only other option is to quit and learn nothing.

Furthermore, its a two way street. All parties (not just Shawnee) learn from the experience.

[classicman]

Personally, you lost me long ago on this issue. I wouldn't know where to begin and I'm afraid that if I messed something up while attempting some of what you said to try I wold have no net access and then be double screwed as I couldn't post for more help.
Hence I've been reading along trying to absorb some of what you are all talking about.
Now you just seem nasty and condescending. You gotta realize that there are others with no idea what you, any of you, are saying.

[tw]

Originally Posted by classicman

Now you just seem nasty and condescending. You gotta realize that there are others with no idea what you, any of you, are saying.

You are being emotional rather than dealing with reality. Did you also do what Shawnee did? If not, then reading was wasted time. You cannot read this stuff and learn. As I noted, the reasons why were intentionally not provided because those reasons why come AFTER do the work. Nothing here was complex. Enter some commands. See some results. Learn what those results mean later. But many want immediate gratification only by reading.

Just like in Science lab. If you did not execute Command Prompt, then you have no idea what Shawnee learned. If you did not do IPCONFIG or PING, then there was no reason to provide additional information. That’s not condescending. In short, if you only read, well, welcome to technology - you learned nothing.

People who do not fix things are poor at breaking problems into parts – making problems easier to solve. Too many want an instant solution. An experienced problem solver first finds a defect – fixes things later. Another famous sound byte that says the same thing: Patience, grasshopper.

That may be condescending to those who don't do the work. Silly emotion is not relevant. Fact. Either you do what Shawnee did or you learned almost nothing from this thread. In which cause, you could only become emotional - and therefore 'feel' condescendence.

Your choice. Did you do as mbpark suggested? Did you enter “netsh winsock reset”? If you feared you might break something, then did you post, “Can I do this without breaking something?” Learning by doing is that simple; not condescending. Nothing useful could have been learned by only reading. But that also is obvious from doing rather than only reading.

Of course you have no idea what is being said if you also did not execute those programs yourself. I know that. You apparently did not only because you did not execute those programs.

In a parallel thread, GIF is discussed. Did you understand those posts? Only if you also did the lab work. If you did not execute the program, then you had little grasp of that discussion either.

[Shawnee123]

Well guys, quit it!

I think tw is right. I do want to learn these things. To be honest, I have not tried everything he has mentioned because I'm too lazy to write it all down (I need printer ink) and go through it. I go through cycles of what I do on my computer, and I just haven't felt like putting in the work right now.

When we got our very first computer, my exes cousin came from IL and made the ex put it all together and set it up. He learned a lot. Cousin's reasoning was "if something goes wrong you'll know how things work..." and it came in handy.


But I will, eventually. I just need to be in that "mood" so to speak.

Anyway, I appreciate everything.

[tw]

Originally Posted by Shawnee123

But I will, eventually. I just need to be in that "mood" so to speak.

Danger. Be very careful of that mood. The sun will go down and come up again ... and you won't even know it. These kind of problems can sometimes be addictive.

[mbpark]

TW,

I did post why that command (netsh winsock reset) works in great detail. It's one of the enhancements MS added to XP SP2 for consumers to fix a large problem with spyware attaching itself to the TCP/IP stack by replacing the Winsock (TCP/IP) stack with a known good set of settings.

Originally Posted by tw

Then ask details so that the next reply adds new information. Otherwise spend $70 per hour and learn nothing.

Only reason to fix things is to learn. If the solution is posted and not understood, then ask or quit. Those are the two options. Therefore learn or not learn.

Most every reason for doing those things (netsh winsock reset) were never provided - intentionally. If not done, then one does not learn why they were so critically important. But again, fix things first and foremost to learn. Or stay ignorant and pay someone $70 per hour to do what is not really complex. It only looks complex because it is unknown.

Again the point because so many are bad at problem analysis. Don't try to fix it immediately. First objective is to only learn what is wrong. Fixing comes much later. Those who never fixed things always want instant solutions. Rarely learn how to break problems - even non-technical problems - down into parts.

Command prompt is where Shawnee entered "netsh winsock ..." IPCONFIG is also entered there. You would not know that if you had not yet done what Shawnee did. If you also do not do it (if you only read), then you also do not learn anything.

I never used that "netsh ... " option. So I too did what mbpark recommended. Why? Otherwise I also would have no idea what he posted. To learn means 1) all those actions must be performed, 2) all those questions answered, and 3) anything not understood requires asking for details. Only other option is to quit and learn nothing.

Furthermore, its a two way street. All parties (not just Shawnee) learn from the experience.

[Shawnee123]

Originally Posted by tw

Danger. Be very careful of that mood. The sun will go down and come up again ... and you won't even know it. These kind of problems can sometimes be addictive.

There's that, too. I'll be obsessed. :p

[tw]

Originally Posted by mbpark

I did post why that command (netsh winsock reset) works in great detail.

But most of what you posted would not be evident to most readers unless (and maybe not until) after they had run the programs (and then came back to better learn what the catalog was).

It was actually a bad example of my point because you discussed some things that others still would not understand even after running the program. Few really would know what the TCP/IP stack is even after resetting it.

netsh involves much of the black art. I have mostly avoided netsh because so little of that program actually solved something that was not otherwise repaired by a driver reload. I will have to play with it more.

I suspect few really grasped what you had posted. But the point is that without executing those programs, one really cannot grasp them.

[mbpark]

TW,

Unfortunately, Windows is a complex beast. I'd need a whole series of posts to explain what I've picked up over the past 11+ years of working with Windows NT and its successor OSes.

It is this complexity that is the reason for Windows having the issues that it does. Even when you execute these programs, you can't tell what they do.

[tw]

Originally Posted by mbpark

It is this complexity that is the reason for Windows having the issues that it does. Even when you execute these programs, you can't tell what they do.

Spaghetti code. What happens when a project does not have a strong architect with a clearly defined architecture. Windows has prospered by trying to do everything. Windows has suffered for the same reason.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by Shawnee123

Well guys, quit it!

Well, excuuuuuse me.:p
I'm not dissing your ability or sincerity to the fix, just reminding him to remember he's talking to (other than you) novices.