Computers are great. Until they start doing things you didn't tell them to do. Even worse is when they do things you absolutely don't want them to do. If you want to spare yourself the headache of someday needing to reformat your hard drive, please follow these steps the very first day you hook your computer up to the internet. I myself decided to compile this list after running into problems. I am not a techie, just a googler. I've had my laptop running smoothly for a month now without my viruscan picking up one single thing. Believe me, that's a huge deal. OK, so here it is. You don't have to do these in order, just do them.
1. Create a folder in My Documents and name it Downloads. Place any and everything you download from any and every website in this folder. Why? good way to keep track of what you've changed and to revert back to an old program if you don't like new changes made to it.
2. Go to downloads.com and download and run HijackThis. Save the log file and date it. If this is really a new computer, this log will tell you what your computer came with so that if any programs or websites make any changes, you'll know. It will also keep you from deleting entries that are needed for the smooth running of your computer later if you should get hijacked. You may want to tell the program to ignore all of these entries so that they don't show up again next time you scan but if you have an HP like I do, you might not want to do that since they come with a lot of unnecessary BS that you may have to end up getting rid of.
3. Again from downloads.com, download and run Spybot-SD. No need to check for problems yet if this is really a new puter. Do check for updates and update. You will need to update it weekly or monthly so you set it up to update automatically or do it urself at your leisure. Click Immunize (the shield button and after the check, the + sign button too). Click mode, click advanced, click Tools, click Resident, click the empty button next to resident "Teatimer" if it does not have a checkmark in it. You can go back to default mode if you don't want to mess with ur computer and exit the program. It will continue to run and will protect you. If you were to run hijack this again, spybot would show up and you would need to put it in the ignore list. When changes are made to your registry, spybot will warn you and ask if you want to allow it. If it's something you did, allow it, if not, deny it.
4. Your computer did come with an antivirus software right? Even so it's probably for a limited trial. Once that ends, buy some antivirus or download a free antivirus like Avast or AVG
5. Make sure your firewall is on! Click Start, Control Panel, Network and Internet Connections, Windows firewall, and check off "On". Some antivirus products turn it off if they come with their own firewall, leave it off if that's the case.
6. Disable dangerous services. Click Start, Control Panel, Performance and Maintenance, Administrative tools, Services. If Telnet Service and Remote Registry are started, stop them by right-clicking and click stop. Then disable them by right-clicking properties and changing the "startup type" to disabled. Those are the security danger ones but you should also stop some useless others. A good list which tells you which to stop and why is Tech-recipes' List. Additionally, I stopped all the Media Center stuff because I don't use it.
7. Create a password for your administrator's account. Then create a guest account and use that instead of the administrator's. With a guest account, malicious things can't be easily downloaded. If you have an HP, remove Vongo before creating a new account unless you want to buy S**tty videos. Truth is I don't use a guest account but I'm sure I'll pay for it later.
That's it. Now you should be less likely to pick up something nasty. Also, this advice is for Windows computers with XP. Additionally, All this should really be done before getting online but not everyone has an old computer to download this stuff. So use a friend's or school computer to download them to disk or usb drive and install before getting online. But this isn't always possible as I did not download before getting online but thankfully I did not get anything in the first few minutes before doing this. At least don't check emails or go to other websites beforehand.
7/13/07
Child Molesters
I've watched dateline NBC's "To catch a predator" and was curious enough to know what happens after the show that I looked up one of the more interesting characters, Dr. Maurice Wolin. He was the cancer doctor who got caught talking dirty to a 13 yr old decoy. I was surprised to find many comments from people who actually dislike the show and sympathize with the predators. It seems they really believe the predators' claims that they've never done this before and they would never really harm a child. You know, the typical "I just wanted to mentor him/her" response. Ask me what mentoring has to do with sending suggestive nude pictures of yourself to someone you think is 13. I mean really.
Much blogging has been done about how terrible these people are, what should be done to them, whether or not its entrapment, and so on. But I have not read anything about the responsibility of people who have been molested. I wonder if anyone else would agree with my assessment which follows.
I understand how being molested truly messes a person up and I do feel sympathy for the victims. In fact, I've actually been exposed to questionable behaviors but not so far as to do irreparable damage, so I hope this does not come off as callous. But I feel victims should be held responsible if they do not report the crime and the criminal goes on to abuse someone else. I think this could fall under the same category as someone who witnesses a crime and fails to do anything about it. Seems to me like obstruction of justice. Victims who report the crime in a timely fashion should be allowed to sue for compensation from previous victims who kept their mouths shut. If only because if they had reported the crime, the subsequent occurrence might have been prevented.
I feel strongly about this because of the correlation between being a molester and having been molested. People who don't speak out have a high likelihood of becoming perpretrators. We must encourage people to speak out and deter those who would not by holding them responsible for their inaction.
I understand that many victims feel ashamed and do not wish to confront their abusers but in truth, if they are victims, they have nothing to be ashamed of. They should not cower and fear the opinions of heartless others who may tease or berate them for having been victims. I truly have never understood why victims of sexual crimes often fail to report it. Is it really any different from getting physically assaulted? Something must be very wrong with our society if the person who has been robbed can call the police with no shame but the one who has been raped must keep quiet and be ashamed of ther own vicimization. And why is it only when sex is involved? What is this preoccupation with sex?
Why do our children fear open communication with us about sex, even when it's been forced upon them? Why are there not open conversations in schools about molestation and what children can do about it. All children have to attend school, legally. So, except for those who are home schooled, all victims of child molestation can be confronted at school. Teachers should communicate with their students that adults touching their vaginas and penises should be immediately reported. They should be told that the only way to stop an adult who is hurting them is to tell another adult, preferably their pediatrician or a school nurse. It should be put to them in a language they can understand such as "if someone is making you hurt where you pee or poo, that is very wrong. If you don't tell someone about it, they will never stop hurting you and even when they do, it will continue to hurt you in other ways for the rest of your life. Nevermind if they tell you to keep it a secret or that they will hurt your family if you tell. If someone hurts you, they are liars and you must not believe anything they say. You must tell someone if you want them to stop. It is the only way to stop them and they will try to stop you by lying so they can keep hurting you."
If this is repeated to children regularly, even through high school, I think we can make a dent in this problem. People fight for sex education in schools about condoms and homosexuality but they leave out reporting molestation. Children must be made to feel that if someone has hurt them, they have nothing to be ashamed of or fear. They must take control and report the person who hurt them so that they can be stopped.
I've always wondered what Oprah has done about the uncle who molested her. Did she report him? Does she alert children around him that they must be careful? I think it's her responsibility. If this guy is still out there, he's probably molesting other kids. And anyone who has been molested by him should be able to sue Oprah for not having had the balls to put him behind bars. Okay, that was a little harsh. But it seems to me she has moved on from what happened to her without having confronted her abuser.
Oh well, just some random ideas that I have been wrestling with lately.
Much blogging has been done about how terrible these people are, what should be done to them, whether or not its entrapment, and so on. But I have not read anything about the responsibility of people who have been molested. I wonder if anyone else would agree with my assessment which follows.
I understand how being molested truly messes a person up and I do feel sympathy for the victims. In fact, I've actually been exposed to questionable behaviors but not so far as to do irreparable damage, so I hope this does not come off as callous. But I feel victims should be held responsible if they do not report the crime and the criminal goes on to abuse someone else. I think this could fall under the same category as someone who witnesses a crime and fails to do anything about it. Seems to me like obstruction of justice. Victims who report the crime in a timely fashion should be allowed to sue for compensation from previous victims who kept their mouths shut. If only because if they had reported the crime, the subsequent occurrence might have been prevented.
I feel strongly about this because of the correlation between being a molester and having been molested. People who don't speak out have a high likelihood of becoming perpretrators. We must encourage people to speak out and deter those who would not by holding them responsible for their inaction.
I understand that many victims feel ashamed and do not wish to confront their abusers but in truth, if they are victims, they have nothing to be ashamed of. They should not cower and fear the opinions of heartless others who may tease or berate them for having been victims. I truly have never understood why victims of sexual crimes often fail to report it. Is it really any different from getting physically assaulted? Something must be very wrong with our society if the person who has been robbed can call the police with no shame but the one who has been raped must keep quiet and be ashamed of ther own vicimization. And why is it only when sex is involved? What is this preoccupation with sex?
Why do our children fear open communication with us about sex, even when it's been forced upon them? Why are there not open conversations in schools about molestation and what children can do about it. All children have to attend school, legally. So, except for those who are home schooled, all victims of child molestation can be confronted at school. Teachers should communicate with their students that adults touching their vaginas and penises should be immediately reported. They should be told that the only way to stop an adult who is hurting them is to tell another adult, preferably their pediatrician or a school nurse. It should be put to them in a language they can understand such as "if someone is making you hurt where you pee or poo, that is very wrong. If you don't tell someone about it, they will never stop hurting you and even when they do, it will continue to hurt you in other ways for the rest of your life. Nevermind if they tell you to keep it a secret or that they will hurt your family if you tell. If someone hurts you, they are liars and you must not believe anything they say. You must tell someone if you want them to stop. It is the only way to stop them and they will try to stop you by lying so they can keep hurting you."
If this is repeated to children regularly, even through high school, I think we can make a dent in this problem. People fight for sex education in schools about condoms and homosexuality but they leave out reporting molestation. Children must be made to feel that if someone has hurt them, they have nothing to be ashamed of or fear. They must take control and report the person who hurt them so that they can be stopped.
I've always wondered what Oprah has done about the uncle who molested her. Did she report him? Does she alert children around him that they must be careful? I think it's her responsibility. If this guy is still out there, he's probably molesting other kids. And anyone who has been molested by him should be able to sue Oprah for not having had the balls to put him behind bars. Okay, that was a little harsh. But it seems to me she has moved on from what happened to her without having confronted her abuser.
Oh well, just some random ideas that I have been wrestling with lately.
6/5/07
Vongo Removal
Didn't think it was fair to diss Vongo and not let its poor victims know how to get rid of it So from my days of searching the internet, I've found one useful method and want to share it.
Vongo removal
1. Download the Windows Installation Cleanup Utility from This link
2. In safe mode, (click F8 while computer starts up), remove Vongo through add/remove programs and restart in safe mode again.
3. Click my computer, C drive, Program files.
4. Select the Vongo folder (if it is still there) and press delete on your keyboard.
6. Clear out any Vongo crap from your recycle bin.
5. Use the cleanup utility to remove Vongo and pray that next time you restart your computer in normal mode it won't be there.
For more detailed Vongo removal instructions
Click the above link and scroll down to post number 8.
If you feel this is too much to remove a program, I agree. This isn't a program, it's a virus.
Uninstall Vongo
Vongo removal
1. Download the Windows Installation Cleanup Utility from This link
2. In safe mode, (click F8 while computer starts up), remove Vongo through add/remove programs and restart in safe mode again.
3. Click my computer, C drive, Program files.
4. Select the Vongo folder (if it is still there) and press delete on your keyboard.
6. Clear out any Vongo crap from your recycle bin.
5. Use the cleanup utility to remove Vongo and pray that next time you restart your computer in normal mode it won't be there.
For more detailed Vongo removal instructions
Click the above link and scroll down to post number 8.
If you feel this is too much to remove a program, I agree. This isn't a program, it's a virus.
Uninstall Vongo
6/4/07
Before you buy an HP laptop
Before committing yourself to HP, ye be faily warned. Laptops come preinstalled with this piece of crap called Vongo. Why is it a piece of crap you ask? Well google Vongo sucks and you will be enlightened. From personal experience, I can tell you that the damn thing absolutely refuses to uninstall itself. It takes reverting to the retail version of Vista to get rid of it permanently and I'm not even sure that's entirely correct.
If you don't use the service to download movies it just takes up system resources and so you try to uninstall it through add/remove programs and guess what, you've just joined the 99% of HP customers who have wasted precious hours trying to fix the mess it leaves behind. Sure, some people don't mind having to do the extra work to get rid of a preinstalled program, but is it really necessary to sit through click after click after click on a brand new laptop that you just payed a whole lotta dough for? If they are gonna charge you so much for a laptop, the least they can do is not put stuff on there that requires your first born's life to get rid of it. I am not alone in this opinion.
So I decided to do a little more research and come to find out even people who use it to buy movies hate it. It seems it's got some severe issues and unmentioned extra costs associated with it. If ever I wanted to put a company out of business, it is this one.
So in short I must tell you that Vongo is a virus. Vongo comes preinstalled on HP and requires an arm and a leg to have it removed. You have far better things to do with your time than getting rid of some program that some company put on your computer. An analogy to Vongo on Hp is a television remote that has a power button that if you press it turns your TV picture into static and the company that makes the remote requires you to pay them $9.95 a month to fix the problem and the TV company that sells the TV with the remote charges $19.95 to allow the TV to not have static when you press the power button. Ridiculous isn't it?
Like I said, there are tons of folks out there who have been duped. Here is a list of the best websites that will give you a fair picture of the issues so that ye may be fairly warned about HP before you purchase:
Vongo Customer's Experience
Vongo Sucks Boogers
Why Vongo should be classified as a virus
How to Get Rid of Vongo
Vongo is spyware and HP is complicit
Best dictionary definition of Vongo
I've also read a lot about people wanting to file a class action lawsuit against Vongo and HP for knowingly infecting their expensive products with this malicious virus. I will be one of the firsts to sign up and am going to google lawyers right now. Let's sue Vongo. Let's sue HP. These people need to be taught a lesson. My time is valuable and should not be wasted getting rid of their infectious malice.
And yes, there are many sites with instructions out there for removing Vongo but I say you should not have to waste your time. Best thing to do is return the HP and go to Dell (so I've read, but Dell has preinstalls too, guess they're removable). And make sure you tell them you're returning it because they and Vongo SUCK!
If you don't use the service to download movies it just takes up system resources and so you try to uninstall it through add/remove programs and guess what, you've just joined the 99% of HP customers who have wasted precious hours trying to fix the mess it leaves behind. Sure, some people don't mind having to do the extra work to get rid of a preinstalled program, but is it really necessary to sit through click after click after click on a brand new laptop that you just payed a whole lotta dough for? If they are gonna charge you so much for a laptop, the least they can do is not put stuff on there that requires your first born's life to get rid of it. I am not alone in this opinion.
So I decided to do a little more research and come to find out even people who use it to buy movies hate it. It seems it's got some severe issues and unmentioned extra costs associated with it. If ever I wanted to put a company out of business, it is this one.
So in short I must tell you that Vongo is a virus. Vongo comes preinstalled on HP and requires an arm and a leg to have it removed. You have far better things to do with your time than getting rid of some program that some company put on your computer. An analogy to Vongo on Hp is a television remote that has a power button that if you press it turns your TV picture into static and the company that makes the remote requires you to pay them $9.95 a month to fix the problem and the TV company that sells the TV with the remote charges $19.95 to allow the TV to not have static when you press the power button. Ridiculous isn't it?
Like I said, there are tons of folks out there who have been duped. Here is a list of the best websites that will give you a fair picture of the issues so that ye may be fairly warned about HP before you purchase:
Vongo Customer's Experience
Vongo Sucks Boogers
Why Vongo should be classified as a virus
How to Get Rid of Vongo
Vongo is spyware and HP is complicit
Best dictionary definition of Vongo
I've also read a lot about people wanting to file a class action lawsuit against Vongo and HP for knowingly infecting their expensive products with this malicious virus. I will be one of the firsts to sign up and am going to google lawyers right now. Let's sue Vongo. Let's sue HP. These people need to be taught a lesson. My time is valuable and should not be wasted getting rid of their infectious malice.
And yes, there are many sites with instructions out there for removing Vongo but I say you should not have to waste your time. Best thing to do is return the HP and go to Dell (so I've read, but Dell has preinstalls too, guess they're removable). And make sure you tell them you're returning it because they and Vongo SUCK!
5/31/07
Crushes
Bored so googled an old crush. He's married now and not quite as hot as I recall. Didn't take him for the marrying type, but neither was I and I am. He had given me the best compliment I've ever received. "You are the smartest girl I know." Melts my cold ice block of a heart it does, intelligence flattery.
I somewhat regret not having made a move. It would have spared me years of wondering what if. But I like the strong forceful type. A man who knows what he wants and goes after it. My lips look tasty to you? Then throw caution to the wind and kiss me. But he was shy and his approach repulsed me. It was obvious he liked me and I liked him too but I wanted to be conquered not coaxed.
I can still remember the day he tried to let me know he was interested. "I'm shy" he said, "ugh" I thought and played dumb like I had no clue what he was aiming at and he backed off like a dog with tail between his legs. I swear his head did a retracting turtle move. Good thing perhaps because I would have crushed his spineless spirit and overpowered him into rebellion. My amazonian prowess can only be balanced by a Christ-like ego.
So even though he made my heart skip beats, nothing developed and the memory festers. It's curious you know, unresolved attraction, like a story without an ending or a posted blog that noone reads. There, but insignificant.
I somewhat regret not having made a move. It would have spared me years of wondering what if. But I like the strong forceful type. A man who knows what he wants and goes after it. My lips look tasty to you? Then throw caution to the wind and kiss me. But he was shy and his approach repulsed me. It was obvious he liked me and I liked him too but I wanted to be conquered not coaxed.
I can still remember the day he tried to let me know he was interested. "I'm shy" he said, "ugh" I thought and played dumb like I had no clue what he was aiming at and he backed off like a dog with tail between his legs. I swear his head did a retracting turtle move. Good thing perhaps because I would have crushed his spineless spirit and overpowered him into rebellion. My amazonian prowess can only be balanced by a Christ-like ego.
So even though he made my heart skip beats, nothing developed and the memory festers. It's curious you know, unresolved attraction, like a story without an ending or a posted blog that noone reads. There, but insignificant.
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