Another techie thread

[Droogan_Leader]

I'm wondering if anyone can help me--apparently Windows has its own firewall, and it says you should only have one firewall running at a time. I have Zone Alarm, have had it for a long time, and I like it, but it doesn't block as many pop-ups as the Windows one seems to be catching.

Any comments? Suggestions? Thanks, guys.

[Rico]

Your firewalls really shouldn't bother you even if they run at the same time. The only thing that could happen is that one blocks some ports you may not want blocked but you can easily fix that problem by configuring it correctly.

I don't like firewalls very much as they often provide me with too much hassle for the protection they afford you. If you have really important information on your PC that you don't want people to mess with through the net maybe you should turn yours on but besides that, I hardly see the need to have them on.

Another issue may be performance. If you're a gamer you probably want to squeeze as much performance from your rig as possible. You also want to be able to game through the net as easily and hassle-free as possible right? Turn them both off and any lingering exe's used by them in your task manager. Firewalls are a gamer's nightmare.

Also, firewalls don't really block pop-ups so what's you're seeing is SP2's new pop-up blocker at work. It's really great and it's the only new thing I have on from SP2. It has nothing to do with windows firewall so feel free to turn off your SP2 firewall as it won't affect the pop-up blocker /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

If you absolutely must have a firewall on I'd suggest choosing the one you like best. I've heard good things about zone-alarm but then again, the windows firewall is directly integrated into your OS so you might benefit from that too. It's a personal choice, I'd suggest doing a bit of research on which one if better.

[Affleckie]

Wow. That was such a good post that I'm left with nothing but jibberish in response... I like you. I kiss you lots.

[Razorback]

I run SP2 firewall, a software firewall (Black Ice Defender) and a firewall on my router. I do not recommend turning off anything unless you find it is affecting your performance (or surfing). You never have enough protection.

[Droogan_Leader]

Thanks for the info and advice, Rico and RB.

RB, isn't Black Ice a paid firewall subscription?

And, just to make sure, what is SP2?

[Rico]

Windows Service Pack 2.

As I said, choose your protection depending on how much you value the information stored on your computer.

[Razorback]

Black Ice is not free.

In any event, if there is something that you MUST protect at all cost... take it offline (burn to CD or put it on a PC that is not online). The only way to be safe is to not go online.

[FanGirl]

*in my best Inigo Montoya impression*

Who are you? I must know.

Welcome newbie!

[Rico]

In the future I'm that one guy who's on the news for slapping some kittens.

In the present I'm a caveman with a time machine that likes pie way too much for his own good.

Or something /forums/images/icons/wink.gif

[marksiwel]

I like slapping Kittens just for the look on their face.
Since I work with Dogs all day, I get to do lots of "fun" things. BWA HA HA HA!

Mostly its just picking up dogs that think they are too big to be picked up. Take that Golden Retriever! HA HA Bulldog, Suck it Beagel.

[Droogan_Leader]

Thanks again.

[Omaru]

okay any takers, I can't access amazon, ebay or microsoft and a whole otherload of selective sites. Thought it might be my firewall but nothing still loaded after I disabling it. Amazon loads up under the cache on google, but I can't get to any where off that link. Possibilities are that the host computer (my bro's) has partially blocked me, though he wouldn't be aware of it because he's not a technical person.or perhaps the router.

[Droogan_Leader]

What's your firewall?

[Rico]

How do you connect to the internet exactly?

What type of network are you on? Do you connect through a router or through a a computer with access to the net. If the latter is the case then the problem may lie in that your brother simply turned off his computer. Any sort of network configuration you may have that relies on a host computer will be affected by the status of the host computer.

Need more info to give you better advise, if you post more detailed info I might be able to help more.

[Omaru]

Droogan: Norton Internet Security

Rico: Via his computer, but his computer is on,, I'm not saying I have no net access whatsoever, I'm just not getting onto MSN, hotmail, anything MS really, and any secure sites where you might want to purchase something online.

[Droogan_Leader]

Buddy, I'm certainly no IT guru, so for what it's worth, I had Norton Internet Security and Norton AntiVirus. I got them as a package, and I was having a LOT of problems. I talked to the techs at Bestbuy (it was under warranty there) about the problem, and they said to try another firewall. Internet Security is whack, in my opinion. I turned it off, downloaded Zone Alarm, and never had the problem again. I think Anti Virus is good, but Internet Security blows.

Zone Alarm is free, ya know. And of all the techies I've talked to, they all said I wasn't doing bad for myself with Zone Alarm. As RB said in another thread, Black Ice is another good one, but it's a paid firewall. You can upgrade to Zone Alarm Pro if you want to pay, but the guys at Bestbuy (again, for what their opinion is worth) told me there wasn't much of a difference.

Just so your pc isn't unprotected, why don't you try downloading Zone Alarm, starting that up, then disabling Internet Security? Let us know what happens too.

[karmattack]

Actually, Omaru, I wouldn't switch too much around just yet. Stick with Norton, but try to shut of the Windows firewall in "Network Connections." I've heard that Zone Alarm can really make firewalls wig out -- a good friend of mine, an IT pro, runs a half-dozen computers in his house and he says they all freak if he installs Zone Alarm because of the compatability with his firewall.

So, just try and disconnect the Windows firewall and see if that solves things for now. Either do it through Network Connections or Start/Settings/Control Panel/Security Center.

Let me know if that helps.

[Droogan_Leader]

Sounds like a good idea, karma. What you said raises a question though--Omaru, when did the problem start?

My main problem with Internet Security was it really took up a lot of my resources. And, this was a few years back, before Windows was putting out a firewall. I'm almost completely unfamiliar with it, so you might better go with what karma said. And again, let us know if anything works /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

[Mighty_Wingman]

Okay, lately I've been getting a warning message that my vitual memory is too low and windows is trying to increase the size of my virtual memory. This is usually followed by me getting kicked off the internet. Getting alot of freezes and having to reboot everyday is getting to be a pain in the ass. So, A friend of mine gave me a set of hp restart disks which will essentially take my computer back to the day I bought it . Which would be cool, except , my problem being I have several documents I cannot afford to lose, some of them topping 80,000 words and when I try to save them ( whether to floppy or CD) I get an error message saying improper function.

Anyone dealt with this bug before ? Suggestions ?

[karmattack]

Yeah, something's killing your RAM. It's an issue of eliminating programs that are eating up your resources. What OS are you using?

You can see what is using RAM by opening up Task Manager (CTRL-ALT-DELETE) and veiwing the Applications/Processes/Performance tabs. If you view the Processes tab, do not end any processes until you know what you're doing (sorry, I'm just assuming you don't for the purposes of this post).

Let me know if you notice anything out of order.

-----------

Also, considering the fact that it's virtual memory (not really RAM), you may have to delete some nonessential things off your hard drive. How much room do you have on your C: drive?

[karmattack]

Ok, here's something else:

--what types of programs are you using when you get this error?

-- You can change your page file by going to Control Panel/System/Advanced, then going to the Performance section and clicking Settings. Then, go to the Advanced page. You can change your virtual memory setting here.

[Mighty_Wingman]

I've got one called Protector exe. using between 94,000 and 96,000 k , by far, the largest.

I take it that would be "out of order " ?

[karmattack]

Yeah, that's a problem. I did a search on protector.exe and it's not friendly. Do you know how to manage your registry? You need to create a backup of your registry and create a Windows restore point so you can start making changes.

You can end that process. Then, use Spybot, Adaware and whatever virus detection/removal program you have. *I've already checked and Norton has definitions for this.*

*Spoke too soon. But Spybot and Adaware should be a huge help.

[Droogan_Leader]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
I've got one called Protector exe. using between 94,000 and 96,000 k , by far, the largest.


[/ QUOTE ]
Yeah, man--I get upset at memory hogs like MSN taking up 20k. That is a bad program.

[Rico]

Wingman:

Sounds like your computer may be infected with a virus. You can try transfering the files you cannot bear to lose to a CD or a floppy drive but I would actually recommend a reformat if Adaware and Spybot + antivirus doesn't work.

Backup your files and format the drive, you won't regret it.

Be warned though, the files you back up may be infected with the virus so first of all I'd recommend putting them on the floppy and then scanning them, otherwise you may risk infecting the computer again after you format.

Omaru:

I'm still not certain on how you connect to the internet, ou may do well to tell us what changed since it stopped working. It could be anything, ranging from a virus to settings your brother changed that may also affect your connection.

[Razorback]

It is very possible that a firewall has autoblocked those sites. You may also want to search for a program called Winsock XP Fix (if you use XP) which may help (I could go into why but I won't). /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

[Mighty_Wingman]

Okay I guess I should've given more detail. I hope you're not bored of helping yet .

OS is XP .

I have, and run Spybot and Adaware frequently . Spybot usually turns up about 7 to 10 items. Adaware usually turns up in the neighborhood 30 or so . If I run both scans ten minutes later ? Spybot turns up 3 or 4 and Adaware 10 or more. So these things are reinstalling themselves by the time I so much as click the "fix selected problems" or "Quarantine" button.

Based on RB's and Fannys' recommendations, I downloaded Mozilla FF last week , though the problems are less frequent and popups nonexistant. I'm still freezing up and/or getting kicked off the internet or out of my own documents folders.

Before I did the Mozilla thing I tried one last effort on system restore. The earliest date it would allow me to restore to was Aug.31-04 needless to say , though I'll say it anyway . It didn't help .

I don't know how to set a restore point. Though I do know how to start from a set restore point. (Is that the same thing ?) Which I know , is pretty pathetic, especially for someone who is supposed to be a geek.

I don't suppose you have the link that identifies protectorexe and possibly guides one through how to fix/delete it. All I found on my search were ways to install it.

[Rico]

It's protector.exe right?

Here's one website I found that says how to uninstall it, I'm not sure if it's the same executable but you can check it out. See if the instructions match up with the data on your computer.

http://www.pestpatrol.com/pestinfo/t/tcpip_protector_pro_7_18.asp

[Razorback]

Are you freezing up or being forced to reboot? Or both?

[Mighty_Wingman]

Both. Or rather, one then the other. Let's say I click on a link and it "freezes ". I could go do laundry and walk the dog and wash dishes and come back like 4 hours later and my cursor , rather than being a pointy little arrowhead is still an hourglass. The only way to affect change, is reboot.

[Rico]

Did you try the link I posted? There's uninstall info near the bottom of it.

[karmattack]

Yeah, that link that Rico posted has information on how to delete everything including the registry entries. You can get to the registry by going Start/Run and typing "regedit." FIRST THING: make a backup of your registry. Then, delete those files.

I forget at the moment how to get to System Restore and can't check (I'm on a computer with almost everything disabled). I think it's somewhere around Start/Programs/Accessories. Anyway, when it opens it just gives you two options: create a restore point, restore to previous setting.

So, here's what I would do:

1. End the processes for "protector.exe" in your Task Manager.
2. Save your important files to CD (or whatever else).
3. Create a Windows restore point.
4. Follow the instructions in Rico's link (make sure you backup the registry in case of errors).
5. Then, run Spybot and Adaware again.
6. Reboot.

If all this fails, it's probably time to format. /forums/images/icons/frown.gif

[Droogan_Leader]

Instead of backing up files on CD, couldn't he just delete and use an older automated restore point from before he started having the problem?

[Razorback]

It is time that you back up everything you need to CD and format your HD. Then reinstall windows and all applications.

[Rico]

System restore be a wiley beast, best not to touch it too much or it eat your computer with grizzly fangs!

Seriously, he said he wanted to keep his files as they were important so I just gave him some options. He can try to fix the problem with the link I found, following karma's advice, or he can just back the files up and format.

I'd personally go with the format if possible, while it's annoying to have to get everything set up the way you like it again, it's better than a virus infested computer.

[karmattack]

Droogan... </font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
Instead of backing up files on CD, couldn't he just delete and use an older automated restore point from before he started having the problem?

[/ QUOTE ] Regardless, system restore won't delete or restore any sort of personal file. I make a point to back up that stuff any time I start computer diagnostics. He could still try to restore to a previous point -- might work, might not.

Rico and Razor have the idea. It's probably time to format and start anew. The thing is, I recovered a work computer and my sister's computer from trojan horses recently and they are both running smoothly now -- like they were before the virus. Sometimes these problems can be solved. It's at least cool to learn a little something before giving up completely.

Plus, 9 times out of 10, you forget to back up something and realize it later. Favorites list, my documents, game saves, temp files, and those files you accidentally tuck in some dark corner.

...and porn. Don't forget about the pr0n.

[Mighty_Wingman]

Guys I'm very greatful for the help, still, my problem as stated in my first response to the thread is that my computer is not allowing me to save to CD or floppy. This is the part that causes the cunundrum. (sp?) If I was able to save the things that were important, this problem would be solved. I have no way to back anything up. All I get is an error message when I try to save.

[DangerSeeker]

Okay, I have a computer problem. It keeps peeing on me. How does it do that, and how can I train it otherwise?

[Mighty_Wingman]

First you grab it by the neck and rub it's nose in it's own filth . Then you say " NO ! NO ! NO ! BAD COMPUTER ! " then you chuck it out the door.

Don't worry . It'll come back when it gets hungry.

Thank you Karma, Rico, and RB ! I went ahead and ran through the process without backing anything up . I lost a few things, all my old e-mails and screensavers, though the majority of my contacts survived, and my display preferences seem tweaked like the fonts on my desktop and homepage but the things that mattered are still here and so far everything's " Cool and the Gang ". Thanks also to Droog for starting the thread. I'd also like to thank The Academy and "Project Greenlight" for their undying love and support. ..And the taun taun who's warm and gooey insides kept me alive over one of the coldest nights of the year on Hoth so I could go on to save the rebellion. And...* finally dragged from stage by large men dressed as security *

[Omaru]

Danger: Rub it's nose in it it will soon stop.

Anyway, my problem began pre-virus, I think it might be SP2 related because I think everything was okay before then I think, but then I didn't had the SP2 firewall running but not antivirus. After my formatting of the computer I found I still couldn't access stuff pre-firewalls so I think it's SP2 on my brothers computer but I can't really persuade him to not have it on, also he doesn't have the SP2 firewall enabled, but he did install a .net password recently.

[ZyronDrazil]

Kick your pc. Teach the object a lesson. Your the owner, your its god. If it doesn't do what you want, then kick it some more.. Thats Shake's philosophy at least.

[FanGirl]

*In dorky valley girl accent while chewing gum and playing with my hair*

Okay, like my computer gets like totally warm when it's on. I think I might be having a problem with my fire wire.

[ZyronDrazil]

You need a better internal exhaust system in your pc. If its warming up, thats not good, it could start a major fire. I'd get that checked out as soon as you can, that would suck if somethin happened. Exhaust systems, don't cost that much, I've seen some good ones for about 20 dollars. Face it its either the 20 bucks or your life, or your stuff. Thats probably the major reason your pc is over heating.

Or there is a bad connection somewhere in it. Either way I'd get it checked on as soon as you can, don't rest on that crap. Thats not good at all.

[Mighty_Wingman]

http://www.proformancemotorsports.com/corvettes/exhaust/imgs/magnamuf.jpg

[Droogan_Leader]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
Regardless, system restore won't delete or restore any sort of personal file.

[/ QUOTE ]
I DID NOT KNOW THAT!!!

Big thanks, karma. Seriously. God help me if my computer ever crashes again, because so help me it will take flight outta my window, but in the event that I do hold it together, I will be able to use this info for good. /forums/images/icons/cool.gif As always, karma, you da man!

[Rico]

Sucks that I wasn't able to reply before you formated but you could have backed your files up on the net :O

If you have Gmail or some sort of hosting you could have uploaded them and then downloaded them again after the format. Oh well, just keep that option in mind if this happens again.

Omaru:

It might be SP2, it might be the .net password. Still not much info to go on with so I can't really give you a solution /forums/images/icons/frown.gif

[karmattack]

/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif I can't tell if you're being sarcastic, so I'm just going to go ahead and accept your compliment.


Nope! Too late! Already accepted it.

[Droogan_Leader]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
I can't tell if you're being sarcastic, so I'm just going to go ahead and accept your compliment.


Nope! Too late! Already accepted it.


[/ QUOTE ]
I's messin' with ya, big guy. I knew it would sound ambiguous, but I was happy you said something, because that was in fact news /forums/images/icons/grin.gif

And thanks to Rico and RB for the help too. /forums/images/icons/cool.gif

[Dave]

OK people, i have installed Firefox. We'll see how it goes, but i figure it's going to be fine. Should i Uninstall IE? Is that even possible?
I have noticed that the scroll knob on my mouse isn't working on it. that's kind of sucky.

[Razorback]

Do you mean your scroll clicker that allows you to then pull pages down by moving your mouse instead of the scroll wheel?

If so, click on TOOLS &gt; OPTIONS ... then once the interface opens click on ADVANCED and under BROWSING make sure you enable USE AUTOSCROLLING.

[Dave]

no i mean the little wheelie knob on my mouse, that i move with my index finger. but now it seems to be working intermitently.

[Razorback]

I don't know anything in Firefox that prevents that from happening. Go in the tools menu and start clicking like mad. /forums/images/icons/wink.gif

[Dave]

It's worked itself out now. I don't know what the problem was, but it seems ok, now.

(except when i'm entering text in this here box)

[Dave]

Well, i've been running this thing most of the day, and everything seems fine. I do need to find a new home page though, my last one was MSN and it doesn't load - big surprise i know.

Any suggestions? what i like about MSN was the quick news/entertainment news that were right there at the top of the page.

[Rico]

Yahoo

[jjcourtright]

What are you so excited about?

[Dave]

I think he likes to answer questions. But I guess he got so excited, that he for got to make a suggestion.

[Matthew]

What probably happened is you pushed the button that is part of that mouse wheel. If you push the button, mozilla auto scrolls. Push it again, and normal wheel.

[Dave]

Hey that's pretty cool, I (to quote Dana Carvy doing Johnny Carson) did not know that!

[Razorback]

By the way, if you want more IE type functionality then download Opera. I don't think it is free... not sure. /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

[Dave]

No i'm fine with what i've got.

[Rico]

I meant a homepage with teh stuff you described can be found at www.yahoo.com (http://www.yahoo.com)

I figured it would be easy to understand since I replied to your post.

[jjcourtright]

I'm pretty sure that we were both kidding. We knew that you meant yahoo the website.

[marksiwel]

*laughing very hard*
You will have to excuse Rico, he isnt a native english speaker/writer.

*giggles* yahoo..why are you excited...priceless

[FanGirl]

I'm not sure if any of you guys have heard of Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie, but they are a very funny Canadian Comedy Troupe that does computer Humor.

I thought you might enjoy this: How To Buy A Computer (http://www.deadtroll.com/index2.html?/video/how2buy.html~content)

[Droogan_Leader]

RB, et. al., I gave Firefox a try, but get a load of this--I just completely had my bookmarks (which I pride myself on) completely wiped out (on Firefox), and this is the technical support answer to the problem.

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
21. Help, my bookmarks are all gone!

In the very unfortunate event that your bookmarks are lost, you will not be able to restore them unless you have backup. You may try to reclaim some of them from your browsing history; open the History window (go menu, history), right click (option click on Mac OS) on the Web address you want to bookmark, and choose Bookmark this Link.

To prevent this from happening, we advise you to back up your profile periodically.


[/ QUOTE ]

Now, when I hit the button to open a window, (I had made Yahoo Mail my homepage) it has reset my page somehow to the Mozilla homepage, where it tells me how good it is, and how I should get rid of IE, and download right away. And, of course, it's erased all my bookmarks. Kinda sucks--I don't think I'm gonna keep it, if that's their best answer to the problem... any ideas? I like the feel, but this crap is no good.



'Nother question, while I'm at it--I got rid of Microsoft SP2, because I am trying to figure out what is making my pretty fast computer go so darned slow. It's gone, and some stuff is still clogging it up. Two things in particular really annoy me--I have MSN, and in my Task Manager, there are always, at all times, two files, one for MSN Messenger and one for Microsoft Messenger, running in the background--I think they're named:

msnmsg.exe
msmsgs.exe

Anyway, they take up a lot of resources. I'm wondering if there is any way to just disable them. I have gone under options in both programs and unchecked the option to have them start up when Windows starts AND when I connect to the internet, BUT they both still load in my registry when I startup, and sign on still when I dial up. It's driving me nuts. Any help is appreciated.

[ratm1966]

As far as the Messenger stuff goes, do you have them set up to automatically start up when you start up Windows? If so, turn that option off.

Also, Windows Messenger is tied into Outlook and is part of the Microsoft Package. So, every time you open Outlook, the Messenger Icon will appear in the System Tray. Once you are done with Outlook, right click on the messenger icon in the system tray and exit it.

MSMessenger isn't part of the package, and has to be downloaded separately. Maybe when you thought you were upgrading Windows Messnger, you actually downloaded MSMessenger, so now you have them both installed.

I would uninstall MSMessenger and keep the Windows Messenger. They are both basically the same program, just different names and .exe files. It shouldn't mess up your contacts either, as you can use the same user name and password with either program to access your account. However, to be safe, I would record the info somewhere, just in case something gets screwed up.

[Razorback]

Never seen that one happen. I hope you have your bookmarks backed up from somewhere. I have used many different browsers for a good 12 years and I have never had mine destroyed by the browser. Strange stuff.

msmsgs.exe is Windows Messenger. It is the annoying little chat tool that Microsoft tries to force on you. It can easily be disabled by clicking on START &gt; RUN &gt; then typing in MSCONFIG &gt; clicking on the STARTUP tab and unselecting "msmsgs." While there you can shoot through the other apps that you don't feel you need to load at startup and unselect them too.

As for msnmsg.exe... the only thing I know about that file is that it is also the name of a worm. You can read more about it here. (http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/analyses/w32rbotid.html)

Don't panic just yet... because I am not sure if what you have is a worm. I just have never come across that filename on my PC.

[Droogan_Leader]

ratm and RB, thanks a lot. I'm gonna fiddle around and see what I can do with what you said.

RB, I looked at that link, and I can't say whether it's a worm or not. When/if I get to the bottom of this stuff, I'll let you know. Again, thanks.

[Droogan_Leader]

Omaru, I don't know if you ever got to the bottom of your 'puter issues, but our company tech guy just came in, and I asked him a lot of questions about Service Pack 2, etc. He said a lot of people are having problems with it because SP2 isn't compatible with a lot of older software, like, Office 2000, for example. He also said that most people were unable to uninstall it, something I'm not sure about. For once, I lucked out by having a dial-up--before the installation could finish, my internet got disconnected. Only some of the programs, like the firewall, finished downloading. Anyway, if you're still having issues, I don't know if there's a way, but it's probably in some way due to SP2. See if you can uninstall it. Has anybody tried?

By the way, as a little endnote, when I did get rid of what SP2 components were on my computer, things smoothed out nicely /forums/images/icons/grin.gif

[Omaru]

me and bro both uninstalled it, but I can't help but feel that perhaps it's killed some of my computer with it, I guess I can always re-format since there isn't really alot of excess baggage to deal with this time around, but I know my brother wouldn't touch his because he hates inconvenience, and it's not like he's really having the net troubles.

[ratm1966]

Well, before you get SP2 off of the Windows Update site, it warns you that it can't be uninstalled. So, you are supposed to read up on it before you install it. They have a link there also for your education purpose. I of course didn't read up on it. I just installed it, and I have had no problems with it.

[FanGirl]

I didn't want to start a new thread so this seemed as good a place as any to post the below.

I have been introduced to mozilla's thunderbird. WOW. It's like Outlook Express except it works on my computer. I'm totally digging it right now. I had given up on having anything like this at home. It's a free download and I completely recommend it. For those adverse to change, you can download a free theme to make it look like Outlook Express.

Anyone else using this?

[Matthew]

Anyone else using this?

Yep. Another mozilla program you should be using is called "Firefox". It replaces Internet Explorer, and is a lot less headaches. No spyward, 99% of the popups are blocked, its great!.

[FanGirl]

I'm already on Firefox. I just didn't know they had other applications.

[virusremoval]

Thank you all.

I had the virus "error protector" (a winfixer version of course).
like drive cleaner etc.

Got rid of it, but Internet Explorer still took a long time to load (5 minutes).

Once it was running, things seemed normal.

Thanks to your forum, and searching for protectorexe.protected.host
(or something like that after finding that DCOM was hosed)
while looking at the event server (start, run, eventsvr ?)

That lead me to your web site, which led me to google notifier (which I personally hate anyway).

Once I removed Google (and I the files and folders as well as add/remove),
my computer is back up to speed.
ps: windows 2000. (yeah, why would anyone move to vista or xp?)

Thank you all

[JK]

Ohhhhh-kay.

[phit_demon]

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h3/phitdemon/patrick_nice.jpg

"Which was nice"

[Razorback]

I am your hero.

[TLS]

I think I'm too stupid to own a computer that is online. Maybe a hero can help a lady in distress.
My list of stupid questions for the day:

What is an App and why do I need to download them?

How can I get a youtube video to play? I'm seeing the youtube thread and am missing out on all the funny.

Also, after I downloaded NoScripts from Mozilla/firefox I now have to go to the bottom of every page and right click and select to mark the page as temporarily safe.... I bet I did something wrong... I am so close to just throwing the computer away. :(

[Antonio_Bay]

How can I get a youtube video to play? I'm seeing the youtube thread and am missing out on all the funny.

Perhaps you may need to download a Flash player to view Youtube Videos.

Click here to get the latest Flash version (http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=shockwaveFlash), click install and follow the easy (I promise) instructions.

See if that works. :)


Edit - just reading up on NoScript. It may be the problem why you can't view YouTube. Checkout this answer (http://noscript.net/faq#qa5_3) (#5.3). And then maybe peruse the NoScript FAQ (http://noscript.net/faq) to solve your other problem.

[TLS]

Perhaps you may need to download a Flash player to view Youtube Videos.

Click here to get the latest Flash version (http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=shockwaveFlash), click install and follow the easy (I promise) instructions.

See if that works. :)


Edit - just reading up on NoScript. It may be the problem why you can't view YouTube. Checkout this answer (http://noscript.net/faq#qa5_3) (#5.3). And then maybe peruse the NoScript FAQ (http://noscript.net/faq) to solve your other problem.

Thanks! :)

[Antonio_Bay]

Does anyone know how to convert a .SWF into an .AVI file? Without downloading any of the tacky free programs which pop up on search listings?

[Firestone2489]

This (http://www.download.com/FormatFactory/3000-2194_4-10819418.html?tag=mncol;pop&cdlPid=10882915) video converter claims to be able to convert swf to avi.

[Antonio_Bay]

Many thanks Firestone. :)

I'll give it a go.