Lately, I had some probs (with spyware and with my Norton anti-virus) with my computer and I took it to the IT service of my father's office. The guy who took a look at my pc was a bit weird though. He told me to remove any suspicious programs that might download spyware without me knowing it (he particularly pointed out Mozilla Firefox , NWN and various anti-spyware programs I had downloaded -Adaware, Spybot, etc- again).

 

I didn't say anything at that point but I seriously wondered if he was competent at his job or not. He then uninstalled Norton and installed McAfee (antivirus and firewall) and Windows Defender instead. I don't know if these will actually protect my pc from spyware. What do ya think?

 

Also, concerning my hard drive space, I have approximately 50 GBs of maximum memory space but since I almost filled it with various animes, only 2 GBs remain. The guy told me that I ABSOLUTELY had to keep 20% of free space in my hard drive or else my computer was running a risk of breaking down at anytime (meaning that I would lose all my personal files, word documents, etc). Is he right or not?

You don't need to keep 10GB free. It is a good idea to keep at least a few GB, and the more the better (for performance, disk-read-write-speed), and Windows uses some space for virtual memory. E.g. can't you store the anime on secondary storage, like another hardrive or DVDs.

 

A lot of IT people don't like Norton. There is no reason not to, it was on the IBM desktop when I worked there. It does hog system resources, though, and can clobber some games sometimes. The AV doesn't stop spyware.

 

He sounds like he had a point, but was also taking the pee. Ad-Aware and Spybot are not dangerous. NwN does connect to the internet if you are playing a Premium module. Firefox can connect automatically to update themes and plug-ins, but this is just the same as Windows. Windows Defender is unproven and still in beta, and (judging by the way Microsoft permitted certain paid-up advertisers' adverts unfettered access to people's PCs) I wouldn't be rushing to install it. I currently run Norton Internet Security (software firewall) instead of the default one included with Windows.

That IT service guy sounds bit wierd. I have 80 GB HD and I usually have about 2-6 GBs of it free. No problems.

 

He seems to have personal preferences over spybot destroyers, but I really don

Edited April 11, 200619 yr by kirottu

Typically use two different spybot exterminators, and one firewall, harware or software. An AV is a good idea if you routinely download attachments to emails from unknown people ...

 

... what is suspicious is that he told you to remove spybot software ... that's what one sweep of the exterminators will do ...

The guy sounds like a typical half-educated half-awake technical cretin. I've always used spybot, and adaware, AND NWN, and firefox. Indeed, I switched to firefox to get away from IE which kept downloading spyware. I'd suggest walking up to him, and staring at his left ear for five straight minutes.

Actually, I follow that 20%-free-HD-space rule myself. Windows is a stupid system that really runs a lot better with lots of space left on the HD. It's a performance thing for me, nothing else.

I think he'd be a great guy to get to know. He probably talks about consipiracies, and how THE MAN wants to know about the lesbian porn you're looking at just so they can blackmail you later. He'd be a riot at parties.

Its good to leave some space free for defrag and as mkreku mentioned - overall performance.

I'm very tempted to recommend NOD32 anti-virus. It constantly runs in the background and it is NOT a system hog in the slightest. And it does a masterful job.

 

However I don't know much about it(I gave it a try) and I haven't heard many people talk about it.

Thanks for your replies. I guess I will have to re-install the traditional anti-spyware programs I had. Someone recommanded me HitmanPro2 which contains all the anti-spyware software existing out there. I have tried it and it's quite convincing.

 

Concerning my hard-drive memory, I just wanted to know if there is a risk for it to "blow up" (as the IT guy said) because there is too little free space. I am writing a thesis for my master degree right now and have several documents related to it. If I lost these, I would be screwed. Is there any imminent risk for my pc or can I live with it ? Anyway, I intended to buy an external drive in two months in order to store all my animes.

Thanks for your replies. I guess I will have to re-install the traditional anti-spyware programs I had. Someone recommanded me HitmanPro2 which contains all the anti-spyware software existing out there. I have tried it and it's quite convincing.

 

Concerning my hard-drive memory, I just wanted to know if there is a risk for it to "blow up" (as the IT guy said) because there is too little free space. I am writing a thesis for my master degree right now and have several documents related to it. If I lost these, I would be screwed. Is there any imminent risk for my pc or can I live with it ? Anyway, I intended to buy an external drive in two months in order to store all my animes.

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For work, I always still rely on the good 1.44Mb floppies myself. They still have a use. Even better are those nice and shiny memory sticks that act as small removable hard drives. They cost approx 50-70USD now.

Always save your work on removable storage when you're done for the day.

 

For your question, your machine could freeze but It won't "blow up". And you can always buy another HD with more space and then transfer your files from the old drive.

 

Just save your work somewhere else, to be safe.

1. Always have an archive of anything you don't want to lose.

2. In case of catastrophe, see rule one.

 

Seriously, keep copies of your inportant stuff everywhere. CDs (most PCs don't have floppy drives anymore ... and floppies aren't floppy anymore, but that's another story) DVDs or, as Mr Creep correctly suggested, the Flashdrive is your best bet. Flashdrives come in all sizes, from (4MB?) up to 4GB, and prices range as well. Get a good one, they are a brilliant piece of kit because you can use it to transfer contents form drive to drive anywhere that has a USB reader.

I use Norton on all of my PCs and have had no problems...

 

DN

Personally I prefer McAffee to Norton too. It seems easier to use and is less intrusive, besides the reminder to update after a week or so. The firewall's more intuitive too and lets me watch what programes are trying to get through to the net.

Yeah, but McAfee's got a deal with AOL where they bundle their AV with AOL's Internet. Do you want to be a part of that?

Well AOL's not an issue on my side of the pond.

and floppies aren't floppy anymore

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When did the 1.44 MB diskette not become a floppy?

He's talking about the floppy floppies, when they were floppy woppy.

Well, the 5.25" were more flexible, but the 1.44 MB 3.5" diskettes are still very "floppy woppy," it's just they have a hard case around them now.

Bah, even 5

I remember seeing one of those 8" diskettes. Had a good laugh when I saw it.

Lol vinyl. Am I the only guy that thinks its hillarious that DJs still have vinyl thingies in an age of digitized multimedia?

No, in fact all the current music is being re-released on thick vinyl (as in from the 50s, not the thin stuff from later decades) because it sounds better (analogue) and lasts much longer than "everlasting" CDs ...

Lol vinyl.  Am I the only guy that thinks its hillarious that DJs still have vinyl thingies in an age of digitized multimedia?

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Vinyl is best for what DJs do... the mixing and stuff. Its only now that technology is available to simulate that well with digital media.

I wonder how many forumites were born after the introduction of Koninklijke Philips Electronics' snazzy invention, the CD ...