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So, in continuing the topic, I'll probably stick with XP Firewall for now if it is considered as good as most anyway.
As for Spy/Ad ware problems I currently use SpyBot - Search & Destroy, and now and then I do install AdAware and SpyDoctorv1.3.
I am still using Internet Explorer as a web browser to the best of my knowledge, but I ought to give Mozilla a try. What's the deal there? Simply install and prioritise as preferred web browser? Hope it's not too complicated.

i think i'm running pretty much the same as you mate, with spybot and adaware to do their thing. I also have norton's anti-virus and firewall, which seem to do the business, and i find them easy to use and setup (particularly useful for a computer numbnuts like me )

if you are used to internet explorer, you will not likely like mozilla, opera, or firefox. does not hurt to try them though...

Any one out of those youmight particularly recommend - I'm thinking firefox or mozilla myself. And I understand what you mean, about being comfortable with IE, but am looking to try new stuff like this. Am even contemplating a Linux set-up. Seeing as we have two computers I was going to give it a try on my son's system, if anything did go Pete Tong, we would have my computer to fall back on as the master system downstairs. And I'd just have to let him make use of it if that were the case. :roll:

no, i like ie.

best of thos is firefox. mozilla is the development house and in itself pretty sparse on features.

Thx mate, I d/l firefox then and see what it's like. I trust the process is fairly easy to reverse if I hate the damn thing?

i use both IE and firefox for web browsers. the one thing i found about firefox it dosnt like some things ( i think its activex controls or something) so for those sites i use the IE.


for adware, i use adaware and the MS anti spyware application. to be honest i like the MS application, it allows me to modify alot of settings and even destroyed that pesky insidious about:blank spyware. ( if anyone has ever had about:blank they know how much a pain in the backside it is)

I've been using Firefox for several months. I prefer it to IE. Many folks like the tabbed browsing; I never use it.

I also like the Konqueror browser in KDE in Linux, but I've not tried the Windows version.

TD

Okay guys, thanx for all the input. I am going to have a look at Firefox. That's about it really.

I have a moden/firewall/router, great piece of equipment actually.

DA

DA, notice the Topic Title: "Software Protection"

I used to use Norton Firewall, then switched to Zone Alarm. Then when I had to reinstall WinXP Pro on my computer and updated to SP2, I find that the WinXP Firewall does everything the others do, and it's fairly simple to use. I find the WinXP firewall has way less problems with ports and such when getting a game to connect to the internet. I could not get Norton Firewall or Zone Alarm firewall to let Falcon 4 connect to the internet, WinXP firewall works like a charm though.

I'm not saying hardware routers are bad, they do work and protect your computer quite well. In my experience however, they can be a big headache when trying to get a game to work online. To each their own I guess.

Exactly the reason we haven't gone wireless, it just causes too many problems with gaming.

Sorry Softball but hardware is the way to go...software firewalls is just another piece of robust software on your computer trying to be the top dog and ultimately crash your system, now you guys keep speaking about you shouldn't run virus protection while playing games, hell you shouldn't run a firewall while playing games either, its just as bad. My firewall configuration software and or monitor just sits in the background and keeps tabs on your hardware firewall and you can even shut it down if you don't want it running and start it back up when you want to configure it. I have a 2wire modem/router/firewall that has easy configuration for ports to different games and most of my games are already listed so all I have to do is add them to the exceptions list and I'm thru.

DA

Opera is completely free as of the 8.50 version just released. It used to be free if you were alright with banner ads up in the top of the browser; otherwise you had to pay for it to remove the banners. Now it is completely free, no banners, no registration required.

The banner ad stuff wasn't adware/spyware; Opera had been using the banners up near the address bar long before that crap existed, and it was a benign marketing attempt.

But in either event it is totally absent of that crap now; and it is in fact my favorite browser for Mac OS X; I am more comfortable with IE on windows; and firefox still seems to have problems rendering some popular webpages. Opera renders them fine on the Mac, whereas Safari and Firefox for Mac OS X have trouble so, I would not completely write it off as a fast, small, and capable browser.

Consider ClamWin. It aims to be a virus scan. Nothing more nothing less. This virus scan has been around quite some time for Linux and Unix systems. Porting efforts have brought it to Mac and Windows systems, with the addition of easy to use graphical interfaces.

Tried, true, and best of all free.

http://www.clamwin.com/

Oh and about wireless... my experience is that it works great. Install the drivers for your card. Then disable any stupid sodding utilities the company added to the registry to start up at system startup using msconfig.

Once thats done make sure it did not disable the wireless zero configuration service that comes with Windows XP.

Then right click your new wireless connection, choose the "Wireless Networks" tab, and check off "Use Windows to configure my wireless network connection"; click OK, look for your unconnected connection in the system tray, view the available networks, connect to your network, enter your password, and boom. All set.

I ALWAYS do this. I have attempted to use third party utilities from Netgear, Linksys, etc. and they are a MAJOR pain in the ass. Using the windows configuration though; piece of cake every time. Shoot usually I can't even get Linksys cards to work with their utlity. It takes disabling it to even get clients connected...

Just my two cents on Wireless

And while I am ranting about free unobtrusive alternatatives for pay shite here are a couple others:

OpenOffice: http://www.openoffice.org Open Source (Free) MS Office alternative

7-zip: http://www.7-zip.org Open Source (Free) Winzip, PKZip, etc alternative with not craptastic pages telling you to buy there software on startup.

Yes, I've seen those floating around too. But have a version of the "payshite" as you describe it, so have not ever had the need, yet.