Basic computer help

[Ogmuk]

Since not everyone is a pro with computers, I think a sticky here with some tips might be useful to some. If you have any tips, add them to the thread and I'll include it here.


VIDEO DRIVERS

It's very important to keep these up to date. If your computer has random lock ups and crashes it may be caused by out of date video drivers. Here's what you can do to figure out what video drivers you're looking for:

Press the Start button > Run... > dxdiag (click OK) > go to the Display tab > what does it say at Chip Type and Manufacturer?

Here you can find drivers:
NVIDIA (http://www.nvidia.com/content/drivers/drivers.asp)
ATI (http://www.ati.com/support/driver.html)
VIA (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&q=VIA+drivers)


CHIPSET DRIVERS

Same story as video drivers; important to keep these up to date. More info later.


SPYWARE

Spyware are programs you can accidentally install while browsing on the internet and/or installing 'freeware'. They make your PC run unstable and may cause weird behavior to your internet browser, like changing your homepage constantly.

How to remove it:

- Download Spybot Search & Destroy (http://www.safer-networking.org/en/mirrors/index.html)
- Run it in advanced mode
- It may download updates on start, if it doesn't: click on Search for Updates > select all the updates available > download updates
- Exit the program and restart it and repeat last step. Keep searching for updates, downloading and restarting until there are none
- Click on Check for Problems
- Deselect the 2 Windows Security Center entrees, if they are there
- Then click Fix selected problems
- If it found a lot of problems, you will want to restart your PC and run it again


VIRUSES

Make sure you have none! Often the differences between viruses and spyware is marginal but viruses can do more damage, such as allowing others via internet access to your private files (trojan) or it can install a key logger which transmits everything you type on your keyboard.

Try out this free online virus scanner:
http://www.kaspersky.com/virusscanner

Download the trial version if you end up having a virus of some sort.

[Slayne]

If you want, I have some tech tools I use at work I could upload. Basically antivirus / spyware cleaning programs we've turned into self-extracting / running programs, so all you have to do is run the file and clean up whatever it finds.

Automatically updated with the current definitions when we make the archive, which we do weekly, so when we clean computers we don't have to bother installing or updating anything. Got it ready to go and can easily be run off of any pen/flash-drive.

[Elsington]

First and foremost, use anything but Internet Explorer =P I use Firefox. There are way too many loopholes for spyware and adware that originate in IE, and are taken care of in Firefox.

Also as a habit, I defragment my computer once a week. I also clean out my Temporary Internet Files and Temp folder regularly. These things help cut down on clutter that will eventually slow down your performance.

A good system that can do this for you is norton systemworks, but since I'd rather not hassle with that I manually clear out all my temp folders and defragment using Diskeeper (http://www.diskeeper.com/defrag.asp). There are many other alternatives to this as well.

As for video drivers, if anyone is like me and has a laptop with a mobile card that is not supported by their brand's official driver set, there is a guy who modifies these drivers to work with most versions of a card called Omega Drivers (http://www.omegadrivers.net/) . These are a good alternative to the official drivers and I haven't run into any hardware issues using them so far.

Adaware (http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/) is another good program, much like spybot. Neither one seems to get everything detected so I use both =P

As for viruses, I use AVG Antivirus (http://www.grisoft.com/doc/1) . It's completely free and works pretty well.

That's about all I use at the moment, but I thought I would go ahead and toss some more ideas out there.

[Demetrius]

What is spyware or adware and how can I remove it?

Spyware is Internet jargon for any data collection program that secretly gathers information about you and relays it to advertisers and other interested parties. Adware usually displays banners or unwanted pop-up windows, but often includes spyware as well.

You can unknowingly install spyware when you install new software, most commonly freeware or shareware (e.g., LimeWire, BearShare, KaZaA, iMesh). Many of these programs are intended to track your Internet browsing habits, such as frequented sites and favorite downloads, then provide advertising companies with marketing data.

Some spyware programs, such as CommonName, MarketScore, and Gator, can adversely affect your computer's performance, and may prevent you from accessing secure services at Indiana University, including Oncourse, IU Webmail, CAS, and OneStart.

Unfortunately, you cannot fully remove most spyware and adware programs by using the uninstall option in the Windows Add or Remove Programs control panel. To completely remove spyware from your computer, IU recommends using Ad-Aware or Spybot - Search & Destroy. For information about using these programs, see the following Knowledge Base documents:

You can also configure Symantec AntiVirus (SAV) to scan for spyware and adware. See the instructions in the Knowledge Base document How can SAV for Windows scan for spyware and adware, as well as for viruses?
How to avoid it

Ad-Aware and Spybot - Search & Destroy have identified the following as applications that may contain adware or spyware:

* Applejuice
* Ares P2P
* Audiogalaxy
* BearShare
* BonziBUDDY
* CometCursor
* eDonkey2000
* Gnucleus
* Gnutella
* Go!Zilla
* Grokster
* iMesh
* KaZaA and KaZaA Lite
* KMD
* LimeWire
* Morpheus
* NeoModus (DirectConnect)
* Overnet
* Rapigator
* Shareaza
* SwapNut
* Warez P2P
* WinMX

These additional steps also help avoid spyware and adware:

* Avoid advertisements.

* Avoid clicking links in instant messaging (IM) software; for more information, see the Knowledge Base document If I use instant messaging software, how can I keep my computer secure?

* Frequently scan your computer with spyware detection software.

[Demetrius]

Since it is pretty much public information...

Go to the Indiana University Knowledgebase (http://kb.iu.edu) for pretty much any computer info. Very centralized and easy to follow (award winning, too!)

Ta ta

[Sigurd]

I feel real stupid asking this but, what the hell. I have never been able to view my screenshots. They are in a .tga format. I tried searching for a downloadable program or something that would let me view they but I have had no luck. Any suggestions?

[Ogmuk]

Quicktime's PictureViewer can open them. Probably the most commonly used since everyone needs quicktime for porn! err, for quicktime.com's movie trailers I mean.

[Vamsh]

I have a question to ask that you guys may or may not be helpful with lately my comp has randomly started to freeze whenever I play World of Warcraft. At first I thought if I reinstalled it things would be fine but nothing changed. I ran virus scanners, spyware scanners, and defragmented my computer. Although it now runs smoother it still has the same problem. The GM's in WOW haven't been helpful :hmm: so I was wondering what u guys suggest.

[Stryken]

could be a ton of things, last time I personally had a problem it was a mod that I hadn't updated.

[Demetrius]

I have a question to ask that you guys may or may not be helpful with lately my comp has randomly started to freeze whenever I play World of Warcraft. At first I thought if I reinstalled it things would be fine but nothing changed. I ran virus scanners, spyware scanners, and defragmented my computer. Although it now runs smoother it still has the same problem. The GM's in WOW haven't been helpful :hmm: so I was wondering what u guys suggest.

Try updating your sound and video drivers to the latest available from the manufacturers.

If that doesn't fix the problem, try playing with your sound card physically disabled in your device manager. Some times sound and video drivers can get grumpy with eachother while playing games.

Another possibility is your RAM. If you have more that 1 stick of memory in your computer, a good way to test the RAM is to take 1 stick out, and test for your problem. If it still exists, swap to the other stick and test it. If your problem dissapears, it is most likely RAM.

Those are the main things I can think of, besides the obvious UI Mod conflicts... but it seems that you have taken care of that possibility by reinstalling.