[SBE] Clarified question for the IT folks about IE add-ons - how many of the Java Plug-In updates does a computer need?

[Stu Casteel]

Excellent advise Bob, I'd add a few more comments, if you must use 
Outlook you need to spend some time creating manageable *.PST files 
and archive settings that make sense (that are buried several layers 
deep in protected folders) and keep your in box to a minimum, in 
these high speed days it easy to have a very large amount of data in 
your in box

regarding Java, if you use the computer to control or monitor a 
variety of equipment from routers (IT and A/V) MPEG "stuff", 
transmitters and who knows what else often require a specific version 
of Java for the GUI to work (and many will only work in IE)  there 
are ways to do this but it depends on other factors - I won't comment 
on having a control/monitoring PC on the web but it happens

also, depending on how long the system has been running and how many 
programs have been loaded and unloaded sometimes the only way is to 
backup everything and wipe it clean and start over (or better yet, 
buy a new hard drive, it will cost only a C note or so and will be 
larger and faster than the one in there now) and start a new load 
taking heed what options install themselves

and backup! backup! backup! if its critical - use at least two 
different devices and keep them in separate places - you can get 16GB 
memory sticks now, 32's are coming soon and unless you are backing up 
media files that's more documents, spreadsheets, power point slide 
shows, snap shots, visio charts and AutoCAD .dwgs than you can 
generate in a lifetime and if you're like me there are 1TB drives out 
there for about $200 it takes a few full length HD movies to fill one 
of them up - keep hard copy of all licenses and keys - if you use 
unusual software, make sure you have all the install disks and copies 
of any updates that you download

At 17:18 15-03-09, you wrote:



>Mike Langner wrote:

>>Hello everyone !

>>

>>Thanks for all the responses to my questions in the previous email below.

>>

>>Yep, the reflector passes neither embedded pictures nor attached files.

>>

>>So, please allow me to try to be a little more clear and 

>>descriptive since the visual's not here, and since I could not "cut 

>>and paste" from the "Manage Add-ons" box. I understand from the 

>>responses I've gotten that Java updates are not cumulative, so 

>>removing early ones is not a good idea, even though there are more 

>>than a dozen of them.

>>

>>The problem stated more clearly:  IE7 locks up occasionally and 

>>also occasionally suddenly launches many, may copies of itself 

>>within a few seconds.  When either of these things happen, CPU 

>>usages goes to 100% and response time to a keystroke or mouse 

>>movement changes from essentially instantaneous to taking 10 to 15 

>>seconds. Task Master reports that IE is "not responding." A restart 

>>"fixes" the problem for several days unless I've been "coming and 

>>going" and have had the computer "Hibernate" more than two or three 

>>times in one day, when the problem re-appears.  It seems to me if 

>>between cold boots I do not "Hibernate" at all, I tend not to have the problem.

>

>I've also found that "Hibernate" causes problems.  How full is your 

>hard disk?  Hibernate takes a snapshot of RAM and stores it on the 

>hard disk.  If you don't have enough room that could cause 

>problems.  I also had some systems where the motherboard and 

>installed hardware simply would not come out of hibernation 

>cleanly.  You may want to consider disabling hibernate entirely; go 

>to control panel, power options, Hibernate tab and uncheck the 

>Enable hibernation box. If the system still acts strange, or your 

>hard disk still seems too full in relation to the data and programs 

>you have installed after doing a Disk Cleanup, look for a hidden 

>file (folder options, view "show hidden files and folders to see it) 

>named hiberfil.sys in the root directory of your C drive and delete it.

>

>You may also need to reduce the amount of hard drive space used by 

>System Restore.  Right click "My computer" select "Properties", open 

>System Restore tab, click Settings and move the slider to the left.

>

>System Restore is a double edged sword.  It has saved hours of grief 

>many a time when a renegade program went into business for itself 

>and made the machine unusable.  I find out from the client when the 

>machine  first went nuts and have them restore to the day before and 

>all is good.

>

>On the other hand, System Restore points can also get infected, and 

>if used, the worm or virus that you took all the time to remove 

>comes right back.  That's why it's often advised to shut off system 

>restore (after backing up all your data) before attempting virus 

>removal.  You can turn it back on again once you are sure that the 

>system is clean.

>

>>Also, if in Outlook I hit ctrl-S to save a draft, then fail to wait 

>>at least several seconds before hitting F7 to run spell-check, 

>>Outlook will lock up immediately, again requiring a re-boot, and 

>>again with Task Manager responding that Outlook is "not responding."

>

>Outlook has always been a constant source of grief for me.  I use, 

>and I recommend to all my clients that they use Thunderbird (free) 

>for their email client.

>

>I also use Firefox instead of IE 7 for my web browser, except for 

>the few Microsoft centric sites where only IE 6 or IE 7 work 

>properly. Fortunately, there are fewer of those as Firefox becomes 

>more compatible and webmasters realize that Firefox is becoming more popular.

>

>>

>>I'm running the latest Norton with the latest updates, XP with all 

>>the available updates, not just the ones the Express install picks 

>>to install, Windows firewall on, Ad-Aware, SpyBot, and the SammSoft 

>>computer maintenance tool (the usual disc cleanup, registry cleanup, etc).

>

>Norton does not seem to be as good a product as it used to be.  I've 

>had Norton cause random lockups, and it's missed some malware.  The 

>random lockups went away when I uninstalled Norton and replaced it 

>with with Bit Defender, my current favorite paid anti virus program. 

>I would also seriously consider Kaspersky Anti-Virus, because they 

>have flatly stated that they would not cooperate with governments in 

>allowing government created "backdoor" programs to be overlooked 

>during a virus scan. Kaspersky is the better choice if you are using 

>mail services such as Hotmail, since it will automatically scan 

>files received via a webmail service, Bit Defender requires a manual 

>scan. The only downside to Kaspersky is that it's $10 more expensive.

>

>If you are on a tight budget, then get ClamWin a free GNU public 

>license program, but be aware that Clamwin  does not have "on 

>demand" scanning, you'll have to manually scan any new files that 

>you receive, and/or leave the computer on overnight and have Clamwin 

>do a full scheduled scan every night.  Also unlike Bit Defender and 

>Kaspersky, Clamwin does not provide registry protection, but you can 

>get that by installing the "Tea Timer" module included with the 

>SpyBot Search and Destroy distribution.

>>

>>The system is behind a router that has had its administrator user 

>>name and password changed to lengthy, meaningless strings, so I 

>>doubt it's been compromised.

>>

>>When just sitting here not using the computer, no matter if the 

>>computer is on or off, I do not see unexpected activity on the 

>>router link lights, so it does not appear I've been "zombied."  It 

>>does, however, seem that something's wrong.  Another symptom:  if I 

>>install the Google Toolbar, IE locks up every time it's 

>>instantiated.  I've tried several install-and-removal cycles to no 

>>avail.  Some months ago it worked fine.  I removed it after 

>>updating Windows and NAV one day when it started locking up the computer.

>

>I personally do not install or use browser tool bars. Just more 

>complication to slow things down or cause problems.  The only 

>browser add on that I run is "NoScript" for Firefox.  It cuts down 

>on a lot of the advertising garbage on web sites, some of which 

>cause problems.  The downside is that it will often block scripts 

>needed for the website to display things properly, you have to 

>manually teach it to allow javascript from the domain of the 

>website, for some people this is more trouble than it's worth.

>

>>

>>And that's what I'd like to ask your opinion about how to fix -- if 

>>the system can go back to its initial stability, that would be 

>>great.  If not, I'll just keep treating it like DOS 2.0, CP/M and 

>>early TRSDOS with their occasional printer lockups, and 

>>periodically save, save, save!

>

>Even if you have the most stable system around, it's still good 

>practice to save frequently and backup your data files often.

>

>>Thanks again in advance for any thoughts you're willing to share!

>>

>>Mike Langner

>>Albuquerque

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