After work this morning I plan on going over to my sister’s store to pick up her laptop so that I can fix it again. It has a virus on it again... I have to do this about every 3 months. She uses this laptop to keep her kids entertained while they are working at the store. I always end up reformatting the thing and installing everything all over again. This is a good 6 hour task on this laptop.

I put Norton Internet Security on it and downloaded all of the Windows 2k security updates. I can’t think of anything else to prevent them from getting a virus.

I know it’s because they are going to websites that they shouldn’t be going to and downloading things that they are not supposed to download. But I can’t exactly put parental controls on the computer when the youngest is 17 and the rest of them are adults.

Any suggestions on how I can keep this laptop running smoothly without having to visit their store every week would be greatly appreciated.

Since we both have DSL now, I was thinking I may try to hook up to the laptop remotely to do regular maintenance. But I don’t want to pay for any remote access software. Can anybody recommend something that is free?

Is anybody familiar with a product called LogMeIn?

Well, if not I will try it and report back. They claim that it's 100% free and will allow me to remotely control this laptop as though it were right in front of me.

Does the computer have WinXP on it? If your wsetup is WinXP and so is hers, you could you the "Remote Assistance" to connect. If I remember correctly you said that you were running Windows 2000 and I don't know if that OS has the Remote Assistance capability or not.

I have been using the "Go To My Pc" gotomypc.com site and I like it, but they do charge twenty dollars a month for the service, after the first free trial hour.

As far as the Virus' being constantly downloaded the only remedy I can think is making them pay the consequences for unsafe surfing. Charge for your time and effort.

I hope this is of some help!

Dwight

We both have Win2k. I've never heard of it having remote access capabilities but I will check into it.

I don't even think giving them consequences would work with this bunch of people. I used to make sure they knew how angry I was for having to work on this laptop again, but that just made me feel bad and I can't get angry over it anymore. I can't charge my sister either.

I think if I can get this remote access software to work it will be a good deal because I can just maintain it as often as I maintain my own computer. I don't want to pay $20 a month for Gotomypc, though I bet it's a better service than the free one that I found.

I guess I will try some of the free maintenance software that I've seen talked about on AnswerPool as well. I've never put any registry maintenance utilities on this laptop.

The first thing I'd recommend, would be to get rid of Norton, and download Avast! Free Edition. Norton has slipped alot in recent years, and now misses quite a few viruses. I have personally had to remove it from several computers, and install Avast!, which found several that Norton had missed completely. If nothing else, remove the anti virus part from the Internet Security program, and use Avast!, if it will allow you to do so. I am no longer a fan of any of Norton's anti virus programs, as they just dont do the job anymore. The link for Avast! follows:

http://www.avast.com/eng/down_home.html

Just click on the word "English", or your preferred language. Good luck!

chris

Well, Avast looks like it's free so it can't hurt to try. I've run out of licenses for Norton anyway.

I'll give Norton credit for this, System Works has kept my computer in great shape. And I personally haven't had a virus on my PC that Norton hasn't been able to stamp out. My sister's computer, that's a different story.

As for the LogMeIn remote access application that I found. I tried it and it does what it says it does. It got a lot of good reviews on download.com. There doesn't appear to be any spyware attached and it is definitely free for remote access. You have to pay if you want to transfer files.

quote:

Originally posted by RoverRoad:
Well, Avast looks like it's free so it can't hurt to try.

It is Free and is updated every other day
As for licence keys. Do register and you get a years updates. Otherwise the upgrades stop in 60? days (if you forget)
I've been using it for more than a year and it's very reliable (Can also use it as a scanner) but I have several other programs that do similar housekeeping jobs so mine only acts as a defensive wall
BTW? Have you SpywareBlaster installed? I rate this as another key Program to keep Nasties (of the Spyware variety) Away especially when you are visiting sites laden with Ads or files/music
Visit www.javacoolsoftware.com to get the latest version (updated recently)
NOTE Has over 5000 items It refuses access to.
Free...but have to manually check for updates .
Pay...and the updates are made for you .Your choice?

There is a different approach. You could tell your sister which types of sites are the usual culprits, and suggest to her that the kids should pool together and pay a professional for the next re-installation. Maybe she doesn't know. Besides, it's never too late to introduce the notion of accountability into a young person's noggin.

That will cause the kids to monitor each other. Because maybe not all of them visit these sites.

P.S. Hate to be obvious, but maybe your sister doesn't run Norton anti-virus scan daily.

Thanks for all of the advice folks. I kind of rambled in my question, but I was mostly looking for software and technical suggestions. I just can't charge a family member. Since it had been two years since I've had internet access my self I was kind of behind on the technology. I was wondering if there was some software out there that I am unaware of that will help keep this computer in good shape.

Bedstor's suggestion of using SpywareBlaster looks promising. It looks like it will block a user from going to offending websites. I think that may help.

I've spent 16 hours so for on this laptop The only problem with installing all of this separate security stuff is that it takes longer...

Hmmm, 16 hours at $65 per hour... Where is the devil smiley?

SpywareBlaster is an excellent utility program and I highly recommend it, but it won't block any specific site. What it does is prevent certain known problem files from installing successfully on the computer.

Like all software it must be updated and new problem file prevention enabled.

Dwight

All Spywareblaster does is give you some insurance that you can visit some sites without picking up a spyware attachment
Most Experienced Users have several lines of Spyware detection Besides in the form of scanner /removal programs Such as Ad-Aware SE
And one Pest that bypasses both of these is the common CoolWebSearch worm which has been around since 2003 and runs into many forms .However there is a small free scan/removal program called CWShredder which I strongly advise you download and install Get it here

i say remove the laptop for a week or so then
when the kids start yelping about it tell them they need to be more mindfull of where they visit. also maybe try using some math programs instead of letting them online (more school type stuff) i find there more likly to do that instead of surfing.
if you deleet all of norton and install avast it will stop a lot of those nasties.
the first time i used it it found one and i had the volume turned up WOW it scared me. it sounded a alarm. so now i visit know sites just to make sure its working right and it does.
try it for your self and see.