All right. I've had it!

[mgerics]

Warning - this is an anti M$oft rant, so if you are offended by anti microsoft talk, please go else where.

I have been infected for the last time by some fu=ki*ng spyware thingys and I've had it. Somethings or other have gotten on to my system and I can't get rid of them using my usual choice of tools (Ad-Aware, Spybot, manual edit of the Registry [even in safe mode]) and I've come to the realization that as long as I use m$soft (and there are co=ksu#ki%g morons out there who create these things [side note:these guys/gals are talented no doubt, just use these talents for good please!]), I'll have problems.

Any time I am asked to 'look at my pc, it's acting funny' by a friend or relative, it is almost always so heavily infected it'd almost be quicker to burn all their important data to tape/cd/backup media and format/reinstall, except that they have prog x for this, prog y for that, etc - I am do NOT wanna spend my free hours re-installing all these thingys for you no matter how important they as a person are to me. (Hmm, is there a prog to create an install media for a program that is alreay installed? Something that captures all the files needed for a proggy like a backup up archive so you can re-install it without going through the hassle of actually running the install executable?)

And if there is a grain of truth to the story of m$oft trying to patent smileys, I am truly pissed; it could be a hoax, but I wouldn't put it past them trying something like this...

Of course, I still have a trusty Amiga 4000, and WINUAE is fun to diddle with. (Anyone get respectable speed when using an Amiga formatted drive through emulation? It works for me, but is slower than a hardfile or even Windows folders)

That said...

I am planning a move to Linux - am testing Mandriva from a magazine dvd (damn that Frozen Bubble game!)

I want to move as quickly as possible away from anything microsoft, and much as I love the Amiga, I need/want an OS I can count on and run on a powerful modern machine (have no fear, as long as my hardware survives, I will use the Amiga 4k).

I do what we all do - Browse, email, music, videos, games.
I'd like to create network shares as well, a real home network.

Any suggestions as to the best distro and apps?

Specifically, I'd like any pointers to material/manuals that would help me set things up QUICKLY - e.g. how do I share a directory so others on my LAN can see it? I can learn the stuff, but I tend to snooze when reading a lot(is there a name for that condition?)

What I'm looking for a light weight manual that succintly states "Issue this command to share directory x" followed by  the appropriate command string to type at the console.

There, not so bad, not a whole lot of m$oft bashing, eh?

p.s. the spyware thingys are ISTBar, Optimize, CPU Control (wuitgard), PSecure and a couple others that magically appear after a reboot and connect to the internet.

[adz]

I have been infected for the last time by some fu=ki*ng spyware thingys and I've had it.

Stop using Internet Explorer. You may also want to have a look at your browsing habits as well, generally, I find that to be the main cause for spyware infestations.


Edit...if you really want to move to Linux and still have a Windowsy feel, have a look at SuSE 9.3 Professional, thats a lovely desktop distro :-)

Edit 2...many also swear by Ubuntu as a great desktop distro, but not me.

[mgerics]

Already try to enforce that rule - Firefox is installed and set to be the default browser. And yes, I personally browse very carefully, but of course I can't be home with the kids as they do their cruising - arrgh!

Unfortunately, I have children who don't listen to me.

Partly my fault, as I had the system half re-installed without the safety software and didn't warn the kids to stay off the internet...

BTW, I need the ability to play Quake and Quake 2 on linux...

[adz]

mgerics wrote:
Already try to enforce that rule - Firefox is installed and set to be the default browser. And yes, I personally browse very carefully, but of course I can't be home with the kids as they do their cruising - arrgh!

Unfortunately, I have children who don't listen to me.

Partly my fault, as I had the system half re-installed without the safety software and didn't warn the kids to stay off the internet...

BTW, I need the ability to play Quake and Quake 2 on linux...

Simple solution there, buy them a Mac mini, thats what I did.

[PMC]

I have to nod in sympathy, my XP machine got so riddled with spyware that I had to completely start from scratch and reinstall everything.

The safest method of browsing the web that I know of is not to use a PC at all, hence my Amiga being my main internet machine.

[guest1955]

Try Ubuntu Linux.
I've had it as the only OS on my PC for a few months now, and not felt the need to revert back to XP since. I think it's excellent. (Quick edit: There isn't really any setting up with it either, it detects everything you have and that's that)

BTW where did you hear about MS wanting to patent smilies?!

[orange]

I use Firefox and Kerio firewall, and don't have any problems now. Try 'Adware Away' its good. 'Process Explorer' is a very nice program that will show you a lot of information about active tasks. check every run key in registry to see what starts at bootup (search for 'runonce' and then look at 'run' key above it). most important is to not install anything suspicious, of course, just use programs that are best/safe especially those with 'green' install (just unpacking).

[Failure]

I'll throw in a "me too" for Ubuntu.  I prefer pure Debian actually, but Ubuntu is like "Totally Painless Ultra Sexy Debian".  To give an idea of how well it works, it automagically configured all the power management stuff on my laptop correctly.  Out of the box.  This can be a somewhat arduous task by hand, depending heavily on the laptop.  So, I use it on my laptop :-)

If you flip back and decide to stay with Windows, yet another "me too" for Firefox...

[CLS2086]

Why don't realise a switch to a NewGen Amiga (pegasos or Aone) ?? These are "real" Amiga  :-)  and you'll be able to enjoy quake 1/2/3 and much more ! If you need a special application : use MAC ON LINUX  :-) .

But if you still need lot of waisted GHz,
keep your Pc,
burn on a disk : drivers, antispyware (PestPatrol, SpyBoat, AdAware), XP AntiSpy, iOlO system mechanic 5.x, manual "updates" for your antivirus (Pc cillin i suggest), winzip, winace, and some M$ security update, Tiny Firewall (with "ask each time a non registred packet.."), Sun JAva VM, get the M$ tool MSCONFIG and the old TweakUI, and all software updates you need ...
SAVE YOUR DATA and PARAMETERS !!!
unplug any internet connection
do a fresh install (use win2K SP4 instead of Xpet, less things to kick :lol: ans less undetected packet on the network), try to make a 2nd partion of 10/15 Gb, a second HDD would be better
take a look at what is "ON" in MSconfig (switch off the APS and unneeded services ..)
Only install the things you burnt !!! Turn them ON, one per one.
no others apps yet !!!
Reboot 3 times to check if it goes well.
Turn on IE without net connection, take a look on the parameters in "security" and turn to "ASK" every case.
Then go to the net install, and pickup the MS updates you need and Antivirus updates too ! Don't go anywhere else !
Tiny Firewall will be boring, but usefull  :lol:
You will wonder about the hundreds of warning receive, and also about IE what will ask you at each netpage if you want to execute a script and an app ... and you'll see that 99% of time it is unneeded to execute them
Do a backup of your working system with Norton Ghost or the Seagate freeware Discwizard (just give a model of one of their drives).  :lol:
And begin to live in danger  :lol:

[TheMagicM]

you're probably infected because of your browsing habits.  I've never had a problem that bad as you describe.  You know what they say, when you point a finger at someone, you have 3 pointing back at you.  just my opinion of course.

[Emufreak]

Have a look at kanotix. It's a very nice distro. Very easy to install. It's based on Debian and it's 100% compatible.

The nice thing about Debian is it's packetmanager. Start synaptic. You just have to make a cross before the software you want and it'll download everything you need for it to run from the internet and install it. So there's no need for compiling your software yourself.

Have A Look at the wiki and the forum at www.kanotix.com. It's very helpfull.

[mgerics]

@tangletown

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/0,39020645,39210396,00.htm

[Emufreak]

Some other nice things about kanotix:

-You can also use it as a live CD. So you can find out if it supports your Hardware and Play around with it

-There are Scripts who make things like kernel-update and installing 3d-drivers very simple

All right. I've had it!

Stop looking at porn and warez sites with IE then.

For people who are not familiar with Linux, I suggest

http://www.opensuse.org