I run always with administrative privileges as I'm the only one that uses both of my computers. I'm also running XP Pro not Vista nor would I.
Yep, XP PRo. This machine came with Vista Home Premium?) and I tried the Beta of Windows 7, .... No. I would be using XP 64 if I could find security for it.
While Wife and I are the only 2 who have access to this machine I still don't want to run in an account with Admin privileges. I'm not worried about the 'keyboard' as much as the nastiness on the Web. I know it won't stop them but it should slow them down.
Wart, et al - I build a lot of systems. My routine
Format hard drive.
Load windows.
Load drivers.
I load only the NIC and Video drivers and make sure the firewall is On.
THEN PLUG IN NETWORK CABLE
Download and install AVG free.
This is a coin flip for me, Should be able to trust Windows Firewall long as the update process isn't calling out to a resource that's going to give the machine the AIDS. OTOH it
is a Microsoft OS running a MS App ...
.. I either trust Win Firewall or use NIS since NIS seems to have given me the least bugs in the past.
Turn on automatic updates and leave on overnight.
I don't even let the machine on overnight in a user account. Paranoia?
.
andy i say this over and over again. I DID DO THE FULL REINSTALL WITH FULL FORMAT that is SUPPOSED to wipe/erase the drive and ALL the files. but i get the windows.old folders and i know there are old settings being saved from the previous install. if it had wiped all the old files then how can there be these windows.old folders? IT DOES NOT WIPE EVERYTHING OFF THE DRIVE. do you have VISTA? have you done a reinstall? sorry for the caps but i get so frustrated when people keep saying the same thing to me but they don't see what i have said.
I know what you mean.
I don't know how billions of Zeros and Ones march through the machine per second and do what they do. But then you don't need to know how a car works to drive one.
Over the years I have read enough about MS and some dumb things they have written into their OSs and Programs that it wouldn't surprise me to learn that when doing a low level format from a Vista disk the format would create a hidden partition for old data that would survive the format. I imagine that could be an avenue for Cooties to survive and reinfect. I Dunno ... seems possible. And I do seem to remember reading somewhere several years ago how some bugs were written to hide themselves and survive formats.
That reminds me of something else I read years ago, how MS is job security for writers of utilities. Things like disk shredders and system optimizers. LOL