[Flashorn]

Hey People! Well I put these few sites for you to ponder.
First,I like to see what a PC has for innards,for that I and I"m sure most of you use Belarc Advisor,what a sweet little program.
For my reseach I have sites that I enjoy visiting,mainly: ABOUT.COM / AskWoody.com / Amset.info / WindowsBBS.com / GRC.com



also you might want to check out Marc Liron - Microsoft MVP - marc at marctalksteck dot com and similar site - Windows Secrets.com -.



Now for the forums that I watch and read - PCWorld.com - PCHelp.com - MajorGeeks.com - Computing.net - and this one for tweaks and fixes - DougKnox.com.



For - NASTIES - well the ones I know and use are, - VirusTotal - where you can upload a file or log to have them scan for anything out of the ordinary(free of course).



Also - SpywareGuides - I know SpiriWind likes this site. Windows LiveOneCare has a free online full scan and cleanup of your PC.



Virus alerts - from cNet.com will deliver to your mailbox the latest threats on the internet. The site - bleepingcomputer.com - has many



tutorials and more. Windows Live ID has very heated dicussions.



To spend some of the extra ram you are not using Check out - SoundSpectrum.com - (eye candy). and if you use WMP 11, drop by








* SRS Labs.com - and look at Sandbox a free download to enhance the sound of your player.
Well that's it for now, I will return to update this thread from time to time. I hope you enjoy these sites as much as I do.






Flashorn.









Patience is life.





OK People! I have a few more sites for you. I found this tool "Dial-a-Fix" on this site wiki.djlizard.net/Dial-a-Fix , If you ever need a tool to locate a wierd problem This One should be in your arsenal of tools. Just read about it I'm shure you will be convinced of it's effectiveness. It resolved my auto update problem which I will post in a while. The second item is about MSCONFIG, if you are not shure what to uncheck or how to do it, go to this site for a full explanation of the process: [http://netsquirrel.com/msconfig/index.html] . Well that's all for this session, I was hoping that other members of this forum would also donate some of their knowlege and expertise. I will be back in the near future for further updates on what I found.
Message was edited by: Flashorn 25/10/07



Hey Everyone! I read somewhere about SANDBOXIE, not shure but I think it was here,anyways, I downloaded the program and installed it. I have now been using it for 9 days.I am Impressed with it.I run XPsp2 and it installed with no conflicks at all, even though I have D.E.P. turned on in the Opt-Out configuration. This is A VIRTUAL SANDBOX, or a VIRTUAL PLAYER, meaning that you can surf the web in a browser, OF YOUR CHOICE, that does not write to your hardisc. No cookies, no spyware, no adware, nothing writes to your hardrive, everything is contained within this VIRTUAL REALITY. If or when you are finihed with your surfing you can choose to either keep the info locked away in the Sanboxie for your next surffing session or just DELETE the entire contents of the sandbox. This program is absolutely Free in money and Adware of anykind. This might be another good way to protect yourslves against all those nasty things out there or the website you were affraid to visite. Well that's it for now. Talk to you in a bit.



Hey People! I've been away to long from this page.If you were wondering how fast your internet connection was well, these sites should help you out. The first one I stumbled upon is , http://www.Speedtest.net , and this one, http://www.dslreport...peedtest?more=1

Both of these sites have multiple servers so you can choose the one closest to your location and test your connection speed. The first site also keeps a record of your tests and will give you an average of your downloads and uploads. You can also check out the thread "Contest: how fast is your connection " Lots of info and some new links not to mention Great People. I'll keep looking and searching and when I find something interesting I'll be back to share it with you. Have a great ThanksGiving everyone.
Message was edited by: Flashorn 09/11/07

[Flashorn]

Hey Everyone! Well I have been busy, so not much time to Play. But I do have a few more sites for you to consider. Here at

http://www.hollmen.dk/ , you will find all kinds of small apps. to keep you busy for a while including, a Beta that reads HiJackThis logs. Now this is a beta. so. something to play with. Check out the rest of the site you might find something for you.

Now the second site that I was looking at involves MsConfig. Everything you want to know about it (well almost) be it Windows 98 right up to XP. I didn't see Vista but then again I didn't look for it either. You can per rouse the site Here, http://www.pacs-port...tup_content.php .

And finally(I hope I'm not to boring),this site will show you which entries should remain in MsConfig and which should not be there at all. It details a vast number of entries made by malware and viruses and has links to where you can find more. So here is the address ,http://www.sysinfo.org/startuplist.php .

Well thats it for now. I hope this will be informative enough for you to enjoy.



Flashorn.

[TechyGuy]

Hi Flashorn, as a beforehand notice, I have not any of the other posts in this thread, so please excuse me if I repeat anything someone else has already stated, or if the topic has changed over the corse of a month and a half(almost).
Here is the general method I use to research new software(and hardware too):
# check the big tech sites (PCW, PCmag, Maximum PC, Computer Shopper) and see if there are any reviews or comments on the given program or hardware.
# If no relevant results come up; then I Dogpile it (http://www.dogpile.com - best search engine ever, I discovered it here in the forums, and it's better than my former search, Ask, so I switched) and see if any useful results come up.
# See if a free trial is offered (software only, of course, no hardware) on the software's website, and try it out for yourself.
# See what current users have to say about it, if possible, and check the seller's reputation.

If I like it, I buy it and/or download it.

A few guidelines I follow when purchasing a relatively new piece if software or hardware:

* If the seller has a bad reputation, or does not allow customer testimonials, then I avoid their product, and move on.
* If it is so new that their are no reviews or user comments, I typically wait and check back later, since it's not a very good idea to take a gamble when purchasing a piece of hardware or expensive software.(unless it's free, of course)
* If the trial(if available) is not very appealing, then I do not buy.
* if the publisher/manufacturer does not show clear and concise product details, or seems like they are hiding something from the general public, then I move on.
And I almost forgot to add one of the best research tools available - the PCW forums
Hope this helps you research future software and/or hardware.
-TechyG.
Message was edited by: TechyGuy

[Flashorn]

Hey TechyGuy! I Thank You for your input Techy. You see, I started this thread for just that reason. You said "the best research tool available", Well I wanted to make it easy to come to this thread for information, and specifically for the experience other members of the forum had with whatever they tried. This would make it a One Stop Shop sorta thing. This thread has had almost 600 hits so far, and possibly because people like you and other members of this forum took the time and effort to post their experiences and LINKS, very important. Yes It has been some time since I started this thread and I keep updating it once in a while to keep it going in the hope that other member would also contribute and to help the new members easily search and find information on there own. Again Techy Thank You very much for sharing with us.


Flashorn.