[PCWorld]

Post your comments for Software That Just Won't Shut Up here

[vwindust]

Software that Just Won't Shut Up: I couldn't have put it better. I am sure most of us feel exactly the same and you have summed it up in a nutshell.I actually end up turning of my firewalls and associated applications because of these constant interruptions. Some of them ask you if you expected some port or other to receive incoming data from internet adress *. How on earth is one expected to know what this represents - I for one do not know the owners of every address under the sun

[kwjordan]

I don't mind being reminded that all my security systems are working. If I were not reminded, I would have to keep checking them.

[eglazier]

the real problem is that the software is made by programmers not by people who actually use the features of a PC. we who both read and write would never choose the defaults built into the software. right now trying to type this message i am looking at words with odd spacings and gaps between letters, all having nothing to do with the words i want to use. i do not know what it will look like when posted but it is almost impossible to read as it is now.maybe the software companies could hire an english major or two and get us out of this uneducated morass

[gskearney]

Well, here's an idea. Why doesn't someone write some software to take care of the problem. Surely it wouldn't be too difficult to intercept all these messages and generate replies based on the user's past behavior. It's surely no more difficult than writing a virus protection program, and there are plenty of those out there. C'mon McAfee, Symmantec, Microsoft, Apple. Write us a program to take care of repeated requests like this, so we can actually use our computers to get some uninterrupted work done. --gk

[glnbnz]

Unfortunately, what do you do if critical components of the antivirus or firewall quit working. Of course you would want a message for that. Security is not something to be taken lightly. I would much rather be informed about what is going on on my PC than wake up someday and be surprised and shocked to find out that someone has invaded my PC because I told one of my "Programs" to stop bothering me.If you want security you have to take the good with the bad.

[johnrl3yahoo]

Thanks for reminding me to turn off my speakers. The Weather Channel emits a sound about every ten seconds and the only way I've learn to not listen to it is to turn it off. Well, I guess I could delete the program. Weather wise all I really need to do is look out the window. When is the weather people ever right about the weather anyway!

[wsmyth]

Hear Hear!

[AuroraDizon]

[quote name='johnrl3yahoo']Thanks for reminding me to turn off my speakers. The Weather Channel emits a sound about every ten seconds and the only way I've learn to not listen to it is to turn it off. Well, I guess I could delete the program. Weather wise all I really need to do is look out the window. When is the weather people ever right about the weather anyway!Sound is pretty annoying (ya know besides the constant pop ups in freeware). I shut off all my sounds on every messenger I cannot stand them. I'm trying to concentrate and bam I get this annoying im sound every 10 seconds (if im talking to someone lol).

[charles849]

you know how many times I've uninstalled real player

[Harmonic7]

If you really want to cut down on interruptions: set the "No Sounds" sound theme in the Control Panel; disable sounds, tweak notification settings, etc in program options; & update everything manually (one of several reasons I replaced Windows Defender with Spyware Terminator). The only on-board work-flow interruptions on my machine are the popups I've selected from those security monitor programs I run on high with max user input - just the way I like it. (If only something could be done about iNet radio dropping out or going dead because of the unreliability of my iNet service ... now that's annoying!)

[oldeboots]

I remember RUN. The programs just sat silently awaiting the master's beckon. Then, when asked, they RAN. They never had the audicity to RUN by themselves. That would be boolean anarchy. Unthinkable. Go on the internet without permission? Send information about your private life and worse to the Mother Ship? No, no, they knew their place in those times and knew the penalty for misbeharior was the DEL. Can't even do that anymore, must un-install. Makes one nostalgic for the heady, warm smell of teletype oil.

[KMZydhek]

[quote name='glnbnz']Unfortunately, what do you do if critical components of the antivirus or firewall quit working. Of course you would want a message for that. Security is not something to be taken lightly.Yep, you'd definitely want to know about that, and you're absolutely right about security. The point of the article, as I read it, is that while it's acceptable to be informed of a problem, it's tiresome and irritating to be informed that the virus and spyware definitions are now up-to-date (despite having started the process quietly and without intervention, they must interrupt you with a notice that they did what they're supposed to do), Windows Defender really needs your permission to install the latest definitions because it's too dumb to do so on its own (with Automatic Updates set to notify only, because not all AUs are wise to grab willy-nilly, and forget trying to get any work done if AU decides your computer must be rebooted NOW), or any of countless other useless popups that tell you that Hey! Everything's still working just as good as it was 15 minutes ago!You want to make sure everything's working fine? Check the program's icon by the clock. Most do something to get your attention when something's amiss (turn from green to yellow or red, flash, etc). Popups are really not so necessary as to be on everything nowadays. For me, it's like the tornado sirens in the town I live in. They use them for the noon whistle and test them for three minutes every Friday. I've learned to tune them out because they're a constant annoyance. Now if they're actually used for something important, I'll probably not realize it until it's too late. Same thing with these popups. Interrupt me only when it's critical. Otherwise, shut the #$*) up.

[DMSworld]

My speakers aren't on except when needed. However, programs that "run in the background" more annoyingly consume the computer's resources to the extent that everything else comes to a dead standstill, often with no indication of what is happening "in the background". Logging in takes an eternity in computer time; work freezes mid-keystroke; lowering the browser priority doesn't seem to impress the apps. And resulting messages are mostly non-existent. It's so tempting to totally disable the snoop ware. What's it all about Alfie? :evil: