The process of switching my antivirus from the personal Systemworks edition to the Corporate Edition handled through my university has somehow rendered my computer totally unuseable. Beerblogging will return tomorrow.
Use this as an open thread for computer headaches and everything else.
slickdpdx
The beer without the blogging is even better for headaches!
srv
Yeah, right, and your dog ate your homework.
Patrick Lightbody
Anti virus software tends to cause more problems than it solves. Just don’t open random attachments and stay away from the pr0n sites and you’ll be just fine. (Of course, easier said than done when dealing with IT policies)
rachel
And don’t use Internet Explorer as your main browser or Outlook Express as your main e-mail utility. In fact, just avoid Windows and make Mac, Linux or BSD your main OS instead. (I wouldn’t drop Windows altogether; there are some things it does better than the OSs do, but most of the time it isn’t worth the hassle for me to use it. I have a double-boot system for those occasions when it’s called for.)
John D.
Tim,
The only way I have ever gotten that migration to go smoothly is to uninstall the personal edition, then install Corporate. Otherwise, there are two invalid DLL calls once it is installed.
Corporate, however, is *vastly* superior to personal. Honest.
John D.
Unless you have a damn good firewall, you are just asking for trouble if you sit in a known broadband netblock.
Tim F.
John D,
Yeah, that was how I did it. I can get the antivirus working to the point where it thinks it can start a scan, which lasts thirty seconds before it crashes out of the scan and the comp freezes. The I reboot and it freezes again. I haven’t done any safe mode troubleshooting since my days in ME hell (no I didn’t choose ME[ltdown], it was a work computer). Looks like I may have to.
demimondian
Rachel, Rachel, them’s fightin’ words — we, the peaceful denizens of the demi-bunker do, after all, owe our quotidian loaves to Microsoft. :-)
tBone
Seconded, x1000. The corporate edition is unobtrusive, lightweight, and effective – all the things that the crap personal version isn’t.
John D.
Tim,
That’s a classic case of one of the old Personal DLLs hanging around and not getting replaced during the install. Try uninstalling Corporate and doing the “Yes to All” option for the shared DLLs, then reinstalling Corporate.
Admittedly, it could be lots of things (like a piece of spyware locking portions of your antivirus software), but given that your troubles started when switching over, I’d think the DLL issue is the likeliest.
Mason
Better yet, dump the Norton computer-eating shitware and find another product such as Trend Micro’s PC-Cillin or Grisoft’s AVG.
tBone
The Norton consumer-oriented stuff is beyond awful, but Symantec Corporate is good. Really.
Tim F.
John D,
I used the ‘remove programs’ function in the control panel to get rid of Systemworks…was that a mistake? Now that the original software is gone do I have some way of ferreting out the offending DLLs? As it is every time that I boot into regular mode the computer lasts a minute and a half before freezing so it looks like this will have to happen in Safe Mode.
Mason, I use AVG at home (mostly because the price is right) and it seems to work fine, but my work computer does the bulk of the risky net surfing so I figured that it needed a bit more oomph. Of course dumbass that I am I picked Norton personal.
demimondian
Tim — your best shot is going to be opening a support case. If the University has a volume license agreement with Norton, then you should probably call their helpless desk first, although you should expect that you’ll need to evenutally open a support incident with Norton.
Yes, it’s going to be very frustrating. If it’s any consolation, though, Norton loses money — big time — on support calls, so you be inflicting quite a bit of pain on them, too.
ppGaz
Associated Press is among the orgs reporting today that an Iraqi witness to the Zarqawi bombing states that Zarqawi was beaten before he died, when American forces found him wounded after the bomb attack.
I report this without comment, just putting it out there for y’all.
News roundup on this story
AP story
ppGaz
Associated Press is among the orgs reporting today that an Iraqi witness to the Zarqawi bombing states that Zarqawi was beaten before he died, when American forces found him wounded after the bomb attack.
I report this without comment, just putting it out there for y’all.
AP Story
Okay, the stupid software intercepts this post when it has two — yes, two! — links on it. So I’ll post it with one link and let you guys deal with it. No good deed goes unpunished around here. Is it really necessary to intercept a post because it has TWO LINKS on it?
ppGaz
On topic, I use McAfee at home because I connect to an enterprise network using VPN and the agreement I signed requires either Norton or McAfee on the client. I hate Norton so went with McAfee, which has a thoroughly 1989 interface, but anyway, I’m in compliance.
The Other Steve
Oh puh-leeze. That’s the most ignorant advice anybody can give.
And the Titanic was unsinkable…
The Other Steve
We actually use McAfee at work, and I use Norton at home. I bought the Norton Antivirus 2006 3-computer edition or something for $19. It works really well.
I used to have more problems with NAV back with like version 2002 or so when it slowed things down and started popping up every time I sent an email, etc, but I’ve had good luck lately.
I have no suggestion for your problem Tim. I would have thought an uninstall of the old, and install of the new would work.
Perry Como
I hope the VPN security policy doesn’t trust clients just because they have AV software.
ppGaz
Yeah, we have to shoot our way in every morning.
Chloe, from 24, gets me into the system.
Yeah, that’s right. Chloe.
The Other Steve
On a side topic on an open thread.
I just heard Gov. Mark Warner speak here at yKos. Impressive. Quite impressive.
Now they’ve got Eric Massa(24 year Navy vet) and ret. Admiral Joe Sestak up talking. More impressive candidates.
I’m glad I came to this conference.
The Other Steve
This is interesting… One of the last roundtable discussions of the day is about privacy. The speaker is Michael Schiavo. He’s running late.
But the most amazing thing, a police officer just came through and swept the room(Looks like a Sheriff’s deputy). There’s two guys(that I saw) stationed outside the door with badges and guns.
Incredible
Tim F.
Computer update –
Safe mode appears to be working, so I may be able to ferret out the problem without descending into the seventh circle of customer support. Or I may disable something important and permanently bork my system. Place your bets!
ppGaz
This Q and A is from an exchange with the president’s advisor. It’s from the current Newsweek edition online.
I found it surprising and …. refreshingly plainspoken, especially after the oceans of horse manure that have been posted on the subject by righties on the blogosphere.
Christie S.
We’ve had just the opposite here. Previous versions worked just fine, but the 2006 version has bogged down the machine so badly that it just sucks.