| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
MalzyWheels
Senior Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2009
Posts: 288
|
 Posted: Mon Dec 07, 2009 4:35 pm Post subject: Securing a Netbook against..... |
 |
|
My mom just bought a new netbook (Grrr...) and she is bringing it up here tomorrow for me to scope out/setup. I'm figuring on two things I must do:
1. Get rid of the trialware virus protection and Install AVG (free or full package? Any thoughts?).
2. Install Firefox and make it the default browser.
Is there anything else I should do differently or in addition to make her new purchase as bulletproof as it can be? I haven't touched a Windows box since 2006, and haven't used one for day to day use since May, 2003. I have never clicked a mouse in WinXP. My mom is a neophite computer user of the first order, and would be totally helpless if she were to get a virus. I have no clue about the netbook, but I'm assuming it's an XP machine.
Any help would be appreciated.
_________________
"You can't have a light without a dark to stick it in." - Arlo Guthrie
Mac Mini 2009 - 500GB, 5400RPM HDD - 4gig RAM
Airport Express (1st Gen) using Air Tunes
1961 HH Scott 299C integrated Amplifier (7591 Output Tubes)
B&W DM302 speakers |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
MacDSmith2
Veteran Member
Joined: 17 Aug 2009
Posts: 779
Location: Phoenix
|
| Posted: Mon Dec 07, 2009 9:23 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I recommend Kaspersky Internet Security 2009 for anti-virus protection. I got it after I got one of those nasty malware worms. I've been very happy with it on my PC laptop, which I am planning to migrate to Parallell's Switch to Mac virtual PC on my Mac Mini soon. If the Netbook is new, it most likely is Windows 7 Home Lite.
_________________
Retired: Altair 8800, PET, TI 99/4A, Apple II
Mac Plus, Mac II, Mac SE/30, Quadra,
20th Anniversary Mac, iMac Purple, G4 Blue & White, iBook Clamshell
Active: Mac Mini (OCT 09) 4 GB RAM, 2.66 GHz, 500 GB HDD |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
KTsBBQ
Member
Joined: 14 May 2006
Posts: 60
Location: Colorado
|
| Posted: Mon Dec 07, 2009 11:21 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Install Mac OS X on it!! 
_________________
2010 Macbook Pro 2.53 Core i5, Anti-glare screen, 500 gb 7200 rpm HD, 4gb RAM
Mac Mini 1.66 GHz CD, 1 GB RAM, 100 GB Hd, 750GB Ministack V2.5
16GB iPhone 3Gs Black
MSI Wind U123 1.66 GHz Atom, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB HD, Mac OS X Snow Leopard - Sold |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
MalzyWheels
Senior Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2009
Posts: 288
|
| Posted: Mon Dec 07, 2009 11:40 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| KTsBBQ wrote: | | Install Mac OS X on it!! |
I'd love to, but I doubt my mom would appreciate that....
_________________
"You can't have a light without a dark to stick it in." - Arlo Guthrie
Mac Mini 2009 - 500GB, 5400RPM HDD - 4gig RAM
Airport Express (1st Gen) using Air Tunes
1961 HH Scott 299C integrated Amplifier (7591 Output Tubes)
B&W DM302 speakers |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
MalzyWheels
Senior Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2009
Posts: 288
|
| Posted: Mon Dec 07, 2009 11:58 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| MacDSmith2 wrote: | | I recommend Kaspersky Internet Security 2009 for anti-virus protection. I got it after I got one of those nasty malware worms. I've been very happy with it on my PC laptop, which I am planning to migrate to Parallell's Switch to Mac virtual PC on my Mac Mini soon. If the Netbook is new, it most likely is Windows 7 Home Lite. |
Thanks for the suggestion, MacDSmith. They talk about the supposed Apple tax, but it's really not so after one takes all this Schlock into consideration.
As for what Windows it has, I'm hoping 7. But I was looking at Netbooks as a possible present for my mom and I was shocked at how many had XP. A few had 7. None had Vista
_________________
"You can't have a light without a dark to stick it in." - Arlo Guthrie
Mac Mini 2009 - 500GB, 5400RPM HDD - 4gig RAM
Airport Express (1st Gen) using Air Tunes
1961 HH Scott 299C integrated Amplifier (7591 Output Tubes)
B&W DM302 speakers |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
JohnnyBoy
Veteran Member
Joined: 13 Jul 2007
Posts: 3954
Location: West Sussex, South-East England
|
| Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2009 12:36 pm Post subject: Re: Securing a Netbook against..... |
|
|
| MalzyWheels wrote: | | 2. Install Firefox and make it the default browser. |
Wouldn't Google Chrome be a better choice for a netbook? 
_________________
Intel Mini 2.0GHz C2D (4GB/120GB/SuperDrive/10.5.8 ), 120GB WD Passport, Logitech ergo k/b
iPod Touch (32GB, 3rd gen), iPod Shuffle (512MB, 1st gen) |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
strollin
Junior Member
Joined: 12 Jun 2009
Posts: 48
Location: N. Calif.
|
| Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2009 4:34 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I have an Acer Aspire One netbook with XP and use AVG free and Firefox on it. It's gets lots more use than my Mac mini. No virus worries.
If your mom just wants to surf and read email, it's more than adequate.
_________________
Not really a Mac person... |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
MalzyWheels
Senior Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2009
Posts: 288
|
| Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2009 5:20 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Actually, my mom splurged for a full-fledged notebook. It sounds like she bought HP's version of the air - thin with no optical drive. She didn't bring it with her when she visited because she figured that she needed to have her account with Comcast setup to be able to hook her laptop up to my network...
Anyway, I have no idea what she has, or what it looks like. All I know is that Staples dug her $59 for Norton Antivirus. {meh}
I was wondering about Chrome, JB, but I didn't know if it was wise to let her go on the browser since it's so brand new. It seems kickbutt, but at least I know FF. Anyway, I'm not sure if I can get away with changing her over to FF, now she's using Exploder. The phrase "it works exactly the same" never cuts the mustard around here. If you catch my drift...
But, she likes her notebook, so that's all that counts.
_________________
"You can't have a light without a dark to stick it in." - Arlo Guthrie
Mac Mini 2009 - 500GB, 5400RPM HDD - 4gig RAM
Airport Express (1st Gen) using Air Tunes
1961 HH Scott 299C integrated Amplifier (7591 Output Tubes)
B&W DM302 speakers |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
CaliforniaMini
Veteran Member
Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 857
|
| Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2009 3:05 am Post subject: |
|
|
A bit ot, but I just brought a friends Gateway with a dead hard drive back to life. I did for her what it sounds like you wanted to do for your mom. I wanted to make it more secure than it was with a fresh os install, but I also wanted to keep it simple. She also wouldn't be able to afford to update virus protection after a year or so, so I looked to free options. I first thought about AVG, but thought I'd look around some more since I'm really not very Windows savy. I came across Microsoft Security Essentials. Its fairly new. Reviews online seem to suggest that it catches most things, but can miss a few, just as any virus protection. It integrates well with XP and runs in the background with hardly any intervention needed. Being a diehard Mac user, I was actually impressed. I also installed Chrome for her. It was a toss up between Chrome and Firefox, but figured Chrome would be simpler.
Unfortunately she lost a lot of her only daughters baby pics when that hard drive crashed. I felt bad that happened, so I also bought her an external hard drive for her to keep all the important things on. That, combined with the 160gb internal drive (original was 60gb), and new os disc (she lost the restore discs in a move and they're no longer available from Gateway) and I made it an early Christmas present for her. Shes not in the best of health right now, so shes in bed and in and out of hospitals a lot. She was so happy to get this thing back working since its her only way to get online.
_________________
Mercury TiBook 400MHz, 1GB RAM, 120GB HD, Airport
Mini 2.16GHz C2D, 2GB RAM, 320GB 72k RPM HD, 1TB External, Slingbox
BlackBook 2.2GHz C2D, 4GB RAM, 320GB 72k RPM HD
Mini 2.0GHz (Early 2009), 4GB RAM, 320GB 72k RPM HD |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
MalzyWheels
Senior Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2009
Posts: 288
|
| Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2009 12:56 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| CaliforniaMini wrote: | A bit ot, but I just brought a friends Gateway with a dead hard drive back to life. I did for her what it sounds like you wanted to do for your mom. I wanted to make it more secure than it was with a fresh os install, but I also wanted to keep it simple. She also wouldn't be able to afford to update virus protection after a year or so, so I looked to free options. I first thought about AVG, but thought I'd look around some more since I'm really not very Windows savy. I came across Microsoft Security Essentials. Its fairly new. Reviews online seem to suggest that it catches most things, but can miss a few, just as any virus protection. It integrates well with XP and runs in the background with hardly any intervention needed. Being a diehard Mac user, I was actually impressed. I also installed Chrome for her. It was a toss up between Chrome and Firefox, but figured Chrome would be simpler.
Unfortunately she lost a lot of her only daughters baby pics when that hard drive crashed. I felt bad that happened, so I also bought her an external hard drive for her to keep all the important things on. That, combined with the 160gb internal drive (original was 60gb), and new os disc (she lost the restore discs in a move and they're no longer available from Gateway) and I made it an early Christmas present for her. Shes not in the best of health right now, so shes in bed and in and out of hospitals a lot. She was so happy to get this thing back working since its her only way to get online. |
Well I hope your friend gets better soon.
I only got to deal with my mom's computer for a couple minutes over Christmas morning. It's a full-sized (13.5" screen) HP Pavilion. Seems like a fairly decent machine; if I had to slog in the world of Pee-Cee hardware, HP would probably be my first way of going. The only things I know for sure is that it has Windows 7 and that mom subscribed to a year of Norton Internet Security. I'm 50/50 about this, but I'm less than impressed about how slow the program is to start up and stop holding the desktop hostage before the user can do anything. But once the computer starts responding, it seems snappy. Like I said, only spent a small amount of time with it. All I was able to do was to shut off the touch click of the trackpad so my mom could stop being frustrated by that, and fix some of the addresses in her address book.
Thanks for the reply. 
_________________
"You can't have a light without a dark to stick it in." - Arlo Guthrie
Mac Mini 2009 - 500GB, 5400RPM HDD - 4gig RAM
Airport Express (1st Gen) using Air Tunes
1961 HH Scott 299C integrated Amplifier (7591 Output Tubes)
B&W DM302 speakers |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Aquafire
Veteran Member
Joined: 19 Sep 2007
Posts: 2372
Location: AUS-USA
|
| Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2010 1:59 am Post subject: |
|
|
| CaliforniaMini wrote: |
Unfortunately she lost a lot of her only daughters baby pics when that hard drive crashed. |
CaliforniaMini.
Have you tried retrieving those images?
There is some very good freeware out there that will pick up loads of seemingly forever lost images.
http://www.thefreecountry.com/utilities/datarecovery.shtml
Aqua
_________________
Of the four X systems in the world.
Which would you choose?
OS X : LinuX : UniX or MS-BolloX. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
CaliforniaMini
Veteran Member
Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 857
|
| Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2010 12:42 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Aquafire wrote: | | CaliforniaMini wrote: |
Unfortunately she lost a lot of her only daughters baby pics when that hard drive crashed. |
CaliforniaMini.
Have you tried retrieving those images?
There is some very good freeware out there that will pick up loads of seemingly forever lost images.
http://www.thefreecountry.com/utilities/datarecovery.shtml
Aqua |
Unfortunately I couldn't. She had a less than helpful bf at the time (hes gone now) who tried to fix it by putting in an old 10gb hard drive that he had sitting around and trashed the old one. I was hoping I could and that was the plan until I opened it up. Thanks for the tip though!
_________________
Mercury TiBook 400MHz, 1GB RAM, 120GB HD, Airport
Mini 2.16GHz C2D, 2GB RAM, 320GB 72k RPM HD, 1TB External, Slingbox
BlackBook 2.2GHz C2D, 4GB RAM, 320GB 72k RPM HD
Mini 2.0GHz (Early 2009), 4GB RAM, 320GB 72k RPM HD |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
FAQ 
Search 
Memberlist 
Photo Gallery
Register
Profile 
Log in to check your private messages 
Log in 
