Well, thanks to the guidance of Miguel and others, I’ve managed to stave off malware attacks on one of my HP laptops with what seems to be a formidible arsenal of weapons. They include:
- Symantec Antivirus (Commercial)
- ZoneAlarm firewall (free)
- Spyware Blaster (free)
- SpyBot Search & Destroy (free)
- AdAware (free)
I’m also going to install Microsoft’s Windows Defender for good measure, though I haven’t yet.
Sadly, my HP Tablet became a paperweight thanks to a mysterious malware attack, and after a full software restore failed and locked up. Until I get an external USB CD-ROM I won’t be able to reformat that hard drive and start over. 🙁
I have been extremely pleased with the speedy functionality of Ubuntu Linux on my still-working HP laptop as well. I taught my workshop today with WinXP since that is the operating system the students are using– but I did use Firefox almost exclusively in conjunction with Google Earth. Still haven’t been able to send my Macbook to Apple for repair for the mysterious shutdown problems I’ve been having. They have recurred, although we’ve had long periods (6+ hours) of no crashing as well. Seems to be a thermal issue, as more blog visitors have commented from their own experiences. My latest safari into the wild and danger-ridden world of Windows computing has been instructive, but overall I can’t wait to again use my Macbook as my primary computer!
I read in Robert Bork’s book “Slouching Toward Gomorrah” several years ago that societies can only tolerate so much deviation from a “norm” until the norm itself becomes redefined. That is exactly what has happened in the Windows computing environment, and it seems ridiculous to me. It is EXPECTED that users will spend hours patching their system and installing anti-malware software programs just so they can perform BASIC computing tasks: like surfing the web and using email. This is not the way computing “norms” should be. I much prefer the Ubuntu and Macintosh “norms” of “malware, no problem!”
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On this day..
- Considering Audience and Purpose for Classroom Websites – 2017
- Audio Podcasting Workflows (August 2016) – 2016
- 70 iPad Apps for Elementary STEM – 2014
- Copyright Infringement Claims Lead to Suspension of Legoboy YouTube Channels – 2011
- OKC WordPress User’s Group Meeting Notes: August 2011 – 2011
- Storychasing Follow Me Sunday with an iPad2 and iRig Mic – 2011
- Laptop Learning in Massachusetts: BYOL on the horizon? – 2010
- eBook Resources (for iPhone users and others) – 2009
- Akismet spam delete all problem fixed – 2008
- Live tweeting back to school night – 2008