IncrediblySimple.net

What is the best free Antivirus?

1/6/2016

First off: Real World Protection Test Overview
If it is not on the above list, I do not consider it. Period.

From my personal use and installing free AV's for my clients for the past 12+ years:

I liked and recommended Avast Free for several years. It's still a great product, I take nothing away from it. In fact I still use the paid server version on several boxes I admin. Very lightweight for the comprehensive protection it provides. But I got tired of their free version tricks, subliminal, overt, and otherwise - to get people to sign up for the paid version. Too many of my clients, especially the elderly or those with little tech familiarity, fell for the tricks and paid for something they did not need.

I have also used Bit Defender Free and recommended/installed it for clients, fairly extensively. Again, an excellent product. Some few clients have complained about slower games, but I game (to much!) and I never noticed it.

I currently recommend and install Avira Free for most of my clients. It is excellent protection, (see chart linked above) very lightweight, and instead of all the tricks with registration and such, you get a straightforward, pop-up/attempt to sell you - once a day. Compared to several others, this is refreshingly direct and honest.

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Gmail. Tame your inbox.

1/30/2015

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Helping people with their email almost daily, I am in a position to see some of the many ways people use and abuse their inbox. Even among the enlightened souls who have abandoned all inferior offerings and embraced Gmail, there are many who fail to use the genius of the system fully. A couple years ago, I was one! My inbox used to have 1000 or more in it at all times.

So I took steps. 1st, I decided my email is NOT a place I want merchants to sell me stuff, whether I signed up for them in the first place or not. So I ruthlessly axed all the salemails, using Gmails "Report Spam" button and the automatic unsubscribe feature that Google provides.

I then changed all my useless email notifications on social media like FB, Google+ and Twitter etc.. to zero, or nearly so. This takes willpower, but it is worth it. I don't need to be told every time someone comments on a post I commented on so I can rush back and re-comment... That way lies insanity!

And the largest change of all, I developed a strong habit of looking at EVERY email I receive every day, even if I just glance at it for 2 seconds... and decide whether to report spam, delete or archive, and in some rare cases, put a star or label on it. This process took a 2 weeks or so of habit changing and working thru the 1500 or so stacked in my inbox at the time.

Now, out of perhaps 20 emails I may get in a day, (down from 80 or so) I allow 1 or 2 to stay in the inbox, and only briefly... My rule is it is in the inbox ONLY if I am actively working on it, or something it references. In short, I no longer need anything to organize my inbox, because my inbox is empty, and it stays that way.

If you read it, Gmail itself recommends this. And let me tell you, once you start maintaining an empty inbox, it is a major revelation! Once my inbox is cleared, I am free to look over archived mail if I want, or surf, or waste time on social media, or... omg... even get some actual work done! An empty inbox is thing of beauty and a joy forever.

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Gmail vs Outlook.com

5/24/2014

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I recently gave Outlook.com a spin. More accurately, I gave it 4 full weeks of testing, tweaking, daily use, and reasonably unbiased (I tried!) evaluation.

I must give clear warning from the gates, I'm a longtime Google and Gmail fanatic. But great as it is, even Gmail is not a "one size fits all" solution. In fact, many of the folks I speak to dislike Gmail!
Incomprehensible as I find that, it's a fact. But those folks still want a modern email solution. They just want something that is closer to their comfort zone. Outlook, or some other email client software, is frequently at the center of that "warm and fuzzy" they hate to abandon.

As a computer pro, if I'm going to give an opinion I need to base it on actual experience, not fanboi prejudice. Outlook.com has all the earmarks of a legitimate contender. So... the Gmail acolyte abandoned Gmail, for a month. Here's what I learned:

Gmail Pro's/Cons:

GOOD:
Gmail organizes your email into "conversations", or "threads". If you have ever read the comments or discussion after almost any web news article, Gmail conversations will look perfectly normal and accessible to you. As messages come and go, they get grouped according to the subject line of the original email, no matter how long ago the "conversation" started. When someone replies to you, that reply is added to the bottom of the conversation, with all other correspondence in that thread collapsed above it. You can easily open up the preceding messages, and see who said what, and when, in neat and logical order, with no pawing thru folders to find messages from weeks or months ago. This is gold if you need to be able to review and track who said what. You can send a mass mail to hundreds of people, and when anyone replies to that email, it's automatically added to that conversation. Project Managers, Geeks, busy Exec's, Professionals of all stripes... If you live and work in your email, and for some reason you have never tried Gmail, trust me on this one!!! Conversations are exactly what you want to see.

GOOD:
Gmail (of course) seamlessly integrates into the whole Googleverse, particularly if you use an Android Phone. Google+, Drive, Docs, Maps, Picassa, Voice, Youtube, etc, etc... I could go on for an entire book on this one subject. Many books HAVE been written on this subject! But no one needs to read them, we just use all the tools and toys Google provides, easily and intuitively, never opening a help file. Suffice it to say MS has it's work cut out for it to try to match this.

GOOD:
Gmail Search. Second to none. This is as you would expect from a mega-corporation built on the world's best search engine. From the very beginning of Gmail, this one feature was intended to make folders, rules, filters, flags and various other sorting and filing mechanisms completely obsolete. And if you embrace it, you will find that it succeeded. Gmail has since added labels and stars and flags and circles and a half dozen other methods of sorting, filing and organizing for the compulsive types who simply must. But the simple fact is you don't need them. Just archive 90% of emails and delete the trash, as they come in. Then search if you need to refer to something. I can find an email from 2007 every bit as fast as something I got last week. And FAR faster than anyone who has to look thru folders they created!!! Searching your email just plain works, and works damn well.

And there's another imponderable benefit. All that time that you formerly used creating a folder system, sorting and filing email, and pawing thru folders when you need to find something... you can now use to get some actual work done. Or play more Candy Crush.

BAD:
A significant percentage of people find ALL of Google's offerings counter-intuitive. From Chrome to Gmail to Drive and Maps to Picassa and on and on... Strangely, Google has simplified and cleaned and pruned and streamlined and changed the paradigm so much that some folks find all Google offerings frustrating and baffling. Particularly those who are accustomed to Microsoft ways of doing things. They try something Google, "can't find anything", and soon revert. I remember I felt this way a few times, back when I first tried Google products. And it's worth noting that not everyone is willing or able to make the change, no matter how many times family and friends enthuse about how wonderful it all is.

And the ones who are complaining aren't wrong! Despite Google's justly deserved fame for designing simple, user-friendly, intuitive interfaces, those same interfaces are a problem to many thousands. Especially to those who have learned to use Microsoft products by rote, with no real understanding... Google products can be a nightmare.

Outlook.com Pros/Cons:

GOOD:
Sweep feature/filter creation. The Sweep feature in Outlook.com is superbly conceived and executed. It's essentially the same as making a new rule in Gmail or even the old Outlook, but far simpler and less intimidating for non-geeks. I remember when the old Outlook filters and rules were BAD. Horrifically complex, and intimidating/frightening for non-techies. This approach is very good indeed. You select an email, click Sweep", answer very simple questions, and voila, you created a rule/filter.

BAD:
The conversation feature is considerably less than stellar on Outlook.com. Yes, there is an available setting to organize messages by conversation, but it just doesn't work as well. In fact, I found it quite frustrating compared to Gmail's elegant simplicity.

GOOD:
FOLDERS! I know, it's strange. I've already addressed that with Gmail, you don't need folders. Nope, not at all. But for whatever reason, a great many people like Outlook style Folders better than Gmail Labels. Even though it's clear to anyone who looks at it dispassionately that Gmail's Labels have more utility, and better functionality. And notwithstanding that Gmail's search makes all organization and folderization superfluous, see above... Folders just SEEM easier! Homey. Comfy as faded old patched jeans. I'm pretty sure this goes back to the roots, when we all learned to use Windows.

GOOD:
Cleaner interface. Many folks have belaboured this, so I won't, I'll just add my vote. Yes, Gmail themes are prettier by far, and Gmail is more customizable, in every aspect. But Outlook.com appears simpler, cleaner, more attractive. Cleaner wins.

BAD:
I desperately miss Gmail's Send and Archive feature!!! It's annoying to see an email I just answered still sitting in my inbox. I answered the damn thing, I should be done with it! But I still need to stick it in a folder, or create a new folder, or archive it, or something. After Gmail, being forced to make time wasting decisions in order to maintain a clean inbox is offensive. Outlook.com should at least allow me to Archive it automatically when I click Send. I looked for this, didn't find it.

GOOD:
It's Outlook! Even after "X" years of Gmail, coming back to Outlook feels like coming home to Mom's chocolate chip cookies. How it manages to be so shiny and new and streamlined, and yet it's undeniably the same cozy old Outlook... it's beyond me, but very impressive indeed. So yeah, going home is nice. I seem to remember I moved out for a reason... but damn those cookies are tasty!

GOOD:
The Outlook.com apps I tested (Android, iPhone, and iPad) were all quick, clean, and dovetailed nicely with each other. Full marks to Microsoft for making this a truly device independent solution.

GOOD:
Outlook.com integration with other MS services is far and away better than I expected. Calendar, Skydrive, Bing Maps, dead easy messaging and social tie ins... Microsoft has done a staggering amount of work to make it all flawless and non-intimidating. Some might say they copied Google for some things, even several things. But that's rampant in this industry, and who cares, ultimately, if it works? The upshot is Microsoft is able to beat Google in some important ways here, particularly for the non-technical. The MS offerings largely just plain work, often with zero install or config. At least that's the case on a PC, which should come as no surprise. It's simple home court advantage. Google has the same "zero config, it just works" advantage on Chrome OS, or an Android phone. I still have to give Google the win on this one for more and better free tools and toys, but it wasn't near the blowout I anticipated.

GOOD:
Outlook.com email search is excellent, and lightning fast. Miles better than older "client" versions of Outlook. Without making scientific or laborious comparisons, it feels a bit different, but quite competitive with Gmail. This one point alone makes all my misgivings pale into insignificance. Outlook.com may not be perfect from a Gmail acolyte's point of view, but excellent search at least makes it livable.

Conclusions:
The day of email client software is long gone. Email clients were created back in the bad old 56k modem days, primarily to make the glacial sending or retrieving your email into something automated, something that could happen while you went for coffee. With today's advances they are as obsolete as 8-tracks. They greatly increase the likelihood of losing all your mail and contacts someday, and they usually tie you to a single machine. Despite many improvements in syncing and communication between devices, as well as a plethora of backup solutions, web-based email is still inherently simpler and safer. Hence the rise of Webmail: Yahoo, Hotmail, Gmail, et al.

Gmail has been the King of Webmail for quite some time now. I expected Outlook.com to be lame and pokey in comparison, as outgunned as Moped racing a Ferrari. To my surprise, I found valid (and sufficient, for many) reasons to switch from Gmail to Outlook.com. For lots of folks, the Outlook comfort factor and clean design trumps Gmail's superior tech and more efficient paradigm.

For myself, I will be returning to Gmail. But not without respect for what Microsoft has done. The contest was miles closer than I anticipated. If you are one of the many who have resisted for years, and in particular, if you still use Outlook or Thunderbird or some other client, then you probably know you need to make a change. Outlook.com may be your perfect and long awaited answer. Outlook.com is a completely modern webmail, accessible from almost anything, anywhere. And the bonus is you get to stay in your comfort zone! In fact, it may be more comfortable than any other version of Outlook, ever.

If nothing else, Gmail finally has a worthy competitor.

2 Comments

Avast Free

11/18/2013

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With the recent poor showings of Security Essentials even Microsoft has openly admitted it is inadequate. So it's time for all those MSE users to go back to something else.

Avast is easily one of the best Antivirus programs in the world. Many believe it is the best. And their free version really does provide enough protection for most folks. But... they are very tricky and persistent trying to get you to sign up for their paid version. And after all, who can blame them? They’re just trying to make an honest buck, and incidentally providing a service all Windows users need.

So here’s how to get (and KEEP) that great free protection.
First, in general it's not good practice to have more than one antivirus. So before you install a new one, you need to UN-install any other antivirus. Go to Control Panel>Programs and Features, find it in the list, and get rid of it.

Next, download and install Avast free version. You can get this several places, but I prefer to get it at www.ninite.com Incidentally, Ninite is a fantastic source for great free software that you can trust. Plus, it makes the installs easier. Highly recommended.

After Avast is installed comes the (slightly) tricky part, registering it without getting psyched into paying. :)

Open Avast, and click Register.

Then click the GREY box, on the left. This varies somewhat, but the paid versions are always in bright friendly colors, and the free one... not so much.

Don’t be fooled, click the ugly one!

Then fill in your info and click Register with Email Address.

(I don't recommend using Facebook to sign up for things, for several reasons.)

The last trick. Obviously, they want you to click the big green box. Don’t! Click the little blue line underneath it, or just click the X.

And that's it. Done. Finis. Until next year, when you will need to register again.

But no worries. It's easy now you know the game.

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But why can't you just...

9/24/2013

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Quite often one of the guys over at How-To-Geek writes an article that makes me think "now why didn't I write that?" This is one of those.

http://www.howtogeek.com/172701/why-you-cant-just-copy-a-programs-folder-to-a-new-windows-system-and-when-you-can/

When moving to a new Windows system, either after getting a new computer or reinstalling Windows, you may be tempted to copy a program’s folder to your new system just like you’d copy your files. But this normally won’t work.

Some programs — games especially — do allow you to copy their folders over and run the program. Other programs specifically designed to be “portable apps” will also be able to do this.

Why Do Programs Require Installation?When you install a program on Windows, it appears to only install to a specific folder, generally under Program Files. For example, Apple’s iTunes software installs to C:Program Files (x86)>iTunes by default.

In a simpler world, you could copy the iTunes folder to a new computer and run iTunes from the folder without any additional work. However, it isn’t this simple. Programs actually scatter their data all over the place:

Registry Settings: Many programs save settings in the Windows registry. These settings may be scattered all over the Windows registry — for example, there may be several registry keys for program settings, other registry keys for context menu options, and keys that make the program the default program for certain files. If any of these registry keys aren’t present, the program may display errors when you try to run it.
Other Program Folders: Certain programs also install other software that they require. For example, iTunes installs the Apple Application Support application, among others. If Apple Application Support isn’t present on your computer, iTunes won’t run. Apple Application support installs to its own folder and has its own registry settings, like any other program.
Windows System Files: Some programs dump DLL files and other files into the Windows system directory and won’t run if these files aren’t present.
System Services: Many programs install Windows services that they require. For example, Adobe Flash Player installs an Adobe Flash Player Update service. While you could copy the Adobe Flash plugin files to a new system, you wouldn’t have the update service and you’d have to manually update Adobe Flash. Installing Adobe Flash with the installer would ensure that the updater service is present. Some programs may not even run without these services available.
Hardware Locking: A few programs may use DRM that ties the program to a specific computer’s hardware. They may refuse to run when you copy their files to a new computer.
User Data Folders: Most modern programs don’t save their settings to their program folder. Whatever they don’t store in the registry is likely stored in each user’s Application Data folder. Even if you could copy the program’s files over, these settings would have to be copied or you’d lose your programs’ settings and data.

Theoretically, it would be possible to locate everything — registry settings, program files, system files, user data folders — and copy them to the new computer, reinstalling any system services and putting everything in the exact same place. However, this would be extremely tedious and would often require using some sort of program that monitors the changes an installer makes. In practice, simply reinstalling the program is much faster and easier. The installer will set up everything the program needs on your system.

When You Can Copy Programs Over: Some programs are designed to be portable, not writing to the registry, storing their data in their own folder, and running from an .exe file without any installation required. These programs are the exception rather than the rule, but they do exist.

2 Comments

PEBKAC

8/1/2013

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Most of my clients are intelligent people. They don't blame me for their problems. And most call me when it's still "minor", before it becomes an emergency. But like all geeks, now and then I get one of these.

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Computer 101: 3 Simple Rules for Computer Survival

8/1/2013

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Spending my days trying to repair the damage people do to their computers (and themselves!) led me to write this. Hope it helps someone:

1. GOOGLE IS YOUR FRIEND. And the best possible teacher. You can learn almost anything sitting in your own bedroom, just from Googling around the Web. Think about it! For the first time in all human history, a near limitless ocean of information is right at your fingertips. No need to seek out some Collegium in Rome, or Temple in Mecca, or trek to some guru on a Himalayan mountaintop in search of wisdom. From Astrophysics to Zen, from Zenobia to Aztec, it IS out there on the Web. But it may take a little patience and tenacity to find it.

If you have a question, Google it. Then search it again a little differently, and keep right on searching and trying links and reading until you get the answer you want.

2. BACK IT UP!! "Backup" is not mysterious, not difficult nor high tech nor intimidating. It simply means make a copy somewhere OFF of your computer, so that if the computer you are on right now suddenly blew up or disappeared, you would still have what is important to you. You can backup to a Flash drive, External hard drive, Carbonite, Dropbox or Google Drive account, even burn a CD or a DVD. These and many more options are all valid. It actually doesn't matter too very much HOW you do it, just that you DO it! And remember your backup can fail, too. Look at it this way: ALL hard drives/computers/storage media absolutely WILL fail, someday. The only question is when. So, backup your Pics, docs, music, videos, spreadsheets, presentations, bookmarks, favorite wallpapers... anything you created or really love, and would be upset if it was gone.

And make fresh backups, often. If it's been "awhile" since you backed up last time, then it IS time.

Contrariwise, if you didn't create it with your own 2 widdle pinkies or love it alot... don't bother to back it up. Programs, apps, games, etc... Backing up such things, or worse, backing up your entire hard drive, is a waste of time and space for most people. There are exceptions, of course. And some folks don't care about wasted time/space as long as they know ALL their stuff is backed up, and I certainly won't argue that! But for programs and apps and games and such, you can almost always download it again, install it again, or a better one will likely be on the next computer you buy.

3. WWW ALSO STANDS FOR WILD WILD WEST. Obviously, the World Wide Web is a HUGE force for good, for freedom of information, for leveling the playing field, and making real knowledge and education available to all. If repressive regimes like China and North Korea ever finally fall, it will be partly due to the Internet.

BUT!!!

WWW also stands for Wild Wild West. No laws, no police, no protection. The Web, by its very nature, cannot be easily controlled or made "safe". Porn of every kind is 2 clicks away from Disney and Nickelodeon. Predators, molesters, psychos and sickos of every imaginable variety roam free on Facebook and Twitter and a thousand other sites. Protect your children! Until your child is old and wise enough to deal with what IS out there... if you love them, say NO, and make it stick. If they are allowed online, make damn sure they are in the same room as you, and you can see their screen at all times. And be prepared to answer the questions when they land on XXX. Because they WILL. This also includes smart phones and iPads and such! If it can access the WWW, it IS dangerous to your child, and you can't make it safe! If this seems like too much trouble... don't have kids.

And the same is true for you as well, adult or not. Remember.. Wild Wild West, only worldwide. Governments, agencies, hackers, greedy corporations and more, from every corner of the globe, all prying into your business, eager to know every detail of your private life. Scam artists both large and small, hungry for your money. If you get ripped off, you probably won't get it back. If it seems too good to be true, it absolutely IS!!!! The cooler it looks, the more likely it is to hurt you, or your computer. Install it today, pay to get it removed tomorrow. If you Tweet it or take a picture of it and post it on the web anywhere, it absolutely WILL come back to haunt you someday, sooner than you think. Remember Nancy Reagan, and just say NO.

Read twice, THINK twice, click once.

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What is the best free Antivirus?

Gmail. Tame your inbox.

Gmail vs Outlook.com

Avast Free

But why can't you just...

PEBKAC

Computer 101: 3 Simple Rules for Computer Survival

C.J. Hardy

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