Acer laptop

[huggytree]

I keep getting viruses every other month...Norton is garbage...i will not be renewing...ill go with no virus protection

I have been reformatting my hard drive and starting over...right now im restarting my locked up computer 2x a day...so its time again.

I have decided to buy a 2nd computer for my business and not have it hooked up to the internet....when i have to reformat my hard drive i wont have to reload all my business software anymore....

i have a friend who is an IT guy...he's recommending a Acer laptop..$425, 3 gig, 325 gig HD, dvd light scribe, windows 7....he may be selling it to me at cost because he's a friend...I am not sure which model, but think i found it on the Walmart website...they want $495

just wondering if anyone has opinions on Acer?

i dont need anything too highend...its just for quick books and word.

[nealrm]

The reviews I seen on Acer computers run better than average. Of course the user ranking run the gambit from perfect to zero. Unless you need something portable, I would suggest a desktop unit. They tend to have few problems.

FYI: your locking up issue sounds more like a hard-drive failure than a virus. Even when working at a college computer lab, individual computers didn't catch a virus that often. Even if it is a virus, just reformatting may not work.

[huggytree]

reformatting always works..100%

i just had it checked out at my IT friends business..he's extremely good...im sure he would have noticed it when he checked...

i get weird 'virus' notices....sometimes it has said i have a virus on my screen, but it wasnt norton....like the virus is telling me i have a virus......

any software that would find the hard drive problem?

after i reformat and reinstall its perfect for 1-2 months...runs faster and better...

i like the laptop idea because i may bring it to bids and get a printer to give more professional bids..my hand writing isnt bad, but a typed bid looks alot more professional

[nealrm]

Those type of notices are generally tricks to get you to click on the popup. It will then install some type of program. Generally it is adware, but it could be anything including a Trojan horse virus. The adware itself can cause a computer to lockup.

If you get those type of popup its best not to hit anything inside the ad. Use the 'X' in the upper corner to close the popup.

[cbscreative]

Try Invircible at NetZ Computing (http://www.invircible.com) for antivirus.

I have McAfee on two of my computers and I'm ready to scrap it. It says the computers are clean, but I know they're not. I have Invircible on my main computer and I never have issues, nor have I ever been hit with a virus after many years of using Invircible.

My only reason for using McAfee on the other computers is that I get it free with my Internet service. I'm sick of it though, it's worth the extra money to just add Invircible to all of them because I've run trouble free for approx 10 years now. It's different from every other antivirus I've ever encountered, and it runs very, very lean.

Just one more thing to add. When I first installed Invircible on the computer I was using at the time, I had used McAfee. When that expired, I tried Norton and others to test drive before buying. When I installed Invircible the first time, it found viruses that had slipped right past NcAfee, Norton, and every other one I had tried.

I should have known from that not to use any others, but I'm done with them now even though I can get McAfee free. I'd rather pay for Invircible on all my computrers than deal with all the infections because virus writers know how to slip past the "leading" antivirus programs.

I've seen that virus that creates the bogus popup messages posing as an antivirus when it is the virus (neal's advice to use on the X in the corner is very accurate). As far as I know, that is a worm, possibly even Conflicker but I've been unable to confirm that conclusively, but it is one nasty little bug. It could be a variant of Conflicker which would mean it spreads across your network if you get it. I've always found worms are the hardest to get rid of, I usually end up reformatting the drive just like you did. I just had to do that with a relative's computer that had that worm.

[billbenson]

I can't comment on Acer other than their monitors I've had have been fine.

Norton is known for being a computer resource hog, but not a bad anti virus program. Today there are plenty of good antivirus programs for free. Avast is a good free antivirus.

Going without an antivirus program is like never never checking or changing your oil. You probably aren't getting any virus's now, but you will if you run your machine naked.

Most virus's get into your computer via email. Some web sites spread them as well. I know people who surf all the wrong places and never get virus's. I haven't had a virus infect my pc in years. I get 800 or more emails a day, most of which are spam. Certainly a good portion of those contain virus's.

You really should improve your computer management. You implied above that you though popups that say you have a virus, meant you probably had a virus. As Neal said, if you click on those, you are usually installing a virus or spyware. If you don't know what something is, don't click on it. That includes attachments or links in emails.

A second or backup computer is always a good idea, but it sounds like you are clicking stuff you shouldn't and installing spyware. If that is the case, you will just end up with two computers crashing every two months instead of one.

If you like formatting and reinstalling your software as a solution for virus's, do this:


Add a second partition to your hard drive
keep all your data on that partition (probably D or E), not on your C partition where you have it now.

Get a copy of Norton Ghost, which is a disk imaging programming program and install it.

Make a image of your C partition and save it on your new partition.


This way, if you need to rebuild your computer, you have a backup on D which will take your C partition back to exactly the way your pc was when you did the backup. You don't need to reinstall the os or any applications. Takes about 10 minutes.

[nealrm]

Bill's advise about use Norton Ghost to create a copy is a good. However I disagree with placing that information into a second partition on your hard-drive. Virus can and do reside in the partition data. If the anti-virus program cannot remove the virus for the partition information, you may end up loosing your copy. If you place the copy on an external drive and store it away, it will be independent of the original. Also if the laptop is destroyed at work, the copy would still be safe. The same applies to a hard-drive failure.

[The Entrepreneurs Network]

I have had very good experiences with Acer laptops. My first laptop was an Acer and my wife bought an Acer in December. 15.6 screen, nice keyboard and a good weight.

One of my business partners bought a new PC last July and has McAfee installed. He had to bring in the computer 2x in 6 months because of viruses. I am not a computer expert but a techie told me once that most hackers focus on making viruses that can circumvent the most popular virus programs such as Norton and McAfee.

Since that time I have always used other virus programs and have not had a virus since (5+ years). I am now using Avast! The download link is avast! - Download antivirus software for spyware and virus protection (http://www.avast.com) The nice thing about Avast! is that they have a FREE version. I have used it for quite while now and have had no problems.

[rezzy]

I actually have stopped using commercial virus scanning programs, in lieu of using freely available ones. download.com has a list of good programs to use, I like AVG.

I am curious what you are doing with your machine that seems to be a virus magnet.

[Harold Mansfield]

I have an Acer netbook and I love it. I also have 2 Acer monitors that are just fine. Acer is a conglomerate of e-machines, Gateway, and Packard-Bell so they are pretty solid.

As far as your virus problems go..it sounds like you have one that keeps regenerating itself..sometimes a really bad one will be in multiple files across your computer and are really hard to track down and delete completely...or a really bad adware installation.

I also use open source virus software ...Avast (http://www.avast.com/)has never let me down in over 3 years on multiple computers.

I too do not like McAfee..it's processor heavy and it doesn't get everything and I haven't used Nortons since the first time i ever turned on a computer.

Generally virus software is not enough...you also need an adware program, and spyware program to keep everything running clean since they all have different signatures and can slow your computer to a crawl.

[billbenson]

Bill's advise about use Norton Ghost to create a copy is a good. However I disagree with placing that information into a second partition on your hard-drive. Virus can and do reside in the partition data. If the anti-virus program cannot remove the virus for the partition information, you may end up loosing your copy. If you place the copy on an external drive and store it away, it will be independent of the original. Also if the laptop is destroyed at work, the copy would still be safe. The same applies to a hard-drive failure.

Neal, the reason I suggested the method I did, is it's a fast way to backup and restore your os, applications, and configuration. I wasn't really intending it as a backup. Backing up / restoring to a second internal HD or partition is much faster than an external HD. I've done this while managing friends or my wifes computers.

As you suggested, an external drive could be used, but then you are backing up all data and applications. This is probably the wrong program to use for this as to the best of my knowledge a new hard drive would have to be identical to the old one. You couldn't upgrade to a bigger one when you have a HD failure in a year, because Ghost would be expecting an identical HD (at least thats the way it used to work).

My suggestion is meant to be a 15 minute one click restore, not a backup.

[huggytree]

the Acer laptop is very nice so far...it has compatibility issued w/ my quickbooks 2006

i dont use any of the features, so i have to upgrade for nothing.

it has windows 7 which is nice...

i have a wireless router & wireless mouse....wow....its just amazing how nice it is for 1/2 the price of the tower system i bought for my business 3 years ago....twice is good for 1/2 the price.

now i can take my computer along on bids and do presentations/ slide shows on my work...what homeowner doesnt want to see a slideshow of my plumbing.

[Spider]

That's cool!

Make sure you include some video clips of satisfied clients. You can buy a flip video camera, shoot a video of a client saying how pleased he is with your work and have it on the web in a few minutes.

Movies of WCs, kitchen sinks, lavatories and drain pipes might turn a plumber on, but are not the sort of thing an "ordinary" person will drool over! But they will watch another "real" person extoll your virtues.

[Harold Mansfield]

Movies of WCs, kitchen sinks, lavatories and drain pipes might turn a plumber on, but are not the sort of thing an "ordinary" person will drool over! But they will watch another "real" person extoll your virtues.

I don't know about that. Sometimes I'll watch The Home and Garden channel and get really existed and impressed with some of the design footage.

[cbscreative]

One of my business partners bought a new PC last July and has McAfee installed. He had to bring in the computer 2x in 6 months because of viruses. I am not a computer expert but a techie told me once that most hackers focus on making viruses that can circumvent the most popular virus programs such as Norton and McAfee.

My observation suggests the same thing, I recommend staying clear of Norton and McAfee.

Here's a bit of an update on my computer that was running McAfee (which told me the computer was clean because it couldn't find any infections). This was not just AV, but "security" as well. I installed another program and found nearly 1000 infections, ranging from low risk adware tracking cookies to a significant number of serious malware threats. Great job, McAfee.

I checked out the Avast, and no offense to those who recommended it, but it seemed slow and clunky to me. I'd rather pay for fast and efficient. So far, I've never been impressed with the free AV's, which I guess is fine. After all, what right does anyone have to complain if it's free.

By comparison, the 1000 infections found were from a scan that took approx 10 min. More thorough scans later revealed a few more infections. This was a paid tool (free scan, pay for cleanup). When I tested Avast, after about 30 min, it wasn't even at 1% on the scan and found nothing. Not too impressive IMO, and I didn't feel like waiting all night just to see if it would find the infections.

Congrats on the new laptop, huggy.

[Harold Mansfield]

My observation suggests the same thing, I recommend staying clear of Norton and McAfee.

Here's a bit of an update on my computer that was running McAfee (which told me the computer was clean because it couldn't find any infections). This was not just AV, but "security" as well. I installed another program and found nearly 1000 infections, ranging from low risk adware tracking cookies to a significant number of serious malware threats. Great job, McAfee.

I checked out the Avast, and no offense to those who recommended it, but it seemed slow and clunky to me. I'd rather pay for fast and efficient. So far, I've never been impressed with the free AV's, which I guess is fine. After all, what right does anyone have to complain if it's free.

By comparison, the 1000 infections found were from a scan that took approx 10 min. More thorough scans later revealed a few more infections. This was a paid tool (free scan, pay for cleanup). When I tested Avast, after about 30 min, it wasn't even at 1% on the scan and found nothing. Not too impressive IMO, and I didn't feel like waiting all night just to see if it would find the infections.

Congrats on the new laptop, huggy.

It is important to note that Viruses, Adware, and Spyware all have completely different signatures and thus are picked up differently by software specific to them and how they operate.

Your virus software will probably not pick up adware, and your Spyware software will probably skip right over a virus.

There is also your registry that needs repair ..getting rid of or repairing dead or obsolete links, and paths...a different tool for that too.

Each of these issues on their own can crash or slow down your computer.

I have never found success with an "All in one" solution. I have different programs for each one. The closest would be Advanced System Optimizer.

Yes, doing a full scan with Avast is slow..but it is scanning every bit in every corner of your computer, not just the folders, or places most likely to hide a virus. It's a rectal exam for lack of a better term. (not saying you should use it, just explaining why it takes so long).

It does it's best work running in the background..scanning emails, stopping you from entering malicious websites, scanning all new files coming into your computer, and a continuous scan of your system to make sure that it is clean....and it does this using less resources than any of the bigger named virus software...I would hardly notice it's running if it weren't for the rotating logo in my menu.

[cbscreative]

I have never found success with an "All in one" solution.

I've always figured the "suite" solutions (such as McAfee Internet Security) to really be separate programs bundled together, so I thought I should expect it to find everything if they promote it as such.

As for Avast running slow, I understand the need for a full sweep, but I don't recall seeing a quick scan option so I could attack the issue in stages. With the tool I used, I got rid of several infections quickly, which helped the computer run better so it could then deal with a more thorough cleaning.

[billbenson]

Avast to the best of my recollection has folder scans, so you could just scan the os and installed apps. My wife has Avast on her pc and she's always running into virus's. I've seen it pick up virus's real time on web sites. Wifes not home, so I'll go run an Avast scan and see how long it takes. A friend who uses norton says a scan takes most of the night as well. But if it takes a long time, do it over night???

I went to linux a year ago, so I don't need to worry about it.

[Harold Mansfield]

Yeah, I'm not going to sit here and say Avast isn't slow. I ran a scan overnight once and it wasn't done in the morning...it stopped when it found something and was waiting for me to make a decision (Aarrgh!) It's rare that I run a full scan since it is running full time anyway.
Personally, I am just not fond of McAfee, or Norton's anymore. Too resource heavy and too many permissions to set and they still let things get thu.

I will say this though..every script that MS has come out with such as Windows Defender and all the others have been complete crap. It's amazing that they cannot come up with a script that repairs and cleans their own OS...or maybe that's the deal they made with others.."We'll make it vulnerable and you can make money selling the fixes".

[billbenson]

Ya, I tried it on my wifes computer and it took 12 hours. She's got tons of video's and mp3's on it though. I bet she has 60G used on her HD if not more. It didn't find any virus's, but it does find them real time. Remember as well, its not free because its a cheap product. Its a commercial product that is only free for personal use.

[cbscreative]

I agree the key to success is to catch the infection in real time before it makes its way in. Even the full scan may not find everything because of the cunning methods I'm seeing with these infections. I've never encountered anything so resiliant as the worm I have dealt with recently. As long as it's stopped at the door, like my computer which has remained uninfected, you'll be fine. Once it gets in though, I've not been able to get a full recovery. This thing is always one step ahead of every effort you make to get rid of it.

On the one hand, whoever wrote this bug is very clever because it somehow manages to hide its core component, but on the other hand, what a waste of skill to use it only for destructive purposes. To make matters worse, there are LOTS of people with this infection, but I can't find any solid conclusions on what its identity really is, or what it might be a variant of. I've had no lasting success with any "fixes" other than deleting the infected partition, reformatting the drive, and reinstalling the OS.

Bottom line, if anyone here is using Norton or McAfee, bail now! Get a different AV/Security right away if it's not already too late. If you haven't been infected, you will be if you continue using those products. This worm WILL slip right past them, and it's rampant on the Internet.

[Harold Mansfield]

On the one hand, whoever wrote this bug is very clever because it somehow manages to hide its core component, but on the other hand, what a waste of skill to use it only for destructive purposes. To make matters worse, there are LOTS of people with this infection, but I can't find any solid conclusions on what its identity really is, or what it might be a variant of. I've had no lasting success with any "fixes" other than deleting the infected partition, reformatting the drive, and reinstalling the OS.

Bottom line, if anyone here is using Norton or McAfee, bail now! Get a different AV/Security right away if it's not already too late. If you haven't been infected, you will be if you continue using those products. This worm WILL slip right past them, and it's rampant on the Internet.

That's a good point. People design worms, adware and viruses with certain platforms in mind almost exclusively...Windows, Internet Explorer, McAfee, and Nortons. They are always the ones getting attacked or targeted.
I'm stuck with Windows, but I stay away from the others.