[majorvices]

So, sorry to hear about your problems.  I hope some of the suggestions here help you.  In the future, I know you'll be more aware of this and hopefully not d/l anything you aren't certain about.

That's the problem. This looked like it came directly from the BTP website. It completely tricked me. I do not look at porn, don't play on line games, barely look at facebook. I don't do anything except this forum, gmail, google news and amazon. That's it.

And I have Malwarebytes but apparently in needed updated. What a PITA to have to update constantly to keep your computer safe from predators. It's like having to change the locks on your doors every couple of weeks.

Complete invasion of privacy. I can't understand why this is legal. People who run these businesses should be thrown in the deepest pits of hell.

[majorvices]

And BTW I'm surfing the forum from my Mac, at home, that's been around for almost 10 years and while it's slow, doesn't have any problems. The HP laptop I have is barely a year old and all but one of the USB ports is fried and I've already had to have the HD replaced. That's an HP problem, not a windows problems. But I swear I'll never buy another HP computer again if I decide to stay with Windows.

[denny]

And BTW I'm surfing the forum from my Mac, at home, that's been around for almost 10 years and while it's slow, doesn't have any problems. The HP laptop I have is barely a year old and all but one of the USB ports is fried and I've already had to have the HD replaced. That's an HP problem, not a windows problems. But I swear I'll never buy another HP computer again if I decide to stay with Windows.

OTOH, I'm using a 4 year old HP laptop that has never had a problem.  Which of us is the anomaly?  BTW, my laptop before this was a \Toshiba and the one after this likely will be.  Still, not a single problem with this one.

[Pinski]

Malware, spyware, computer virus' in general really annoy me too. Fortunately to this point my inconvenience has been limited to that and not a more serious or costly invasion of my privacy. What I'm curious about is, who makes this sh!t? A$$hats indeed.
Its seems like most manufacturers have issues with lemons here and there.  Personally, I had a Gateway from 1994 that I drove into the ground for over 10 years without and issue. After that I had a Dell laptop that was an absolute PITA, POS. That said, our IT guys at work seem to just love them. I currently run a MacBook from 2007 that is starting to slow but has worked really well and no issues AFAIK with malware or virus.  I also have an HP laptop that is a little over a year old that I primarily use for GIS applications and minimal web exposure and its been good so far. Macs tend to be about twice as expensive though compared to comparable PCs that I would consider as alternatives, so there's also that. 

[euge]

I breathed a fresh life into my 08 toshiba satallite by installing the latest Lubuntu. Ol' laptop is pretty snappy now despite some pixels going out; one usb port failing and having shot speakers. As long as this machine works I see no reason to replace. And not to harp on the linux/ubuntu thing but viruses and malware are of no consideration at all to me.

Installing linux with a reformat is like a 15 minute experience. How's the windows fresh install these days? I remember it being rather tedious.

[punatic]

Ol' laptop is pretty snappy now despite some pixels going out; one usb port failing and having shot speakers. As long as this machine works I see no reason to replace.

Plug in an external monitor, speakers, a USB hub and you're good as new.

[Jeff M]

In my experience,

KNowing how to properly prevent issues with windows will save you 99.9 percent of the issues you run in to.  knowing what you are downloading tends to be the biggest issue, but if you have a few programs on your computer to stop issues from happening or clean up issues when they happen it will help you not have your current frustrations.

the programs i use are
Malwarebytes.  - yes you have it, but you can set it to check for updates automatically.  id suggest doing this with all of your protection softwares.  This is one of the few programs i suggest purchasing instead of using the free version. its about 10$
CCleaner - helps remove malware and other adware based issues when you get them
Windows security essentials.  Yes microsoft does attempt to protect you from the issues that do arise on their platform, and the reason they arise so much on their platform is because the vast majority use their platform.  WSE is free and, much like malwarebytes, can be setup to check for updates on its own.

in my opinion, you should be mad at the BTP people.  if they are affiliated themselves with shady programs that download malware then its just bad business. a computer program that cant run because the computer is FUBAR is bad business.  I suggest sending them an email.  Im gonna go check it out myself just because i enjoy poking the bear.

Good luck man:)

Both malwarebytes and MSE can be set to scan your computer regularly as well. i suggest a weekly scan as is.

[Thirsty_Monk]

And BTW I'm surfing the forum from my Mac, at home, that's been around for almost 10 years and while it's slow, doesn't have any problems. The HP laptop I have is barely a year old and all but one of the USB ports is fried and I've already had to have the HD replaced. That's an HP problem, not a windows problems. But I swear I'll never buy another HP computer again if I decide to stay with Windows.

OTOH, I'm using a 4 year old HP laptop that has never had a problem.  Which of us is the anomaly?  BTW, my laptop before this was a \Toshiba and the one after this likely will be.  Still, not a single problem with this one.

Give man a break. He brew a good beer.

[Jeff M]

Ive looked at what got you.  Its a paid for google hosted ad.  Its unfortunate but thats what gets most people.  My recommendation is to hover over a link and look at the address before opening it.  if it comes from googleadservices.com just dont open it.  its gonna get ya:(

Sucks man, good luck.

[majorvices]

Thanks for the replies (or at least the ones that were helpful ). I admit I was extremely frustrated about this because I am not generally a sucker and hate to be tricked and conned. So the "user error" comments really got under my skin. Apologies for the obvious steam coming out of my ears.

As far as Mac vs. PC goes. Yeah, Mac is more expensive. But you pay for what you get. I saw a comparison a few years back that if you built a pC with the same high end components that come on the Mac that the two are relatively close in price. It's like the difference between an bottom end Honda Civic and a top of the line fully loaded Audi TT.

Denny, I think you are the anomaly. I have friends in the PC world (IT guys, programmers and software developers) who not only warned me about HP laptops but also have switched over to using Macs.  These are guys that used to laugh at my Mac but finally got tired of having all the day to day security problems and just wanted a machine that worked. I'm glad your PC and Win experiences have been so positive. Mine have been nothing but utter frustrations. Seems we are at the opposite ends of the extremes.

I'm just going to back up what I have and take my machine in for repairs. Needs new USB drives and all kinds of other upgrades. I'll probably run it for another year and switch back to Mac.

[Slowbrew]

All my advice has already been given about malware and viruses.

Everyone needs an outlet for their frustration so no worries there and I hope you get the machine back online quickly for your sake.

When it comes to hardware it isn't as easy as saying "HP sucks".  The HP Prolinia Desktop/Laptop series is targeted to home users is manufactured by the lowest bidder.  These systems do tend to suck.  Once you move up further up the product line HP systems are tanks that rarely break down.  Never buy the super special at a big box store when it comes to hardware.  These are typically really cheap, one off orders, and are terrible quality.  I would take a HP Proliant server over an IBM or Dell most any day.

Sorry to hear about your troubles with the hardware, yes Windows is a crappy OS (but not as crappy as it used to be) and Linux is much less subject to viruses and malware (so far, just wait as it becomes more popular).  Apple is a safer alternative for the same reason as Linux, it has a much smaller foot print so the criminals aren't as interested.

Use what you are comfortable with and secure as best as you can.  Most importantly, BACKUP YOR DATA.

Paul (Former/Recovering PC hardware geek)

[majorvices]

Maybe that's the problem. It's a $600 PC I got from Costco. I should have returned it the day I got it because it started giving me glitches from day 1.

[Jeff M]

Maybe that's the problem. It's a $600 PC I got from Costco. I should have returned it the day I got it because it started giving me glitches from day 1.

+1.  I build my own desktops for about 1000 bucks.  top of the line(minus the brand new 2% better 200$ more upgrades) and they last me for 2-3 years before i upgrade again.  If what you stated earlier is all you do maybe a mac is for you, but at the same time, with how advanced tablets are now, why not just go buy an ipad?  It should do 95%+ of what you want to do for a much lower price and they are virus free(for now).

[majorvices]

I have an iPad but I need something than can run Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop (graphics is my other gig). I've also kind of gotten over my tablet. Really dug it for a while but a full size keyboard and a mouse is what I really like. Otherwise I'll just use my iPhone.

[Jeff M]

I have an iPad but I need something than can run Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop (graphics is my other gig). I've also kind of gotten over my tablet. Really dug it for a while but a full size keyboard and a mouse is what I really like. Otherwise I'll just use my iPhone.

Heh, as a graphics designer i cant believe you use windows. dont even get your laptop repaired, go buy a freaking mac;)