Flawed AVG antivirus update cripples Windows XP PCs

[Ron in Regina]

FYI....This isn't SPAM. This is a link to the one site I found that walks a person through
the steps of removing "Antivirus 2009" including the program that did most of the work
for me....and it doesn't cost a thing. I can't PM the person who needs this info so I figure
this is the easiest way to put it in their hands...

Site: XPAntivirus 2009 Removal Guide - MS Windows Vista Compatible Software

Again, I'm not very computer savy at all, and I managed. Just follow the steps exactly as
the site say's (and keep your fingers crossed). It worked for me. This site is for the non
-techie computer users like myself. Eleven easy (but time consuming) steps. The one piece
of advice I can give is, copy the steps to your Email, and Email them to yourself for easy
referance while your computer is in the "safe mode." It'll explain what that is and how to do
that too. Good Luck. I have Windows XP and it worked for me.

 

[MHz]

Why is MHz trying to get into my system without my authorization?
regards,
scratch

If it did happen, there would be nothing to find.

Are you totally stupid, I said those were the results from my computer, not yours you fn moron. I would bet you don't even have a program called grub.

 

[Outta here]

Members,

The amount of name calling and overt hostility on the forums of late is becoming unacceptable. There are far too many threads getting derailed with flaming and trolling.

We are not willing to see every other thread end up in the cage. There's some expectation that the basic rules of civility will be adhered to on our forums. If anyone has somehow forgotten the rules of this site , which you agreed to when you joined, we invite you to visit them and become reacquainted with our general expectations - particularly the comments in the conclusion - which state:

This site is intended to be a medium for public discussion. You are free to express your views forcefully but we require you to remain civil. Insults, hate speech, and deliberately inflammatory statements, commonly known as trolling, are not acceptable. Do not threaten anyone or any group or suggest they are deserving of harm.

Basic common sense rule: Act civilized. If a disagreement arises, we will be the sole judge of what constitutes being a civilized person or a headache to the forum staff .

It's been a good long while since we've had to strictly enforce these rules, and this is due entirely to the membership using some self restraint and some self moderation. We as your moderation team have really appreciated that.

At this time we ask that you remove the onus from us to moderate you and return to using your own good common sense. If this is too much of a challenge, we will begin deleting offensive posts and issuing infractions.

Ugh. Let's not go there.

 

[fubbleskag]

I would bet you don't even have a program called grub.

grub is the default bootloader of choice for ubuntu systems, so you'd likely lose that bet.

scratch, you and your ubuntu expert can delude yourself all day long, but what you're being told here by several people is true - linux is not immune to virii, period, end of story. you can say the sky is green all day but it doesn't change facts.

and before you get all passive-defensive, i'm not bashing linux or ubuntu - it happens to be my os of choice, but i (like another in this thread) used windows in various forms and versions for well over 10 years without a single virus; that does not translate into windows being immune, either.

 

[SirJosephPorter]

Are you totally stupid, I said those were the results from my computer, not yours you fn moron. I would bet you don't even have a program called grub.

MHz, I think Zan is correct; this remark of yours was totally uncalled for. One of the reasons I signed on to this forum was their stated policy of not permitting any name calling, any personal insults.

I think it is up to all of us to observe the civility, the proper behavior of the debate and not descend into mud slinging, name calling.

Incidentally, you come across to me as a religious person, you have been arguing with me about the existence of God. Does your God permit this kind of language?

 

[MHz]

When the same question (was I hacking Scratch) is asked by him several times on this thread and a PM asking the same thing by him when my post said nothing indicating him then yes it can warrant a reply in that fashion.

My God doesn't promote calling others names no, I never said I was an ordained saint. I also work in the construction field where it does permit graphic language when called for.

 

[MHz]

Oh, almost forgot, not.
Sorry Scratch,
but please, in the future when you ask me something, allow me some time to read it and respond before you ask the same thing again, 30 mins is not enough time.

Sometimes I miss something in a post and I don't mind being reminded about those types of things, after a few posts is enough time to repeat the question.

Hope that clears up the reason for my (seemingly to some) outrage.

 

[scratch]

There is no such thing as a virus free system.

I quite agree, zzarchov, those who claim that Linux is virus proof are living in fool’s paradise. No system is virus proof, as somebody pointed out; Linux use is so rare that it is not worthwhile to write a virus to attack the system.

On another note, I found Explorer difficult to use, easily susceptible to attack. Netscape (which is no longer supported, but can still be used) or Firefox are much better browsers.

Scratch mentioned the importance of backing up the data. It really cannot be overemphasized; backup of anything important is absolutely essential. Any important data, information etc. must be backed up as soon as any changes are made. These days back up is also easy, the entire directory can be backed up on a CD or a DVD. Before the days of CDs, backup was a messy and cumbersome process, requiring several floppy disks (or a tape backup).

But these days, there is no excuse for not backing up.

Sir Joseph,
Good Day to you.

I think perhaps you misinterpreted my comment about saving info/data to disc.
It may seem on the petty side but...what I truly meant was that I `glean my system` completely. I leave nothing in the system at all.

IOWs, in effect they are not back-ups but the actual system contents.
Back-ups are the choice of the user. I just don't lean that way.

Sincere Regards,
scratch

 

[SirJosephPorter]

IOWs, in effect they are not back-ups but the actual system contents.
Back-ups are the choice of the user. I just don't lean that way.

Scratch, I don’t go that far. I am a self employed computer consultant (that is why I can post here any time of the day), and I feel confident that I can resurrect my system if it crashed. If not, I can always take it to a computer shop and claim it as tax deduction.

I do however, backup all of my programs and all the data, I back up the entire directories, using Nero. I can backup the whole thing on one DVD (4 giga bytes is much more that what I need). But I don’t back up Windows or any of the system directories, that seems to me to be too much work.

 

[SirJosephPorter]

My God doesn't promote calling others names no, I never said I was an ordained saint.

MHz, so, another religious hypocrite? Now, why doesn’t that surprise me? Religion and hypocrisy seem to go hand in hand; they seem to be almost synonymous.

 

[shadowshiv]

Please keep to the topic at hand.

 

[scratch]

IOWs, in effect they are not back-ups but the actual system contents.
Back-ups are the choice of the user. I just don't lean that way.

Scratch, I don’t go that far. I am a self employed computer consultant (that is why I can post here any time of the day), and I feel confident that I can resurrect my system if it crashed. If not, I can always take it to a computer shop and claim it as tax deduction.

I do however, backup all of my programs and all the data, I back up the entire directories, using Nero. I can backup the whole thing on one DVD (4 giga bytes is much more that what I need). But I don’t back up Windows or any of the system directories, that seems to me to be too much work.

I appreciate your reply and say that you are lucky to be able to post when you wish.

To be more specific the data that I save requires no more discs than yourself. As far as OSs and file systems I just lock them.

regs,
scratch

 

[MHz]

My God doesn't promote calling others names no, I never said I was an ordained saint.

MHz, so, another religious hypocrite? Now, why doesn’t that surprise me? Religion and hypocrisy seem to go hand in hand; they seem to be almost synonymous.

God left me a way out so I won't be going to the lake for that comment and I already posted the required 'sorry'. BTW did scratch say he was offended in any way?
Making the /boot partition separate (on the same drive or on another drive entirely) will save your data from being overwritten should the operating system go down.
Even CD's have a storage life-span of only a few years before they become unreadable.

 

[SirJosephPorter]

Even CD's have a storage life-span of only a few years before they become unreadable.

Not a few years, MHz. I do the backup practically every day. They say a CD is good for 100 uses or so, after that it becomes unreliable. I have a simple solution for that. I use CD-R or DVD-R (not RW) and when it becomes full; I throw it away and start with another. Paying a couple of dollars every few months is a cheap price to pay for the backup.

 

[#juan]

The topic header was: "Flawed AVG antivirus update cripples Windows XP PCs"

Now didn't the topic header also say that it affected only Dutch, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish versions and didn't effect English language versions?

 

[scratch]

The topic header was: "Flawed AVG antivirus update cripples Windows XP PCs"

Now didn't the topic header also say that it affected only Dutch, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish versions and didn't effect English language versions?

True.

 

[MHz]

Even CD's have a storage life-span of only a few years before they become unreadable.

Not a few years, MHz. I do the backup practically every day. They say a CD is good for 100 uses or so, after that it becomes unreliable. I have a simple solution for that. I use CD-R or DVD-R (not RW) and when it becomes full; I throw it away and start with another. Paying a couple of dollars every few months is a cheap price to pay for the backup.

That is the way to do it. Some might burn a CD and then leave it somewhere for a few years and then try to read it, they won't be able too.
Even then one back-up should be kept in another building completely. A fire could wipe out all forms if kept in one place. Aren't businesses required to keep a hard-copy (printed) also.
At one time I even tried to keep my ATM slips, after a year or two the ink fades away to nothing.
I assume when you say throw it away you destroy the readability and then throw it away.

 

[SirJosephPorter]

I assume when you say throw it away you destroy the readability and then throw it away.

I cut it in two and throw it away. I don’t know how widely it is known, but the CDs are not made of metal. They are plastic coated with metal. They shatter easily.

 

[Twila]

I had a firefox pop up about that antivirus 2009! It popped up twice while attemtping to go to 1 specific site that firefox said was ok (had the green ring beside it)

freaky deaky I say.

 

[scratch]

I had a firefox pop up about that antivirus 2009! It popped up twice while attemtping to go to 1 specific site that firefox said was ok (had the green ring beside it)

freaky deaky I say.

Twila: Firefox: GREEN RING --- I have never seen this!