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601

General Software Discussion / Adventures in cleaning (my cranky) computer

« Last post by TaoPhoenix on April 07, 2015, 11:11 AM »

I decided I had a bit of energy to spare so I decided to at least start the ugly grind of cleaning some junk off my computer.

A few things had been creeping in, and I won't be done today, but I figured my notes might help at least one other person out there!

1. Getting started

I started with this decently thorough looking overview of some of the standard tools.

http://malwaretips.c...e-exe-virus-removal/

This all started not from the browser side, but because separate from "plugin-container", I noticed "PluginService.exe". According to the guide it's not a full virus itself, but apparently "accessory to other crimes". On a whole other note, I'd noticed that some random program hijacked my zip file association. It's supposed to be Chris G's Fast Unzip Snack we'd worked on here, but a week or two ago something jumped up in there so I figured I'd go skeet shooting today and try to get at least a little stuff done.

Courtesy of Shades reminding me of Process Explorer, I also just now identified "WinZiper" - and Process Explorer does a good job with "name" so it has some def suspicious weird looking Chinese name.

So I set out first downloading the following tools:
adwcleaner
Junkware Removal Tool
Malware AntiMaware (I went with the free version)
Hitman Pro

Elsewhere I (think) have Hijack This which I might run later.

First Step was Add/Remove programs in Windows. I'm on XP. The PluginService thing hid itself from uninstall, but Karen Directory Reader found it easily enough. It's currently sitting at:
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users.WINDOWS\Application Data\IePluginServices\PluginService.exe
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users.WINDOWS\Application Data\IePluginServices\update\conf

AdwCleaner certainly found that and WinZiper.
WinZipper/WinZiper does at least seem/pretend to play fair. I just now removed it from Add/Remove Programs. ReRunning adwcleaner .... survey says ... that it might be gone for now. So far so good enough.

Onward with trying to remove PluginService with adwcleaner.

602

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows goes Open Source?!!

« Last post by TaoPhoenix on April 06, 2015, 08:15 PM »

Apparently all based on Mark Russinovich saying at a conference that “It’s definitely possible”.

http://www.forbes.co...e-microsoft-windows/

-Jibz (April 06, 2015, 01:36 AM)

Well, I need to make lists of "intelligent tech news". Mark R. is very bright - I have no problem with his conference remarks. You can remark anything you like.

It's the TechTimes that first visited the Fish Factory.

Then Forbes also visited the Fish Factory, and found a different breed of herring!

"In some ways Russinovich is being modest. ... So what is the sensible answer to making Windows open source?

It’s very simple: What Complete Madness!

Why? The number one reason is security. Being a closed platform, holes in Windows take time to discover. In fact some of the biggest lie unspotted for years which can lead to panic when they are revealed."

Uh... so ... prepare the "Ultimate Windows Cleanup Expedition", and then "once and for all" put the eyes of the world on Windows! Quit championing security through obscurity like it's anything more than a cheap band aid!



If push really came to shove, you'd need a Snowden Grade Martyr to grab the code and powerslam the net with it a' la' Johnny Mnemonic. Who cares what level offense it is. If you have over a million copies running in the wild, it will be loose forever.

603

Living Room / Re: Please help Archive Team save Friendfeed's content

« Last post by TaoPhoenix on April 06, 2015, 01:36 PM »

" Basic usage
The warrior runs on Windows, OS X and Linux using a virtual machine. You'll need one of:

    VirtualBox (recommended)
    VMware workstation/player (free-gratis for personal use)
    See below for alternative virtual machines "

Sorry then, much as I like the spirit, I'll plead "too flighty" to get involved. I've never used a virtual machine before and I just don't have enough other interest to learn it for this!

604

Living Room / Re: Please help Archive Team save Friendfeed's content

« Last post by TaoPhoenix on April 06, 2015, 12:39 PM »

they used to have rules against "servers" on home connections

-TaoPhoenix (April 06, 2015, 11:24 AM)

You would not be running a server. Nobody will be connecting to you. You will be running a grabber that will grab chunks of content off the friendfeed site and then upload it to Archive Team's servers. As long as you have a connection that meets the qualifications spelled out, you can do this on a home internet connection.


I, personally, can not provide any support for running a Warrior, but if anyone runs into any issues, I can ask a member of Archive Team to reply to anyone that needs some help getting it running.

-app103 (April 06, 2015, 11:48 AM)

Hmm.
Well, please post an intro post with some basic instructions for us and I will try to test if I can run one of these warrior things!

605

Living Room / Re: Please help Archive Team save Friendfeed's content

« Last post by TaoPhoenix on April 06, 2015, 11:24 AM »

I doubt I'm in the market for this, but I support the effort against yet one more "launch and dump" trend by the big corps!

-TaoPhoenix (April 06, 2015, 11:15 AM)

At this point, there is no hope that anyone can change Facebook's mind and stop the shut down, but archiving the public content to archive.org can still be accomplished, if enough people are willing to pitch in and help with that enormous task.

-app103 (April 06, 2015, 11:20 AM)

Right, though do please provide guidance if people on generic home connections like Time Warner can help. Not counting a super weird blip last night, it "seems okay, but very erratic", but more importantly recalling some old legal verbiage from Verizon, they used to have rules against "servers" on home connections and I have no idea what the current status of Time Warner is.

606

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Softmaker Office: **90%+** Discount!!!! Offer Expires Feb5 6pm(?) EST

« Last post by TaoPhoenix on April 06, 2015, 11:22 AM »

In the hierarchy of trying out new entries in software categories, I tackled browsers years ago and am pretty solidly decided on PaleMoon.

Much more recently, I am looking into office packages and specifically the Excel alternatives.

I have grown quite dissatisfied with LibreOffice for various reasons. I currently like Kingsoft Office, so that's my entry to beat. I have heard about SoftMaker, but the fact it doesn't have a full free version is a big step against it.

Just for reference, here is one of the links to a trial of S-O 2012 - 30 days.
http://www.softmaker...nglish/trials_en.htm

So it would have to be really solid to overtake KingSoft for me. But before I "waste the clock", I have a small consulting project coming up, so I'd really want a good starter grasp of KingSoft and then much later try this trial to compare.

607

Living Room / Re: Please help Archive Team save Friendfeed's content

« Last post by TaoPhoenix on April 06, 2015, 11:15 AM »

I doubt I'm in the market for this, but I support the effort against yet one more "launch and dump" trend by the big corps!

608

Living Room / Re: Congressman

« Last post by TaoPhoenix on April 06, 2015, 11:13 AM »

That's Epic Renny!

609

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows goes Open Source?!!

« Last post by TaoPhoenix on April 05, 2015, 05:56 PM »

I want to add the whole new angle that whenever they quit playing games "slicing and packaging", and certify something as the complete OS, that enters the whole other discussion about NSA backdoors and stuff. Because as long as Windows is Mystery Meat, anything could be in there.

But if it's ever "bit certified", then even if the govts have their back doors, it instead becomes an "intelligence test" to see if the govts can *fool us* with the source right here. It can still happen, but we have some pretty good guys on "our side", so with a wry wink and nod to reality shows, if you put together an "emergency task force" of our "50 best", with a great spread of overlapping specialties, vs the agencies, I bet we could find a back door if it was in there.

610

General Software Discussion / Windows goes Open Source?!!

« Last post by TaoPhoenix on April 05, 2015, 07:55 AM »

I like to sometimes borrow things from Arizona Hot's Interesting Stuff, which I feel deserve a more complex discussion.

This is up there for one of the most confusing topics I have ever heard!



"Played Straight Man"
"Windows May Go Open Source"
Stem article:
http://www.techtimes...lopers-consumers.htm

Leadoff suspicious sounding products of fish factory (may include herrings, at least one of which is red)
Prologue: Bias inducing remark:
"Microsoft – set to release Windows 10 later this year – is firmly established as the king of software. In spite of this, the company is open to change: Windows could soon become open source."

Uh ... that's not the least of why I made this a thread! I'll leave that one alone for now!

1.
"The move means that Microsoft would essentially be giving away Windows for free. However – and perhaps more importantly – the tech community would have access to all the code for Windows, being able to change it, modify it and essentially create unique versions of it."

This is a "rosy" passage - MS still makes Windows, "plebes" finally get to whack it open legally and see *all of it* ... up until ... you just know there's a weasel move in there somewhere. Or several. Microsoft gets to make a lot of moves.

2.
(Lots of barely intelligible filler goes here.)
Also left alone for now. I'm starting this post off trying to jam a thumbtack on a couple of the really hot-button items.

3.
"Despite these advantages, it's difficult to imagine that Windows will become totally open source anytime soon. What seems more likely is that Microsoft will release portions of the operating system, enabling faster development of its features, and also offering a faster responsiveness to developer feedback and suggestions."

Aha! There's at least a couple of the varmints! I am *definitely* pointing out the nice change of position within a couple hundred words of story! Let's say it with More Drama so we can see it!

"the company is open to change: Windows could soon become open source ... The move means that ...the tech community would have access to all the code for Windows...(but) it's difficult to imagine that Windows will become totally open source anytime soon. What seems more likely is that Microsoft will release portions of the operating system ... Only time will tell if Windows does indeed become an open-source operating system — but the future of the operating system is certainly exhilarating."

Nice taking away the football, Lucy.

611

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by TaoPhoenix on April 05, 2015, 07:40 AM »

Knowing the future could come in handy in clutch situations.  I know it would shift my perspective.

-MilesAhead (April 05, 2015, 06:58 AM)

Happy Easter!

So all the little baby chickens around is a ... clutch situation!

   

612

General Software Discussion / Re: Busy Body Browsers

« Last post by TaoPhoenix on April 04, 2015, 11:44 PM »

I'd love to see a browser with a dialog that had two buttons. One displayed a thumbs up to download. The other displayed a thumbs down to cancel. The dialog would simply read "Idiots gonna be idiots. YOLO"

Now I want someone to code a Firefox/Pale Moon extension that does that.

-Innuendo (April 04, 2015, 09:26 AM)

To the Coding Snack Bus!
 

613

General Software Discussion / Re: Busy Body Browsers

« Last post by TaoPhoenix on April 04, 2015, 11:41 PM »

Now I see that every time I download one of my utilities from my page using chrome browser, after the download is complete I get a reg circle with a minus sign in the middle and this message "yadda yadda is not commonly downloaded and could be dangerous"  A Discard Button is displayed.  The Keep Button is only accessible after hitting a drop down arrow.

I can see how this is going.  If not made by one of the big boys all software will have a scare blurb attached.  They don't even virus scan it now..  Just slam it as "not one of ours."

-MilesAhead (April 04, 2015, 05:31 AM)

"If you are absolutely sure that MilesAhead is honorable and trustworthy and only says bad things about people from 5:17-5:38 on Thursdays, then go to the bottom floor, take a left, enter the broom closet, go through the window, jump into the elevator shaft and go around the broken elevator, to the bottom floor, open the door that says "beware of the leopard", feed the leopard exactly 40% pepper jack and 60% cheddar cheese, sing it a song to put it to sleep, pull the usb out from under its rump, and you can download the program.

HOWEVER YOU CAN'T READ DIRECTIONS WHEN THE PARANOIA FACTORY IS BUSY YELLING AT YOU AND YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHO MILES IS, SO WHY NOT JUST DITCH THE PROGRAM BECAUSE IT CAN'T BE ANY GOOD IF HIS NET WORTH IS LESS THAN A BILLION DOLLARS."

 

614

General Software Discussion / Re: TrueCrypt alternative

« Last post by TaoPhoenix on April 04, 2015, 11:35 PM »

...And yes, an audit is necessary for a project like TrueCrypt, since the "many eyes" argument of open source has failed again and again.

-f0dder (April 04, 2015, 01:24 PM)

I think this is a different nuance of minor note along the way.

To me the "many eyes" of "regular" open source software is at the first level to hopefully catch nasty errors that just do "low to medium" level damage. Anything from irritants to data loss, to even at the mid level making sure there's no security hole.

But the software itself "is tame" - maybe server code, maybe some application, whatever. It "just does stuff that isn't quite exciting when it's behaving".

But software *designed to encrypt material against knowing target enemies using best-of-breed and even (govt/super-corps) "better than best of breed" attempts to break it - go beyond just needing "eyes" - you need "attestation services" which is what an audit is.

Ignoring for ex server code just for a moment, so long as an application doesn't destroy my data, I  "grudgingly don't care what it does after grumping about it" - varying levels of annoying from irritating to Enhanced Experiences, but in the end it's "just bad software". But if someone either cracks open TrueCrypt&cousins or someone put backdoors in it, "data traveling" can ruin ... lives!

 

615

General Software Discussion / Re: 'create Restore Point' question

« Last post by TaoPhoenix on April 04, 2015, 11:27 PM »

In Windows 7 Pro, b/c my machine is older, and I occasionally get a BSOD.
So long as I have at least one Restore Point created, my pc reboots and recovers just fine.
But each time it does this, it uses up and cancels out the RP.
So my SOP is to let it reboot to Desktop, then run a registry scan, then create a new RP for the next BSOD.
Better yet, to have several RPs.
It looks to me as if, every 1st of the month, the OS dumps all old RPs.
So it keeps me on my toes making sure I have at least one valid RP.
Is there a way to set up the OS to automatically create a new RP every so often, once a day or whatever?
Or what other advice does anyone have (besides getting a newer machine)?

-bit (April 04, 2015, 07:27 PM)

There's gotta be a way because I've seen on various software that it is "creating a restore point".

616

Living Room / Re: 10th Anniversary - long time member check-in thread

« Last post by TaoPhoenix on April 02, 2015, 04:44 PM »

Baaa Baaaaaa BaaAaaaaaa More Grass pwease Baaaaaa   Hiiiiiii

-mitzevo (April 02, 2015, 03:00 PM)

Baa Baaa Baaa, BaaaaBaaBwa Ann!
 

617

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 Announced

« Last post by TaoPhoenix on April 02, 2015, 04:42 PM »

And not counting glitches from test builds, how "solid" of the return to the "desktop experience" is it? Heh it's the "Ahem Post Windows 8 world cough cough uh ... forget we released that!"

All I want is "Windows 7 SP4" aka regular Windows with random under the hood tweaks.

Or does it have any nasty new tricks especially of the Big Brother kind?

618

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 Announced

« Last post by TaoPhoenix on April 02, 2015, 04:40 PM »

Posting this from the new Project Spartan browser in Windows 10 b10049 ... It's definitely fast. Really, really fast.

-Stoic Joker (April 02, 2015, 02:10 PM)

Can you give a couple of examples of how "fast" affects normal websites? Such as a site (I will load here), and "before and after" aka Spartan vs FF&gang/Chrome&gang/IE/Safari or whatever.

I'm lately deciding UI interface and maybe usability is my number one metric of software. (See my other Kingsoft office post today on the other thread.) So I can't even think of a time when I felt my browser was the culprit for not rendering a page. Often a site will be slow, but the status bar at the bottom will say things like "waiting for site at 3.14.15.926 to load..." so it's not the browser render fault.

619

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Kingsoft Office Professional 2013 Free Download Offer

« Last post by TaoPhoenix on April 02, 2015, 12:29 PM »

Hmm. I already am using Kingsoft Spreadsheet from one of the earlier offers. So is it two offers for a year each, at 6 month intervals?

-TaoPhoenix (November 13, 2013, 09:47 AM)

Something random happened that tanked about three of my comp's "this prog is registered" settings, so I stopped using this for a little while (didn't have a need for most of the time either.)

I'm "bidding" on a little bit of consulting this month, and by now K-s Office 2013 seems to be "just free" as is (for the non-pro version), for some chunk of time.

And once again, it wins my quick overview of office suites. Libre just isn't usable for me, both because they put too many features in strange menu places, and also I keep seeing quirks that K-s mostly avoids.

620

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by TaoPhoenix on April 02, 2015, 05:00 AM »

It worked!

-Deozaan (April 01, 2015, 08:52 PM)

The mind control or the human sacrifice?!

621

Living Room / Re: When you make your 100'th Post

« Last post by TaoPhoenix on April 01, 2015, 03:22 PM »

TaoPhoenix @ 4004 

 (see attachment in previous post)

-tomos (April 01, 2015, 02:47 PM)

haha good catch!
 

622

Living Room / Re: The 2015 10th Anniversary DonationCoder.com Fundraiser Cheer for Victory Thread!

« Last post by TaoPhoenix on April 01, 2015, 02:40 PM »

Man, that's a lot of really low paid coder hours, hehe.

- Oshyan

-JavaJones (April 01, 2015, 02:17 PM)

Birds in hand, "just watching the bush".

623

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 Announced

« Last post by TaoPhoenix on April 01, 2015, 02:39 PM »

Update: It finally finished, buy crashing, rolling back, and going up in flames.

FFFFuuuormat C:..

-Stoic Joker (April 01, 2015, 02:33 PM)

Heh you're a braver man than I!
That's why I don't mess with preview builds - it seems MS does their "fit and polish" on the "last mile" which to me sounds really frustrating.

624

Living Room / Re: The 2015 10th Anniversary DonationCoder.com Fundraiser Cheer for Victory Thread!

« Last post by TaoPhoenix on April 01, 2015, 05:20 AM »

While I'm on the idea bandwagon (and Lord knows I am full of it, er I mean ideas):

Have you considered posting this (the Fundraiser) as an Indiegogo campaign? The Perks could then be various # of hours (max) for a custom coded app?

It would probably be a good idea to lower expectations by calling it "prototyping".

Tons of people should be willing to pay $99 for 10 hours, $199 for 20 hours, $299 for 30 hours, & $399 for 40 hours. Imagine, they get a custom job for $9.99 per hour. It wouldn't take many to smash that thermometer. And perhaps fill your Dance Card for the rest of the year.  

Followup offer to those who are close to completion within their time. They can choose to accept a working prototype with some functions working and others merely displayed as dummy buttons, or you can offer them an upgrade to finish for a fixed fee (or at your option) even a small royalty.

This idea is scalable with various coders contributing code snippets in their areas of expertise.

This could ultimately be made into a generic app where people chose which modules they want. But that would be outside of the Indiegogo campaign and likely far in the future.

Let me know if you have any interest. I have done an Indiegogo campaign, so can help with the setup mechanics.

-sifu99 (April 01, 2015, 03:50 AM)

You might want to "bend" the curve a little.

The "value" comes holistically. And I think you can get more with a couple more tiers. Something like $40 for the first 10 hours, because mouser/someone can smash together the ultra raw visual framework with maybe 2 buttons half working, and let the customer then sit there and "ponder" it. Sometimes once you see something, you realize "oh! I didn't know I wanted/didn't want X!" And then you hit a period of rework. I have direct experience with this commissioning stuff. I've long remarked that this site has one small flaw software wise, which I'll call a "Cliff Pond effect". You can get "snacks" for free - funny little app-lets that do something small and cute. But the minute it drifts into a "coding lunch" like this thread's ideas, suddenly it falls into a black hole and the customer doesn't know what to do. This fundraiser is one way to address that.

(On Cape Cod in Massachusetts USA, there's a pond in one of the state parks. It's all nice and sweet and safe for eight year olds, like 4 foot water... for the first 50 feet. Then it drops off the cliff literally, hence the name! It goes instantly to something like 15 feet deep!! So that means parents better have put an hour into planning ahead or there will be trouble!)


But once you raise your sights into a "coding lunch" your vision increases. But if the initial part isn't as bad on "sunk money", there's less of a "threat" against changing their minds to change up something. Then let's say they really get going, and hit the main coding stretch.

But then on the other side, they should get a "volume discount" because they've committed to X decent sized chunk of money. So then they get a bigger batch of hours at a value price.

625

General Software Discussion / Re: [IDEA] text recognition

« Last post by TaoPhoenix on April 01, 2015, 05:06 AM »

Heh Kalos,
You're shortly drifting into an old idea I had a few years ago. Depending on what your company is willing to spend a little on some of the stuff you are looking for, by now you have enough of these "medium-low-level" requests that it could be interesting if they could all begin to be batched into a couple of apps.

Until I ran out of money, I had the idea I would commission external programmers to start with a basic open source "shell" program. Mine happened to start with a word processor. Then the programmers began adding all kinds of custom power tools to it, to process text and do stuff. So then unlike Microsoft Word that just comes off a shelf and stays there, you get a legit core program (like a word processor) that then has things like "tools" menus that build in all the neat tricks you want.