I had a problem with norton, they offered me a free upgrade, it crashed
during install and left me unprotected, I tried to redownload and somehow
ended up with the wrong version, even though they were telling me what to
download, anyway after some shouting and swearing I went on to the live
chat system. Amazing, within 30 minutes i was talking online to a techie,
who said he could take over my PC and fix it, if i was happy to allow that,
being more lazy than security consious I did. Now, I might have missed it
but I dont think windows intervened to say "do you want to allow this"? I
said yes to a norton dialog and off he went, you could watch him opening
programs and clicking menus, downloading the correct software and
installing it, he was obviously doing several at once and i soon realised i
could help by clicking obvious "yes" boxes like licence agreements while he
wasnt looking, in fact in the end as it got obvious i did most things for
him. It even stayed connected through the reboot! He then asked it
everything was OK and off he went into the ether. I was stunned you could
do that.
-- 
Mike::::::::: 
remove clothing to email

Following up to Mike..... 

>  I was stunned you could
> do that.

....we both seemed to have control of the mouse cursor and keyboard, i
didnt try to see if i could "tug of war" with the cursor or text as he was,
after all, helping me :-)
-- 
Mike........
remove clothing to email

Mike..... wrote:
> Following up to Mike.....
>
>>  I was stunned you could
>> do that.
>
> ....we both seemed to have control of the mouse cursor and keyboard, i
> didnt try to see if i could "tug of war" with the cursor or text as
> he was, after all, helping me :-)

I live in Preston, Lancashire, my mother-in-law lives in Carlisle and a 
couple of other rellies live in Devon and France, and I use remote control 
software to help them out with any problems. Mother-in-law willingly accepts 
help but reckons I should be burned at the stake as it's more like black 
magic than anything she's ever seen  :o)

Now, what really *is* bad joo-joo is anything Norton - the spawn of Satan 
himself.

It slows down even high-spec machines to a crawl, it's intrusive, it makes 
about 279 changes to the Windows system that it doesn't need to (can't 
remember where I read that but I'll try to find it and post it here) and 
above all, if you decide that you don't want it any more, you can't just run 
it's own local uninstall routine or even get rid of it through "add/remove 
programs". You have to go to the Norton/Symantec website and download a 
specific removal tool - and nothing should be so difficult to get off my own 
machine if I want it off.

Ironically, the big ISPs such as BT Broadband give Norton stuff away free 
but don't use it themselves (I think they use Sophos IIRC). I wonder why???

"Mike....."  wrote in message 
news:eb2g2687uyzf.1ky4y2ewfb061$.dlg@40tude.net...
>I had a problem with norton, they offered me a free upgrade, it crashed
> during install and left me unprotected, I tried to redownload and somehow
> ended up with the wrong version, even though they were telling me what to
> download, anyway after some shouting and swearing I went on to the live
> chat system. Amazing, within 30 minutes i was talking online to a techie,
> who said he could take over my PC and fix it, if i was happy to allow 
> that,
> being more lazy than security consious I did. Now, I might have missed it
> but I dont think windows intervened to say "do you want to allow this"? I
> said yes to a norton dialog and off he went, you could watch him opening
> programs and clicking menus, downloading the correct software and
> installing it, he was obviously doing several at once and i soon realised 
> i
> could help by clicking obvious "yes" boxes like licence agreements while 
> he
> wasnt looking, in fact in the end as it got obvious i did most things for
> him. It even stayed connected through the reboot! He then asked it
> everything was OK and off he went into the ether. I was stunned you could
> do that.
>
The first  time I ever encountered anyone taking over my computer like that 
was at work.  I had a problem and got in touch with "County Hall" to ask for 
a fix.  They did the same thing, and yes, I was amazed to see the cursor 
moving and clicking on things while I just sat back and watched.

On Sat, 26 Jul 2008 12:22:30 +0100, Mike..... wrote:

> I had a problem with norton, they offered me a free upgrade, it crashed
> during install and left me unprotected, I tried to redownload and somehow
> ended up with the wrong version, even though they were telling me what to
> download, anyway after some shouting and swearing I went on to the live
> chat system. Amazing, within 30 minutes i was talking online to a techie,
> who said he could take over my PC and fix it, if i was happy to allow that,
> being more lazy than security consious I did. Now, I might have missed it
> but I dont think windows intervened to say "do you want to allow this"? I
> said yes to a norton dialog and off he went, you could watch him opening
> programs and clicking menus, downloading the correct software and
> installing it, he was obviously doing several at once and i soon realised i
> could help by clicking obvious "yes" boxes like licence agreements while he
> wasnt looking, in fact in the end as it got obvious i did most things for
> him. It even stayed connected through the reboot! He then asked it
> everything was OK and off he went into the ether. I was stunned you could
> do that.

Strange!  The posts on this topic are not appearing in OE but are OK in
40tude (BTW, Thanks for the recommendation, Mike!).  Yet my OE plonker
contains none of the words in the heading.  I wonder what else I've missed!

My last computer was rendered very slow by Norton utilities.  This new one,
less than a month old is using AVG and the MS firewall, which my son
assures me is sufficient.  I;m still a bit leary about the latter although
I have an extra line of protection with a router (pronounced as the
woodworking tool on this side of the pond). I'm wondering if I ought to get
another FW. but not Norton.
Graham

Mike..... wrote:
> I had a problem with norton, they offered me a free upgrade, it
> crashed during install and left me unprotected, I tried to redownload
> and somehow ended up with the wrong version, even though they were
> telling me what to download, anyway after some shouting and swearing
> I went on to the live chat system. Amazing, within 30 minutes i was
> talking online to a techie, who said he could take over my PC and fix
> it, if i was happy to allow that, being more lazy than security
> consious I did. Now, I might have missed it but I dont think windows
> intervened to say "do you want to allow this"? I said yes to a norton
> dialog and off he went, you could watch him opening programs and
> clicking menus, downloading the correct software and installing it,
> he was obviously doing several at once and i soon realised i could
> help by clicking obvious "yes" boxes like licence agreements while he
> wasnt looking, in fact in the end as it got obvious i did most things
> for him. It even stayed connected through the reboot! He then asked
> it everything was OK and off he went into the ether. I was stunned
> you could do that.

Aye, good innit:))  A friend was having big trouble with his ISP and was in 
no mood to try to understand the lassie in India trying to help.  Being a 
tad more patient, I tried and she did just that and sorted it out without me 
really knowing what his problem was:)

Mike..... wrote:
> Following up to Mike.....
>
>>  I was stunned you could
>> do that.
>
> ....we both seemed to have control of the mouse cursor and keyboard, i
> didnt try to see if i could "tug of war" with the cursor or text as
> he was, after all, helping me :-)

.. and you could have stopped him any time you chose by taking over control

"John" <x@y.z> wrote:

> Ironically, the big ISPs such as BT Broadband give Norton stuff away
> free but don't use it themselves (I think they use Sophos IIRC). I
> wonder why??? 
> 
The problem with Sophos is that they only do commercial licenses. If you 
work for a company that uses it you can also install it on a single home 
machine but otherwise you're stuffed.

-- 
Duncan Booth

John wrote:
> Mike..... wrote:
> 
>>Following up to Mike.....
>>
>>
>>> I was stunned you could
>>>do that.
>>
>>....we both seemed to have control of the mouse cursor and keyboard, i
>>didnt try to see if i could "tug of war" with the cursor or text as
>>he was, after all, helping me :-)
> 
> 
> I live in Preston, Lancashire, my mother-in-law lives in Carlisle and a 
> couple of other rellies live in Devon and France, and I use remote control 
> software to help them out with any problems. Mother-in-law willingly accepts 
> help but reckons I should be burned at the stake as it's more like black 
> magic than anything she's ever seen  :o)

I too live in the Preston post code area.

> Now, what really *is* bad joo-joo is anything Norton - the spawn of Satan 
> himself.

Like you, I don't trust anything that Norton did after the introduction 
of Win 95. Anything I installed really screwed up the operating system 
and slowed all apps down to a snail's pace.


Dave

"Mike....."  wrote in message 
news:eb2g2687uyzf.1ky4y2ewfb061$.dlg@40tude.net...
> I was stunned you could
> do that.

Perhaps you have "Allow Remote Assistance invitations to be sent from this 
computer" enabled?

To check, (in WinXP) right-click 'My Computer' / Properties / Remote.

About Remote Assistance
Sometimes the best way to fix a problem is to have someone show you how. 
Remote Assistance is a convenient way for a friend in another location to 
connect to your computer from another computer running a compatible 
operating system, such as Microsoft Windows XP, and walk you through your 
solution.

After your friend is connected, he or she will be able to view your computer 
screen and chat online with you in real time about what you both see. With 
your permission, your friend can even use his or her mouse and keyboard to 
work with you on your computer.

Notes
Both you and your assistant must be using either Windows Messenger or a 
MAPI-compliant e-mail account such as Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express.
You and your assistant need to be connected to the Internet while using 
Remote Assistance.
If Windows Firewall is turned on, Remote Assistance will temporarily open 
firewall ports.
If you are working on a corporate or local area network, firewalls might 
stop you from using Remote Assistance. In this case, check with your network 
administrator before using Remote Assistance.

"Mike....."  ha scritto nel messaggio 
news:eb2g2687uyzf.1ky4y2ewfb061$.dlg@40tude.net...
>I had a problem with norton, they offered me a free upgrade, it crashed
> during install and left me unprotected, I tried to redownload and somehow
> ended up with the wrong version, even though they were telling me what to
> download, anyway after some shouting and swearing I went on to the live
> chat system. Amazing, within 30 minutes i was talking online to a techie,
> who said he could take over my PC and fix it, if i was happy to allow 
> that,
> being more lazy than security consious I did. Now, I might have missed it
> but I dont think windows intervened to say "do you want to allow this"? I
> said yes to a norton dialog and off he went, you could watch him opening
> programs and clicking menus, downloading the correct software and
> installing it, he was obviously doing several at once and i soon realised 
> i
> could help by clicking obvious "yes" boxes like licence agreements while 
> he
> wasnt looking, in fact in the end as it got obvious i did most things for
> him. It even stayed connected through the reboot! He then asked it
> everything was OK and off he went into the ether. I was stunned you could
> do that.
> -- 
> Mike:::::::::

It's a wonderful thing, but you choose your roomies with care.  I had a 
fellow in Rome do this for me once when I couldn't get my USA computer to 
recognize the telephone dial tone here.

This vs ZoneAlarm, who recently had a situation in which a MS update caused 
ZA to not allow internet access.  They announced it via an email!  Once you 
had puzzled out on your own that if you turned off security you could 
connect, you got the email.  They required that you download and install a 
46 mb file, which at dialup speed took 4.5 hours.  You can't use an 
accellerator for ZA.  It didn't work unless you did another thing which they 
didn't mention.  How nice if they said, "Ooops, hang on, let me fix it."

On Sun, 27 Jul 2008 10:53:10 +0200, "Giusi" 
wrote:

>This vs ZoneAlarm, who recently had a situation in which a MS update caused 
>ZA to not allow internet access.  They announced it via an email!  Once you 
>had puzzled out on your own that if you turned off security you could 
>connect, you got the email.  They required that you download and install a 
>46 mb file, which at dialup speed took 4.5 hours.

ZA has become ridiculously bloated with no improvement in
functionality. I have removed it completely and I won't be
reinstalling it. 

Steve

-- 
Neural Planner Software Ltd          http://www.NPSL1.com
EasyNN-plus. Build Neural Networks.  http://www.easynn.com 
SwingNN.     Forecast the Future.    http://www.swingnn.com

Following up to Kevin T-man 

> Perhaps you have "Allow Remote Assistance invitations to be sent from this 
> computer" enabled?
> 
> To check, (in WinXP) right-click 'My Computer' / Properties / Remote.

yes, I have.
 
> Notes
> Both you and your assistant must be using either Windows Messenger or a 
> MAPI-compliant e-mail account such as Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express.

I use Pegasus

> You and your assistant need to be connected to the Internet while using 
> Remote Assistance.

makes sense :-)

> If Windows Firewall is turned on, Remote Assistance will temporarily open 
> firewall ports.
> If you are working on a corporate or local area network, firewalls might 
> stop you from using Remote Assistance. In this case, check with your network 
> administrator before using Remote Assistance.

thanks for that, interesting.
-- 
Mike........
remove clothing to email

Following up to Giusi 

> It's a wonderful thing, but you choose your roomies with care.

certainly.
-- 
Mike........
remove clothing to email

"Stephen Wolstenholme"  ha scritto nel messaggio 
news:qkfo845arlspohielc2aci2qc70lbq4n5u@4ax.com...
> On Sun, 27 Jul 2008 10:53:10 +0200, "Giusi" 
> wrote:
>
>>This vs ZoneAlarm, who recently had a situation in which a MS update 
>>caused
>>ZA to not allow internet access.  They announced it via an email!  Once 
>>you
>>had puzzled out on your own that if you turned off security you could
>>connect, you got the email.  They required that you download and install a
>>46 mb file, which at dialup speed took 4.5 hours.
>
> ZA has become ridiculously bloated with no improvement in
> functionality. I have removed it completely and I won't be
> reinstalling it.
>
> Steve

What can I use that is highly rated?  It is re-up time for me, but I don't 
know what to get!  I do NOT want to buy a program in Italian, because 
emergencies are no time to be perfecting computer jargon.

On Sun, 27 Jul 2008 12:22:01 +0200, "Giusi" 
wrote:

>"Stephen Wolstenholme"  ha scritto nel messaggio 
>news:qkfo845arlspohielc2aci2qc70lbq4n5u@4ax.com...
>> On Sun, 27 Jul 2008 10:53:10 +0200, "Giusi" 
>> wrote:
>>
>>>This vs ZoneAlarm, who recently had a situation in which a MS update 
>>>caused
>>>ZA to not allow internet access.  They announced it via an email!  Once 
>>>you
>>>had puzzled out on your own that if you turned off security you could
>>>connect, you got the email.  They required that you download and install a
>>>46 mb file, which at dialup speed took 4.5 hours.
>>
>> ZA has become ridiculously bloated with no improvement in
>> functionality. I have removed it completely and I won't be
>> reinstalling it.
>>
>> Steve
>
>What can I use that is highly rated?  It is re-up time for me, but I don't 
>know what to get!  I do NOT want to buy a program in Italian, because 
>emergencies are no time to be perfecting computer jargon. 
>

I am using the XP built it firewall as I only need inward protection
so it works fine. My router copes with any other problems before they
get anywhere near a PC.

Steve

-- 
Neural Planner Software Ltd          http://www.NPSL1.com
EasyNN-plus. Build Neural Networks.  http://www.easynn.com 
SwingNN.     Forecast the Future.    http://www.swingnn.com

In message <eb2g2687uyzf.1ky4y2ewfb061$.dlg@40tude.net>, Mike..... 
 writes
>I had a problem with norton, they offered me a free upgrade, it crashed
>during install and left me unprotected, I tried to redownload and somehow
>ended up with the wrong version, even though they were telling me what to
>download, anyway after some shouting and swearing I went on to the live
>chat system. Amazing, within 30 minutes i was talking online to a techie,
>who said he could take over my PC and fix it, if i was happy to allow that,
>being more lazy than security consious I did. Now, I might have missed it
>but I dont think windows intervened to say "do you want to allow this"? I
>said yes to a norton dialog and off he went, you could watch him opening
>programs and clicking menus, downloading the correct software and
>installing it, he was obviously doing several at once and i soon realised i
>could help by clicking obvious "yes" boxes like licence agreements while he
>wasnt looking, in fact in the end as it got obvious i did most things for
>him. It even stayed connected through the reboot! He then asked it
>everything was OK and off he went into the ether. I was stunned you could
>do that.

The software company I use at work occasionally does that when I have a 
problem.  It is weird having someone else remotely control your computer 
while you are just sitting there looking on.  You have to enter a 
security password before they can do it.
-- 
June Hughes

Stephen Wolstenholme wrote:
> On Sun, 27 Jul 2008 10:53:10 +0200, "Giusi" 
> wrote:
>
>> This vs ZoneAlarm, who recently had a situation in which a MS update
>> caused ZA to not allow internet access.  They announced it via an
>> email!  Once you had puzzled out on your own that if you turned off
>> security you could connect, you got the email.  They required that
>> you download and install a 46 mb file, which at dialup speed took
>> 4.5 hours.
>
> ZA has become ridiculously bloated with no improvement in
> functionality. I have removed it completely and I won't be
> reinstalling it.

When I used to use it I had to erase it because my ISP complained that if I 
did not they would terminate my contract!

"Stephen Wolstenholme"  ha >>What can I use that 
is highly rated?  It is re-up time for me, but I don't
>>know what to get!  I do NOT want to buy a program in Italian, because
>>emergencies are no time to be perfecting computer jargon.
>>
>
> I am using the XP built it firewall as I only need inward protection
> so it works fine. My router copes with any other problems before they
> get anywhere near a PC.
>
> Steve

I do not have that advantage.  I have about 10,000 ways someone can set off 
a clever bomb.

"Giusi"  wrote in message 
news:6f33u7F9l5fkU1@mid.individual.net...
> "Stephen Wolstenholme"  ha >>What can I use 
> that is highly rated?  It is re-up time for me, but I don't
>>>know what to get!  I do NOT want to buy a program in Italian, because
>>>emergencies are no time to be perfecting computer jargon.
>>>
>>
>> I am using the XP built it firewall as I only need inward protection
>> so it works fine. My router copes with any other problems before they
>> get anywhere near a PC.
>>
>> Steve
>
> I do not have that advantage.  I have about 10,000 ways someone can set 
> off a clever bomb.
>

I am using the free edition of Online-Armor and it is working very well, 
have had it installed 7 months now.
http://www.tallemu.com/free-firewall-protection-software.html

The paid for edition also includes one of the best anti-virus utilities, 
Kaspersky AV, but I also use a very good free AV program, "Avast", so am 
happy with free Online-Armor. I've been using Avast for about 18 months 
without problems after getting rid of AVG by Grisoft which also seemed to 
grow and grow with bloatware I did not need. Why can't they all stick to the 
KISS principle?
http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html

In article , Giusi
 writes
>"Stephen Wolstenholme"  ha scritto nel messaggio 
>news:qkfo845arlspohielc2aci2qc70lbq4n5u@4ax.com...
>> On Sun, 27 Jul 2008 10:53:10 +0200, "Giusi" 
>> wrote:
>>
>>>This vs ZoneAlarm, who recently had a situation in which a MS update 
>>>caused
>>>ZA to not allow internet access.  They announced it via an email!  Once 
>>>you
>>>had puzzled out on your own that if you turned off security you could
>>>connect, you got the email.  They required that you download and install a
>>>46 mb file, which at dialup speed took 4.5 hours.
>>
>> ZA has become ridiculously bloated with no improvement in
>> functionality. I have removed it completely and I won't be
>> reinstalling it.
>>
>> Steve
>
>What can I use that is highly rated?  It is re-up time for me, but I don't 
>know what to get!  I do NOT want to buy a program in Italian, because 
>emergencies are no time to be perfecting computer jargon. 
>
>

I favour Comodo at the moment

"Mike....." wrote in message
> Following up to Giusi
>
>> It's a wonderful thing, but you choose your roomies with care.
>
> certainly.
> -- 
> Mike........

OT but a quick question about Norton. Ours is set to do a full scan, twice a 
week. So far it hasn't indicated any viruses etc. If I was luking an ng and 
clicked on an Url that someone recommended, would Norton warn me immediately 
that say the site contained a virus, or would it isolate the virus and 
inform of such, on the twice-weekly scan?TIA.

Bertie

Following up to Bertie Doe 

> Ours is set to do a full scan, twice a 
> week. So far it hasn't indicated any viruses etc. If I was luking an ng and 
> clicked on an Url that someone recommended, would Norton warn me immediately 
> that say the site contained a virus, or would it isolate the virus and 
> inform of such, on the twice-weekly scan?TIA.

dunno exactly, if I download anything executable from a non trusted source,
i run the virus scan on it.
-- 
Mike........
remove clothing to email

"Mike....."
 wrote in message
> Following up to Bertie Doe
>
>> Ours is set to do a full scan, twice a
>> week. So far it hasn't indicated any viruses etc. If I was luking an ng 
>> and
>> clicked on an Url that someone recommended, would Norton warn me 
>> immediately
>> that say the site contained a virus, or would it isolate the virus and
>> inform of such, on the twice-weekly scan?TIA.
>
> dunno exactly, if I download anything executable from a non trusted 
> source,
> i run the virus scan on it.
> -- 

Yes, I mostly click on Urls recommended by regular posters on ng's I lurk. 
However, even they can be fooled ....
If I can pick your brains, how do you run the virus scan on a specific site, 
take this genuine one _
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/schedule/
Mind you, with identity theft, even the bogus ones can be tricky to spot.

Bertie

Following up to Bertie Doe 

> If I can pick your brains, how do you run the virus scan on a specific site,

I dont, i run the scan on any executables I download before i execute it.
-- 
Mike........
remove clothing to email