Also, to add to Drew's advice, be very careful of these declarations. The bad guys also add them to their virus infected eMail to throw you off guard. (That is usually what I think when I see them.)
If you want to do an evaluation on whether or not your antivirus is doing okay, go to
formatting link
And look at their monthly results across several months. (Hint: Avast does not do too badly, but is also not at the top of the pack.)
Also, remember, no Anti Virus will protect you from a Zero Day attack. They need time to find the virus and download data on it to you. So, you have to use your own common sense as the best defense.
And, consider dropping Windows in favor of a security hardened operating system, such as Fedora Linux. You can try before you buy with Live CD's:
formatting link
Even if you decide not to, the Live CD is a great troubleshooting tool. And since you can't actually write to a CD (you publish to it), you can go to your banking sites with relative safety. (I do not recommend on-line banking, but the Live CD is the safest way if you are going to do it anyway.)
Todd, you kept asking a personal question which is not appropriate. But you were always helpful and friendly -- in your own way.
However, you were NEVER vicious, crazy, malicious, violent, etc. like the "bad guys" you describe.
You don't want to get involved with that situation, which has been turned over to an experienced PI investigator. Believe me, you don't! The "bad guys" will be getting theirs in time, so keep your good name out of it.
On 26 Aug 2014, Hypatia Nachshon wrote in rec.gardens:
The presence of the notice in both incoming and outgoing email is controllably by you via a setting in Avast. The notice is meaningless and is really just an advertisement for the company. The notice can and should be turned off.
It is time for you to wipe and reinstall. Your consultant should do a full disk wipe with "dd" (he'll know what that means, if not, get someone else) to remove any hidden root kits, otherwise you will still be infected.
Linux has changed a lot in the past few years. Give it another look. If you are going to have to wipe, ask your consultant to install Fedora Linux (the best security) and give you icons for the stuff you typically use (Firefox, Libre Office, Thunderbird, etc.) If it turns out to be too hard for you, you can always reinstall Windows.
Also, I do not know how much content creation you do, but if you are mainly only reading content, consider an iPad. They are wonderful for receiving information but a nightmare for content creation. Think of an iPad as a toy MAC. You can get a toyish rubberized keyboard for the thing
MAC's and Linux are about the same level of difficulty to operate. Since Apple tightly controls the hardware on MAC's, you should not see hardware failures, as you do with PC's. Although, surprise, most of that is caused by Windows, which is really poor quality. I have had flaky PCs under Windows run boiler plate solid under Linux. Kind of an eye opener.
I was only asking you for your gender as I find it rude as all hell to address someone by the wrong gender. And, Higgs Bosen is a dude. I meant nothing inappropriate. Also, I thought that maybe other were addressing you in the feminine to insult you and I did not want to add to it if that was the case.
When conservatives get angry at Liberal men for not acting like men (abandoning their children, not taking responsibility for the protection and/or support of their families, etc.), they will often refer to them as "worthless, feminized, liberal men". Not that you did any of this, I just did not want to be part of any name calling. And things were/are getting a little out of hand, especially with publishing your estate.
Okay, back to the original subject,
1) save any documents, etc.
2) "dd" wipe your hard drive (seriously, this is a must step)
3) reinstall something (Linux or Windows)
4) If Windows, "pay" for one of the top two Anti Viruses: Kaspersky or Bit Defender. Kaspersky has "better" Tech Support. (Note the "weasel" word. Their home support drives me nuts; their business support is pretty good.)
5) do no on-line banking or other private stuff with an Internet connected computer. (Use that Live CD I recommended, if you must)
And remember, no Anti Virus can protect you the day a new threat comes out (zero day virus). You have to use own common sense.
By the way, I charge out the ass for the free advice I just gave you. Be nice to have some feedback.
I would prefer to call you by your real name, but if you prefer Peter Higgs, then whatever floats your boat. Being strangely charming works too. (That was a physics joke for the rest of you.)
Now for that rumor that you are a penguin, someone made that up? Right? (Just teasing.)
Sometimes she is up, sometimes she is down, sometimes she top, sometimes she is bottom, sometimes she is strange, sometimes she is charming. Mostly, she just has a nice spin.
-T
Did you gag on all the physics puns yet? Hopefully yes, because I am getting close to empty on this one!
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