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I bit the bullet and finally got a new computer. It is very fine, except for all the software crap it came loaded with that takes time to get rid of. That and Vista.

The worst of Vista so far is that I can't open WordPerfect docs, in which are stored almost all the data that I use. Not compatible, not supported, etc.

To get these docs to open, I have to spend another ~$200 for the latest Vista-compatable WordPerfect program.

If you're not dead-set on continuing to use WordPerfect, an alternative would be to download OpenOffice for free (from OpenOffice.org), and either use that instead, or to load the *.wpd and save-as M$-doc-format. Or shell out the $$$ to continue using WP...which may well be worth it to you...

Edit: It should be noted that OpenOffice is based on Sun's StarOffice suite.

Thanks Xheralt. I'm going to look into that!

And that is why I've determined to customise any machine I get to my own specs--from hardware up. I HATE crapware, bloatware and trialware--and all the stuff that gets bundled with new desktops and laptops seem to be one or the other. And of course no Vista until M$ gets their head out of their collective ass to actually figure out what works and what doesn't.

OpenOffice seems to be a reasonably okay application, though I haven't used it much. Reviews of the application seem to be good though.

BTW, star-ji, do remember to clear your Registry after removing all the software parasites--it's a shame to have to sully a brand new Registry with things like the complete crud big name manufacturers insist must come with their products, but there you have it.

Arianne_Luinithil nadi:
Registry? What's that? How does one access such a thing? Is it the same thing as un/installing a program?

Griffi-ji, the Windows Registry is a special hidden file where Windows keeps track of everything that is installed. It is also where things like your "most recently used" filenames are stored.

Making changes to it directly is not advised for unskilled persons, unless one has a clear procedure prepared in advance by a skilled person. You can look at it by going to the Run command in your Start Menu, and typing regedit in the box and hitting RETURN. You probably won't be able to make sense out of what's there, but you can look if you're curious...and DON'T ALTER ANYTHING unless you've gotten solid, reliable instruction to do so!

(Un)Installation wizard programs were created to modify the Registry on the user's behalf because doing so directly became far too complicated.

The problem is, some uninstallers don't clean up completely after themselves. And malicious software makes a POINT of being difficult to clean out completely. And even if software cleans itself up properly, removals leave the registry fragmented and looking like Swiss cheese internally, unless one happens to use a "registry optimization" program to compact it back down.

Have I mentioned lately how much I hate Windows?

A good all-in-one Windows Optimization Program that I used before starting my migration away from Windoze is Ashampoo's WinOptimize. One of the few programs I've paid money for and been happy with! Frankly, I'm not sure I'd want to trust anything I could pick up for free to do that kind of poking around that deep Windows's guts. And you can pay just as much for software that only does disk defragmentation or security-wipe, having those features built in on top of the program's main function really made it worth the purchase price.

Deep breaths, Griffi-ji, you have lumped together at least two unrelated problems, that coincidence caused to occur at the same time.

1) The problem reaching Shejidan was Invision apparently having server troubles. I could tell this because I could reach other websites (yahoo.com, google.com, etc.). It took over a day, but it was corrected.

2) I don't know if you tried other websites or not, but even if you did and THEY came up 404, the problem may not lie with YOUR computer. There is a whole chain of computers that connect point A with point B. Most of the time there are redundant paths, but sometimes there aren't. Your Internet Service Provider could have been having issues; a weak link in the wrong place will leave you marooned. If it's still completely gone after a number of hours, it's worth checking with your ISP Customer Service. If it lasts more than 12 hours, definitely talk to them!

3) The inability to shut down properly is possibly because of Norton being unable to update properly. This is actually a "security feature", because certain viruses/trojans will cause reboots, the better to plant their hooks deeper during the boot sequence, so Norton will resist sudden reboots. Now, with Norton unable to update itself, it can't ever convince itself that the computer is clean, so it gets stuck in this panic-mode catch-22. Have I mentioned lately how much I hate Norton? If you can wait out the www outage, and get Norton to update itself, it will probably straighten itself out. If not, call Norton Customer Service.

If you're feeling really paranoid, disable Norton for as long as it will let you, and run the Housecall online scan offered by Trend Micro -- assuming you can get online at all with it.

Use the Hubble link I mention previously to check the status of your preferred Home Page.

I'm not sure I'd be comfortable using Trend Micro - its website was hacked a couple of months ago.

strange, i hadn't any problem with accesing shejidan or internet in general...

Just to confirm to everyone that there was nothing done to the site on 1/6/08 by any of the moderators/admins. I wasn't online at all on Sunday (away at a competition) so I have no direct experience of any issues with the site. According to the admin forum at Invision there was a downtime of approx 2-3 hours on Sunday due to a power outage at one of the data-centers used by Invision which took down several servers. Normal service was then resumed and all servers are currently reported as working normally

I am aware of at least two members who have had connection issues since Sunday. If you are loosing connections or have problems with Norton, an alternative virus scan is recommended. However as far as I know nothing inimical was propogated from this site.

Thanks to Xheralt for his good advice. Also thanks to those who emailed me, I have replied to you all

Hmm. One also had problems with Shejidan and another forum (not sure if it was powered by Invision, but I don't think so)at the same time as other associates here--however the problem seems to have resolved itself overnight, so all is well.

Website hacking and pc hacking are two different animals, falling down in one doesn't invalidate the other. Note also the fact that it was a Microsoft software product that was vulnerable (Active Server Pages Web development software) and that TrendMicro was merely one of tens of thousands of websites affected, if I read that right.

But of course, cyber-punks make the big boys (Symantic, McAfee, etc.) high-priority targets, for the bragging rights if nothing else. I think all of them have had at least one embarrassing breach within the last few years.

Trend Micro is still one's best bet. I'm rethinking my previous endorsements of AVG -- ever since "upgrading" to AVG 8 Free, all four machines I have it on have not been able to get definition file updates. This is in part what led me to convert one of them (the last machine in the coffeeshop still running Win2k) over to Linux.

BTW, when i recently got my new computer, I got Trend Micro internet security. I have had no problems and am thrilled to be rid of Norton!!!!

Thanks for the info, Xheralt.

I was using the TrendMicro scanning function before I heard about the website hacking. I'm certainly no expert - far from it - but my reasoning was that if the website was compromised, and I download the scanning program or updates from the website, do I not run the risk of infecting my own computer with whatever virus, trojan, or other nasty that might have been inserted into the program or site pages and perhaps missed during the cleanup?

Beulah -- only if a) it was the Housecall portion of the website that was poisoned (the article doesn't say) and b) you happened to to hit it in that (brief) interval when the website was poisoned. c) Housecall couldn't clean what the black hats planted (also never stated or even implied in the article) or d) you didn't go back for a cleanup pass once TrendMicro dealt with the problem. And once they discover the problem, rest assured they'd go over their website code with a fine-tooth comb -- they won't be fooled twice. One professional embarrassment is enough, and it can happen to anybody. Once.

Now, if they get tagged again, then I'd rethink my recommendation, but not until then. They still strike me as the best-known brand-name with best quality and least obtrusive system resource usage. Its a free world, and one can of course experiment with whatever the hell download.com has available for free under antivirus (checking against lists of known rogue antispy/antivirus warez first, of course). Or one can finesse the whole issue by converting to Linux But those aren't solutions for everybody -- I'm trying to help the widest range of people here...