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I have been using the Win version of  Password Safe for a lot of years.  It’s a stand alone program and not integrated into a web browser which is a feature I prefer.  I only have to remember the master password to open it.  It has also been ported to Android OS so my database of passwords can be used on my phone and tablet (though the databases have to be manually transferred.  My password database is automatically backed up daily to my Amazon cloud account so there are redundant copies in case on piece of equipment fails.

There are lots of ways to configure the password generator depending on the web site’s policies regarding letters, numbers and special characters.

I use NovaBackup for everything on three PCs.  It has a good but somewhat clunky interface and you can configure it in many ways.  Standard file back up is done twice daily, one to Amazon Cloud and once to a separate internal storage drive on my workstation.  It also has a System Image utility for the OS drive.  This is done weekly and stored on a separate internal storage drive in case the OS drive ever fails.  As with lots of software these days, there is a yearly subscription fee but they have a discount for multiple computers.

I have three PCs at home and use NovaBackup on all three as there is a discount for a three PC license pack.  In addition to carrying out the configured backups on schedule, it includes a disk image utility that creates an OS system image to a separate drive on a weekly basis.  You only have to create a bootable USB thumb drive to reconstruct your system OS in case disaster strikes.

I have built my last three work stations at 4-5 year cycles.  My current PC is still going fine and my demands are modest, office apps, Internet work, and photoediting (predominately Lightroom with occasional photoshop usage).  My workstation sits on my desktop so it has to be quiet, thus selection of an appropriate case is critical.  My recommendations for a new build are:

1. case – Fractal Designs R6; it’s quiet and has adjustable installed fans, there is also lots of space to work in and posts to tie down all the cables; it has space for an optical drive if you need it; there is a higher priced model with a type C USB front port if you want that otherwise the standard version has 2 USB 3.0 and 2 USB 2.0 ports
2. PSU – Seasonic Focus Gold 550 or 650W; you don’t need any more power than that
3. CPU – Intel core i7; 8 core would be best for future proofing (disclaimer – I am an Intel shareholder); make sure that your CPU and motherboard are compatible!!!
4. CPU cooler – Noctua NH U12S; quiet and adequate for all uses other than gaming
5. Motherboard – ASUS TUF Pro Z390; even if you don’t overclock the Z motherboard components are more robust; I’ve only used ASUS ATX motherboards and never had any issues
6. Memory – 32GB Crucial memory; I always use their on-line tool to make sure the memory is compatible with the chosen motherboard; 32GB will be more than enough for almost every application you will run
7. GPU – NVIDIA GTX 1660 with 6GB memory; this is good for all applications including photo editing
8. Storage – 500GB SSD for OS and programs; it’s probably more than one needs (my current Win10 and programs occupy 61GB) but memory is cheap; my own preference is for regular 2.5 inch SSDs rather than new ones that install directly on the motherboard as they are easier to replace in case something goes bad; 1TB (or more depending on the data storage needs) standard hard drive

These parts will run about $1400 last time I looked.  Cost can be reduced by dropping memory to 16GB and moving to an i5 CPU and getting a less powerful GPU.

Happy building.

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Lugh

There are a small number of us who run Win7 for Windows Media Center so that we can configure our televisions in a manner to avoid the high costs of traditional cable providers.  I have a cable card tuner with a rented card from Verizon that is 1/4 the cost of their traditional DVR cable box.  Windows Media Center is stable and I’ve been running it for six years now without a hiccup.  I plan on keeping this PC on Win7 as there is no other option right now.  I don’t do any other tasks with it other than to stream Amazon Prime, Netflix and ESPN.  If any of those sites become malware delivery platforms we are in deep doo doo.

We use Prime all the time for free shipping, streaming videos and at our local Whole Foods.  Membership fee pays for itself in savings.

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Nathan Parker

I use PasswordSafe which is not linked to my browser and has been ported to Android OS so that I can use it on both my phone and tablet with the same master password.  It can be configured in a lot of different ways and I never have to worry about something going wrong when there is a Windows or Android update.

Wow, Comcast gives you the cablecard for free!  I have to pay Verizon $4.95/month for mine running on Win7 Windows Media Center.

As one who also keeps a Win7 machine running so I can take advantage of Windows Media Center, the only issue that we all confront is hardware failure.  Installation of Win7 on newer Intel chips and motherboards is not supported and I think only can be done with some degree of difficulty.  Anyone running Win7 for “critical” apps should also have some hardware backup that can be put in place if the primary components go south on you.

 

I use NovaBackup for data drive back ups and only the OS and programs are on the main SSD.  NovaBackup has a good disk image utility that you set to run at intervals (mine runs weekly) and the disk image can be compressed to save space.  One only needs to create a the boot tool on a USB thumb drive to recover your system image (one needs to confirm that the drive has been correctly created) and then you breath easy.  I believe one can do the same thing with Acronis or Macrium.  A free version of Acronis is/was available with WD drives and Macrium also has a free version for home users.  One doesn’t need to run the Windows program

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CyGuy, WSkenarmstrong

I run MSE on my HTPC and am fine with it as this computer only goes out to three sites:  Netflix, Amazon Prime and ESPN+   If it picks up a virus/malware from any one of those sites something is really wrong with the Internet.  I run Windows Defender on the two other PCs in our home that are on Win10 and each one of those does a weekly system image just in case.  Educated use of the Internet is the best guard against bad things happening.

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Myst

PKCano wrote:

There are those who blame the AVs for the problems that occurred. And I have to say that the use of illegal APIs and hooks into the kernel should not be excused. But we are talking about several major AVs here, on millions of PCs everywhere. Microsoft does not give the AV manufacturers access to Windows patches ahead of time. So they have no way to test what is coming. But Microsoft most certainly has access to the major AVs programs. All the time. And they have the ability to block them from the updates. In fact, they did so after the fact. It wasn’t only consumers that were effected as many businesses felt the impact as well. There is no excuse for Microsoft allowing a major problem like this to occur – unless they are just plain negligent or just don’t care about their customers (or maybe both).

Is it Microsoft’s job to look for compatibility issues for all software or just AV products?  Adobe refused to support Lightroom on Windows 8.1 after a dll fix on a Microsoft update caused issues.  I was forced to update to Windows 10 because that’s what Adobe supports these days.  I’m sympathetic to users who ran into problems with the patches but I’m not sure that Microsoft is wholly to blame here.

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jburk07

I used Outlook for years in a corporate environment and just got accustomed to it.  It can do some email tasks that Gmail and Yahoo cannot do.  I still do some consulting and serve on a couple of boards of directors.  Clients and board execs still use Outlook for calendar invites though I much prefer the Google calendar as it synchs seamlessly to my phone.  When I get an Outlook invite I have to enter it into the Google calendar which is a bit of a pain.

I still maintain my Yahoo email address as I’ve used this for many years, even before Gmail was introduced.  With Outlook I can easily configure a POP3 account for Yahoo.  I do have a Gmail account because of the Android phone and tablet but hardly ever use it.  I’m on MSFT Office 2013 which works just fine for everything I do.

I was forced into Windows 10 when Adobe quite supporting Lightroom running under Win 8.1  This was in early January and I installed Ver 1809 directly from the MSFT download site.  Installation was a breeze and I’ve not seen any issues with applications that I routinely use.  I was pleasantly surprised by how little disk space the Win 10 application takes and so far it has been rock stable.  I’m running the Pro version with updates delayed.

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Noel Carboni

If you need a cable card tuner to get premium channels (and non-premium on some providers networks) your choices are limited.  I have a Hauppage dual channel tuner and they are still selling these and tri-channel tuners AFAIK.  I use Microsoft Media Center as my DVR setup under Windows 7.  I also run EPG123 to get the channel information as it is far better than Rovi/Microsoft.  I plan on using this setup indefinitely.  I have a dedicated PC hooked up to the television and the only browsing done is Amazon Prime, Netflix and ESPN+ for sports.  If any of those sites gets infected there are far bigger problems for the Internet and worrying about a virus on my PC.

I don’t know of any current software development for cable card tuners other than Silicon Dust.

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Cybertooth