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I agree.

Why would I send any info to a company that has just demonstrated an utter inability to keep that sort of info safe.

In case any of you don’t know, the 1st 3 digits of an SSN are the easiest to get/guess because they are determined by one’s place of birth and year of birth. I’m not exactly sure how that works, but I would advise everyone to resist the urge to send the last 6 digits of their SSN to anyone.

Another thing you might want to consider is setting up an account on the Social Security Administration web site. You’ll have to weigh how secure you think they keep your data against the fact that if someone knows enough about you, they likely could set up a fake account in your name with your SSN. (Whether or not you set up an account, realize your data is in an SSA database that could conceivably be hacked anyway.) If you set up your account, at least you will have set it up first and that will deter a crook from setting up a fake one. Crooks are also less likely to attempt tax return fraud if they see you already have an account at the SSA website.

I’m thinking right now that the thing to do is to request a Fraud Alert and I’m not even too sure about that. Otherwise just keep a really close eye on your accounts.

I have only one monitor on my Win7 machine. I can’t imagine that I ever would have more than one monitor. Should I still install KB4039884 (hot fix for the dual monitor issue)?

I hope not since IMHO the fewer installed patches, the better.

I hope at least some of the Windows inmates escaped before the window was bricked. But, time is running out!! Looks like only 2 windows with bars left. Escape while you can!!

I’m still trapped in the Windows building, but my arms and legs are sticking out between the bars desperately clutching an old Vista machine that I’ve converted to Ubuntu. Save me, Ubuntu!

For what it’s worth, I’ve got 3 Win7 machines that had “the recurring 211 problem”. When the 211 update showed up in Windows Update, I hid it on all 3 machines and all 3 have been just fine since the hiding. “Fine” means that 211 has not tried to reinstall itself, and MSE and WU are consistent in what they are reporting as the latest installed definitions. So, while hiding 211 may not have actually fixed anything, the symptom has at least disappeared.

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HiFlyer

You need to be logged in; then click on the ‘THANKS’ on the lower right of the post you want to thank.

It looks you have 2 updates per day at essentially the exact same time each day. Those times differ from my update times (I have one update per day) so it’s not surprising that we have different definitions that have been updated, right? Probably not everybody got 1.249.211.0.

Going back to 8/28/2017 my definition updates are (earliest to latest): 173, 187,236,272,279,290,347,379. These values are ‘x’ in 1.251.x.0. So we have a different set of definitions that were updated.

I have WU set at “check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install”. Hey, it works for me as I’ve never had an unwanted update rammed down my machine, and that setting has never been changed “on its own”. So, while I don’t like WU, I’ve found it does a credible job finding updates in general for me.

As for the System Event Log, I’ll just admit my ignorance. I’ve stumbled upon it before but offhand I don’t know how to look at it. The logs I have come across usually have more info than I know what to do with or understand.

EDIT I changed 1.249.x.0 to 1.251.x.0, the latter of which I meant above.

I’ve had a handful of people ask me today – as a result of reading The Week – “What will we use for logging into our 401(k) accounts if we won’t be able to use Windows”? These folks don’t want anything to do with mobile apps, so I suggested a chromebook or a Linux machine or a Mac. Well, the Macs are too expensive. The rub on the other 2 is that “they’re not supported”. So, I looked at some websites, and sure enough all they talk about is mobile apps and Windows and Macs. There’s never any mention of chromebooks or Linux or browsers used with them.

So, my question is what do I tell these folks? If they go out and get a chromebook or a Linux machine with Firefox, are they going to be able to access their accounts? I realize this is potentially pretty open-ended because of the multitude of financial sites, but I’m wondering what experiences people have had with Linux and/or chromebooks and financial websites.

Moderators: Feel free to move this post somewhere else. I didn’t really know where to put it, although this topic seemed timely.

Thanks.

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Elly, lurks about

Before tonight’s usual 6:00pm update and scan, I hid the 1.249.211.0 update in WU. Everything appears to be back to normal; i.e., 1.249.211.0 did not reinstall. So, while hiding 1.249.211.0 probably didn’t actually fix anything, at least it appears to have gotten rid of an annoying symptom.

I never install definition updates from WU, either. I always do it from MSE either manually or MSE does it automatically. Either way, though when you “View Update History” in WU, you see the definition update listed as either being successfully or unsuccessfully installed.

In a sense here, I guess one of the real questions is which is right, WU or MSE? If it’s MSE, then I’m relatively happy since then the definition update has been successfully installed.

I’m having exactly the same problem on 2 Win7 Pro sp1 x64 machines. I haven’t tried hiding 1.249.211.0. The only other thing I would add is that when I open Microsoft Security Essentials, nothing at all seems to be wrong. It always says the latest update was successfully installed (i.e., never says 1.249.211.0 was just installed except for the one time a couple weeks ago when 1.249.211.0 was actually the new update that was supposed to be installed).

I had a similar issue about 6 months ago with one of my machines where MSE would say a definition update was successfully installed but WU would say the same update was not. There was no offending “old” update involved, though, at that time. The only other thing I remember is that there was about a 2 minute time stamp discrepancy between MSE and WU. I DO NOT have that discrepancy now with the 1.249.211.0 issue. Eventually the issue from 6 months ago just sort of worked itself out without my doing anything.

(Edit) One other thing. I can SUCCESSFULLY install an update that WU says was unsuccessful by doing a manual definition update in MSE. WU will then report the update as being successfully installed. So, basically, that’s been my workaround; I let MSE/WU do what ever it does around 6:00pm every day. Then I go back in and redo the update manually and run another scan. A pain in the neck but it works.

With all this talk about a bunch of alternative browsers, I’m curious what folks do about online banking and other financial stuff.

It seems that a lot of financial institutions only support Internet Explorer, Edge, Firefox, and Chrome, at least for Windows. For that matter it seems that Linux is hardly ever supported.

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glnz

Thanks for the info. I was unaware of that.

I’m curious as to why so few people seem to like Opera. I don’t know that much about it’s add ons or other internal workings, but I’ve found it to be pretty fast and user friendly, and it even has a VPN. Towards the end of days for my old Vista machine it was the only browser I found that would run without problems, suggesting that it was relatively streamlined and not a total resource hog.

@anonymous FWIW, there is an amazing amount of useful information on this site, much of which should be useful in making decisions about your current and future computing needs. And, you’ll be treated very well by the folks here regardless of your level of expertise – all the way from total computer newbie to total computer expert. In other words, I’ve seen moderators (and others) walk a newbie through a multiday troubleshooting analysis with loads of highly detailed instructions, and also friendly debates among experts where there are so many acronyms flying around that my head spins.

Just one persons opinion.

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woody, Kirsty

Perhaps I do have a bigger system problem. But no matter how far down the road you kick the can, my point about your point of view is still valid. In other words, whether the problem is a broken Windows Update or a system broken at a higher level, you seem to be saying that I need to rely on MS to take care of my problem, whether it be waiting until a patch comes down through Windows Update or following some MS-supported procedures for dealing with updates or fixing my system problems.

The problem with relying on MS is that I can’t rely on MS! That’s because they either won’t or can’t deal with these problems. It’s clear that MS has a track record of messing up patches and updates. Do the phrases “supersedence getting out of hand” or “unintended release” sound familiar? As for bigger system problems, I’ve had clean installs of Win 7 done by IT pros. Sooner rather than later, however, something goes wrong!

Here’s an analogy. Suppose tomorrow morning you find your car won’t start. You call your local dealer hoping for solution to your problem. You get me. After telling me that you’ve removed the battery, I tell you “How is it possible that you don’t know you should have first checked the terminal voltage, then the alternator output, and depending on those results the voltage regulator function. You should have also put a load on the battery to see if it holds a charge. There are also some fuel system checks you should perform. Don’t make a service appointment because we’re booked for the next seven months, and we’re not at all sure we can fix your car anyway. But don’t worry, I’ll send you the repair manual for your car. Then you will have all the information which is needed.”

So, am I doing something wrong in the way I deal with my MS problems? Indeed, maybe I am, but given MS’ track record, I have to fend for myself. In the car-doesn’t-start analogy, were you doing something wrong? Indeed, maybe you were, but given your car dealership’s track record, you have to fend for yourself.

Finally, I should say it’s not you I’m irritated by, ch100. But I sure am irritated by MS!

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HiFlyer, Elly, MrJimPhelps