Newsletter Archives

• Tracking down ominous noises in your PC

  Posted on May 27, 2019 at 04:15 CDT by Tracey Capen • Comment in the Forums

  By Fred Langa

  Strange sounds — especially abrasive or grinding noise — emanating from inside a PC are definitely cause for alarm! Here’s how to correct the two most common sources.

  Plus: What are the risks of relying on Win10’s built-in Windows Defender as your primary, front-line anti-malware tool?

  See the full story in the May 27, 2019, AskWoody Plus Newsletter (Issue 16.19.0)

  Hardware, Tech Help Antivirus, AskWoody Plus Newsletter, hard-drive replacement, loud fans, PC maintenance, Windows Defender

• Patch Watch: April patches plays a late joke on Win7 and 8.1

  Posted on April 15, 2019 at 05:14 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Talk about April Fools….

  Patch Lady Susan Bradley takes you through the current sorry state of affairs with the April patches — catastrophic differences of opinion between Windows updates and several big-name antivirus packages. Win10 version 1809 is waiting in the wings. There are lots of creepy-crawlies out there.

  Details in this week’s AskWoody Plus Newsletter 16.14.0, out this morning to AskWoody Plus Members.

  Patch Watch Antivirus, AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Patch Watch

• Newbie question: How to get rid of antivirus in Win10

  Posted on May 22, 2016 at 06:33 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  I should repeat this more often. From AB:

  Dear Woody:
      When purchasing a Windows 10 laptop, I noticed that some manufacturers have installed their own antivirus software. How can I uninstall their software and install Windows Defender? Does Microsoft offer free technical support for Windows Defender?

  Bundled antivirus is a rip-off. The antivirus companies pay the hardware vendors to install their crapware on new machines. Antivirus is a multi-billion-dollar industry and their primary infection vector is through new machines.

  The method for getting rid of it varies depending on the vendor, but in general you just need to uninstall it – right-click Start, choose Control Panel, then at the bottom on the left choose Uninstall a program. Double-click on the antivirus program.

  Once you’ve gotten rid of the junk, Windows Defender will kick in. You don’t need to do anything.

  Microsoft does support Windows Defender and in most cases support is free, all the time. Start at answers.microsoft.com.

  Other Antivirus

• Antivirus in Windows 8.1

  Posted on October 22, 2013 at 09:35 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  I steadfastly recommend and use Microsoft’s built-in Microsoft Security Essentials on all of my machines, including my main machine, which is running Windows 8.1.

  Many of your disagree, though, particularly in light of Microsoft saying that MSE isn’t expected to lead the pack in new protection.

  With that as prelude, EP just sent this to me:

  Hey Woody. Now that Windows 8.1 is officially out there’s one serious issue that has to be dealt with – Antivirus/antispyware programs and Windows 8.1 compatibility. 

  Spybot Search & Destroy version 2.2 is fully compatible with Windows 8.1 as announced here: http://www.safer-networking.org/2013/new-spybot-2-2-to-support-windows-8-1/

   Avira antivirus programs version 2014 (the newly released ones) are compatible with Windows 8.1 as noted here: http://www.avira.com/en/support-for-business-knowledgebase-detail/kbid/1495

  But the 2013 and earlier versions of Avira are not Win8.1 compatible. At least this time, Avira isn’t late to the party for Win8.1.

  Avast starting with version 9.0.2006 is fully compatible with Windows 8.1 as I saw somewhere in their forums site. The 2014 version of AVG is also Win8.1 compatible.

  Most major antivirus/antispyware products (like Symantec, Mcafee and ESET) have been recently updated to fully work on Windows 8.1 though some haven’t made official announcements on their web sites for Windows 8.1 compatiblity.

  Windows News Antivirus, MSE

• Windows XP at risk as antivirus vendors jump ship

  Posted on May 2, 2013 at 22:28 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  The latest Virus Bulletin VB100 results are troubling, for anyone clinging to XP.

  InfoWorld Tech Watch.

  Windows News Antivirus, Windows XP
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