posted
Riiight.. I helped someone fix their computer after it suffered a harddisk crash. I finally got it too work after three days (all sorts of complications).
But now.. a day after.. something's wrong. First of all, minutes after I was gone, the owner downloaded Kazaa Lite, Winamp and MSN Messenger... and managed to get infected with that horrible lop.com spyware shit. I removed it (although there is still *something* running in the background.. it generates random process names and shows a pop-up every now and then about some casino.. Ad-Aware doesn't seem to remove it).
Anyway.. the real problem is that suddenly, the computer won't connect to secure http. It gives the standard Windows "Page Not Found" dns-error page if you try to go to any https:// domain. This also means they can't check their webmail. Even worse for them, they can't even connect to MSN. It seems to be a problem beyond a simple IE setting, since MSN doesn't use IE's settings to connect. I don't know how they managed to fuck up a fresh install of Win 98 so bad in under 24 hours, I really don't know what to do about it.
It could be a problem with the ISP, but that's unlikely since everything worked fine before I left. It could also be a problem caused by lop.com or some other spyware. Perhaps I deleted one file too many. Or, it could be a really stupid Windows setting somewhere.
Cartman
just made by the Presbyterian Church
Member # 256
posted
Tell them they're STOOpid dumbfucks who shouldn't be allowed to go anywhere near a computer, then charge them a hundred bucks to kill the spyware* (lay it on thick and add that it is a meticulous job for which you demand hazard pay). 8)
And for the love of Bill, get rid of '98. Please?
* Easy way:
1) format 2) reinstall
* Hard way:
1) run AdAware 2) navigate to Control Panel ==>> System ==>> Computer Name ==>> Change ==>> More ==>> blank Primary DNS suffix 3) reboot 4) download SpyBot and let it rip apart whatever remnants are left 5) read this
Registered: Nov 1999
| IP: Logged
posted
NOO! I'm not going to format and reinstall again. It took me three times to get Windows working. That's what you get when they buy a second-hand pc without ANY documentation or software. Nice puzzle to find out what the hell is inside the thing.
Oh, and BTW, it's all charity. They're the neighbours, and they're nice.
[ June 13, 2003, 05:25 AM: Message edited by: Harry ]
posted
Oh.. I sent a really harsh mail to Lop.com. To my utter surprise, they actually replied
They claim you can uninstall lop.com by simply going to CP->Software. Yeah right.
They also came up with two alternatives.. clicking the "globe icon" in the systray (which isn't there) or by downloading "new_uninstall.exe". Yeah right.
Cartman
just made by the Presbyterian Church
Member # 256
posted
Well, if took three attempts to get that sorry excuse for an OS operational, then a fourth (which is guaranteed to save your ass, because trust me, lop is one damn persistent piece of coding genius) won't matter that much, will it? 8)
Look kid, I know you're trying to help. But charity won't help YOU out here.
posted
I tried to install W2K. The stupid thing asked for a password no-one ever entered. Didn't work. XP won't run on it. ME is a miserable piece of OS. So 98 is all that is left. Actually 98SE would be better, but I came to the realisation that I don't have a CD of that anymore.
posted
I don't know. It never asked for a password during install, yet when you try to start it up it asks for one, and won't accept a blank. I think it got confused when I changed the domain from WORKGROUP to something else.
posted
I tried to install W2K. The stupid thing asked for a password no-one ever entered. Didn't work. XP won't run on it. ME is a miserable piece of OS. So 98 is all that is left.
*coughLINUXcough*
-------------------- "This is why you people think I'm so unknowable. You don't listen!" - God, "God, the Devil and Bob"
Registered: Mar 1999
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quote:Originally posted by Omega: I tried to install W2K. The stupid thing asked for a password no-one ever entered. Didn't work. XP won't run on it. ME is a miserable piece of OS. So 98 is all that is left.
*coughLINUXcough*
Oh brilliant idea. Take an owner who is non-expert enough to keep downloading spyware, and give him Linux! Yes! I'm sure he'll be able to handle that no problem.
Also, y'know, to go all Tim-speak, Linux != useful in everyday use.
Also, ME isn't that bad. A lot of it's problems occur when it's installed as an update to 98. If it's used as a clean install, then it's an okay OS.
-------------------- Yes, you're despicable, and... and picable... and... and you're definitely, definitely despicable. How a person can get so despicable in one lifetime is beyond me. It isn't as though I haven't met a lot of people. Goodness knows it isn't that. It isn't just that... it isn't... it's... it's despicable.
Registered: Mar 1999
| IP: Logged
posted
Ah, but if you don't give him the root password, then he can't screw it up. And how much spyware is out there for Linux boxen? Besides, if you define every-day use as "doing anything online", then (assuming you can get your modem working) Linux is just fine. The only thing you absolutely can't do is play a good number of games, so the real question is how important that is.
-------------------- "This is why you people think I'm so unknowable. You don't listen!" - God, "God, the Devil and Bob"
Registered: Mar 1999
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"Also, ME isn't that bad. A lot of it's problems occur when it's installed as an update to 98. If it's used as a clean install, then it's an okay OS."
All I can say is "no".
Registered: Mar 1999
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Cartman
just made by the Presbyterian Church
Member # 256
posted
"Ah, but if you don't give him the root password, then he can't screw it up."
If you don't give him the administrator password, then he can't screw up Windows 2000 either. Plus, he won't have to associate himself w/ fat, smelly, pony-tailed, unemployed h4x0r types like Tim.
[ June 16, 2003, 04:34 AM: Message edited by: Cartmaniac ]
Registered: Nov 1999
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