New PC

[Lincslady]

Hi all,

My new pc arrives on Friday...I cant wait! ...

Can you give me some tips and advice as to what programs are a "must have" ? for building my website, browsing, security, etc..I have so much rubbish on this old pc I dont want to do the same with the new one ....

Thank you :o)

[ez-ez]

Re: New PC

Hi Linda..
My experience with the following has been good:

Anti-Virus: AVG (Free Edition)
Anti-Spyware: Spyware Doctor or Xoft Spy
Firewall: ZoneAlarm (Free Edition)
IP Mask: Anonymizer
HTML Editor: AlleyCode & NotePad (Free)
Graphics: Photoshop 7.0
Media: Microsoft Windows Media Player 10 (Free)
Flash: Macromedia Flash 8
Image Map: MapThis 1.3 (Free)

I have heard tons of complaints about Norton Anti-Virus, Explorer 7 and Media PLayer 11.

This is just my experience and I havent tried every product out there.. But I'm happy with those software.

[bill2006]

Re: New PC

Congratulations !!
Security: there are a number of free anitvirus programs:
I use EZ Antivirus on desktop and McAffee on laptop. Not a big fan of Norton - way too many problems (Norton has to be "trained"...)
http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html recommended by Racefan.
Read this article: http://antivirus.about.com/od/antivi...s/a/freeav.htm

-Ad Aware Se is free and so is Spyware
-Stay away from downloading all the freebies everyone offers. Yahoo widgets can be nice tools, do you want to clutter your screen?
-Establish a Restore point, never know, lol.

p.s. be interested to know if it was shipped with IE7 already and MS Office (if not get the Student and Teacher version).

[Lincslady]

Re: New PC

Thanks guys i've noted them all ....Carlos whats an IP mask?

Bill i'll let you know about the IE7 an MS office

[ez-ez]

Re: New PC

Thanks guys i've noted them all ....Carlos whats an IP mask?

Bill i'll let you know about the IE7 an MS office

Linda.. an IP Mask is a software that hides your IP when you browse the web.. It's not one of those things that you really have to have, but if you prefer not to have your IP address recorded by anyone, then an IP Mask is the way to go.. Note that even Governments, Feds and other Authorities cannot get your IP Adress if you are using Anonymizer..

The upside: Powerful Privacy
The down side: slower browsing.. (Reason being all of your browsing is directed to where the 'ghost' server is..) In effect, your IP Address may be 12.345.67.89 and everyone else sees it as 98.76.543.21. The other downside is that some websites, including major banks and financial institution do infact detect that you are using an IP Mask and wouldnt allow you to progress.. I use it very rarely.. (Only when I'm being a little bugger..lol).. But it was worth the investment for $25.

Voila.

[Lincslady]

Re: New PC

Ahhhh i see...could be a handy little tool ...like an invisible cloak ;o)

[ez-ez]

Re: New PC

Ahhhh i see...could be a handy little tool ...like an invisible cloak ;o)

Exactly... I do feel a bit like Harry Potter when I use that program actually..lol

[Lincslady]

Re: New PC

lol Carlos...which bit? lol

[ez-ez]

Re: New PC

lol.. Linda.. I have to do some research on that one... But then again, Harry Potter is just a kid, so a bit is only a bit... either way I lose.. Now you know why I like hiding..lol

[bill2006]

Re: New PC

and didn't he see more than he was supposed to?

Don't forget a surge protector, too often overlooked.

[VodaHost]

Re: New PC

I highly suggest you spend a few bucks on McAffee. Also avoid free antivirus. McAffee spends millions on R & D.

[islandcrazy]

Re: New PC

I love my Photoshop for many, many things (photoediting and publishing). I can create logos, illustrations, any kind of graphic you want for your website. You can resize pictures, edit them any way you want, create all kinds of type and special effects....buttons, bars, etc. If you want to do these kinds of things yourself, get photoshop. It does have a learning curve....but there are lots of online tutorials and once you get the basics down, you can do so many things with it.

Good luck with your new computer!

Oh, and I too have MANY MANY problems with NOrton.

[beegud2]

Re: New PC

That program Amanda recommended...PhotoImpact was awesome and I'll be getting it soon...

[Lincslady]

Re: New PC

Thanks guys, Ive made a list, i'm trying out slimbrowser on this old pc cos I hate IE and Gmail cos I hate outlook express.... right now i'm zipping up all the files I need and saving them on disc.

I'm using Avast and ad-aware on my old pc ...seems to do the job ..is Mcafee better then?...

Carlos...every little helps lol

Thanks again guys youve been a big help

[ez-ez]

Re: New PC

Linda.. I have been using AVG Anti Virus for 3 years now and I swear by it.. So before you go wasting your money on Anti Virus Software.. do some research and see.. Norton and Macfee and the rest will do the job but so as the free software.. Specially that it is updated daily and always on guard.. The company that put me onto AVG were Desk Support company that specializes in PC and Netwrok Trouble shooting.. That's just my advice.