AGREED! A lot of folks get nervous about the idea of updates either because it takes up time or they don't trust the result. While Windows is known for security vulnerabilities, the bulk of the infections come from folks not having kept their systems up to date. An operating system needs to be updated just as much as an anti-virus program does. There are a lot of dangers out there that are not viruses. Malware and phishing attacks can do a lot of harm and both are things that most anti-virus apps don't pay any attention to. Select a good anti-virus app and keep it current. Don't install more than one thinking that they'll bolster each other as that can cause a lot of problems. A properly written anti-virus app will disable Windows Defender during the installation process for that very reason. Google's greatest skill is in writing algorithms for searching data. As a result Gmail's spam filters are the best out there in my opinion. I find that Gmail falsely detects spam far less often than other solutions and allows spam through even less often. Internet Explorer/Edge, Firefox, and Chrome are the big three with respect to Windows Internet browsers and each have their strengths and weaknesses. All are equally capable, for the most part, it just comes down to preference. I keep all three installed for those occasions when something doesn't work right in one browser. I switch to one of the others and keep working. I have actually found features in Microsoft's Office365 platform that won't work correctly on Internet Explorer but worked just fine under Firefox. That didn't make either platform weaker (but did mean that whoever wrote the portion of the site I was working on didn't do his homework very well). Linux is a godsend for those who really want to beef up their game. I've been a Linux administrator for over 15 years and I never tire of it and the challenges it provides. For a long time it was very difficult to run Linux in a Windows-based network so getting it to work correctly and provide all the desired functionality was sort of a holy grail. Doing so with a laptop was even more difficult. I did both for about 4 years back when IBM first introduced their "Linux Certified" laptops and loved every minute of it. I never touched a Windows machine unless I was working on somebody else's computer. These days with the various Ubuntu flavours of Linux, getting it installed and running is easier than ever. It's not 100% bulletproof in terms of security and anti-virus protection but the vast majority of viruses are written for Windows because it's easier and Windows is more widely used. Low hanging fruit you might say. I get very nervous when people say they use Linux because it's "completely secure". It can be made secure but it isn't inherently secure. It can be difficult to move to Linux if you've been using Windows for a long time. Folks that start out on Linux find it no more difficult than starting out on Windows would be. Loads of Open Source software helps ease the transition as well. A significant portion of software available for Linux can be used at no cost to the user. There are some things that cannot be done on Windows, without purchasing extra software, that can be done with pre-installed software under Linux. I could geek out about how much I love Linux forever so I'll stop now.
Hey Cyber, naughty Adobe.................seems like I get a lot more update notices for them than other programs? Are all their updates really necessary? I find I have to be careful doing the update that I don't allow them to install "extras" I do not need or want. Comments? Opinions?
Adobe what? Adobe Flash Player or Adobe Reader? If the former, I would let it do all the updates it wants, making sure you uncheck any boxes that would let it install extra software or change your browser's default search engine. Adobe Flash is famous for being a way for malware to get onto your computer.
Good question! I think its the reader, I'll have to pay special attention to it next time I get an update notice....thanks.
I have Adobe Reader on several PCs, and it seems to me that it rarely updates while Flash Player updates regularly.
Speaking of updates my AdvancedSystemCare wanted to update. I looked and unchecked a lot of crap.... that's the geek in me talking........... I spent an hour today uninstalling a lot of new virus things and other auto update junk I had no idea what it is or need. Glad I have IObit Uninstaller. PS ----------Some of those new things told me my computer has 3645 bad things. The catch is when this crap comes up it asks me to buy the program and all my worries will be over!
