Very interesting Mart, thanks for that info.

Acadia

EDIT: Good grief, upon searching Google, looks like that acquisition happened a couple of years ago, how did that one slip by me?

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The blazing evidence of immortality is our dissatisfaction with any other solution. -- Emerson

Apparently the acquisition was even earlier!

Source: http://blogs.mcafee.com/business/intel- ... pportunity

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“Don’t Underestimate The Power
Of Your Own Instinct.”
- Barbara Corcoran

This discussion has led me to do a 'full' virus scan on my W8 machine. I set it around 2pm today, returned at 5pm and the progress bar wasn't much further than when I left; about 2%. So I cancelled it and downloaded and ran a Kaspersky scan, wondering how that 'full' scan would do and it's an hour later and only 8% complete. This almost looks like it could take 4+ hrs at this rate. The HP laptop feels hot on the underside left side, it does have short legs on a flat desktop so I hope it has adequate ventilation. Does anyone think I should add a cooling pad to this laptop for the duration of the scan?

I don't like the heat this is generating. Also, prior to running the Kaspersky scan, I ran the W8 virus program Security Essentials 'full scan' before I left, came back 3 hrs later and the progress bar had not moved much more than when I left. Either this laptop is loaded with files or something is 'suspect' on the machine. This Kaspersky scan hung at 2% for almost an hr before it finally moved to 8%, not sure what it was scanning. Does anyone have any ideas what I should do? ie continue scan through the night with the current Kaspersky scan, cancel and download a different better free scanner, etc.

I just feel unsafe because I just discovered my W8 laptop doesn't do a complete scan or alert me to do it, the Security Essentials I used to use had a taskbar icon that would remind me to scan by default, but this W8 didn't.

Any thoughts about anything.... anyone? (I'm writing this on a different PC than the W8). Thanks much in advance...katy

PS: It's almost 3 hrs with Kaspersky and the scan just finished so that is good and no vulnerabilities were found. Just that it finished is good. So glad!! katy

_________________
“Don’t Underestimate The Power
Of Your Own Instinct.”
- Barbara Corcoran

Windows 8 can build up some very large backup files, especially if either or both of the major updates to 8.1 and then 'Update 1' have been done since you got the computer. The backups are kept just in case it becomes necessary to uninstall the updates. Apart from these files, Windows keep backups of all other Windows Updates too for the same reason. The backup files can run into gigabytes. Also, a large number of Temp files builds up over a period of time in the 'C:\Users\yourname\AppData\Local\Temp directory'.

It doesn't do any harm to keep the files/backups and it may be advised that you do but their presence on the system could be a reason why it is taking scans so long to complete. The files would be included in the scan as well.

Don't do anything without second or third opinions on this but if the system has been running well for a period of time after update/upgrades have been done and no trouble has arisen as a result of doing them, then the backups could be removed.

Windows includes a mechanism for removing backups of Windows update/upgrades. The 'Disk clean-up > Clean up system files' function will do it. It also removes other files it sees as not being necessary to the proper running of the system. Since it is a Windows tool, it removes the backup and other files in a proper fashion and I've never had it remove anything that has adversely affected the computer.

I can't say for sure that the above is the reason for slow scans but think it could well be.

Edit: Regarding heat. Mrs Mart used this stand when she owned a laptop computer. The cooler the computer can be kept the better:

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http://homepage.ntlworld.com/boots44/

That looks an interesting stand Mart, I don't have one for mine I just have it on my knee when I'm using it.
It never gets hot, the exhaust outlet is on the side and will sometimes get warm but not often. It's an Asus K55A Notebook, came with 4GB RAM but I put another 4GB stick into it so I've got 8GB RAM.
This is the vent side.

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Joan Archer
http://crossstitcher.webs.com

Where I have needed to do a scan on a client's hot laptop, I simply used any ice gel pack they had around, in a plastic bag, wrapped in a towel and plopped the laptop on top of it and did the scan. No excessive heat buildup.

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Patty MacDuffie
Computer Haven Administrator

Live Long and Prosper
Mr. Spock

Help! Are we even speaking seriously here? Ice required to work on an laptop? This is a joke, right?!

Acadia

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The blazing evidence of immortality is our dissatisfaction with any other solution. -- Emerson

That's cool

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http://homepage.ntlworld.com/boots44/

LOL!, Acadia,... I've never used a gel pack but like the idea for a situation that seldom arises.

The above said I still have my laptop sitting on a cooling plate for a few reasons...

1. I can adjust the angle of the thing for easier typing.
2. My cooling plate adds 4 USB ports. Laptops normally do not have a lot of USB ports.
3. My Asus does not run at all hot under normal loads but still, the cooler the better.
4. Even with the laptop powering the cooling plate I still get 5.5-6 hours on battery.

For all the above reasons I use the following plate.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... No=6089108

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All good info! Thanks Mart on the explanation of the backup files, espec. with version 8.1. My temp folder does have WAY too many files; I'll try the windows cleanup and hopefully it will direct me to wipe them out. I like your Mrs' cooling pad because of the tilt, that would make my keyboard easier to see while it's on my lap.
And I like Patty's idea with the ice gel pack, I really like that and I have one in the freezer!! Yes Acadia I am serious .
I wish my cooling pads had offered extra USB ports like Jay's; alas mine are just plain ole cooling pads. I'd love to buy the one from Tiger Direct but then I'm stuck with 2 that I don't use now.
This laptop that seems to overheat is an HP with the W8 and I've never had this prob before with previous laptops but they were all Dell and 1 Sony so I can relate to Joan. This HP seems to 'rev up' every so often and that is when it feels too hot for my lap if I'm wearing shorts. I don't know why it does this, nothing that is relevant on the screen.

This is all great info, I was almost going to request we delete my addition to the thread until all these ideas came up, since I ended up not having a problem after all... well except for the intermittent heat. Pays to wait n see!! Thanks to all!!! katy

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“Don’t Underestimate The Power
Of Your Own Instinct.”
- Barbara Corcoran

That's a good product Jay. I didn't know something like that was available. We haven't got a Laptop at present but worth knowing about the cooling plate in case we get one in the future. Discussion about the heat that can build up in Laptops always brings to mind the unfortunate case in 2002 of that fellow who got badly burnt by keeping the Laptop on his lap for too long. Something to be aware of maybe.

Regarding the disk clean-up: If you decide to do it Katy. There are two levels. These are 'Disk Clean-up' and 'Clean up system files'. To get to them, right-click on the C: drive (located in in 'This PC') and choose 'Properties'. If your computer started off with Windows 8.0 and was then upgraded to 8.1 by either yourself or the computer supplier, this article explains all.

http://www.techsupportalert.com/content ... ows-81.htm

If you don't see the option to remove 'Previous Windows Installations' then it would mean it had already been done, or the installation was the Windows 8.1 operating system to start with. That being the case, there is nothing further to be done as regards this option.

Even so, there should still be a 'Windows Update Clean-up' tick box present and if selected, the Update back-ups will be removed when 'OK' is clicked. Be aware though that this is all irreversible. Once the files are gone, there is no getting them back. If any Windows update was found to give trouble, the affects couldn't be reversed. That's why you need to be sure that the computer has been running well for a good period of time before removing any back-ups.

I always remove the backup files but there could also be the opinion that they should be kept. A preference of mine is to un-tick the 'Thumbnails' checkbox. If these are removed, they only have to rebuild again.

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http://homepage.ntlworld.com/boots44/

No joke, Acadia. But we are talking about a machine already in heat trouble.

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Patty MacDuffie
Computer Haven Administrator

Live Long and Prosper
Mr. Spock

OK Patty, thanks. I am TOTALLY ignorant when it comes to all this mobile stuff (ice and gel packs to use very common everyday electronic products ??) I just purchased my first smartphone about a month ago, yes I am an old timer waaaaaaay behind technology-wise, still trying to figure this small but admittedly very addictive thing out. But gosh, how did they stick soooooo much power and features into something that I can actually stick into my pocket. By the way, do you folks use or recommend those sticky films to protect the screen, I've heard differentiating opinions. AND, don't EVEN TRY to tell me to stick ice into my pocket to keep the darn thing cool!

Probably needing much help into the future
Acadia

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The blazing evidence of immortality is our dissatisfaction with any other solution. -- Emerson

Being an old mender of electronic goods (when electronics goods used to get repaired rather than replaced if faults occured), I remember the thermal nature of some faults. A fault might not happen until the item had been running for a few hours and then clear up again when it had cooled down.

How to find that? A can of freezer fluid and a hairdryer often worked. Warm up the PCB with the hairdryer to accelerate the fault occuring and then apply freezer fluid to individual components to see when the fault went away. Freeze that transistor or I.C down and the fault clears. You have the culprit.

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http://homepage.ntlworld.com/boots44/

And it is pretty cheap. If I recall correctly the thing was only about $20.00.

I guess that makes me further behind. 30 years plus messing with computers, three time MS MVP yet I refuse to even carry a call phone. The closest that I come is a tablet that I use for reading and not much else.

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I do like to use screen protectors. But I am less satisfied by most of what is out there now than what I used to see. However, I found a line that I rather like, and after giving you the link, I'll tell you why!
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss? ... ght+filter

I have some things going on with my eyes and I had read that blue light was particularly damaging to them. My eyes were recovering from dilation and were quite light sensitive. Except when I looked at my cell phone, which was plenty bright, a nice bright Nokia Icon screen - with an Illumishield screen protector with blue light filter. I could just feel my eyes relax when looking at that screen. I proceeded to buy the same kind of screen protector for my Nook and my Surface. (I only wish I could get one for my big monitor!) Quite awesome, AND not only is it easy on the eyes, there is no drag on the screen whatsoever. Your screen sensitivity to touch is just as sensitive as without a protector and possibly even a bit moreso. Never found that to be true with any other screen protector.

Just another angle to think about.

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Patty MacDuffie
Computer Haven Administrator

Live Long and Prosper
Mr. Spock

I bought a 22" 1920 x 1080 Dell monitor a few years ago. It cost quite a bit but I had to give up on it in the end. It has a glossy screen that reflects everything. The computer area in our place is quite bright. When the Sun came out it was just about impossible to see what was on the screen. I looked out for a 22" matte cover for it at the time but couldn't find one anywhere. Does anyone know if there is such a thing available now? I'm using a 22" 1920 x 1080 BenQ monitor that has a matte screen at present but I might need a second monitor soon and it would be good if I could resurrect the Dell.

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http://homepage.ntlworld.com/boots44/

Thanks for the link Patty, I've not bothered with a screen protector for my gadgets, I see though you can get one for my Kindle Fire. I didn't finish scrolling down to see if they had them for my Nokia Lumia.

Mind you it's not so important for mine to be protected as they don't leave the house, well apart from the Nokia and that's only a couple of hours on a Friday morning.

Interesting point about the colour making a difference I may need to look into it a bit more.

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Joan Archer
http://crossstitcher.webs.com

My 22" monitor on my desktop is a HannsG HH221, the sun is in through that window most of the day but the monitor has it's back to the window so there's never any problems, plus I have a venetian blind on that window so can close it slightly to reflect the light away from it. I gave my 17" HannsG monitor to hubby for his computer.

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Joan Archer
http://crossstitcher.webs.com

Curious as to how these detect virii??

Monitors certainly play a part in displaying the results of getting one Peter2150. OK just joking, the discussion has wandered away from the topic as happens sometimes. Thanks for the reminder. Some forums mind this and some don't. There has been much discussion that has been on topic, so maybe a wander isn't so bad. A post relevant to the topic can usually bring it back on track without saying anything.

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http://homepage.ntlworld.com/boots44/

Certainly back to topic here (I think)

I'm getting my current Windows 8.1.1 Desktop computer ready for handing over to Mrs Mart. It will provide a way for her to start using Windows 8x (Windows 7 on her current computer) and will certainly make a good computer for what she does on it. I'm always trying different security programs but now comes the time to put something permanent on it for her.

I've more or less decided to put Norton Internet Security and Sandboxie back on. I know Norton is disliked by many but Norton and Sandboxie have proved to be a good combination for us over the years. We've used both together since 2009 when Norton rewrote the program to make it much lighter on the system. Norton can have its bad times and maybe doesn't detect everything but that sounds about par for other programs of its kind as well. However, Norton is a fairly quiet program that takes most decisions for the user and this is what's wanted in this case.

Anything on the Internet that Norton doesn't detect should be contained within Sandboxie's sandbox. This gets regularly emptied, especially before any financial transactions are done. Browsers run sandboxed and any unknown files such as e-mail attachments are opened sandboxed.

One other program she is used to is 'Security Task Manager', so I'll probably install this too. It includes an anti-keylogger that gets turned on just before any financial dealings are done. Probably overkill but it's what Mrs Mart has always done and it can't hurt.

My security arrangements on the new computer will probably still vary. Trying programs is part of what I like to do with computers and that will more than likely continue to be the case.

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http://homepage.ntlworld.com/boots44/

Thanks, Mart. We don't mind wander much here. I have never been one to over-regulate human communication.

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Patty MacDuffie
Computer Haven Administrator

Live Long and Prosper
Mr. Spock

Funny, Peter. Don't you recall those viruses that eat up your hard drive? It is possible they get in through the screen.

_________________
Patty MacDuffie
Computer Haven Administrator

Live Long and Prosper
Mr. Spock