How to fix Mom’s computer: Here’s a great article on how to de-malware a computer. Gina from scribbling.net went home over the holidays and had to “fix” her mother’s computer. She was so awesomely kind to write down everything she did, complete with screencaps.
Related to this, the people in my office have purchased about a dozen new home computers from Dell this year (the Dimension 2400 was going for as cheap as $349 at one point). They have them all shipped to the office, and they ask me to set them up.
This means I’ve gone through a dozen new computer set-ups this year, and I’ve developed it into an art-form. I really should write the process down — what I enable, what I update, what I uninstalled, what I reinstall, etc. I’m proud to say that I present people with a pretty bulletproof machine, when everything is said and done.
If you don’t think it’s necessary to set-up a brand new computer well, read this. Via Kottke.
As if one needs more reasons, this one is a standout; according to a USA Today and Avantgarde joint study, it takes only 4 short minutes for a clean Windows XP SP 1 machine connected to the net without a firewall to become part of some spammer's zombie network. A…
