About Downloading Stuff From the Aw[e]ful Inter[or tra]net AND ONLINE SCANNERS

I included intranet simply because I’ll for the moment incorrectly label that part of your VL (Virtual Life, the other is RL=Real Life, although gamers currently prefer VR/RL) which is your friends (including your unknown internet friends), family and any others you generally trust.  Unwisely.

Here is a link to 11 online scanners SCAN DOWNLOADED FILES WITH THESE BEFORE INSTALLING.

i intend to review them too.  However there are finite hours in the day and it took at least ten minutes to post this.  Site time.

About Freeware (Games)

Go here. There are about a hundred games here.  Free.  From a usually reliable source (anyone’s page can get hacked:  as of 0445 Pacific 12.13.2008, clean).

–Glenn

Web of Trust

Web of Trust is legitimate.  More than that, there’s timely response to reports; one of the developers is evidently watching for comments on (for instance) PC World Business and offering advice and (Free!) help.  More than this, “Web of Trust” doesn’t conflict with Haute Secure, which is a browser-wide tool rather than just IE and Mozilla Firefox.  (I have tried it with Opera, K-Meleon (which I don’t advise) and Avant as well.)  The way things are on the internet–they’re going to get worse with the worldwide depression–the more protection the better, unfortunately.  You known that loathsome virus scan that slows up your computer while you’re trying to work on it?  Make sure it runs, regardless.  My god; I’m paranoid…or realistic.

–Glenn

two new things

First of all, try Chrome!

 

 Secondly, another free anti-virus program, although I can’t handily try it out since I have another installed (AVG, which I’ve mentioned it before) but it comes recommended by PC World Business Center.  Here is where it’s referenced, and this is the page for the AV suite.  I’ve included the reference–from PC World–because it’s a bit hunt-and-peck to find the free version (I’m positive it will be marked as a trial; you can stamp “dummy” on my head if I’m wrong).  I haven’t gone into details on their article because of their TOS and a warning therein, and I may be feeling paranoid this morning.  Or maybe I was chased earlier by an Alaskan chick trying to put lipstick on me.  I’m confused.  (I used to live near Anacortes, though.)

AVG free (anti-badware, free)

Now that AVG has decided it’s a bad thing to mimic users (and thus do bad things to bandwidth), they’ve provided an update.  This is associated with a rather important update that’s legitimate.

–Glenn

Free Software: Greenprint World 1.1

If you’re like I am, and have occasionally printed a web page or something else that just barely spills over onto the next, this should help.  There doesn’t appear to have been a formal CNET rating as yet.  I’ve downloaded it because it would actually be a tool I need, and I’m just getting over my downloading addiction.  One thing this will do if it works as advertised is take out the images that make me want to tear out my little remaining hair when I’m running low on ink and want to print a page for something like notes.

 

Hopefully I’ll remember to keep updates on this.  CNET is the place (okay, one of the places) to check for free downloads, but particularly for free trials. Tucows is on the other hand primarily try-out software.  Ziff Davis has a whole cluster of sites; PC Mag would be worthwhile for a year just for the free software (that you can only get with a subscription now).   That said, don’t overdo it.  Don’t install something unless you have a reason for it, and remember that a lot of stuff can be done on the net now that used to be done on the PC, which will be a continuing trend.

–Glenn