I am having problems with my computer agan

12/20/2005 | Perdogg

[Perdogg]

Whenever I delete something from my email or adjust the settings on google, I get this very obnoxious beeping sound instead my regular sound. This also happens when I adjust the volume or receive a "message" from the microsoft game channel.

Any suggestions?

[Petronski]

You should still do everything Hodar says above.

[Perdogg]

I have Norton and I have Microsoft antispy wear.

Should I uninstall Weatherbug?

[Hodar]

GameSpy is categorized as Spyware; because it captures and records what Game applications you have installed to someone you do not know.

Think of it this way; GameSpy's whole purpose in life is to monitor what game you are playing, and announce it to some source, which in turn alerts your 'friends' that you are playing the game.

To do this, GameSpy must read your registry and track what games you have installed, and their registration numbers; all of which is turned into some central agency.

What else is recorded? I don't know about you, but I don't want software searchign my hard drive and reporting ANYTHING to ANYBODY under ANY CONDITION.

Think of it as an exploit if you wish (best possible case); or a source for generating spam, pop-ups and as a Trojan at worst. In either case, how is this a benefit to you?

[Hodar]

This is your decision (your PC, your home, you life). Personally, WeatherBug is the program I love to hate. I love the information it provides, I love seeing live doppler radar.

But, alas this all comes at a price (Gator, among others). I found a similar spyware free program (http://www.singerscreations.com/), but alas it doesn't have the doppler radar I love so much.

This goes to an old adage I have. "Is it spyware if you know it's there?"

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

I have tried doing that and the problem still persists.

Is the sound that you are hearing the same sound that is selected to play in the Sounds console within the Control Panel?
Or do you have different sounds selected but are getting these odd ones instead?

If that's the case, try playing the sound file you have selected from within a different sound player like Winamp or Windows Media Player so you can hear what that file actually sounds like. If they sound the way they should....I'm stumped. For now.

[fzx12345]

Weatherbug is not, in a strictest sense, spyware, that is, it doesn't directly look at your information and send it back to a database. However, it does display ads, makes changes to the Registry, and is a general resource hog.

If you have Firefox, Mozilla, or Netscape, you can download the forecastfox extension from Mozilla, or you can bookmark the ad-free National Weather Service on your browser, which your taxes are already paying for anyway.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

You should copy and paste that whole essay into a thread of its own. Everyone should read it and understand it.

Very good advice. Couldn't have said it better.

NATs up!

[Sacajaweau]

1. Pull the plug. See...no strange noises!!

2. Post an epitaph on the Monitor

3. Take to whole da** mess to the Computer Graveyard

4. Go to Staples

[SamAdams76]

I have an in-law apartment at my house so what I do is I collect everything that my mother-in-law hates and I store it there.

[Cedar]

"A software firewall (ZoneAlarm) is a viable, free alternative; however this program will chew up processor cycles; where as a Router will simply plug in in front of your PC and firewall you against outside attacks without affecting your performance."

I've got broadband and use a router plus Zone Alarm (free version) and AVG (free).

I didn't realize that Zone Alarm used so much of the CPU. Also didn't know that just a router alone, without software firewall, would be enough protection....

Without ZA would there be a noticeable increase in speed?

I've used ZA for years, so hesitate to let it go. It's always done it's job well.

[JoJo Gunn]

I don't know about the CPU usage, but ZA has a little bit of a reputation as a RAM hog.

[Cedar]

I'm sure not a techie, so didn't realize this about ZA.

Guess since it gives me a feeling (if only that) of added security, I'll keep using it. I'm not yet near a shortage of RAM.

[Keith in Iowa]

>>>. Also didn't know that just a router alone, without software firewall, would be enough protection.... <<<

It's not. At least in my opinion. I have a router on the DSL, and ZoneAlarm. With those, and Microsoft's Antispyware, and AVG Antivirus - I have had no spyware or virus problems.

[Cedar]

I also use Spyware Blaster, which is free and works good. You might be interested in that.

Maybe there is a way to set routers with strict security features, but since I'm not up on technical stuff, I don't know how to do it.

I know I feel better using Zone Alarm firewall, so will keep using it. Thanks for your comments.

[Born Conservative]

You probably would notice a difference by ditching Zone Alarm. Also, routers are pretty cheap now, and well worth it.

If you decide to get a router, you have several options. First, you can get a router that requires an ethernet cable to hook up to it from the computer; this is the cheapest. If you are using it for just a firewall, this would be the best option.

The second option would be a wireless router. The advantage for this would be if you have 2 or more computers (and don't want to run ethernet cables between the computer and router), or 1 computer and a game console (xbox, ps2, etc). Now, if you decide on a wireless router, the 2 most popular types are the "B" standard (transfer speeds of 11 mbps) and the "G" standard (54 mbps). Even if you have a superfast broadband connection (1mbps), a "B" router is fast enough to transfer internet data between router and computer. However, when transferring files between computers, that is where the "G" standard has the advantage, and you can make full use of the 54 mbps speed. You can even set it up so that multiple computers can print from 1 printer.

[Hodar]

I didn't realize that Zone Alarm used so much of the CPU. Also didn't know that just a router alone, without software firewall, would be enough protection.... Without ZA would there be a noticeable increase in speed? I've used ZA for years, so hesitate to let it go. It's always done it's job well.

Try this little experiment. Download the latest ZoneAlarm; stash it someplace; you can always install it later.

Now, uninstall ZoneAlarm from your machine; do some surfing, or download a file from a major website (www.foxnews.com and grab a video clip or something). You should see a nearly doubling of download rate with ZoneAlarm uninstalled, versus what you would see with it installed. Bear in mind that it is NOT fair to download the video clip with Zone Alarm enabled, then again with it disabled; as you will be comparing a cached copy of a file with a fresh install. What you are interested in is the sustained download speed. You may want to try several internet sources, just to get a feel. I think you have an idea of how fast your machine is with Zone Alarm; now try it with just your Router.

ZoneAlarm is interrupting each and every TCIP cycle, examing whether the cycle is 'legal' or 'illegal'; and blocking the 'illegal'. The amount of internet traffic it is blocking, from your Router is essentially zero. The Router does in hardware exactly what ZoneAlarm is doing in software. Hardware is ALWAYS faster than software.

Now, this is your machine, and YOUR comfort level is more important than my opinion. If you feel uncomfortable without the security blanket (ZoneAlarm) by all means, re-install it. Again, your PC; your rules.

I just wanted to point out that ZoneAlarm is redundant, and is gobbling up bandwidth you have paid for. If you can live with the reduction, and feel more secure; who am I to argue? Does this help?

I still highly recommend installing the Microsoft Anti-Spyware program, Spybot as well as Ad-aware; whether you are using ZoneAlarm or not.

[Cedar]

Thanks for your comments. I did say in a previous post that I do already have a router, though I didn't say what kind. It's a Linksys wireless-G with speedbooster.

Appreciate your response, though. FReeper's computer knowledge is always interesting to read.

[Cedar]

Sounds like it would be worth dropping ZA if the router is providing security as you said.

As posted in my comment above, I have a Linksys Wireless-G router with SpeedBooster. I also use RoadRunner, so the router is connected to my RR cable modem.

When setting it up initially, the Linksys phone rep had me set it up with WEP (not sure what that is, but think it is stronger protection).

Right now I use a laptop and have to say it does seem a little sluggish compared to my desktop, though it has a slightly faster CPU than the desktop.

But the thing is I also had Zone Alarm on my desktop and never noticed it affecting the download speeds, at least not that it ever bothered me. As you said, without ZA my desktop would probably be even faster. On the broadband speed tests, it would usually clock about 2.8 MBS.

My new laptop does seem slower, and after hearing your comments it sounds like ZA is causing some of that (if not most of it). I haven't run a speed test yet on my laptop....might go do that right now just to see.

If you think my router would provide full protection, then it would be tempting to ditch ZA. Guess the reason I'm so cautious is a few years ago a trojan hijacked my cursor. It took about three days of posting my HiJack This log and trying different solutions given me by the very patient help at Spyware Info website to get rid of the trojan. After that I decided the more protection, the better.

But I'll try your experiment---this will be interesting. Would be great to get some increased speed.

Thanks for all the help. BTW, I have run Microsoft's Anti-Spyware just last week. Also I have Spybot -- don't have Ad-aware, thought it wouldn't be necessary with the others. But since you suggest using it, I will download that too.

[HairOfTheDog]

I've never had trouble with Weatherbug... I get one popup from it, but I like it and have had it years.