Something Strange Just Happened Here!

LeoStarDragon1 · Post by **LeoStarDragon1** » Sun Apr 12, 2009 12:03 pm

Hi, Demortis!

Demortis wrote:BS more then likely knows that from xp, since he has asked on several occasions for me to hack AC's hard drives... Temples are really hard to hack

Funny! :laugh: But, huh?

LeoStarDragon1 · Post by **LeoStarDragon1** » Sun Apr 12, 2009 12:13 pm

Hello, Dragon Wench!

dragon wench wrote:[url="http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/personal.html"]Firefox[/url] is a **much** better browser than IE. You can customize it to suit your preferences, it's faster than IE, and it is far more secure...
So if you are in the habit of surfing sites more likely to infect your computer, you'll be much safer with Firefox...

Oh, it is a part of "Mozilla"! Hm. I think I'd be using it if I hadn't lost the "Plainsnet" homepage. That's the ISP I use. Well, I followed your link and I created a desktop shortcut for it. Part of me is thinking there was something about privacy and not being allowed to brouse at adults-only sites, that kept me from using it before though, as I may have actually read the license agreement and disagreed with it. I could check again though I suppose. Thanks for the help!

LeoStarDragon1 · Post by **LeoStarDragon1** » Sun Apr 12, 2009 12:48 pm

Dragon Wench the Powerful!

Or should it be, "Game Banshee"?

I've recently watched "Inherit the Wind" on Friday Nights, on PBS, and then last night "The Ten Commandments" on "ABC".

But anyway with conflicting movie messages in my head as I write this, I just wanted to see if my post had stuck or not. For the third time just as I clicked on "Submit Reply" for a message to Dragon Wench, the power went off!

At least this time it came back on almost as soon as it went off. Unlike last time where we ran outside to see what happened and there were downed wires and a fire in progress!

Before when this would have happened, I'd have to start all over. But here at "Game Banshee" I haven't had to start all over! Whew!

dragon wench · Post by **dragon wench** » Sun Apr 12, 2009 1:09 pm

there was something about privacy and not being allowed to brouse at adults-only sites, that kept me from using it before though, as I may have actually read the license agreement and disagreed with it.

I'm willing to hazard that it are the "adult only sites" that are in fact infecting your computer. Porn sites are notorious for distributing viruses and the like.

As far as there being some kind of issue with visiting such places using Firefox... I'd be *really* surprised if that were the case. However, I don't surf places like that so I don't know for sure.

LeoStarDragon1 · Post by **LeoStarDragon1** » Sun Apr 12, 2009 1:27 pm

Hi, Dragon Wench!

I'm willing to hazard that it are the "adult only sites" that are in fact infecting your computer. Porn sites are notorious for distributing viruses and the like.

Yes, I've noticed. My brother and father warn me about it, yet thet still brouse them too. So I don't know what they are keeping secret from me, so as to not have the same problems! The last such one I had, I merely wanted to check out a video about Britney Spears, and my brother had to fix my PC by resetting the setting back to a date prior to trying to see that video. He had to show me again how to do it for myself as I was sleepy the first time.

But you know how the cards dance across the screen when you win at Solitaire? Well, I've had that happen to me with pop-ups, lots of times, and it was like playing Whack-A-Mole trying to close them out one at a time! But after seeing Agent Gibbs in "NAVY NCIS" simply pull the plug, I've been shutting off my power instead, when that happens. Well, once I did that, that sort of thing stopped happening to me! But that was on a previous computer, not this one. I don't get the cascade ones with this one. I get the stealthy ones now.

Oh, I meant to tell you. I have an e-friend in Doncaster, England. Whenever I get e-mails from him now, along with them comes scam e-mails from England and other countries, that I didn't used to get. Now why would that be?

As far as there being some kind of issue with visiting such places using Firefox... I'd be *really* surprised if that were the case. However, I don't surf places like that so I don't know for sure.

I thought that you might not!

Well, it was just a speculation. For me to not agree, that is one of the deal breakers for me. My friend Ron and others, don't bother to read them anymore and just click anyway, to get what they want, and ignore the rules. They only worry if they get caught. They don't seem to be getting caught though.

I'll let you know the results if I should make the switch!

Bloodstalker · Post by **Bloodstalker** » Sun Apr 12, 2009 3:32 pm

Sounds like you have issues well beyond browsing Gamebanshee.

I noticed you have quite a bit of stuff installoed on your Internett Explorer in one of the screenshots you posted. Toolbars and such. It made me wonder if you downlaod and install very many programs from the internet onto your computer. Even programs that can appear very useful and non-threatening often come packaged with spyware and such installed. Be extrememly careful with what you download and install.

Also, you may have problems that aren't specifically virus related as well. If you don't have one already installed, I'd suggest finding a good spyware/addware program and running it on your system. A lot of the issues people often blame on viruses are ofetn related to something else. Ad-ware has a free scan tool you can use, but I would reccommend finding a program that gives you realtime protection against those spyware etc. If your system is just eaten up with this kind of stuff, you may be better off formatting your hard drive and starting from scratch.

Even if you do have to eventually format though, you'll be right back in the same boat unless you get some virus protections, spyware protections etc and are very careful with your surfing habits. The best programs will not block everything.

I do advise to get a different browser than Internet Explorer. I use Opera myself, but ultimately that's a personal preference.

In essence, be very careful what you download and install, make sure you have some programs running to help provide protection, and surf carefully. As DW said, porn sites are notorious for infecting people, so keep that risk in mind when you decide to surf those sites.

And don't just power down your computer when you get a rash of unkillable pop-ups. If you don't shut your computer down properly, bad things can happen. Pushing the power button on your computer to turn it off without going through the proper shut down procedure is never good. It would be a lot better to just disconnect the netxork cable from your computer, then right click on the Internet Explorer window minimized on the bottom of your screen and choose "close all". If that doesn't work, hit Ctrl+Alt+Del and click on the proceeses tab when Task Manager pops up. Then just highlight the Internet Explorer option and choose to End Process.

DesR85 · Post by **DesR85** » Sun Apr 12, 2009 7:48 pm

LeoStarDragon1 wrote:Oh, pardon me. Uh, "P2"? Is that a brand-name? "No-script"?

It's a short form for Pentium 2.

As for no-script, it's a firefox addon which blocks anything from sites unless you allow it's access manually.

dragon wench · Post by **dragon wench** » Sun Apr 12, 2009 9:09 pm

Free anti-spyware programs

[url="http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html"]Spyware Blaster[/url]

[url="http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html"]Spybot Search and Destroy[/url]

[url="http://www.lavasoft.com/"]Ad-Aware[/url]

Free AV

[url="http://free.avg.com/"]AVG[/url]

[url="http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html"]Avast[/url]

Incidentally, [url="http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/legal/eula/firefox-en.html"]here[/url] is a copy of the End-User Firefox license agreement... I don't see anything about restrictive surfing. *shrug*
As BS mentions, though, Opera is also a very good browser if you don't want to use Firefox. I like the latter because it has some excellent add-ons, but they are both great browsers.

Claudius · Post by **Claudius** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 1:48 pm

I haven't been on gamebanshee since pc-cillin warned me it was an attack site. I figured the ads had gotten overzealous. I use firefox. No other internet sites any problem and I ran ccleaner after I closed from gamebanshee and also a virus scan.

LeoStarDragon1 · Post by **LeoStarDragon1** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 9:29 pm

Hi, DesR85!

DesR85 wrote:It's a short form for Pentium 2.

As for no-script, it's a firefox addon which blocks anything from sites unless you allow it's access manually.

I just read the last post in the thread flirting with Aqua-Chen, and realised a lot of people here are college students! People at the age of being into the latest gadgets and fads, like texting and tweeting. I'm into acronyms, and I used to often write lists of acronyms as a memory exercise. Supposedly texting involves new legitimate codes involving acronyms. But with so many people not caring how to spell, and so forth, I was turned off by it before I ever got to investigate it for myself.

I wonder why people use the Texting style in a regular forum, with a big keyboard and plenty of room to write words out in full. I can't tell if it is laziness, efficency, or something else, when too many people don't bother to spell right and probably didn't know how before Texting came along.

That's to explain why I bother to ask what people mean when they choose to use short forms. I want to be sure, rather than presume or assume.

So thank you for your patience and for answering my question!

Okay, I'm about to attach yet another screenshot. The line, "Processor", is that meant to be the name of what type of computer I have? I look at the front of my central processing unit, and I don't see a name brand. I'm thinking the power on button, has a logo on it though. I got this one for Christmas either last year or the year before. (Time flies by so fast!)

It replaces the one I had before, that my brother built. Unless it was the one my Dad traded to me in exchange for the one my brother made. I forget the proper order, as I've been through a few, after having had the first one in May of 1994 for so long. I kept seeking upgrades, until I got one that could play Oblivion well enough, whereas I wanted the first one, just to be able to place "Spaceflight", I think it was called. I was sad when due to a Windows upgrade, my computer became too fast to play that game anymore.

But anyway, the point is, I've lost track of the brand of computer I'm using! Unless the line I asked you about, is the one that tells me what it is.

As for "No-Script", hm, I think Windows Vista does that too, as I'm always being asked permission to operate anything, et cetera.

Thanks for your reply!

dragon wench · Post by **dragon wench** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 9:44 pm

Actually...
many of us here are beyond "college age."

And as far as acronyms go, excepting well known ones, their use is generally discouraged on these forums.
In comparison to many other sites, Game Banshee is remarkably free of "Leet Speak" and various other insults to the English language.

But, none of that has anything to do with your original topic.

I just wanted to point those things out.

Bloodstalker · Post by **Bloodstalker** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 9:48 pm

The case with the power button isn't your central processing unit.

It's just a case. The processor is a tiny little chip inside the case. The brand name for that is just whichever company produced that chip. It won't tell you what company you bought the computer from though. Pentium chips are some of the most common chips out there.

It's possible the company may have put it's name on the case if the computer was purchased as is, but if someone built it for you, it's likely a mutt like mine.

Don't know much about Vista. I refuse to upgrade.

Also, just for the record, don't mistake college classes with ages. I'm actually 36, I wound up going back to college after becoming fed up with my old career path.

LeoStarDragon1 · Post by **LeoStarDragon1** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 9:49 pm

Hi, Dragon Wench!

dragon wench wrote:Free anti-spyware programs

[url="http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html"]Spyware Blaster[/url]

[url="http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html"]Spybot Search and Destroy[/url]

[url="http://www.lavasoft.com/"]Ad-Aware[/url]

Free AV

[url="http://free.avg.com/"]AVG[/url]

[url="http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html"]Avast[/url]

Incidentally, [url="http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/legal/eula/firefox-en.html"]here[/url] is a copy of the End-User Firefox license agreement... I don't see anything about restrictive surfing. *shrug*
As BS mentions, though, Opera is also a very good browser if you don't want to use Firefox. I like the latter because it has some excellent add-ons, but they are both great browsers.

Thanks for those links! I created desktop shortcuts for further investigation and I looked at the release agreement. I use "McAfee" and I attached a screenshot of the features. Maybe I should enable the top one?

Okay, so if it wasn't the agreement, then maybe it was my being paranoid? Like maybe I was thinking that having people in Elk City seeing where I surfed to, was too close for comfort, probably because of something told to me by a friend at the time. Odd, that I don't recall the precise reason, but it may be because I take it for granted and thus haven't thought about it sense.

Thanks for your help, Dragon Wench!

LeoStarDragon1 · Post by **LeoStarDragon1** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 10:35 pm

Hello, Bloodstalker!

Sounds like you have issues well beyond browsing Gamebanshee.

Uh, oh!

I hope they aren't too bad!

I noticed you have quite a bit of stuff installed on your Internett Explorer in one of the screenshots you posted. Toolbars and such. It made me wonder if you download and install very many programs from the Internet onto your computer. Even programs that can appear very useful and non-threatening often come packaged with spyware and such installed. Be extremely careful with what you download and install.

Oh, them! Hm. So those aren't part of normal Windows Vista upgrades or MSN, or Google? Should I uninstall them then? I thought I was doing so. I pay atttention to McAfee! My brother once set me straight on having dueling protection systems, and uninstalled one, Horton I think it was, that was put on by Tom the local tech guy, in favor of McAfee, used by "J.C. Penny" where my brother works.

Also, you may have problems that aren't specifically virus related as well. If you don't have one already installed, I'd suggest finding a good spyware/addware program and running it on your system. A lot of the issues people often blame on viruses are often related to something else. Ad-ware has a free scan tool you can use, but I would reccommend finding a program that gives you realtime protection against those spyware etc. If your system is just eaten up with this kind of stuff, you may be better off formatting your hard drive and starting from scratch.

Well, I already use "McAfee". Anymore would conflict with it.

Even if you do have to eventually format though, you'll be right back in the same boat unless you get some virus protections, spyware protections etc and are very careful with your surfing habits. The best programs will not block everything.

Hm. If I do that, I may stop playing Oblivion for awhile, and try something else after all these years.

I do advise to get a different browser than Internet Explorer. I use Opera myself, but ultimately that's a personal preference.

I don't know of "Opera" other than the obvious. I think I lack the experience with experimenting with variety in that regard, to even have a personal preference. It's more like a , "go with the flow" situation, of following the path of least resistance. Meaning, it came with "Windows Vista". This new computer came with it already installed, so it isn't an upgrade from the "Windows XP" my previous computer was using, that had been upgrading from 3.1 onwards. (Or whatever the 1994 version is/was.)

In essence, be very careful what you download and install, make sure you have some programs running to help provide protection, and surf carefully. As DW said, porn sites are notorious for infecting people, so keep that risk in mind when you decide to surf those sites.

Oh, well, I think I don't surf as much as I used too, I've made so many bookmarks or desktop shortcuts. The last problem I had with that, was involving the Britney Spears video. But I saw it on TV eventually anyway, albeit censored with the black boxes. It was without the boxes though, that was why I wanted to see it. But someone made screenshots, so I got to see the previously censored parts, just not in motion. I haven't seen the cascade effect in years, that I made the anecdote about.

And don't just power down your computer when you get a rash of unkillable pop-ups. If you don't shut your computer down properly, bad things can happen. Pushing the power button on your computer to turn it off without going through the proper shut down procedure is never good. It would be a lot better to just disconnect the network cable from your computer, then right click on the Internet Explorer window minimized on the bottom of your screen and choose "close all". If that doesn't work, hit Ctrl+Alt+Del and click on the proceeses tab when Task Manager pops up. Then just highlight the Internet Explorer option and choose to End Process.

Well, most recently, the weather or something going on outside that I don't see, had been shutting off the power, while I've been on-line, mostly here, as of late. On purpose, I shut off the computer while I was in TV mode, forgetting that the computer shouldn't be shut down like that, maybe twice.

But on this new computer, I haven't had to shut down in a hurry, like I have with some of the previous ones.

Back in 1998 someone stole my identity and I got blamed for a crime I didn't commit, so I was paranoid about being hacked, and thought that if I was being hacked, then I'd shut off, using the various methods, depending on what came to mind first.

Also, yeah, when my screen freezes up, that's what I do to get out of it, usually during an Oblivion error.

Making more space on the hard drive, by transfering files to DVD's sped up Oblivion some, so it stopped lagging and freezing. I was making a lot of screenshots and AVI files of the game sessions.

Thanks for your help!

LeoStarDragon1 · Post by **LeoStarDragon1** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 10:45 pm

Hi, Claudius!

Claudius wrote:I haven't been on gamebanshee since pc-cillin warned me it was an attack site. I figured the ads had gotten overzealous. I use firefox. No other internet sites any problem and I ran ccleaner after I closed from gamebanshee and also a virus scan.

Yes! I saw it in the news but didn't realize that I was getting this "WinFix" scam problem right away. I hadn't paid attention to what "McAffee" looked like, so at first, I didn't know which was fake and which was real. But this most recent time, I wasn't so drowsy, damn medications, and I realised that the first warning was a fake, and that "McAfee" was indeed dealing with it, I just needed to allow the correct one to operate and not click on the bad one!

Power outages aside, my problem here was, that I tried to click on buttons, and damn ad pop-pops here were preventing me from doing so! Sometimes causing me to have to try to remember what I'd just written, and try again.

So I'd use the techniques Bloodstalker listed, to get out of here, so the ad would go away, and then come back later, like a minute or so later, and post in between pop-ups periods. I hate it when the pop-up places itself over the needed buttons!

Thanks Claudius! So that is the new term of the day for me, "attack site", right?!

LeoStarDragon1 · Post by **LeoStarDragon1** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 10:53 pm

Hello, Dragon Wench!

dragon wench wrote:Actually...
many of us here are beyond "college age."

And as far as acronyms go, excepting well known ones, their use is generally discouraged on these forums.
In comparison to many other sites, Game Banshee is remarkably free of "Leet Speak" and various other insults to the English language.

But, none of that has anything to do with your original topic. I just wanted to point those things out.

Wow, that was fast! Hm. If I were to go back, I'd be a sophomore, unless it's too long by now, and I'd have to start over from scratch. I haven't been enrolled since the Summer Semester of 1985!

:speech:

I appreciate that you made this post, as I expected someone to take exception and make such a post, like you just did!

Albeit I expected Flotsdale (spelling?) uh, the one with the red dragon icon, to be it. Or Fable.

Sorry, but I'm guilty of allowing your avatar to subconsciously influence how I think of your age!

A bad habit I know.

dragon wench · Post by **dragon wench** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 11:01 pm

Sorry, but I'm guilty of allowing your avatar to subconsciously influence how I think of your age! A bad habit I know.

I'm hardly ancient... :laugh:
I'm just not what is considered stereotypical college age either

As far as the avatar goes, it was sent to me by a friend who knows me well, and I immediately liked it.

Bloodstalker · Post by **Bloodstalker** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 11:12 pm

The toolbars on your browser are added by a lot of people. My comment about them was only that generally, it seems that people that have those kinds of things installed tend to install other programs as well. As far as having multiple protection programs, that depends a lot on what the program is protecting you from. Those toolbars aren't going to protect you from viruses though, so they shouldn't conflict with anything else.

Generally, it's best to pick one virus program, such as MacAfee. Virus protections programs can sometimes conflict with each other, or read each other as potential threats to your system. So yeah, most people recommend only using one.

Spyware programs, however, are another story. A lot of people run several spyware protections without problems. One thing to consider though, try to get a program that doesn't just scan your system if possible. Get something that will provide you with some amount of real time protection, meaning a program that will alert you when something attempts to access your system. Just scanning is great, but if you don't have a program that catches stuff before it's on your somputer, a lot of times it is very difficult to remove from your system. Check out the links already provided.

Remember, virus protection is NOT the same thing as protection from spyware. Having McAfee won't mean you can't use the spyware protections as well.

Re: Opera, just go to Opera Browser | Faster & safer Internet | Free Download. If you want to use that particualr browser, you can get it there. The main idea here is to pick a browser you are comfortable using.

As I said before, if you do get paranoid someone is hacking your computer, all you need to do is pull the internect cable from the back of your case to break the connection. If you can think of that at the time, it's just as effective as turning your system off, and easier on your computer.

LeoStarDragon1 · Post by **LeoStarDragon1** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 11:35 pm

Howdy, Bloodstalker!

The case with the power button isn't your central processing unit. It's just a case. The processor is a tiny little chip inside the case. The brand name for that is just whichever company produced that chip. It won't tell you what company you bought the computer from though. Pentium chips are some of the most common chips out there.

Uh, Jimmy Fallon's pie sniffing skit was distracting me. Uh, where am I? Oh, yes. "The Case of the Central Processing Unit". It was a dark and chilly night and Jay and Jimmy are causing laughs on their television shows, as time goes by. I was logged in to a site known as "Game Banshee". Previously I had made a post asking for help concerning pop-ups interfering with my ablity to post at it. A variety of kind folks had replied. I was replying to their posts and they were replying to my replies and now here I am replying to those posts, while Jimmy talks to Dennis Leary. A film noir detective voice is playing in my head as I write this.

The sultry Dragon Wench, she was helpful in a funny way. Then there were the guys. Not so sultry, but just as funny and helpful. Before someone could ask about "seamen antics" or even "semen antics", I clarify, that it is about "semantics". Yes, the chip! Not the one on people's shoulders, but the one inside the case housing a central processing unit. A microchip. Not as tasty as potato chips, but some are more valuable than poker chips. Jimmy and Dennis are playing table ice hockey. My brother and I used to do that. It could flip over and become a pool table. But I digress.

The power button, glows blue, it sort of reminds me of being like a variation on the Cybermen logo. Inside the case, is the microchip that I've never seen. This case hasn't been open since I got it. The case is closed. So I don't know the name of it.

It's possible the company may have put it's name on the case if the computer was purchased as is, but if someone built it for you, it's likely a mutt like mine.

Hm. I don't know. Dad got it from Tom for $3,000 he..... gripes about. Tom was glad to sell it during the Christmas season. I think it was the last one to go. I don't know if Tom made it or bought it as is. Dad bought it as is. It is a nice and shiny, black metal case. It goes well with my black "Olevia" monitor.
My previous ones were of the dull beige variety, so I posted pictures on them to make up for it. This one is picture free. I guess my brother wasn't in the mood to build yet another one for me, as he was building something else in his woodshop at the time I think.

Jimmy's teaching Jill Hennesy how to make fake face slaps for TV.

"Mutt" seems like a nice name to name my computer though, unless you already used it. I don't want to be a name stealer!

My original was an "Acer Acros" set-up.

Don't know much about Vista. I refuse to upgrade.

This wasn't an upgrade for me this time, as it came with it. Paul from Doncaster, still uses 3.1 and refuses to upgrade, causing frustration with his e-friends, who have to hold back on submissions, et al.

Also, just for the record, don't mistake college classes with ages. I'm actually 36, I wound up going back to college after becoming fed up with my old career path.

I was being nostalgic, as college for me was a good place to meet girls, compared to this freaking town, where if you don't get hooked up in school, you may as well leave town if you want to find someone, or wait for a divorcee or a widow. Or some one willing to date older, which only works for the rich guys in town. Huh? Oh, yeah. Where are we?

My brother went back and got his degree/diploma and now earns $60,000 or something a year, even though it was for business, not computers, which is the field he ended up in anyway. He still owes $30,000 + in student loans though. Dad says if my brother lives to be 100, he might be able to pay them off. Oh, I digressed!

I remember now! I meant to write first, that when I was 19, one of my first room mates was a grad-student in Cartography and he was 38 or so when we met, and then 41 or so the last time I saw him. Now I'm 44!

The last kind of official training I had, was a requirement when I was collecting unemployment payments. Before that, Computer Based Learning, "Wal*Mart" style. Before that, learning how to be a "Renumerator" for the "2000 Census". Before that, I was 29 when I had my last Taekwondoe class, which was after my first tournament where I got a second place medal. Before that, it was Video Based Learning, at "Pizza Hut". Then before that, was my last time at college. You sir, are having better luck than I am!

LeoStarDragon1 · Post by **LeoStarDragon1** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 11:42 pm

Hello, Dragon Wench!

dragon wench wrote:I'm hardly ancient... :laugh:
I'm just not what is considered stereotypical college age either

As far as the avatar goes, it was sent to me by a friend who knows me well, and I immediately liked it.

I didn't mean to imply that you were old either! I can't place a name to it, but I think I have a full figure version of it somewhere. My first impression was "Ashlee Simpson", when she isn't blonde as she was on "Seventh Heaven". I amassed a lot of images for use as avatars in Leo's harem, when I was making a family tree, before it got lost during a reformat. I haven't tried to recreate it though. It's just so appealing and all, ya' know!

The screen name I use and avatar, I use, are to prevent others from using it. Otherwise, in the beginning, I used my initials, and learned it was a bad idea, so I began using my fictional characters instead.