We're now in the aftermath of my daughter's PC meltdown. I am still working to configure it, and that means, among other things, getting rid of the bloatware that Dell's Asian gnomes shovel in. Some, I'm sure, started out as a good idea, but over time became a horrendous snuffling behemoth that can't even get out of its own way, let alone, actually be helpful. For example, the 'Dell Support Center', which seems to be willing to complete installation only when I bring up task manager to kill it. No kidding, twice it's apparently been hung, and when Task Manager is brought up, suddenly I get a status message. Now, as a minor geek, I know that what's probably happening is that something which was keeping it from completing just got bumped to the top, possibly as a result of the Task Manager command, but emotionally, I'm thinking that there's this dirt-encrusted rodent squeaking No Kill I !!!!
The immediate object of my ire is McAfee Security. For all I know, it's actually a decent piece of software -- after all, lots of people use it, and they're not tossing it out the window (are they?). But I despise it being shoved upon me for an eventual fee ("But its free now! " Michael Dell squeaks, in a voice remarkably like that of the Dell Support Center, "..... and not THAT much, later..."), so off it goes. Ask me if I want to download a trial; don't force it on me. Of course, no piece of software in that genre is as loathsome as Norton, and thats a good example of how making the big bucks corrupts a good idea. Time was, Norton was pretty decent stuff. You'd look at the box (yes, youngster, back then software came in actual boxes) with Peter Norton hisself on the cover, looking all bright and determined, one sleeve rolled up, and you'd think This is good stuff. And it was, until Symantec got its paws on it. Even then, I'm willing to believe that the Symantec people were decent, well intentioned folks. But they weren't in the business of keeping computers safe so much as being in the business of getting you to buy their products, and it showed. Which is why we got rid of the Nortons on all of our PCs, and buh-bye to not-free McAfee, now.
So right this minute, the PC is rebooting again, to remove (in theory, anyway) the remnants of McAfee, and then we'll go look for some other piece of crapware to remove. What, I don't know -- but I do firmly believe that I can count on Dell to have some there. A link to eBay's already gone. Anyone want to bet that there is an offer to use AOL lurking somewhere?
4 comments:
Ouch. I wish I could offer something more than a platitude.
Actually, reading your piece about Norton reminded me of looking at security software for the Mac. The Norton/Symantec offering was a generation or two behind the Windows version. I did get a vague feeling they were trying to get me to buy it, just to increase their sales, not because I actually needed it.
I run Windows (XP) in Parallels; it comes with Karpinsky (sp?) for its anti-virus/etc software. Considering that I rarely drop into Windows, I can't say if it's better than Norton or McAfee (or is even in the same ballpark), but it might be worth looking at.
Sorry! :-(
I like Avast. I like it enough that I'd pay for it if I thought that the paid version would get me something I need. It hasn't, yet. I suppose it's only a matter of time before they start pumping ads into the real-time display, which paying will eliminate.
You cannot get rid of Norton. And you cannot get rid of McAffee. If you did so, your 'puter would fail to work due to lack of dll files.
No matter what, you have to finish with what you started because they hate each other so much that even the ghosts on your computer will fight each other.
Unless you format C, and re-install. Which is what I did. Then just install all your content from your backups.
You DID back up didn't you?
Avast. My, thats a new one. Don't know much about it.
We did reformat. Didn't plan on having to, but when you see the PC doing what this one was doing, exorcism was the only recourse.
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