Critical Updates and Decreasing System Stability
 

I've been faithfully installing Windows'ME Critical Updates
for some time now and my system seems to be getting more and
more unstable. I now get a blue screen crash almost every
day and sometimes more than one a day. They are randomly
erratic having no particular pattern or cause.

Critical Updates appear to consist of an endless number of
security updates to protect against hackers or deviant web
sites accessing your computer. I'm not aware of there ever
being an attempt to hack into my computer nor am I aware of
anyone I know having had that experience. With the millions
of web sites and hundreds of millions of users online
everyday, the probability of getting hacked must be pretty
low (especially for an on and off dial-up connection).

The endless succession of Critical Updates never seem to
offer fixes for known system bugs, which I would appreciate.

I'm wondering if there isn't a connection between the
endless procession of Critical Update patches and the
increasing instability of the operating system. Might I be
and have been better off ignoring the Critical Updates?

-randau
Oregon, USA

I read and post from the Google Groups web site using a
Spam collecting email address that I don't use for
anything else. So if someone wants to contact me,
please cleanup and use the Spam resistant Email address
below.

randau2...(at)...proaxis.com

Probability of being hacked:
Unless you use a firewall - High, even when using dial-up access

Probability of visiting a deviant web-site
Extremely high, all the more so if you use visit free game playing,
gambling or porno web sites or if you download any form of "free" software
or music/video files.

As to the updates from Microsoft causing you your problems, unlikely and I
feel you need to look elsewhere for any problems you are having with your
system. For example have you recently checked for unwanted malware, be it
a traditional virus or maybe a trojan or keylogger or two or more likely
unwanted adware by the score.
--
Mike Maltby MS-MVP



randau wrote:

I've been faithfully installing Windows'ME Critical Updates
for some time now and my system seems to be getting more and
more unstable. I now get a blue screen crash almost every
day and sometimes more than one a day. They are randomly
erratic having no particular pattern or cause.

Critical Updates appear to consist of an endless number of
security updates to protect against hackers or deviant web
sites accessing your computer. I'm not aware of there ever
being an attempt to hack into my computer nor am I aware of
anyone I know having had that experience. With the millions
of web sites and hundreds of millions of users online
everyday, the probability of getting hacked must be pretty
low (especially for an on and off dial-up connection).

The endless succession of Critical Updates never seem to
offer fixes for known system bugs, which I would appreciate.

I'm wondering if there isn't a connection between the
endless procession of Critical Update patches and the
increasing instability of the operating system. Might I be
and have been better off ignoring the Critical Updates?

You may have a virus/spyware hijack

download the Stinger from here and run it to make sure that A-V-disabling
viruses are not present on your PC
http://download.nai.com/products/mca...rt/stinger.exe

- update your virus scanner and run a full system scan of all files.

download AdAware SE Personal Edition from www.lavasoftusa.com, install,
update, and run it to remove spyware, adware, and other such nasties from
your system.

See what that lot reports - and then say that the risk of malware is low!!
Getting 'hacked' isn't the problem - the problem is getting hit with malware
either from a drive-by installation from a website, or from 'accidentally'
installing the wrong program.

--
Noel Paton (MS-MVP 2002-2005, Windows)

Nil Carborundum Illegitemi
http://www.btinternet.com/~winnoel/millsrpch.htm
http://tinyurl.com/6oztj

Please read http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm on how to post messages to NG's

"randau" wrote in message
oups.com...
I've been faithfully installing Windows'ME Critical Updates
for some time now and my system seems to be getting more and
more unstable. I now get a blue screen crash almost every
day and sometimes more than one a day. They are randomly
erratic having no particular pattern or cause.

Critical Updates appear to consist of an endless number of
security updates to protect against hackers or deviant web
sites accessing your computer. I'm not aware of there ever
being an attempt to hack into my computer nor am I aware of
anyone I know having had that experience. With the millions
of web sites and hundreds of millions of users online
everyday, the probability of getting hacked must be pretty
low (especially for an on and off dial-up connection).

The endless succession of Critical Updates never seem to
offer fixes for known system bugs, which I would appreciate.

I'm wondering if there isn't a connection between the
endless procession of Critical Update patches and the
increasing instability of the operating system. Might I be
and have been better off ignoring the Critical Updates?

-randau
Oregon, USA

I read and post from the Google Groups web site using a
Spam collecting email address that I don't use for
anything else. So if someone wants to contact me,
please cleanup and use the Spam resistant Email address
below.

randau2...(at)...proaxis.com

Noel
I notice that you frequently recommend downloading and running STINGER
for potential virus and/or spyware problems. Is STINGER any different
from other AV programs ?

"Noel Paton" wrote in message
...
You may have a virus/spyware hijack

download the Stinger from here and run it to make sure that
A-V-disabling
viruses are not present on your PC
http://download.nai.com/products/mca...rt/stinger.exe

- update your virus scanner and run a full system scan of all files.

download AdAware SE Personal Edition from www.lavasoftusa.com,
install,
update, and run it to remove spyware, adware, and other such nasties
from
your system.

See what that lot reports - and then say that the risk of malware is
low!!
Getting 'hacked' isn't the problem - the problem is getting hit with
malware
either from a drive-by installation from a website, or from
'accidentally'
installing the wrong program.

--
Noel Paton (MS-MVP 2002-2005, Windows)

Nil Carborundum Illegitemi
http://www.btinternet.com/~winnoel/millsrpch.htm
http://tinyurl.com/6oztj

Please read http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm on how to post messages to
NG's

"randau" wrote in message
oups.com...
I've been faithfully installing Windows'ME Critical Updates
for some time now and my system seems to be getting more and
more unstable. I now get a blue screen crash almost every
day and sometimes more than one a day. They are randomly
erratic having no particular pattern or cause.

Critical Updates appear to consist of an endless number of
security updates to protect against hackers or deviant web
sites accessing your computer. I'm not aware of there ever
being an attempt to hack into my computer nor am I aware of
anyone I know having had that experience. With the millions
of web sites and hundreds of millions of users online
everyday, the probability of getting hacked must be pretty
low (especially for an on and off dial-up connection).

The endless succession of Critical Updates never seem to
offer fixes for known system bugs, which I would appreciate.

I'm wondering if there isn't a connection between the
endless procession of Critical Update patches and the
increasing instability of the operating system. Might I be
and have been better off ignoring the Critical Updates?

-randau
Oregon, USA

I read and post from the Google Groups web site using a
Spam collecting email address that I don't use for
anything else. So if someone wants to contact me,
please cleanup and use the Spam resistant Email address
below.

randau2...(at)...proaxis.com

Yes - Stinger is a targeted utility for the removal of a number of worms -
many of which have the subsidiary function of switching off traditional
anti-virus programs.

You can have the most efficient, and up-to-date virus scanner in the world,
and it's of no use at all if it's switched off by a worm!

Stinger of itself is no use - it's purely effective against variants of
about 40 worms - without also running a traditional AV immediately
afterwards, but what it does, it does well, and is the type of tool that
worms have little defence against - for the simple reason that it can be
almost totally redesigned every issue, if necessary, while a traditional AV
is locked into an upgrade/update cycle.

--
Noel Paton (MS-MVP 2002-2005, Windows)

Nil Carborundum Illegitemi
http://www.btinternet.com/~winnoel/millsrpch.htm
http://tinyurl.com/6oztj

Please read http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm on how to post messages to NG's

"Dapper Dan" wrote in message
...
Noel
I notice that you frequently recommend downloading and running STINGER
for potential virus and/or spyware problems. Is STINGER any different
from other AV programs ?

"Noel Paton" wrote in message
...
You may have a virus/spyware hijack

download the Stinger from here and run it to make sure that
A-V-disabling
viruses are not present on your PC
http://download.nai.com/products/mca...rt/stinger.exe

- update your virus scanner and run a full system scan of all files.

download AdAware SE Personal Edition from www.lavasoftusa.com,
install,
update, and run it to remove spyware, adware, and other such nasties
from
your system.

See what that lot reports - and then say that the risk of malware is
low!!
Getting 'hacked' isn't the problem - the problem is getting hit with
malware
either from a drive-by installation from a website, or from
'accidentally'
installing the wrong program.

--
Noel Paton (MS-MVP 2002-2005, Windows)

Nil Carborundum Illegitemi
http://www.btinternet.com/~winnoel/millsrpch.htm
http://tinyurl.com/6oztj

Please read http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm on how to post messages to
NG's

"randau" wrote in message
oups.com...
I've been faithfully installing Windows'ME Critical Updates
for some time now and my system seems to be getting more and
more unstable. I now get a blue screen crash almost every
day and sometimes more than one a day. They are randomly
erratic having no particular pattern or cause.

Critical Updates appear to consist of an endless number of
security updates to protect against hackers or deviant web
sites accessing your computer. I'm not aware of there ever
being an attempt to hack into my computer nor am I aware of
anyone I know having had that experience. With the millions
of web sites and hundreds of millions of users online
everyday, the probability of getting hacked must be pretty
low (especially for an on and off dial-up connection).

The endless succession of Critical Updates never seem to
offer fixes for known system bugs, which I would appreciate.

I'm wondering if there isn't a connection between the
endless procession of Critical Update patches and the
increasing instability of the operating system. Might I be
and have been better off ignoring the Critical Updates?

-randau
Oregon, USA

I read and post from the Google Groups web site using a
Spam collecting email address that I don't use for
anything else. So if someone wants to contact me,
please cleanup and use the Spam resistant Email address
below.

randau2...(at)...proaxis.com

Thanks for the response Noel.

"Noel Paton" wrote in message
...
Yes - Stinger is a targeted utility for the removal of a number of
worms -
many of which have the subsidiary function of switching off
traditional
anti-virus programs.

You can have the most efficient, and up-to-date virus scanner in the
world,
and it's of no use at all if it's switched off by a worm!

Stinger of itself is no use - it's purely effective against variants
of
about 40 worms - without also running a traditional AV immediately
afterwards, but what it does, it does well, and is the type of tool
that
worms have little defence against - for the simple reason that it
can be
almost totally redesigned every issue, if necessary, while a
traditional AV
is locked into an upgrade/update cycle.

--
Noel Paton (MS-MVP 2002-2005, Windows)

Nil Carborundum Illegitemi
http://www.btinternet.com/~winnoel/millsrpch.htm
http://tinyurl.com/6oztj

Please read http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm on how to post messages to
NG's

"Dapper Dan" wrote in message
...
Noel
I notice that you frequently recommend downloading and running
STINGER
for potential virus and/or spyware problems. Is STINGER any
different
from other AV programs ?

"Noel Paton" wrote in message
...
You may have a virus/spyware hijack

download the Stinger from here and run it to make sure that
A-V-disabling
viruses are not present on your PC
http://download.nai.com/products/mca...rt/stinger.exe

- update your virus scanner and run a full system scan of all
files.

download AdAware SE Personal Edition from www.lavasoftusa.com,
install,
update, and run it to remove spyware, adware, and other such
nasties
from
your system.

See what that lot reports - and then say that the risk of malware
is
low!!
Getting 'hacked' isn't the problem - the problem is getting hit
with
malware
either from a drive-by installation from a website, or from
'accidentally'
installing the wrong program.

--
Noel Paton (MS-MVP 2002-2005, Windows)

Nil Carborundum Illegitemi
http://www.btinternet.com/~winnoel/millsrpch.htm
http://tinyurl.com/6oztj

Please read http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm on how to post messages
to
NG's

"randau" wrote in message
oups.com...
I've been faithfully installing Windows'ME Critical Updates
for some time now and my system seems to be getting more and
more unstable. I now get a blue screen crash almost every
day and sometimes more than one a day. They are randomly
erratic having no particular pattern or cause.

Critical Updates appear to consist of an endless number of
security updates to protect against hackers or deviant web
sites accessing your computer. I'm not aware of there ever
being an attempt to hack into my computer nor am I aware of
anyone I know having had that experience. With the millions
of web sites and hundreds of millions of users online
everyday, the probability of getting hacked must be pretty
low (especially for an on and off dial-up connection).

The endless succession of Critical Updates never seem to
offer fixes for known system bugs, which I would appreciate.

I'm wondering if there isn't a connection between the
endless procession of Critical Update patches and the
increasing instability of the operating system. Might I be
and have been better off ignoring the Critical Updates?

-randau
Oregon, USA

I read and post from the Google Groups web site using a
Spam collecting email address that I don't use for
anything else. So if someone wants to contact me,
please cleanup and use the Spam resistant Email address
below.

randau2...(at)...proaxis.com

I have Norton AntiVirus protection which I update and then
scan the disk every week besides getting the Virus
Definitions updated automatically during the week.

I also have Lavasoft Adaware software that I run
periodically to root out Spyware.

I don't think it's the canned/preprogrammed malware
(viruses/spyware) that's being addressed with Windows
Critical Updates. I think it's the threat of real-time
hackers that's being addressed to prevent them from
establishing live malicious access to your computer.
Isn't it?

randau wrote:

I have Norton AntiVirus protection which I update and then
scan the disk every week besides getting the Virus
Definitions updated automatically during the week.

I also have Lavasoft Adaware software that I run
periodically to root out Spyware.

I don't think it's the canned/preprogrammed malware
(viruses/spyware) that's being addressed with Windows
Critical Updates. I think it's the threat of real-time
hackers that's being addressed to prevent them from
establishing live malicious access to your computer.
Isn't it?

No. Not at all.

That you use NAV is perhaps more of a factor in your loss of performance
than anything else. No Symantec product targeted at the domestic market
performs well regardless of the operating system in use with NAV
especially causing more problems with Win Me than any it might claim to
prevent.
--
Mike Maltby MS-MVP

On Sun, 19 Dec 2004 09:11:19 -0000, "Noel Paton"

Yes - Stinger is a targeted utility for the removal of a number of worms -
many of which have the subsidiary function of switching off traditional
anti-virus programs.

It's like spending 2 days swotting "spots" at the end of a 3-year
course. It doesn't cover all (or even most) of the material :-)

Slightly better is Trend's SysClean. Like Stinger, this is a free
fixer that you can run without having to install it. But it detects a
lot more malware than Stinger does, so I've taken to using it instead;
it fits on a USB stick, but not on a diskette.

Then again, you aren't cursed with NTFS, so there's no reason you
can't use a *real* av that detects "everything". You'd do a diskette
boot, ideally using an EBD that creates a RAM disk, then copy the
relevant files and run the DOS-based av from there.

www.f-prot.com offers F-Prot for DOS as free for personal use, and
it's what I use. You can get updates from the site as well, and you'd
need to, as the data built into the download will likely be stale.

www.sophos.com and www.nod32.com also offer free DOS-based av for
download, but they are evaluation copies only. That means you have to
sign in, and I presume you can't download updates on an ongoing basis.

You can have the most efficient, and up-to-date virus scanner in the world,
and it's of no use at all if it's switched off by a worm!

Absolutely. Chasing active malware from the OS that it's already
running in is doomed, because the malware is positioned to resist,
hide, take punitive action against you, etc. It's merciful that the
last is rare, but it's been done; I wouldn't count on such mercy.

Stinger of itself is no use - it's purely effective against variants of
about 40 worms - without also running a traditional AV immediately
afterwards, but what it does, it does well, and is the type of tool that
worms have little defence against - for the simple reason that it can be
almost totally redesigned every issue, if necessary, while a traditional AV
is locked into an upgrade/update cycle.

Yes - it's a useful lifeline for those cursed with NTFS. Also, once
you've identified a malware, Symantec has several dedicated cleaners
that each kill one particular baddie. Actually, most av sites have
free cleaners for one malware each; I've used these from Symantec,
F-Secure and Sophos (Sophos's fix for Jeefo was da bomb!)



--------------- ----- ---- --- -- - - -
Tech Support: The guys who follow the
'Parade of New Products' with a shovel.
--------------- ----- ---- --- -- - - -

Thanks for your input also, cquirk. I use Avast, AdAware and Spybot
S&D religiously. Just wasn't sure of why STINGER. Now I know !!
Thanks again.

Dan
"cquirke (MVP Win9x)" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 19 Dec 2004 09:11:19 -0000, "Noel Paton"

Yes - Stinger is a targeted utility for the removal of a number of
worms -
many of which have the subsidiary function of switching off
traditional
anti-virus programs.

It's like spending 2 days swotting "spots" at the end of a 3-year
course. It doesn't cover all (or even most) of the material :-)

Slightly better is Trend's SysClean. Like Stinger, this is a free
fixer that you can run without having to install it. But it detects
a
lot more malware than Stinger does, so I've taken to using it
instead;
it fits on a USB stick, but not on a diskette.

Then again, you aren't cursed with NTFS, so there's no reason you
can't use a *real* av that detects "everything". You'd do a
diskette
boot, ideally using an EBD that creates a RAM disk, then copy the
relevant files and run the DOS-based av from there.

www.f-prot.com offers F-Prot for DOS as free for personal use, and
it's what I use. You can get updates from the site as well, and
you'd
need to, as the data built into the download will likely be stale.

www.sophos.com and www.nod32.com also offer free DOS-based av for
download, but they are evaluation copies only. That means you have
to
sign in, and I presume you can't download updates on an ongoing
basis.

You can have the most efficient, and up-to-date virus scanner in
the world,
and it's of no use at all if it's switched off by a worm!

Absolutely. Chasing active malware from the OS that it's already
running in is doomed, because the malware is positioned to resist,
hide, take punitive action against you, etc. It's merciful that the
last is rare, but it's been done; I wouldn't count on such mercy.

Stinger of itself is no use - it's purely effective against
variants of
about 40 worms - without also running a traditional AV immediately
afterwards, but what it does, it does well, and is the type of tool
that
worms have little defence against - for the simple reason that it
can be
almost totally redesigned every issue, if necessary, while a
traditional AV
is locked into an upgrade/update cycle.

Yes - it's a useful lifeline for those cursed with NTFS. Also, once
you've identified a malware, Symantec has several dedicated cleaners
that each kill one particular baddie. Actually, most av sites have
free cleaners for one malware each; I've used these from Symantec,
F-Secure and Sophos (Sophos's fix for Jeefo was da bomb!)



--------------- ----- ---- --- -- - - -
Tech Support: The guys who follow the
'Parade of New Products' with a shovel.
--------------- ----- ---- --- -- - - -