It would be good to note the comments at tomsguide.com on antivirus about the merger of AVG and Avast and the differences now between the two. It appears that Avast might be the better choice given recent developments. Please correct me if I am in error.
Three to five AVG modules are recognized as PuPs and removed by every better clean-up program I know and regularly use. Just yesterday I delivered an originally badly messed up computer back to a customer and showed the log files of above mentioned clean-up programs to the lady. AVG were numerically among the most numerous things that showed up. And that machine is no exception.
And to name names here: The clean-up programs I refer to are JRT, Adw-Cleaner and Malwarebytes Free.
I really take issue with even still writing about AVG - and then in a place like Gizmo's Freeware that so many people have over years learned to trust.
Anybody else sensing the slippery (down-)slope ahead?
This applies to much of the other software listed here which either `offers` potentially unwanted programs during the install process directly, or via the third party download hosting site. Whenever we are aware of this an installer warning is included in the product details of full reviews. MC - Site Manager.
I'll say what Rob and MC are too busy or too polite to say. YOU are wrong --loudly and undeservedly offensively wrong.
First, "Potentially Unwanted Programs" MAY BE just that, "potentially unwanted". Some 'security' programs flag other programs -- security-related and otherwise-- that THEY have unilaterally determined to be "potentially unwanted" only to alert the user who, then, can make his/her own decision whether the subject is "wanted" or not. For example, the Chrome browser extension offered with Avast!'s and AVG's installers IS WANTED by many users while NOT WANTED by others and, in any event, is prominently identified as "optional" by those installers. The user can choose for him/herSELF.
Second, One of your so-called "better clean-up program[s]", namely Malwarebytes (MWB), recently, itself, has become a "potentially unwanted program" that flags so very many useful, legitimate programs as PUPs or, even as malware, that I no longer treat its findings as reliable on-their-face. It appears that MWB intentionally flags competitors' products as PUPs or malware in an insidious marketing ploy to disadvantage them. And, to add insult to injury, since going commercial, MWB has gotten so much heavier-and-heavier on system resources that I, a life-time multiple-licensee, disable it except for the periodic scan whose results I have to go through with a fine-toothed comb.
In short, no one security program is better than all others in every instance and, therefore, should not be used as THE benchmark in always assessing all others.
Finally, to answer your polemical question: No, I do not sense any slippery, downward slope here at GIZMO's Place. I suspect almost no other fair-minded, well-informed and truly experienced computer user who finds his/her way here does either. Your assertion otherwise is just another one of those Probably Unwarranted Opinions littering the Internet.
Thanks rob,
It's been a few years since I last used AVG as my default anti virus.
For the past few years, I've been using Qihoo 360 and although it's quite good, I do get the odd false positive which is frustrating.
After reading your views on AVG rob,
I'm going to divorce Qihoo 360 and hop into bed with AVG for a fling..... yep, it's time for a change.
As for AVG being flagged as a nasty...... you don't get to stay in business for more than ten years as they have, if it's not good.
Yes, I agree that Avast is a nice piece of free anti virus......... but, the constant pop-ups forced me to get rid of it last year.
I now use "360 security"...... it's free, it works well and definitely not intrusive, ie. no pop-ups and no adds. https://www.360totalsecurity.com/en/
Avast has been my antivirus for years now, and I am perfectly happy with it. It's light on the system despite having several features. I also like its shields, and its web shield particularly keeps me secure.
I don't mind the occasional pop-ups. For such an excellent product for free, I can tolerate a few pop-ups.
If your going to recommend products from both Sophos and Avast Rob, I think you should provide the pros and cons comparison that we generally get for software that falls into the same category. It's the ability of Gizmos to assist users in sorting out similar products that really sets it apart from other freeware sites.
Personally I removed Avast free from a friend's machine it was causing issues with their back up software even after adding these to Avast whitelist.
I have also lost count on how many untech end users have been fooled by its constant pop up asking you to buy it. They purchase the software while they could of been served just fine with the free version.
I also dont like the kitchen sink approach that the software has taken into adding tweaking software etc to the app. Stick with being an anti-virus software!
Long time Avast is my main choice and recommendation for family, friends and customers. Evaluating pros and cons, I think it is one of the best free antivirus.
A tip for the ones who are annoyed with pop ups: it's possible to configure Avast for showing pop ups for just 1 second.
I also recently removed Avast from my WinXP laptop. I was having problems with mini-freezes, sluggish behavior, and most recently, complete freezes before the full boot-up was finished. I narrowed it down to Avast (the freezing, that is), and replaced it with Comodo Antivirus (just the antivirus, not their Internet Suite), since I already had the Comodo Firewall installed.
The freezing was immediately gone, and now the system seems to startup, shutdown, and run a little faster.
The specs are:
Older Compaq Presario V2000Z Laptop with Windows XP
CPU: AMD Turion 64 ML-34 single core 1.58Ghz
Ram: Total Physical = 2GB, Total Available = 1GB
The specs seem fine enough for Avast to function nicely. I had XP on a 512 MB RAM, and that caused a bit of slowdown. Avast can be a bit slow when coming across folders full of exe files, on computers with low specs, but otherwise it runs fine.
Don't know what caused Avast to behave so on your system.
I don't install other components of Avast though, only the necessary shields. I don't need the extras.
Avast did work just fine for many years on this laptop, although it probably did slow things down just a bit.
I presume one of the recent updates is what caused the problem (maybe one within the last several months).
I was looking for a free antivirus and Avast sounded promising.
Downloaded and start to install it on a fresh windows 10 machine, after all 275 megs were downloaded started to install the antivirus and after 30 minutes still trying...
I stopped the install only to find out that the program was installed (according to windows), it was working fine but I was worried about a defective install, so I tried to uninstall it, the choices it give me were REPAIR o CHANGE but not uninstall, neither one of those choices helped me to uninstall.
Finally downloaded Revo uninstaller and got the machine clean, downloaded PANDA and in a few minutes got everything working ok.
YMMV.
The free version of Avast does NOT include a firewall, but is blocking Windows Firewall from working because it is telling Windows that it is taking care of that.. I see no way to work around this so will uninstall Avast. This is a very nasty tactic to try to force you into buying the version with firewall. I also have a paid version with all bells and whistles on another more critical computer and will not be renewing my license because of this sneakiness.
Avast was bloatware on my computer. It also kept popping up with messages advertising their other products. I'm done with antiviruses. Using a firewall and common sense instead.
I don't use Winbdows and this thread is a bit old now but unless they've changed the opt-out system since, you might find your answer here. MC - Site Manager. https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=177231.0
Avast was founded by Eduard Kučera and Pavel Baudiš in 1988. The founders met each other at the Research Institute for Mathematical Machines in Czechoslovakia.
Avast and AVG have been merged in 2016. They has the best solution for any type of virus that harms your system. As usual Avast provides a premium antivirus for free and some other premiums products too.
Avast offline installer is also available for Windows. Its quite good and required one time downloading. You can read more about from https://offline.avastdl.com.
I've been using Starter for many years and thought that seeing as AutoRuns is regarded as better that I'd give it a go.
The silly program does not even have an option of adding a new startup program. So much for my attempt at 'modernising'.
It's back to Starter for me. ;-)
I've been using a neat little utility called "Unchecky" for about 2 years now to handle that task. It runs in the background and has been very effective for me in screening out the unwanted garbage.
I use this application as a cross check with SUMO. I generally prefer to do my updates manually but this is a good choice for those who need to use their time more efficiently.
Thanks. Ultra fast scan initially. One thing is the browsers lists. Show my Chrome uptodate but no mention of Edge or the old IE 8 I keep just in case.
Otherwise nice job of handling my main apps update needs. It didn't seem to find any third part commercial installs like for broker account program. Just the regular MS & PC kind of installs. See how the Java 9 for x64 goes. Auto update from Java never detected that yet. Since those are known to not do any PUPS I'm running updates in background. Keeper,.solid portable helper. Hey, machine learning? App helping Apps....
I do have "Unchecky" and have been using it for quite some time. My concern is ,I guess, the sheer volume of downloads simultaneously and if the program can screen them all. I'll try it out on my oldest pc first and create a restore point.
I'm glad you like it. :) Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer (IE) are not on the list of supported programs so they wouldn't appear as an update option.
On the technical side I'm not sure how they handle that, but the updates that have been installed on my system that I'm certain have PUP's that you have to opt out of (Adobe Flash for one) haven't been added. I've had Patch My PC install two different Flash updates (all versions including NPAPI because I use Firefox) and the PUP's weren't included. That's one of the things I looked at before mentioning the program. I'll add it to the article. :)
Some programs like Adobe Flash have pages on their websites where programs without PUP's can be downloaded. These are useful for site admins who have to upgrade multiple systems. These pages are not easy to find. I've been downloading Adobe Flash updates from their site that's a straight download, no PUPs, since they started adding the PUP's. That might be one option Patch My PC uses. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I have this on both my Laptop & Desktop. All required updates were installed perfectly on my Laptop.
Microsoft .Net Framework 4.7.2. was installed on my Desktop PC'S D:Drive.
I posted this on their forum but no reply yet.
After reading the features of ClipBoardFusion, I think I'll stay with StripMail. https://stripmail.belenli.org/
It's simple, free and works flawlessly. Paste formatted text into StripMail and copy unformatted from it - done. It also removes white space, takes out ">" characters or indents lines by inserting them if that's what you want, it can reformat text into paragraphs without breaks if that's what you need to do. You can do it all with one button to make it easy. I've used it for years and haven't seen anything better.
I've been using for years PureText (https://stevemiller.net/puretext/).
It is mentioned as an option in the StripMail page cited above, and, if all you need is to remove formatting from text in the clipboard with the pression of a hot key, I do recommend it.
I've been using Executor for quite a few years now. It has a function that will clean text on the clipboard that I find invaluable. It's a bit complicated to set up; however, once done, it's a great launcher
How many people have an external drive that they connect all the time to a laptop? File history is great but for most people they don't have the resources or time to use it.
There are several ways to make use of File History. On all my laptops I have a slot for an SD flash card. There are 32 GB SD flash cards for sale for less than $20. If you aren't backing up videos or thousands of pictures, an inexpensive SD card or USB flash drive can be used. Also, you don't have to always have the backup device connected. The File History function detects when you attach a drive.
Hi, I dont have an external, and at the moment i don't even seem to have flash drives (dont ask) but I was able (oh sorry i'm running 8.1) was able to from the window asking u where (dvd, flash,...) I selected "Select a drive" from there i was able to assign a "network drive" and it's location by clicking, well for me it was user and i added a folder and named it Backup Drive. It is working. I hope this might help. I have assigned "network drives" on my husband computer Win7 through network setting and have essential files being backed up through our network onto his computer.
Or if it might be better (i haven't done this on my computer but have kinda on my table so please google how to do it exactly) you should be able to use personal cloud. I use Box i now have over 50gb for free for 2 years and i can upload anything and it has never fail.
I just did a quick search and I found this link with a very easy how to guide that u might find helpful, it includes how to use clouds and give links to them as well.
Had this programme working automatically on my old laptop and forgot all about it then bought a new PC with a big monitor 6 months ago and have been struggling with eye strain - even considered replacing the brand new monitor which, no matter how much I played with the brightness, didn't get rid of the problem. Feeling the immediate benefit again (I use it during the day too). Thanks for the email!
All of these applications share a fatal flaw as far as I'm concerned. None of them could automatically detect full-screen applications (games, movies..etc), so they interfere with their colors. And manually disabling and enabling as a solution is just absurd.
I actually have another PC and monitor which I use at work, purely to watch the system that monitors all of the servers I look after. I didn't want it to be overly bright or distracting. By fiddling with the brightness, colour and contrast, I did manage to get the picture to be sufficiently non-bright.
But something like F.lux or Sunset Screen is clearly simpler.
Thanks but no go for me. Win 8.1 Pro x64. Nvidia GeForce GTX 660. f-lux works for years now. This SS just flashes like on/off steadily when run. Rebooted tried some dif settings, no go. Giving Redshift a look tho f-lux prob remain choice (boy is the default white light at night a killer w/o it).
Thanks! Just tried Portable which seems to be v 1.18 and isn't flickering 3-4x a second like installed one last night, VERY noticeable. Not sure if issue will occur at night but will leave it in place and test it w/ & w/o f-lux active (active at moment). Couldn't use it at all at nite.
Did you have Flux open at the time? Make sure Flux is closed before testing. Was the flickering during the time it said "Transitioning to night" or "Transitioning to day" at the top right? If so, that may not be fixed then for you. If that happens again, please let me know, and then try changing the transition phase to 10 seconds, and see if the problem is lessened or gone.
As mentioned in my other post ( see www.techsupportalert.com/content/reminder-if-you-use-windows-just-get-fl... ) when I tried F.lux I found it too reddish for me. I also wasn't happy that it didn't have a portable version. Well, I have been trying SunsetScreen for the past week and I like it. It gives me better control over the colors and there's a portable version that's stealth too. I have also been in contact with the developer and I find he's very responsive - another plus.
Now, I know some people aren't too fond of programs running all the time, but you can easily overcome that by creating a task in Task Scheduler. Configure the task to start SunsetScreen at, say, 35 mins before sunset everyday and you're good to go. You can even add the argument "/hidewindow" (without quotes) to make it start silently in the system tray. In fact, when I raised a query with the developer, it was he who told me about that argument/parameter.
Personally, I've even started to experiment with the "Day" color. If I manage to adjust the color such that it would reduce the daytime strain on my eyes then it would be doubly useful.
It's a keeper so far.
[Edit]
It looks like the developer has joined us.
Welcome Daniel errr... I mean twinbee. It's always nice to see a developer taking such a keen interest in his software. :-)
no cam so using f-lux- wow what a difference.....what is freaking me out a bit though is that u go to the link and it knew my exact location down to the street where i am.....just can't figure how, no personal ID/ info on this machine.....all i can think is the ISP is somehow collaborating with them?
There are options other than blaming your ISP. Most PCs are uniquely identified and their geographics locations are often very precisely identified from information gathered with or without your permission on the Internet. At the highest level, most IP addresses are allocated to organizations (ISPs and the like) so their country and maybe city or region/province are known.
Accuracy increases further from more detailed location-aware services. You can even read about specific applications. Firefox web browser is upfront about this in their Firefox FAQ on the same topic.
I tested w/ & w/o f.lux active. No go tonight w/ SS. There is no rapid flickering on/off but there is no light-temp reaction, just the default bright screen of Windows. Thanks for help but easier w/ f.lux.
thanks for that! i had no idea....annoying thing though, I'm using Firefox.....and it does state 'opt in' although i never had done so.......which was why it was bugging me! hopefully solved now.......but folk should be aware they are lying there!
If you haven't opted in then Firefox isn't doing it - I just used them as an example of being more open about what happens if you do. Your issue is much more likely to result from something less obvious, like Google.
Thanks for the feedback. I presume you had SS running by ticking the "Running" checkbox. Anyway, feel free to email me if you would like to get it working, or otherwise enjoy using F.lux instead.
I uploaded a screenshot from an old black & white western movie. The image was a landscape with cattle and cowboys etc. The result was pretty good but as far as getting what I'd guess the correct colours would be but overall a bit washed out.
Next I uploaded an image of another landscape, one which had been in colour but I had used greyscale to make it black & white. The results weren't that great. The original colour image featured a brown car in the foreground, pine trees to the left, a signpost with red paint on it to the right and in the background snow covered hills. The result after colorizing was a grey car, dark coloured sign (can't really detect what colour it is, pine trees okay but green colour bleeding into some of the adjacent area making the snow green there. Not good.
I recall having previously using another colorizing site (or perhaps it was this one) and uploading the image of "The Rifelman" from the old TV series as he walks down the street in the intro. The colours were really good.
This "Unchecky" looked interesting and I went to the website to download.
I almost forgot to check with Virus Total but at the last second scanned
it before downloading. Result was 4 of 51 anti-virus engines deemed it as
malicious.
I know you guys always refer to scanning before downloading. Did you get the same results?
I right -clicked on the download button of the website and selected VT scan. You're right in that the app is clean but the URL is dirty. Would you still recommend downloading this
program?
I'm happy enough with this product but users should make up their own minds as to what they trust to install on their computer.
Softpedia finds it clean, as does Dr.Web which I used to scan the download link in real time.
http://imageshack.us/a/img545/9787/p7qg.png
There is also this notice posted in their FAQ:
My antivirus flags Unchecky as malicious.
It's a false positive. Please report about it to your antivirus company. Note that Unchecky was tested thoroughly by Softpedia and was found 100% clean.
Nevertheless, it is a beta status product so some bugs should be expected.
http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/OS-Enhancements/Unchecky.shtml
This program was recently reported in one of the other sites that I visit daily and I tried it out. It must have been on my computer for at least 2 weeks when another person mentioned it - and that's when I remembered I had put it on my computer. During that time I had downloaded and installed several programs, and not once had it raised a warning.
The bottom line is that its still in beta testing - check its version number, its less than 1.0! Yes, its a great idea, and no, its not ready for primetime yet! Bottom line, read what you're doing before you blindly click on 'Yes, Install'.
This is a list of the most recently posted comments on the site sorted so that the most recent comments appear first.
You can however sort the list on Article title by clicking on the column heading. To see actual comments click the + sign.
It would be good to note the comments at tomsguide.com on antivirus about the merger of AVG and Avast and the differences now between the two. It appears that Avast might be the better choice given recent developments. Please correct me if I am in error.
FYI - the offline "Avast! Free" installer can be found here: https://support.avast.com/en-ww/article/Install-Free-Antivirus
I am shocked - but bot surprised. How so?
Three to five AVG modules are recognized as PuPs and removed by every better clean-up program I know and regularly use. Just yesterday I delivered an originally badly messed up computer back to a customer and showed the log files of above mentioned clean-up programs to the lady. AVG were numerically among the most numerous things that showed up. And that machine is no exception.
And to name names here: The clean-up programs I refer to are JRT, Adw-Cleaner and Malwarebytes Free.
I really take issue with even still writing about AVG - and then in a place like Gizmo's Freeware that so many people have over years learned to trust.
Anybody else sensing the slippery (down-)slope ahead?
I'll say what Rob and MC are too busy or too polite to say. YOU are wrong --loudly and undeservedly offensively wrong.
First, "Potentially Unwanted Programs" MAY BE just that, "potentially unwanted". Some 'security' programs flag other programs -- security-related and otherwise-- that THEY have unilaterally determined to be "potentially unwanted" only to alert the user who, then, can make his/her own decision whether the subject is "wanted" or not. For example, the Chrome browser extension offered with Avast!'s and AVG's installers IS WANTED by many users while NOT WANTED by others and, in any event, is prominently identified as "optional" by those installers. The user can choose for him/herSELF.
Second, One of your so-called "better clean-up program[s]", namely Malwarebytes (MWB), recently, itself, has become a "potentially unwanted program" that flags so very many useful, legitimate programs as PUPs or, even as malware, that I no longer treat its findings as reliable on-their-face. It appears that MWB intentionally flags competitors' products as PUPs or malware in an insidious marketing ploy to disadvantage them. And, to add insult to injury, since going commercial, MWB has gotten so much heavier-and-heavier on system resources that I, a life-time multiple-licensee, disable it except for the periodic scan whose results I have to go through with a fine-toothed comb.
In short, no one security program is better than all others in every instance and, therefore, should not be used as THE benchmark in always assessing all others.
Finally, to answer your polemical question: No, I do not sense any slippery, downward slope here at GIZMO's Place. I suspect almost no other fair-minded, well-informed and truly experienced computer user who finds his/her way here does either. Your assertion otherwise is just another one of those Probably Unwarranted Opinions littering the Internet.
Happy New Year, anyway.
Thanks rob,
It's been a few years since I last used AVG as my default anti virus.
For the past few years, I've been using Qihoo 360 and although it's quite good, I do get the odd false positive which is frustrating.
After reading your views on AVG rob,
I'm going to divorce Qihoo 360 and hop into bed with AVG for a fling..... yep, it's time for a change.
As for AVG being flagged as a nasty...... you don't get to stay in business for more than ten years as they have, if it's not good.
Been using Avast for several years and I'm really happy with it. Particularly the Root kit scanner. Downside is more and more pop ups.
Yes, I agree that Avast is a nice piece of free anti virus......... but, the constant pop-ups forced me to get rid of it last year.
I now use "360 security"...... it's free, it works well and definitely not intrusive, ie. no pop-ups and no adds. https://www.360totalsecurity.com/en/
If your going to recommend products from both Sophos and Avast Rob, I think you should provide the pros and cons comparison that we generally get for software that falls into the same category. It's the ability of Gizmos to assist users in sorting out similar products that really sets it apart from other freeware sites.
This will be done soon at Best Free Antivirus Software in the next major update.
Personally I removed Avast free from a friend's machine it was causing issues with their back up software even after adding these to Avast whitelist.
I have also lost count on how many untech end users have been fooled by its constant pop up asking you to buy it. They purchase the software while they could of been served just fine with the free version.
I also dont like the kitchen sink approach that the software has taken into adding tweaking software etc to the app. Stick with being an anti-virus software!
Long time Avast is my main choice and recommendation for family, friends and customers. Evaluating pros and cons, I think it is one of the best free antivirus.
A tip for the ones who are annoyed with pop ups: it's possible to configure Avast for showing pop ups for just 1 second.
I also recently removed Avast from my WinXP laptop. I was having problems with mini-freezes, sluggish behavior, and most recently, complete freezes before the full boot-up was finished. I narrowed it down to Avast (the freezing, that is), and replaced it with Comodo Antivirus (just the antivirus, not their Internet Suite), since I already had the Comodo Firewall installed.
The freezing was immediately gone, and now the system seems to startup, shutdown, and run a little faster.
The specs are:
Older Compaq Presario V2000Z Laptop with Windows XP
CPU: AMD Turion 64 ML-34 single core 1.58Ghz
Ram: Total Physical = 2GB, Total Available = 1GB
Avast did work just fine for many years on this laptop, although it probably did slow things down just a bit.
I presume one of the recent updates is what caused the problem (maybe one within the last several months).
I was looking for a free antivirus and Avast sounded promising.
Downloaded and start to install it on a fresh windows 10 machine, after all 275 megs were downloaded started to install the antivirus and after 30 minutes still trying...
I stopped the install only to find out that the program was installed (according to windows), it was working fine but I was worried about a defective install, so I tried to uninstall it, the choices it give me were REPAIR o CHANGE but not uninstall, neither one of those choices helped me to uninstall.
Finally downloaded Revo uninstaller and got the machine clean, downloaded PANDA and in a few minutes got everything working ok.
YMMV.
The free version of Avast does NOT include a firewall, but is blocking Windows Firewall from working because it is telling Windows that it is taking care of that.. I see no way to work around this so will uninstall Avast. This is a very nasty tactic to try to force you into buying the version with firewall. I also have a paid version with all bells and whistles on another more critical computer and will not be renewing my license because of this sneakiness.
Avast was bloatware on my computer. It also kept popping up with messages advertising their other products. I'm done with antiviruses. Using a firewall and common sense instead.
About to uninstall AVAST as every time it updates, it installs Chrome automatically. Can't find a way to stop it so will replace it.
Very annoying!
I don't use Winbdows and this thread is a bit old now but unless they've changed the opt-out system since, you might find your answer here. MC - Site Manager. https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=177231.0
Avast was founded by Eduard Kučera and Pavel Baudiš in 1988. The founders met each other at the Research Institute for Mathematical Machines in Czechoslovakia.
Avast and AVG have been merged in 2016. They has the best solution for any type of virus that harms your system. As usual Avast provides a premium antivirus for free and some other premiums products too.
Avast offline installer is also available for Windows. Its quite good and required one time downloading. You can read more about from https://offline.avastdl.com.
I've been using Starter for many years and thought that seeing as AutoRuns is regarded as better that I'd give it a go.
The silly program does not even have an option of adding a new startup program. So much for my attempt at 'modernising'.
It's back to Starter for me. ;-)
rhiannon,
This sounds great, but how do i guard against PUP's & other unwanted add ins when auto=downloading updates?
I've been using a neat little utility called "Unchecky" for about 2 years now to handle that task. It runs in the background and has been very effective for me in screening out the unwanted garbage.
I use this application as a cross check with SUMO. I generally prefer to do my updates manually but this is a good choice for those who need to use their time more efficiently.
Thanks. Ultra fast scan initially. One thing is the browsers lists. Show my Chrome uptodate but no mention of Edge or the old IE 8 I keep just in case.
Otherwise nice job of handling my main apps update needs. It didn't seem to find any third part commercial installs like for broker account program. Just the regular MS & PC kind of installs. See how the Java 9 for x64 goes. Auto update from Java never detected that yet. Since those are known to not do any PUPS I'm running updates in background. Keeper,.solid portable helper. Hey, machine learning? App helping Apps....
hanks, crosseyedlemon:
I do have "Unchecky" and have been using it for quite some time. My concern is ,I guess, the sheer volume of downloads simultaneously and if the program can screen them all. I'll try it out on my oldest pc first and create a restore point.
I'm glad you like it. :) Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer (IE) are not on the list of supported programs so they wouldn't appear as an update option.
On the technical side I'm not sure how they handle that, but the updates that have been installed on my system that I'm certain have PUP's that you have to opt out of (Adobe Flash for one) haven't been added. I've had Patch My PC install two different Flash updates (all versions including NPAPI because I use Firefox) and the PUP's weren't included. That's one of the things I looked at before mentioning the program. I'll add it to the article. :)
Some programs like Adobe Flash have pages on their websites where programs without PUP's can be downloaded. These are useful for site admins who have to upgrade multiple systems. These pages are not easy to find. I've been downloading Adobe Flash updates from their site that's a straight download, no PUPs, since they started adding the PUP's. That might be one option Patch My PC uses. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Patch My PC has an option to create a restore point before any upgrades. It's really a well thought out app.
I use restore points often. And back up misc. files when they change or something is added. Full disc image on a regular schedule.
This is a great GUI tool, taht replaces Chocolatey for entry-level user
I have this on both my Laptop & Desktop. All required updates were installed perfectly on my Laptop.
Microsoft .Net Framework 4.7.2. was installed on my Desktop PC'S D:Drive.
I posted this on their forum but no reply yet.
I'm happy to hear all went well.
.Net installed on your D: drive? That's odd. I'm glad you let them know. You can probably download it separately and install it on your C: drive.
After reading the features of ClipBoardFusion, I think I'll stay with StripMail. https://stripmail.belenli.org/
It's simple, free and works flawlessly. Paste formatted text into StripMail and copy unformatted from it - done. It also removes white space, takes out ">" characters or indents lines by inserting them if that's what you want, it can reformat text into paragraphs without breaks if that's what you need to do. You can do it all with one button to make it easy. I've used it for years and haven't seen anything better.
As mentioned here ... a few years ago! :)
https://www.techsupportalert.com/remove-unwanted-formatting-from-text.htm
MC - Site Manager
Another good program. :)
I've been using for years PureText (https://stevemiller.net/puretext/).
It is mentioned as an option in the StripMail page cited above, and, if all you need is to remove formatting from text in the clipboard with the pression of a hot key, I do recommend it.
PureText is a wonderful program. It's been mentioned on the site a few times.
It's one of those "don't set up a computer without installing this" programs for me.
I've been using Executor for quite a few years now. It has a function that will clean text on the clipboard that I find invaluable. It's a bit complicated to set up; however, once done, it's a great launcher
How many people have an external drive that they connect all the time to a laptop? File history is great but for most people they don't have the resources or time to use it.
Hi, I dont have an external, and at the moment i don't even seem to have flash drives (dont ask) but I was able (oh sorry i'm running 8.1) was able to from the window asking u where (dvd, flash,...) I selected "Select a drive" from there i was able to assign a "network drive" and it's location by clicking, well for me it was user and i added a folder and named it Backup Drive. It is working. I hope this might help. I have assigned "network drives" on my husband computer Win7 through network setting and have essential files being backed up through our network onto his computer.
Or if it might be better (i haven't done this on my computer but have kinda on my table so please google how to do it exactly) you should be able to use personal cloud. I use Box i now have over 50gb for free for 2 years and i can upload anything and it has never fail.
I just did a quick search and I found this link with a very easy how to guide that u might find helpful, it includes how to use clouds and give links to them as well.
http://lifehacker.com/5911022/what-cool-things-can-i-do-with-all-this-fr...
Hi, thanks- this has a very user friendly GUI.
I use RedshiftGUI, which allows colour control better than f.lux, and uses half the memory of Sunset Screen.
http://maoserr.github.io/projects/redshiftgui/
(Noted Sunset Screen requires .NET 3.5 or higher - I don't think RedshiftGUI does).
RedshiftGUI is also sensitive to geographic location, which you can look up by IP address, which means (hopefully!) the times adjust accordingly.
another free alternatives
f.lux https://justgetflux.com/
RedshiftGUI http://sourceforge.net/projects/redshiftgui/
Had this programme working automatically on my old laptop and forgot all about it then bought a new PC with a big monitor 6 months ago and have been struggling with eye strain - even considered replacing the brand new monitor which, no matter how much I played with the brightness, didn't get rid of the problem. Feeling the immediate benefit again (I use it during the day too). Thanks for the email!
All of these applications share a fatal flaw as far as I'm concerned. None of them could automatically detect full-screen applications (games, movies..etc), so they interfere with their colors. And manually disabling and enabling as a solution is just absurd.
is there a linux version? made the switch permantely now few weeks back....but still still struggling a little on a few things.....
Thanks but no go for me. Win 8.1 Pro x64. Nvidia GeForce GTX 660. f-lux works for years now. This SS just flashes like on/off steadily when run. Rebooted tried some dif settings, no go. Giving Redshift a look tho f-lux prob remain choice (boy is the default white light at night a killer w/o it).
Was the flicker very slight and approx every 10 seconds? If so, this should be fixed for version 1.18. Try again and see what you think.
Thanks! Just tried Portable which seems to be v 1.18 and isn't flickering 3-4x a second like installed one last night, VERY noticeable. Not sure if issue will occur at night but will leave it in place and test it w/ & w/o f-lux active (active at moment). Couldn't use it at all at nite.
Did you have Flux open at the time? Make sure Flux is closed before testing. Was the flickering during the time it said "Transitioning to night" or "Transitioning to day" at the top right? If so, that may not be fixed then for you. If that happens again, please let me know, and then try changing the transition phase to 10 seconds, and see if the problem is lessened or gone.
As mentioned in my other post ( see www.techsupportalert.com/content/reminder-if-you-use-windows-just-get-fl... ) when I tried F.lux I found it too reddish for me. I also wasn't happy that it didn't have a portable version. Well, I have been trying SunsetScreen for the past week and I like it. It gives me better control over the colors and there's a portable version that's stealth too. I have also been in contact with the developer and I find he's very responsive - another plus.
Now, I know some people aren't too fond of programs running all the time, but you can easily overcome that by creating a task in Task Scheduler. Configure the task to start SunsetScreen at, say, 35 mins before sunset everyday and you're good to go. You can even add the argument "/hidewindow" (without quotes) to make it start silently in the system tray. In fact, when I raised a query with the developer, it was he who told me about that argument/parameter.
Personally, I've even started to experiment with the "Day" color. If I manage to adjust the color such that it would reduce the daytime strain on my eyes then it would be doubly useful.
It's a keeper so far.
[Edit]
It looks like the developer has joined us.
Welcome Daniel errr... I mean twinbee. It's always nice to see a developer taking such a keen interest in his software. :-)
thank you!
no cam so using f-lux- wow what a difference.....what is freaking me out a bit though is that u go to the link and it knew my exact location down to the street where i am.....just can't figure how, no personal ID/ info on this machine.....all i can think is the ISP is somehow collaborating with them?
I tested w/ & w/o f.lux active. No go tonight w/ SS. There is no rapid flickering on/off but there is no light-temp reaction, just the default bright screen of Windows. Thanks for help but easier w/ f.lux.
thanks for that! i had no idea....annoying thing though, I'm using Firefox.....and it does state 'opt in' although i never had done so.......which was why it was bugging me! hopefully solved now.......but folk should be aware they are lying there!
too many possibilities to be fully sure i think...
but that option was enabled in firefox, and i have now disabled it.....google cdn't have over ridden that surely?
Thanks for the feedback. I presume you had SS running by ticking the "Running" checkbox. Anyway, feel free to email me if you would like to get it working, or otherwise enjoy using F.lux instead.
Hi too, and thanks for the feedback! -Dan
Had some fun with this. Thanks.
I uploaded a screenshot from an old black & white western movie. The image was a landscape with cattle and cowboys etc. The result was pretty good but as far as getting what I'd guess the correct colours would be but overall a bit washed out.
Next I uploaded an image of another landscape, one which had been in colour but I had used greyscale to make it black & white. The results weren't that great. The original colour image featured a brown car in the foreground, pine trees to the left, a signpost with red paint on it to the right and in the background snow covered hills. The result after colorizing was a grey car, dark coloured sign (can't really detect what colour it is, pine trees okay but green colour bleeding into some of the adjacent area making the snow green there. Not good.
I recall having previously using another colorizing site (or perhaps it was this one) and uploading the image of "The Rifelman" from the old TV series as he walks down the street in the intro. The colours were really good.
Thanks.
I'm glad you had fun with it.
It was fun running 40+ images through it. I didn't have great results with the color images that were converted to grayscale either.
Hi Rob,
And a happy new year to you.
This "Unchecky" looked interesting and I went to the website to download.
I almost forgot to check with Virus Total but at the last second scanned
it before downloading. Result was 4 of 51 anti-virus engines deemed it as
malicious.
I know you guys always refer to scanning before downloading. Did you get the same results?
MC
I right -clicked on the download button of the website and selected VT scan. You're right in that the app is clean but the URL is dirty. Would you still recommend downloading this
program?
Thanks,MC
After considering all the facts I've decided to download the program.but perhaps in an excess of caution I'll disable the auto updating component.
Again,thanks for all the great work you guys do.
This program was recently reported in one of the other sites that I visit daily and I tried it out. It must have been on my computer for at least 2 weeks when another person mentioned it - and that's when I remembered I had put it on my computer. During that time I had downloaded and installed several programs, and not once had it raised a warning.
The bottom line is that its still in beta testing - check its version number, its less than 1.0! Yes, its a great idea, and no, its not ready for primetime yet! Bottom line, read what you're doing before you blindly click on 'Yes, Install'.
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