When I got this laptop 8 years ago, it came with a year's free
subscription to McAfee, and the firewall and virus checking
were useful, so I started paying the annual subscription.

But of late, McAfee has become bloated with more and more
unwelcome and unwanted facilities that it is really getting
on my tits, especially the high level of pop-ups which
suspend and interfere with my typing by taking the focus
away from whatever window I was in.

So, has McAfee itself become the virus our parents warned us against?

According to gareth evans <headstone255@yahoo.com>:
>So, has McAfee itself become the virus our parents warned us against?

Probably. If you're running a reasonably recent version of Windows, the
free anti-virus that Microsoft includes is as good as any of the paid ones.

--
Regards,
John Levine, johnl@taugh.com, Primary Perpetrator of "The Internet for Dummies",
Please consider the environment before reading this e-mail. https://jl.ly

On Fri, 15 Jul 2022, John Levine wrote:

> According to gareth evans <headstone255@yahoo.com>:
>> So, has McAfee itself become the virus our parents warned us against?
>
> Probably. If you're running a reasonably recent version of Windows, the
> free anti-virus that Microsoft includes is as good as any of the paid ones.

Proper solution: don't run windows. Simplex.

--
₪ BUD ₪

On Fri, 15 Jul 2022 16:36:04 -0000 (UTC), John Levine
<johnl@taugh.com> wrote:
>According to gareth evans <headstone255@yahoo.com>:
>>So, has McAfee itself become the virus our parents warned us against?
>
>Probably. If you're running a reasonably recent version of Windows, the
>free anti-virus that Microsoft includes is as good as any of the paid ones.

I use pcmatic. It is currently the best.
--
Jim

On Fri, 15 Jul 2022 12:06:02 +0100, gareth evans
<headstone255@yahoo.com> wrote:
>When I got this laptop 8 years ago, it came with a year's free
>subscription to McAfee, and the firewall and virus checking
>were useful, so I started paying the annual subscription.
>
>But of late, McAfee has become bloated with more and more
>unwelcome and unwanted facilities that it is really getting
>on my tits, especially the high level of pop-ups which
>suspend and interfere with my typing by taking the focus
>away from whatever window I was in.
>
>So, has McAfee itself become the virus our parents warned us against?

Several computer forums I'm on have stated that McAfee and others from
years ago should be avoided.
--
Jim

D.J. <chucktheouch@gmail.com> writes:
>On Fri, 15 Jul 2022 16:36:04 -0000 (UTC), John Levine
><johnl@taugh.com> wrote:
>>According to gareth evans <headstone255@yahoo.com>:
>>>So, has McAfee itself become the virus our parents warned us against?
>>
>>Probably. If you're running a reasonably recent version of Windows, the
>>free anti-virus that Microsoft includes is as good as any of the paid ones.
>
>I use pcmatic. It is currently the best.

In forty years of computing, I've only seen "pcmatic" in the TV
commercials. I've never seen it used in real life in business or
for personal installations. It's never discussed in the standard
technical fora for antiviral software. The commercials remind me
of Chevy Chase and his bassamatic.

On Friday, July 15, 2022 at 5:06:06 AM UTC-6, gareth evans wrote:
> So, has McAfee itself become the virus our parents warned us against?

When my parents grew up, they didn't have computers, so computer
viruses weren't one of the thing they thought about to warn their
kids about.

In fact, I was already an adult before computers stopped being
something that filled whole rooms which mere mortals used from
terminals or with punched cards... and became something we
could own ourselves.

And, on the other hand, syphillis and gonhorrea are both bacterial
rather than viral diseases. The Human Immunodeficiency Virus
was *also* unknown during my childhood.

John Savard

On 15/07/2022 18:28, Bud Spencer wrote:
> Proper solution: don't run windows. Simplex.

I run Linux, but I remember that Linux (and Mac) viruses do exist.
They're just rare.

Personal hygiene is always the best solution!

Andy

On Fri, 15 Jul 2022 18:12:15 GMT, scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal)
wrote:
>D.J. <chucktheouch@gmail.com> writes:
>>On Fri, 15 Jul 2022 16:36:04 -0000 (UTC), John Levine
>><johnl@taugh.com> wrote:
>>>According to gareth evans <headstone255@yahoo.com>:
>>>>So, has McAfee itself become the virus our parents warned us against?
>>>
>>>Probably. If you're running a reasonably recent version of Windows, the
>>>free anti-virus that Microsoft includes is as good as any of the paid ones.
>>
>>I use pcmatic. It is currently the best.
>
>In forty years of computing, I've only seen "pcmatic" in the TV
>commercials. I've never seen it used in real life in business or
>for personal installations. It's never discussed in the standard
>technical fora for antiviral software. The commercials remind me
>of Chevy Chase and his bassamatic.

I heard about it, over a year before the tv commercials.
--
Jim

According to Quadibloc <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca>:
>And, on the other hand, syphillis and gonhorrea are both bacterial
>rather than viral diseases. The Human Immunodeficiency Virus
>was *also* unknown during my childhood.

I suspect people had heard of smallpox and polio by then.

(I'm wondering how much protection the smallpox shot I got in
the 1950s gives me against monkeypox.)
--
Regards,
John Levine, johnl@taugh.com, Primary Perpetrator of "The Internet for Dummies",
Please consider the environment before reading this e-mail. https://jl.ly

John Levine <johnl@taugh.com> wrote:
> According to Quadibloc <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca>:
>> And, on the other hand, syphillis and gonhorrea are both bacterial
>> rather than viral diseases. The Human Immunodeficiency Virus
>> was *also* unknown during my childhood.
>
> I suspect people had heard of smallpox and polio by then.
>
> (I'm wondering how much protection the smallpox shot I got in
> the 1950s gives me against monkeypox.)

Monkeypox seems to be shaping up as another covid. First they say “it’s
rare, and hard to get.” Now it seems to be becoming less rare, and a lot
easier to get than originally thought.

--
Pete

On 7/15/2022 7:16 PM, Peter Flass wrote:
> John Levine <johnl@taugh.com> wrote:
>> According to Quadibloc <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca>:
>>> And, on the other hand, syphillis and gonhorrea are both bacterial
>>> rather than viral diseases. The Human Immunodeficiency Virus
>>> was *also* unknown during my childhood.
>>
>> I suspect people had heard of smallpox and polio by then.
>>
>> (I'm wondering how much protection the smallpox shot I got in
>> the 1950s gives me against monkeypox.)
>
> Monkeypox seems to be shaping up as another covid. First they say “it’s
> rare, and hard to get.” Now it seems to be becoming less rare, and a lot
> easier to get than originally thought.
>
Still sounds like it requires close physical contact, which is of
course pretty common. Not an STD, but not airborne like covid unless
your faces are very close together.

On 7/15/2022 12:51 PM, D.J. wrote:
> On Fri, 15 Jul 2022 16:36:04 -0000 (UTC), John Levine
> <johnl@taugh.com> wrote:
>> According to gareth evans <headstone255@yahoo.com>:
>>> So, has McAfee itself become the virus our parents warned us against?
>>
>> Probably. If you're running a reasonably recent version of Windows, the
>> free anti-virus that Microsoft includes is as good as any of the paid ones.
>
> I use pcmatic. It is currently the best.
> --
> Jim

I've never seen it in use, but Pcmatic has an interesting approach. If
a program isn't whitelisted, it's blocked. Supposedly blocked programs
will be checked within 24 hours, but the PCMag review said that after
3 days most hadn't been. Lot of false positives. I guess once you've
sorted everything out, it's ok so long as you don't make changes.

John's right, Windows Defender is decent if not outstanding, a far cry
from the days when MS "AV" was a joke. McAfee is bloated beyond
usefulness. On my Win machine I used Kaspersky until the current
Russo-paranoia, now a different (and non-USA) AV where the free
version isn't too obnoxious. But I have pretty good hygiene, it's been
ages since anything tripped (and I do visit some disreputable sites).

On Fri, 15 Jul 2022 23:20:22 -0500
Dave Garland <dave.garland@wizinfo.com> wrote:

> On 7/15/2022 12:51 PM, D.J. wrote:
> > On Fri, 15 Jul 2022 16:36:04 -0000 (UTC), John Levine
> > <johnl@taugh.com> wrote:
> >> According to gareth evans <headstone255@yahoo.com>:
> >>> So, has McAfee itself become the virus our parents warned us against?
> >>
> >> Probably. If you're running a reasonably recent version of Windows, the
> >> free anti-virus that Microsoft includes is as good as any of the paid ones.
> >
> > I use pcmatic. It is currently the best.
> > --
> > Jim
>
> I've never seen it in use, but Pcmatic has an interesting approach. If
> a program isn't whitelisted, it's blocked. Supposedly blocked programs
> will be checked within 24 hours, but the PCMag review said that after
> 3 days most hadn't been. Lot of false positives. I guess once you've
> sorted everything out, it's ok so long as you don't make changes.
>
> John's right, Windows Defender is decent if not outstanding, a far cry
> from the days when MS "AV" was a joke. McAfee is bloated beyond
> usefulness. On my Win machine I used Kaspersky until the current
> Russo-paranoia, now a different (and non-USA) AV where the free
> version isn't too obnoxious. But I have pretty good hygiene, it's been
> ages since anything tripped (and I do visit some disreputable sites).
>
I run (an ancient) firewall; it won't stop my PC getting infected, but
I'll see if/when anything dubious 'phones home'. Not had anything in years
(I hope I haven't just jinxed it!).

--
Bah, and indeed Humbug.

On 16/07/2022 05:04, Dave Garland wrote:
> On 7/15/2022 7:16 PM, Peter Flass wrote:
>> John Levine <johnl@taugh.com> wrote:
>>> According to Quadibloc <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca>:
>>>> And, on the other hand, syphillis and gonhorrea are both bacterial
>>>> rather than viral diseases. The Human Immunodeficiency Virus
>>>> was *also* unknown during my childhood.
>>>
>>> I suspect people had heard of smallpox and polio by then.
>>>
>>> (I'm wondering how much protection the smallpox shot I got in
>>> the 1950s gives me against monkeypox.)
>>
>> Monkeypox seems to be shaping up as another covid. First they say “it’s
>> rare, and hard to get.” Now it seems to be becoming less rare, and a lot
>> easier to get than originally thought.
>>
> Still sounds like it requires close physical contact, which is of course
> pretty common. Not an STD, but not airborne like covid unless your faces
> are very close together.
>

Herpes is known as the wounded disease, because it travels the World
on crutches.

Old Brit Navy joke ...

Doctor, I think I've been infected by Hermes.

.... I think you mean Herpes.

No, I'm definitely a carrier!

On 7/15/22 19:16, Peter Flass wrote:
> John Levine <johnl@taugh.com> wrote:
>> According to Quadibloc <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca>:
>>> And, on the other hand, syphillis and gonhorrea are both bacterial
>>> rather than viral diseases. The Human Immunodeficiency Virus
>>> was *also* unknown during my childhood.
>>
>> I suspect people had heard of smallpox and polio by then.
>>
>> (I'm wondering how much protection the smallpox shot I got in
>> the 1950s gives me against monkeypox.)

About as much protection as 'Big Bubba' your new cellmate provides when
he says, "Hey, fresh fish, don't you worry! I'll *protect* you!

> Monkeypox seems to be shaping up as another covid. First they say “it’s
> rare, and hard to get.” Now it seems to be becoming less rare, and a lot
> easier to get than originally thought.

Not a single, verifiable isolate of COVID exists. But only extremist
bumpkins would dare question it.

Your lords and masters could invent a new, fictitious 'dreaded gumboo'
virus every week and you slaves would run out to get 52 jabs and 156
boosters every year. And you would call for the heads of everyone who
dares to endanger humanity by refusing all 208 annual shots. Some of you
would demand internment camps for any people who believe 208 jabs per
year is a tad excessive.

There is no virus. It's a scam. The fact you are not talking about the
obvious speaks volumes. Until you actually question the lies you are
being spoonfed, I know you are arrogant stooges, and you deserve the
medical and political abuse you so slavishly allow.

Allow me to redneck it down for you: they are lying to you, and you love
to be lied to and abused. Your civilization has been conquered by a
hostile foreign cabal who hates you and rules by deceit, and you can't
even see it. You're too busy blowing smoke up each others' asses to see
anything.

The modern 'science' of virology and immunology are Roman quack
medicine. It's medieval demonology updated for rubes who consider
themselves more 'sophisticated' than those medieval peasants.

For those who don't know their history, consider this.

The government required masking 100 years ago with the fake Spanish Flu
pandemic. A series of 26 vaccines was forced on hundreds of millions of
people. The vaccines killed 75 million people. A health department
officer shot a man for refusing to wear a mask in one city. Many more
who refused to participate in the religious masking ritual had their
lives and livelihoods destroyed.

The government required masking 200 years ago.

The government required masking 300 years ago, well before the existence
of germs had even been discovered. In the 1720s, the government mandated
quarantines and mask-wearing in Philadelphia, due to a yellow fever
outbreak. The only problem is that yellow fever is a tropical disease
and cannot survive as far north as Philadelphia. It was a made-up, fake
pandemic of a disease that didn't even exist in that region.

The government required quarantines and masking 100 years before that,
and again 100 years before that, and so on. This religious submission
ritual goes back many centuries in the annals of history. It's a boiling
frog exercise in submission to 'authority' that the empire rolls out at
least once every 100 years. The fear and panic it creates in the
populace makes them easy to control and ready to believe any lie spoken
by authority.

You are slaves. And you deserve to be slaves. Kiss the hands that feed
you. Your Roman Catholic masters hate you, because you by your
capitulation to their obvious lies, prove your weakness to them, and
embolden them to push the envelope. Now they are coming openly to fuck
your children in the ass, and training your children in Kindergarten to
submit to anal ass raping with GLBT indoctrination. This is how a
conquering army operates. They rape your women and children as a form of
terror.

--

Redneck

Norton on my one windows machine is exactly the same. more and more
addons that I dont want and fight like blazes every year to cancel the
"Autorenew"

RayH

On 2022-07-16, Redneck <spam@red.neck> wrote:
> On 7/15/22 19:16, Peter Flass wrote:
>> John Levine <johnl@taugh.com> wrote:
>>> According to Quadibloc <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca>:
>>>> And, on the other hand, syphillis and gonhorrea are both bacterial
>>>> rather than viral diseases. The Human Immunodeficiency Virus
>>>> was *also* unknown during my childhood.
>>>
>>> I suspect people had heard of smallpox and polio by then.
>>>
>>> (I'm wondering how much protection the smallpox shot I got in
>>> the 1950s gives me against monkeypox.)
>
> About as much protection as 'Big Bubba' your new cellmate provides when
> he says, "Hey, fresh fish, don't you worry! I'll *protect* you!
>
>> Monkeypox seems to be shaping up as another covid. First they say “it’s
>> rare, and hard to get.” Now it seems to be becoming less rare, and a lot
>> easier to get than originally thought.
>
> Not a single, verifiable isolate of COVID exists. But only extremist
> bumpkins would dare question it.
>

> You are slaves. And you deserve to be slaves. Kiss the hands that feed
> you. Your Roman Catholic masters hate you, because you by your
> capitulation to their obvious lies, prove your weakness to them, and
> embolden them to push the envelope. Now they are coming openly to fuck
> your children in the ass, and training your children in Kindergarten to
> submit to anal ass raping with GLBT indoctrination. This is how a
> conquering army operates. They rape your women and children as a form of
> terror.
>
> --
>
> Redneck

The spanish flu existed. I remember people talking about it, the whole
world suffered from it.

--
greymausg@mail.com
"Are you sure that you can live on your investments after retirement?
If not, send us all your money."

On Fri, 15 Jul 2022 23:20:22 -0500, Dave Garland
<dave.garland@wizinfo.com> wrote:
>On 7/15/2022 12:51 PM, D.J. wrote:
>> On Fri, 15 Jul 2022 16:36:04 -0000 (UTC), John Levine
>> <johnl@taugh.com> wrote:
>>> According to gareth evans <headstone255@yahoo.com>:
>>>> So, has McAfee itself become the virus our parents warned us against?
>>>
>>> Probably. If you're running a reasonably recent version of Windows, the
>>> free anti-virus that Microsoft includes is as good as any of the paid ones.
>>
>> I use pcmatic. It is currently the best.
>> --
>> Jim
>
>I've never seen it in use, but Pcmatic has an interesting approach. If
>a program isn't whitelisted, it's blocked. Supposedly blocked programs
>will be checked within 24 hours, but the PCMag review said that after
>3 days most hadn't been. Lot of false positives. I guess once you've
>sorted everything out, it's ok so long as you don't make changes.
>
>John's right, Windows Defender is decent if not outstanding, a far cry
>from the days when MS "AV" was a joke. McAfee is bloated beyond
>usefulness. On my Win machine I used Kaspersky until the current
>Russo-paranoia, now a different (and non-USA) AV where the free
>version isn't too obnoxious. But I have pretty good hygiene, it's been
>ages since anything tripped (and I do visit some disreputable sites).

PcMatic can be set to 'ask me' for any program previously not
installed/used. I set it that way.

It did tend to change back to 'always block', but that has been fixed.
I have it set in its menus to ask me.
--
Jim

On Sat, 16 Jul 2022 06:45:02 -0500, Redneck <spam@red.neck> wrote:
>On 7/15/22 19:16, Peter Flass wrote:
>> John Levine <johnl@taugh.com> wrote:
>>> According to Quadibloc <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca>:
>>>> And, on the other hand, syphillis and gonhorrea are both bacterial
>>>> rather than viral diseases. The Human Immunodeficiency Virus
>>>> was *also* unknown during my childhood.
>>>
>>> I suspect people had heard of smallpox and polio by then.
>>>
>>> (I'm wondering how much protection the smallpox shot I got in
>>> the 1950s gives me against monkeypox.)
>
>About as much protection as 'Big Bubba' your new cellmate provides when
>he says, "Hey, fresh fish, don't you worry! I'll *protect* you!
>
>> Monkeypox seems to be shaping up as another covid. First they say “it’s
>> rare, and hard to get.” Now it seems to be becoming less rare, and a lot
>> easier to get than originally thought.
>
>Not a single, verifiable isolate of COVID exists. But only extremist
>bumpkins would dare question it.
>
>Your lords and masters could invent a new, fictitious 'dreaded gumboo'
>virus every week and you slaves would run out to get 52 jabs and 156
>boosters every year. And you would call for the heads of everyone who
>dares to endanger humanity by refusing all 208 annual shots. Some of you
>would demand internment camps for any people who believe 208 jabs per
>year is a tad excessive.
>
>There is no virus. It's a scam. The fact you are not talking about the
>obvious speaks volumes. Until you actually question the lies you are
>being spoonfed, I know you are arrogant stooges, and you deserve the
>medical and political abuse you so slavishly allow.

You are the liar. Over 1 million dead just in the US from covid
..
--
Jim

On 7/16/22 09:31, maus wrote:
> The spanish flu existed. I remember people talking about it, the whole
> world suffered from it.

Of course. The whole world once suffered from the curses of Moloch on
their harvest, and the curses of Moloch that caused disease, until they
followed the science and sacrificed their children in bonfires to
Moloch. Many lives were saved from the wrath of Moloch with 'booster
burnings' to ensure future immunity. I remember, it was real.

Pull your head out of your grundle. The plandemic is fake and you are a
dupe. You are lining your children up to be injected with poison because
of your peasant superstitions about invisible germs.

You hate your children. You especially hate other people's children. But
you love Moloch's medical priests, and you will talk about the 'safety
of children' as you sell them into slavery.

--

Redneck

On 7/16/22 10:15, D.J. wrote:
>> There is no virus. It's a scam. The fact you are not talking about the
>> obvious speaks volumes. Until you actually question the lies you are
>> being spoonfed, I know you are arrogant stooges, and you deserve the
>> medical and political abuse you so slavishly allow.
> You are the liar. Over 1 million dead just in the US from covid

You are a sucker, suck-up, and useful idiot.

The dead who died from the plandemic died from intubation, medical
neglect, and dangerous experimental vaccines.

You helped murder those people with your support of the big lie. You are
a murderer!

--

Redneck

On 2022-07-16, D.J <chucktheouch@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Sat, 16 Jul 2022 06:45:02 -0500, Redneck <spam@red.neck> wrote:
>>On 7/15/22 19:16, Peter Flass wrote:
>>> John Levine <johnl@taugh.com> wrote:
>>>> According to Quadibloc <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca>:
>>being spoonfed, I know you are arrogant stooges, and you deserve the
>>medical and political abuse you so slavishly allow.
>
> You are the liar. Over 1 million dead just in the US from covid
> .
> --
> Jim

Ignore the troll, I was tempted, Lord, and succumed.

--
greymausg@mail.com
"Are you sure that you can live on your investments after retirement?
If not, send us all your money."

maus <maus@dmaus.org> writes:

> On 2022-07-16, D.J <chucktheouch@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Sat, 16 Jul 2022 06:45:02 -0500, Redneck <spam@red.neck> wrote:
>>>On 7/15/22 19:16, Peter Flass wrote:
>>>> John Levine <johnl@taugh.com> wrote:
>>>>> According to Quadibloc <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca>:
>>>being spoonfed, I know you are arrogant stooges, and you deserve the
>>>medical and political abuse you so slavishly allow.
>>
>> You are the liar. Over 1 million dead just in the US from covid
>> .
>> --
>> Jim
>
> Ignore the troll, I was tempted, Lord, and succumed.

Yep. Another one too stupid to even try to reason with.

--
Dan Espen

On Sat, 16 Jul 2022 10:27:01 -0500, Redneck <nospam@red.neck> wrote:
>On 7/16/22 10:15, D.J. wrote:
>>> There is no virus. It's a scam. The fact you are not talking about the
>>> obvious speaks volumes. Until you actually question the lies you are
>>> being spoonfed, I know you are arrogant stooges, and you deserve the
>>> medical and political abuse you so slavishly allow.
>> You are the liar. Over 1 million dead just in the US from covid
>
>You are a sucker, suck-up, and useful idiot.
>
>The dead who died from the plandemic died from intubation, medical
>neglect, and dangerous experimental vaccines.
>
>You helped murder those people with your support of the big lie. You are
>a murderer!

Aw, the crazy man is trying to lecture on on how stupid he is.
--
Jim