January 7, 2008

Dear Sassy: On my home computer I have Norton anti-virus program that I run. Do I also need to run SpyBot as well?
~I Just Wanna be Safe

Dear Safe: With all the different programs and technical catch phrases it is hard to know really what we need on our computers. Spybot helps to eliminate spyware. Spyware's purpose is to transmit our information to others without our knowledge. Not a good thing! The anti-virus software (Norton, McAfee) is just that - it eliminates viruses from our computers. Spybot is free and is a valuable addition to the anti-virus program that you already use. Sassy's recommendation is to use both Spybot and an anti-virus program just to be safe.

March 6, 2007

Dear Sassy: I'm embarrased to ask this, but if I specify Norton anti-virus to run when "idle" does that mean my computer has to be connected to the Internet through my isp provider or, that my computer has to just be turned on? If it just has to be turned on, then how do I know Norton is running and when it is finished so I can turn off my computer? (Dial-up blocks telephone calls).
~ To be continued...

Dear Continued: Good follow up question! When the computer is "idle" it just means that it isn't running any programs, being idle doesn't have anything to do with Internet connectivity. For Norton to update its virus definitions, your computer must be connected to the Internet. Now, once your machine has the new definitions, you can disconnect from the Internet and run the Norton software to scan your machine.

From the past questions regarding Norton and your Internet use, it may benefit you more to complete all of your work on your machine and then manually update the Norton definitions, disconnect from the Internet and run the Norton scan software (in that order). When you manually run the software there should be a window showing the progress of the scan. This window will also be an indicator on when Norton is finished scanning so that you can shut down your machine.

March 5, 2007

Dear Sassy: I still have a few more questions regarding my anti-virus software. Can I specify when it runs? It seems to slow down my dial-up connection even slower. Can I check my email before it starts running, and then leave my computer on to do the Norton scan when I'm done working?
~Part deux on Anti-virus

Dear Deux: Keep the questions coming! Sassy wants to make sure that you have all the information you need to keep you and your machine happy. You can specify when the anti-virus software will run. Sassy does not have Norton installed, but you should be able to open up the program (Norton) to look to find where you can define options. With McAfee (like on our work machines) click Start > Programs > Network Associates > VirusScan Console. Once this opens you can specify when it will run as well as when the program will update.

For your home machine, instead of defining a time in which to update/run your software you may want to designate a time frame. In McAfee there are a few alternative choices you can make: At System Startup (where you can place a delay) or When Idle. If you select one of these options, this will guarantee that your machine will update on a regular basis (since your machine will be on) and hopefully not slow down your Internet connection too much.

March 5, 2007

Dear Sassy: How important is it to update my Norton Virus software annually on my home computer? It requires an annual fee of about $35.00. I have spybot search and destroy as well as automatic updates from various MS software products.
~ Frugal at home

Dear Frugal: If you get on the Internet at all on your home machine then you need an anti-virus software such as Norton or McAfee. The $35 annual investment for Norton is minimal compared to the damage viruses can inflict on your computer. Perhaps re-registering your software occurs on an annual basis but you need to update your software on a daily basis (or however frequently you get on your home computer). Sassy is sure that is what you meant, but did want to clarify.

December 4, 2006

Dear Sassy: During the “Geeks Bearing Gifts” class Michelle talked about making sure our computers were up to date on the anti virus software. How do we check that?
~ Anti Virus in the Cold Weather

Dear Anti Virus: This is a very good question, Sassy is SO glad that you are in tune with keeping your computer safe. First let me explain a little about the functions of the anti virus software. For our purposes there are two important aspects to remember regarding McAfee (our anti virus software.) One is that viruses are always popping up so new definitions are made to block those viruses.

So this makes it very important to Update your McAfee so that it has all the new definitions. And two, after your McAfee is updated, it is also very important to Run the software. Both of these steps go hand in hand, and Sassy can go on and on about their importance… so update and run

Most, if not all, of our machines update and then run on a daily basis. To check to see when your machine is scheduled Click on Start >> Programs >> Network Associates >> VirusScan Console. This will open up a new window where you should see AutoUpdate and Scan. You can change the schedule by double clicking on each feature. Let Sassy know if you run into any problems, I would be glad to assist.


Dear Sassy: I was attempting to perform a search in PubMed, and received the message below. What does this mean?

Bad Gateway!
The proxy server received an invalid response from an upstream server. If you think this is a server error, please contact the webmaster.
Error 502
~ Hating the Bad Gateway in Caddo

Dear Hating: Wow, it appears by your signature that you have a lot of frustration. Maybe you need to get a cheeseburger from Herby K’s? Never fear, this really isn’t as bad of an error message as it appears. Let me explain what it means. The 502 Bad Gateway error is an HTTP status code that means that one server received an invalid response from another server that it was accessing while attempting to load the web page.

Whew! And now the jargon free explanation is that there was a connection problem between the two servers. The best thing to do is to try to access PubMed again by clicking Refresh. If you are still experiencing problems accessing this page, you may want to contact the webmaster at the address listed on the error page and advise them of the error message you received. Most importantly this error message does NOT mean there is anything wrong with your machine or the internet connection.