Jeff Liebermann wrote in
:

On Mon, 10 Aug 2009 10:29:38 +0000 (UTC), bz
wrote:

3) install ALL updates.

Chuckle. I recently ran an interesting experiment. I installed XP
SP2 from scratch on my Dell Optiplex 755 computah.

Anything less than SP3+latest updates is very vulnerable.
We use XP pro with SP3 slipstreamed in for our installs.
Of course, we have site a license.

Along the way, I
timed how long it took to boot up from a cold start to when all disk
activity ceased (using task manager).

Initial load of XP SP2 with no updates: 20 sec
After installing all updates (except Windoze Live): 50 sec
After installing virus scanners and assorted utilities: 120 sec
After installing various productivity applications and their
assorted updates: 150 sec
After using the machine for about 3 weeks: 200 sec and climbing.

While this is not really a good benchmark, it's this initial bootup
delay that many users base their perception of a computers speed.

A lot of Grad Students bringing me their laptops, saying "It is running
slow".

'Hm... 256 Mb ram.... Put more ram in it! I suggest you max it out.'
'Hm... your anti virus definitions are 6 months old! Your computer is
compromised. Time to back up your data and reformat, reinstall.'
'Set your anti virus program to update DAILY. There are hundreds of new
viruses released each day.'
'Hm... running a virus scan on your hard drive, with it mounted as a
secondary drive on a known clean machine shows that you have thousands of
infected files, many worms, viruses, and spyware varieties. Yep time to
reformat and reinstall.'
'Get rid of all those toolbars. Turn off the Messenger programs. If you don't
need it for your research, don't run it on your computer.'

'Oh, by the way, I knew a guy that had 9 years worth of research notes in his
car.
His car caught fire and burned.
He never finished his research.
And a few years later, he blew his brains out.
I suggest that you make frequent backups.
And, for goodness sake,
keep your backups in a different location from your computer!!!!!'









--
bz 73 de N5BZ k

please pardon my infinite ignorance, the set-of-things-I-do-not-know is an
infinite set.