How many Windows user never encounter a virus? Unless you’re not connect to Internet. Chances are, all Windows users knows about computer viruses, but little are aware of how to solve it.

When you’re surfing online, be it online shop or insurance online, you are risking your computer.

Here are a few steps I find useful, according to my experience

Turn off system restore

Once you encounter a virus, turn off the system restore at once. Some virus can trace back into system restore and ruin all restoration the computer generated. This may result a total missing of files and folders.

Safe mode

When you log into safe mode, a lot services/processes will be stopped. Network is one of them. Some viruses depend on certain services/processes to work probably. There are times I log into safe mode, and delete the virus manually, and it works!

Anti virus, please?

There are a few users don’t like to install anti-virus programs, they find it resources consuming and depend heavily on System Restore. The bad news is, if you don’t have an anti-virus program to warn you about virus, the virus may already ruin all your restoration. Formating become the way to kill the virus as well as your hard drive.

After a few experience of small and big viruses, I started to be very caution of websites I surf and program I download. Majority of computer users don’t like to read, especially a warning pop-up. They will blame it on Windows that is not working well, when the fact is the warning is to tell them what to be caution for.

These steps is no guaranteed though, but it may works under some virus.

So I’ve finally decided to join the Window 7 cult. I like it to be how it should be as an operating system. As my idea about the taskbar is a failure I guess. But anyhow, here are my list of things to complaint and praise:

Good taskbar (The Good)

I like it when I can adjust and manage my windows taskbar. My arrangement is like this: Frequent used to Occasion used.

Annoying taskbar too (The bad)

Seriously, the preview is wasting time. Why would one need it? If you know and understand the consumer behavior about the Dock in Macintosh, you should applied what Macintosh has. It’s your R&D sleeping on the day job. I hate MSN to be appear there when it should be in a tray icon.

Good speed (The Good)

Seriously, the startup has been improved from Vista. It’s like taking safe weight loss pills. Well, good eye-candy on booting screen, I like it the most.

Task manager (The bad)

So they said, they have speed up the system by cutting down all the nonsense process. But, do they really work like that? Not exactly. At first grace, you might notice that there are less than expected process in the list, because they hided all others processes. Click on the “Show processes from all users” and you’ll see all the processes like you used to see on Windows XP and surprisingly, it is more than what Windows XP used to have. Improvement? I’ll see it later again.

Recently I bought another laptop for my wife as her work station. However, it comes with Windows 7, which both of us are not familiar with it, and not to mention has no time to explore more about it. So we decided to change it to Windows XP. Problems started when we can’t find the Wireless driver. The Intel Wireless WiFi Link 5100 stated from my research does not work with this laptop, don’t understand why. We’ve check by phone with friends and Google search, not much finding…

Windows 7 has been a pain in the ass for us. I’ve tried Windows Vista before, though the interface are similar but the rest is different. Things I don’t like to see in Windows 7 and some in Windows Vista are:

1. Start menu – No bigger display?
2. Explorer Information – Why so much crowded?
3. Effect – Whatever it is, I’m looking for productivity not eye candy

Still stick with Windows XP and Ubuntu at the moment

It’s funny how Microsoft respect consumers by giving downgrade option on Vista. In Windows 7, you’ll have to have a copy of either Windows 7 Professional or Windows 7 Ultimate to have the downgrade option, the rest version of Windows 7 cannot be downgrade. Well, probably because they aren’t paying too much for that license.

Anyhow, if you notice that Windows 7 is booting from hard drive to DVD rom, which is close to impossible to boot from CD like usual when you formatting Windows XP. Seriously, this is much more than appetite suppressants. Microsoft has been killing me off day by day with their forcefulness of product.

Now I’m trying to wipe the entire Windows 7 to Ubuntu then to Windows XP again. It seems to be some problem with my Windows XP disk when detecting in Windows 7…

I almost forgotten that I am a full time Ubuntu user back in KL. After a hectic week rushing for work with a PC, I get used with Photoshop so much that, I would even start designing in Photoshop at first, which I forgot to start “learn” to get myself out of Photoshop and learn GIMP

As a Windows users for the past 20 years, it is too easy to get use to Windows in a day or two. Just like public toilet, even they are not Grohe faucets, but you’ll get used to it just by turning it to right or pressing it.

Anyway, back to topic. In order to make sure I can completely out of Windows, I need to do design in sketches instead of in Photoshop directly, that is the learning I’m approaching right now