F_M_J

The popup only comes up when the program updates, and one click and it is gone. It is only an add to purchase the software. It is not random advertising, nor is it any kind of malware or adware. One click and it is gone until the next time you update it.

It is simple to control and easy to avoid if it bothers you so much. Personally, it doesn't bother me a bit, and it helps remind me just how often it updates and is keeping up to date and providing excellent protection.

Don't like the popup? You could always just disable auto update, and manually update it every day or so, that way you can predict exactly when the popup will occur.

It really is a small price to pay for arguable the best free anti virus program currently available.

Avast! is not bade, but it is heavier on the resources and a bit slower on the scan.

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Since it's a one-time payment of $25 for the real-time MalwareBytes (if I recall correctly), I might go ahead and fork that up. I'm not the only person who uses my PC.

So now it's looking like AVG (free) + ZoneAlarm (free) plus MalwareBytes (paid) -- still a good, cheap solution, from all I'm hearing.

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I would substitute Avira AntiVir Personal for AVG. Smaller footprint, more reliable detection and faster scanning. Switch ZA for something else and you will be good to go!

I used ZA Free for many years, but it just became more and more bloated and heavier on the system resources while becoming less and less effective. They have removed so many features that used to be included in the free version, it is just a shadow of its former self. There are other software firewalls that are more effective with smaller footprints.

Here is the latest comparison from ZA own site showing just how little the free firewall actually does. It is clear they want people to purchase their product and the free version is meant as more of an advertising tool than actual protection.
Zone Alarm Comparison

You may find this a suitable alternative. I have used it on a different system that is not behind a router and it worked quite well and is also free. PC Tools Firewall Plus

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Incorrect. Malwarebytes does indeed have real time protection. However, to obtain this level of protection you need to purchase the software. As for its efficacy, it is very effective and has a small footprint.

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Spybot Seek and Destroy has real time protection and is free.

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Malwarebytes(free edition) > Spybot S&D IMO. I have tried both, and prefer Malwarebytes.

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Agree with Bill, but I will point out that MalwareBytes, while being excellent at spyware removal, has no real-time protection.

Then again, most of the real-time protection I've seen on spyware products has been fairly useless with some of the newer spyware that is out there.

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Incorrect. Malwarebytes does indeed have real time protection. However, to obtain this level of protection you need to purchase the software. As for its efficacy, it is very effective and has a small footprint.

However, if real-time protection isn't all that important to you, the free version is just as effective as the paid version, just without a few options, none of which hurts the programs effectiveness in any way.

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I use Norton 360. Always liked Norton more, but no particular reason. Considering they are fairly large and still around, I think its safe to assume they know what they are doing for virus protection.

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Norton used to be a horribly bloated pig. It was terrible. I *hear* it's much better now but I don't have personal experience because I stopped using it over a year ago.

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I have this same opinion of AVG and ZoneAlarm. I use Avira AntiVir (free) for AV protection (one of, if not the the best in industry atm) and I dont use a software firewall since I have a hardware router. I do run NetLimiter in the background to keep tabs on the amount of traffic being sent and what is sending it to where. I run Malwarebytes every Friday but it has yet to find anything but cookies so I assume my protection is quite adequate.

p.s. I also use Firefox with the NoScript, BetterPrivacy, and a few other addons that pretty much neuters any malware/scripts from ever doing any damage.

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I do have an external hd.

I also have flashdrives.

This virus was apparently on my ssystem in wait for awhile because the last time I backed up my files, it got in apparently (might have even been before the last backup... several backups ago. Its been in there for at least 2 months)


It can apparently cross USB. It spawns hundreds of other virus' and they do the damage to the computer. I've gotten several names over all of this and continue to remove them all. Its corrupted dozens of files and locks me out of programs and areas of my computer.

It apparently had a keylogger on my computer so I had to change all my passwords from email to bank and beyond.


I've had professionals that have looked at my computer and continually go "wow" or "oh [censored]" and other phrases as what they attempt to do is blocked.


I did get lucky and have weakened the virus. It now is not fully working while in safe mode. I can run normal anti-virus software for a bit without it becoming corrupted or having to close.


Last night I had a geek squad guy change settings on my computer and weaken the virus even more. I am in safe mode right now attempting to reformat my hd and then move my files over again. At this point they say it will at least be easier for them to combat one virus rather than hundreds.


As for why I posted it here. I was looking for help. I have had one person send me a tell givign some advice and offering help. If this guy that is working on my computer currently can not help, I will be asking them for help and more advice from there on and aswell as anyone here who is willing to offer it.


Thank you for those that are offering help. To those that are being OCD about correct area and those bashing me for not backing up my important stuff - bite me.

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Actually, you mentioned nothing of asking for help in your OP. It was nothing but emo drivel.

On another note, glad to hear you are making progress in the cleaning of your system.

screwed? lol, its a BETA OS! To expect ANY software to work perfectly on it is ludicrous. You must not have read the large warning when you downloaded it detailing the rather likely possibility that some or even most of your software may not work on it.

hehe, Vista to XP is an UPGRADE, not a downgrade :P

I am sorry you lost your work, but it was no ones fault but your own. I am amazed that you would not back up work that is so important to you. There is a reason people make backups, and this is a prime example.

Also, this is post does not belong here as you have not asked for any technical assistance, nor do you have any issues relating to CoX.

Don't flatter yourself, I do not go looking for posts by you and create reasons to be argumentative, you present these reasons yourself. All you do is insult people who disagree with you and toss out personal attacks. I have given proof in the past and will do so again.

Pull out a copy of a current game title and look under the Graphics section, $5 says the game has been tested on and runs best with nVidia hardware, and then it gives specific product numbers that were tested. Do you see where it says the ATI models that it was tested on and runs best with...oh, wait...there aren't any.

Of course the logos serve a marketing purpose, but that is not there only purpose. The label placement is most often earned and not just paid for. This is an indication to the consumer that the most popular and largest gaming video card manufacturer has been thoroughly tested and designed to work best with this product. I said nothing about an nvidia logo, only what the old ATI logo on the front page was possibly from.

How long have you worked in the video game industry to attain such specific and absolute knowledge of the specific testing that goes into developing, testing, and then producing a graphic engine? And no, your time spent reselling used game carts at GameStop does not count.

Me? I have worked in the industry off and on for going on 11 years now and have worked with several different production and design companies all specializing in graphic design and development. Unfortunately due to contract limitations I am unable to mention most, and the few that I can have been bought or absorbed by larger companies.

The systems used to develop, test and create these games have video cards in them, and the overwhelming cards in them are nvidia. As I said, they do test them on other platforms to ensure a measure of stability and performance, but they pay specific attention to the target market that the game is intended for and then tweak and enhance the engine according to the specific abilities, and limitations of those cards.

One company out of 6 (that I worked for) went beyond just compatibility testing on ATI cards, and tried to tweak it as well as the nvidia cards were working. The hardware has relatively the same capabilities however the drivers were far less accommodating and quite a bit more difficult to work with from a designers point of view.

I am done doing your work for you, if you want to educate yourself Google is a wonderful thing. You have made up your mind and no amount of evidence will dissuade you so I won't waste any more of my valuable time.

Can I give you some advice? The next time someone disagrees you with, and you post a reply, try and leave out the personal attacks. Personal attacks are when a person substitutes abusive remarks for evidence when attacking another person's claim or claims. This line of "reasoning" is fallacious because the attack is directed at the person making the claim and not the claim itself. The truth value of a claim is independent of the person making the claim. In general, it is best to focus one's attention on the content of the claim and not on who made the claim. It is the content that determines the truth of the claim and not the characteristics of the person making the claim.

Yep, Mateo and Xmas are 100% correct, this is a dead horse that has been beaten many many times.

I am sorry you got your hopes up, but your plan will not work, period.

One day they may fix the drivers, but until then...

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As for the ATI thing this one is kind of obvious, just whose logo do you see at the bottom of the page?

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And the www.cityofheroes.com front page has ATI, its completely obvious that any 3rd party logo anywhere is a marketing thing and has absolutely nothing to do with any sort of special compatibility.

Heck, they still have Ageia down below there, and it doesn't exist as a company at all today.

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Ageia may not exist commercially, but there technology still does, and the game continues to use PhysX technology, so the logo has a valid reason for being there.

As for your totally blanket statement, you are incorrect. Yes games are designed to "run" on a broad spectrum of video cards, but many companies also specifically test and tweak their engines to perform at their optimum on specific makes and models of cards. The sticker on the box is not always a guarantee of this, but it can be an indication. Some minor research can usually tell you.

As for the ATI label on the front page, that is most likely left over from when NCSoft tried to get in bed with ATI and failed miserably and it was just overlooked by some tired and over worked web designer at the office.

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Actually, most Fire Blasters tend to skip Nova.

They take Inferno instead

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Yay you made a funny! good for you Daniel-san. Nova= lvl 32 power for every blaster.

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Actually, Nova is the level 32 nuke for Energy Blast. So, his comment was accurate.

I went back and checked eveyrthing you suggested. They are 2 lines in notepad. I did fix the file path error. I had changed so many things trying to get it to work, it must have gotten messed up during that.

After making all the changes, it still didnt work. BUT...then i typed /bind_load_file_pb_humanform.txt and it said it loaded it, from then on every time i used one of the form bind keys it worked perfectly. I am still new to this whole keybind thing, so maybe i just had to load one of the 3 files first to get it to work.

Thanks a ton for the help Plasma, your guide really helped/helps me to understand the PB and play one effectively

FMJ

I copy and pasted your form shift binds for the PB changing only the path to match my own installation path.

When I try to use them i get errors. It does the first form switch and swaps the hot bars, but then i get an error msg when it tries to load the next bind file. message is...

Usage: bind_load_file takes 1 args, you gave 3.
Reads a list of keybinds from a file
bind_load_file <string>

I have tried and tried to figure this out on my own, making changes here and there and i just can not figure out what is wrong. Here are the binds

pb_humanform.txt
e "powexec_toggleon White Dwarf$$bind SHIFT+LBUTTON powexec_name White Dwarf Step$$goto_tray 3$$bind_load_file d:\binds\pb_whitedwarf.txt"
q "powexec_toggleon Bright Nova$$goto_tray 4$$bind_load_file d:\binds\pb_nova.txt"

pb_nova.txt
e "powexec_toggleoff Bright Nova$$goto_tray 3$$powexec_toggleon White Dwarf$$bind_load_file d:\games\city of heroes\pb_whitedwarf.txt"
q "powexec_toggleoff Bright Nova$$goto_tray 1$$bind_load_file d:\games\city of heroes\pb_humanform.txt"

pb_whitedwarf.txt
e "powexec_toggleoff White Dwarf$$goto_tray 1$$bind_load_file d:\binds\pb_humanform.txt"
q "powexec_toggleoff White Dwarf$$powexec_toggleon Bright Nova$$goto_tray 4$$bind_load_file d:\binds\pb_nova.txt"

and all 3 are placed in D:\Binds


Thank you for any help you can provide, this is driving me bonkers!

wow...Peace_On_Earth = OWNED!