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I'm staying w/ Avast, only fair to report that here. I looked around a bit and Avast is still my choice. It is a good AV, works well on xp and w7. I realize that the worlds IT security community is NOT hanging on my every word, but fair is fair. Mustn't leave the wrong impression I still maintain that those popup behaviors described earlier are a terrible idea. The warning is true enough, but their purpose seems to be scaring the user into upgrading. For me they are annoying, for many they would be frightening.

Maybe I am reading this wrongly, but quoting from your first post: " . . . I ran CCleaner telling it to only remove cookies from Chrome (the browser I use to get in to the bank), then tried to login to the bank again. They wanted the code to let me in. Obviously CCleaner is removing the bank's cookie even though it has been told not to . . . ". It reads as if you told ccleaner to remove cookies from chrome, the browser you use for the bank. In any case, good for the bank, they seem to be watching after you. Also, fwiw, some banks have the option to send a code to a prearranged email account or a text to a prearranged phone. That is very handy. You might ask if they have that.

Hope you all enjoy the holidays. Merry Christmas and may God bless.

A situation like this is frustrating. I have had similar help frustrations. But just for a second think about it in a different context. Imagine that you say: "My car makes a squeaking noise when I start it. Sometimes, but not always. Also this noise starts and stops sometimes but shows no particular pattern. What causes that?" Your friends may offer suggestions, but if they don't work you don't blame the friends, right? Without more to go on, its a needle in a haystack. Remember that one, mta? However, if a helper holds himself out as an expert, or charges a fee to fix it, that is an entirely different relationship. If it was my computer/keyboard/mouse, at this point I would and seek more specialized help from the manufacturers of the devices, also maybe the windows 10 forums. Also maybe think about consulting one of the specialized malware forums listed in rule 10 here: https://forum.piriform.com/announcement/15-forum-rules/ Not suggesting there is malware to be anxious about, just saying it's an option. Good luck, and post back what you find out if you can.

Hi, Jamin4u. Good to see you. I also appreciate all the nice folks here who have been so helpful over the years.

Thank you, Trium.

Thanks, Andavari. Same thing happened again yesterday. I was using startpage to look for a picture of an old thermometer I have, and got a similar but differently worded popup. Sort of like a back seat driver . . . "Do you see that stop sign?" The answer may eventually be Linux.

Things change. Recently when I went to a banking site, Avast popped a warning that said "It's easy to see what you do online. Keep your banking details safe. Hide me now." This is unacceptable behavior from a software. I have been a fan of ccleaner and avast for a long time. No longer. I'm not sure what the next step is for this old xp computer, but I'm actively seeking a new protective strategy.

Thank you, Hazelnut.

My 1st vote is for insects. Wood bees make a buzzing sound from within their nest tube. But their buzzing would be more constant. They leave fine sawdust when they drill out those nests. 2nd vote, less likely imho, would be the house wiring. Maybe a connection in a wall box getting loose. Or a breaker about to fail, such as a GFCI breaker. It might be in the wall box itself or in the main service panel if it is nearby. Do the sounds occur at the same time each day? And do they coincide with any other electrical activity you know of? Sounds like you are more or less finished with your investigation, but if you do find the cause please share it?

+1 But it isn't easy.

OK, maybe a little bit different spin here. From the least tekkie member here. I am very glad that Avast still provides an AV that works with XP. As mentioned before, a layered security system still provides adequate security for me, but maybe not for everyone. In other words redundant safety fallbacks. First warning comes from Avast, last line of defense is the system virtualization software. If that all fails there are backup images. Some data collection is necessary, I guess. I would never agree to guard the treasure without knowing a bit about where it is and who has the keys. And for sure it should be revealed up front what is being collected. For the big scary monsters, meltdown, specter, TPM compromise, etc, nothing seems to work very well anyway, afaik. Would like to be corrected if that has changed. ? The situation with CCleaner is different. The behaviors described here don't seem necessary, CCleaner doesn't depend on them for self protection. Not smart enough to know that for sure, though. As stated before it just seems they are used to increase the market base. Could be wrong, sorry if so. So maybe it's a question of balance. I'm glad Avast still works for xp, old versions of CCleaner still work here also. So far the benefits outweigh the costs. Thanks.

The core of this may be some less obvious agenda. Who benefits financially if linux dependent infrastructures are slowed, stopped, or become more expensive?

Oh, dear.

Thanks.

This xp desktop crashed a couple of times while working with .tib files and .mrimg files. I was trying was to free up space on this hdd after moving them. I didn't see it coming, and I think its the first time Powershadow failed to discard changes. The screen popups were unfamiliar, didn't have time to get screenshots. Not sure what caused it. First thought it was caused by a software I was experimenting with, but maybe not. More likely was because I was trying to wipe some locked files and they wouldn't allow it. A scan with MBAM and a boot scan with Avast were ok. Chkdsk found errors and fixed them. Soon I'll run scans w/ ESET and others, to be sure. Computer is faster now. Everything works so far. For the first time in years, the drive letters show in correct alphabetical order. No idea why. Sooo, it doesn't seem to have been some deliberate, malicious software, just my mistakes. Anyway, reason for the post was to see if Macrium backups from xp would work over on win 7. Guess I'll just copy them as is and use macrium when they get there. I had not thought about the issues of using 2 different backup softwares until now.

Thanks much, Hazelnut & Willy2. Looks very nice. I shall give it a try. Haven't thought about a new email provider for years, but I am changing email one way or the other soon. A question or two if I may. Is it easy to save attachments locally using IMAP? Are there big working differences between the free and paid? I saw that about the 2 account limit of the free? Sorry to ask lazy questions. I am going to change email providers, so this by Hazelnut and Willy2 is very timely. edit: on wxp and w7. Thanks.

Short version: Both. But mostly file backups. If I accumulate (another) 40 gazillion pictures of the kids, I could make a macrium backup on xp, move it and work with it either place. Faster, smaller, safer than straight copying, I guess. Plus, Macrium paid is a really super software. Been working with it a lot the last few days. Lots of options. Thanks a million for the suggestion.

Can a backup made by Macrium Reflect free be used with the paid version? Quite a few here use Macrium, so maybe you guys can help. Thank you. Acronis paid has worked very well on this xp box for a long time. Macrium paid works maybe a bit better on the win 7 computer. Sooner or later hardware fails, and it would be great have backup files compatible with any computer. Problem is, this Acronis software won't work on win 7, and Macrium on win 7 won't work with Acronis backup files. Issue became important here when backing up the phone. Blackberry software for windows is good, but also big and slow and the image files are big and not at all intuitive. Also, RIM has given strong indications that they are losing interest in the phone market. So it is important to have working backups. Until just recently I had never thought about what a mess it would be if this XP box was not available to restore the Acronis images. So, if possible, I shall make the file & folder images w/ Macrium free, and the win xp system backups with Acronis. Any suggestions or ideas welcome. Thanks.

Thanks. I did see that. I have been using whatever this is since I can remember. Think it is the beta but don't remember agreeing to it, not sure, will check. Thanks.

For a while now Yahoo mail has popped up a box saying different time zone detected. Looked around for a plausible sounding reason and solution, found some discussion, but didn't find anything persuasive. Other methods of checking location are pretty consistent, and do not agree that the time zone has changed. Any ideas? Thanks.

Thanks, Trium.

+1 with Hazel.

Thank you hazelnut. Got it.

Fwiw. Just ran the paf.exe file Hazelnut pointed to, it is indeed the portable version 52.9.0 ESR, has the 32 and 64 bit folders, runs fine here on xp 32. No smoke or strange noises, so now to go about setting it up permanently.