Ad-Aware Problem

[mpossoff]

Hi anyone else having problems with ad-aware?

 

when I click updates it's coming up "the downloaded definitions file could not be read, please update again".

 

not able to update?

 

Marc

[sicsiksix]

Hi anyone else having problems with ad-aware?

 

when I click updates it's coming up "the downloaded definitions file could not be read, please update again".

 

not able to update?

 

Marc

 

 

I'm getting that too, its happened before, just try updating again later tonight and it will probably work.

[Andavari]

I'm getting that too, its happened before, just try updating again later tonight and it will probably work.

 

Good advise! That usually happens when there's a new update and everyone is trying to update Ad-Aware at a similiar time.

 

Sometimes however the update "may" work if you manually download and install the new reference file from the download page.

[DAE]

Good advise! That usually happens when there's a new update and everyone is trying to update Ad-Aware at a similiar time.

 

Sometimes however the update "may" work if you manually download and install the new reference file from the download page.

 

I had the same problem with the last download/update.

 

But has anyone had a virus after downloading Ad-Aware??? Anyone else have this problem. Not me, but a friend said she had a virus after downloading the free version...she said she checks for viruses, etc.

 

I have been using for over a year, and have not had a problem. Just wondering if anyone else had experienced this using this software.

[Andavari]

If she downloaded it from an untrusted source (phony antispyware website, P2P, etc.) it's possible. Also if the download goes through an infected computer between her connection and the website it can get infected that way.

[Eldmannen]

I have been using Ad-Aware for quite some time now, of course I download it only from the official website.

 

It always worked perfect and updating always worked.

[Greenknight]

There's an AdAware support forum here: Kill Spyware Forums -> Ad-aware Support Forum http://forums.subratam.org/index.php?showforum=26

[krit86lr]

I had the same problem with the last download/update.

 

But has anyone had a virus after downloading Ad-Aware??? Anyone else have this problem. Not me, but a friend said she had a virus after downloading the free version...she said she checks for viruses, etc.

 

I have been using for over a year, and have not had a problem. Just wondering if anyone else had experienced this using this software.

 

 

Everyone is giving you good advice. Always remember that it is very important what site is being used to download programs. It's worth the time to investigate a little bit to determine if you can trust a site or not for downloads.

 

Try Adaware's site or downloads. Also, it has been my experience the Adaware SE Personal is the best.

 

Good Luck!

K

[rridgely]

Everyone is giving you good advice. Always remember that it is very important what site is being used to download programs. It's worth the time to investigate a little bit to determine if you can trust a site or not for downloads.

 

 

Sites you can trust

 

http://www.download.com/

http://fileforum.betanews.com/

http://www.softpedia.com/

 

 

Also, it has been my experience the Adaware SE Personal is the best.

 

 

The two version of adaware are the same except one costs to have real time(which you dont need) and automatic updates(just do it manually). The free version is good enough though.

[Tarun]

Sites you can trust

 

http://www.download.com/

http://fileforum.betanews.com/

http://www.softpedia.com/

The two version of adaware are the same except one costs to have real time(which you dont need) and automatic updates(just do it manually). The free version is good enough though.

 

Two versions? Last I checked there's three. Ad-Aware SE Personal, Plus, and Professional.

[rridgely]

Two versions? Last I checked there's three. Ad-Aware SE Personal, Plus, and Professional.

 

 

whatever.

 

They are about the same arent they?

 

Anyway your forgot enterprise.

[Tarun]

Ah, never used Enterprise. It's new and mainly for networks.

[jbomb77]

I have this problem a lot with Spybot - Search & Destroy. I go to download the newest updates and it will say "bad checksum."

[acooldozen]

Just change the server.....Secure Europe #2 usually works well.

[tommyk]

Ah, never used Enterprise. It's new and mainly for networks.

 

<bad checksum>

 

I believe that's because so many people are trying to download updates. I've had that problem and had to download later and the download worked.

[krit86lr]

Sites you can trust

 

http://www.download.com/

http://fileforum.betanews.com/

http://www.softpedia.com/

The two version of adaware are the same except one costs to have real time(which you dont need) and automatic updates(just do it manually). The free version is good enough though.

 

 

I told my roommate to download Ad-Aware and she downloaded something different than mine (and it was free). It was also less effective than my program. Maybe it wasn't Lavasoft. Hmmm.

 

I would like to add to the trusted download sites the following

 

www.majorgeeks.com (a favorite)

www.download.com

 

GOOD TIMES!!!

K

[lokoike]

I told my roommate to download Ad-Aware and she downloaded something different than mine (and it was free). It was also less effective than my program. Maybe it wasn't Lavasoft. Hmmm.

 

It was probably Spybot Search & Destroy 1.4. I don't have any problems with it; it periodically won't download updates due to server troubles, but Ad-Aware has the same problem. I never have any spyware troubles, but I mostly attribute that to my firewall (Zone Alarm Pro) and SpywareBlaster 3.5.1.

[krit86lr]

It was probably Spybot Search & Destroy 1.4. I don't have any problems with it; it periodically won't download updates due to server troubles, but Ad-Aware has the same problem. I never have any spyware troubles, but I mostly attribute that to my firewall (Zone Alarm Pro) and SpywareBlaster 3.5.1.

 

 

No, we both have Spybot, but she downloaded a free Ad-aware program that was different than my free program. But I unistalled hers, and installed the one that I use because it kept finding a lot more things. I use Adaware, Spybot, Spyblaster, Windows Firewall, and Hardware Firewall, plus Maxthon. Oddly enough though, tonight my Microsoft Antivirus Beta (yet another one) decided that Spyblaster is a high risk threat (but I just ignored it).

 

After my recent PC Hell I have loaded up on safety in every way. Did you know that with XP you need an external hard drive (something like that) for backups? It'll let you back up to floppy's, but after #40 with 2 days remaining I gave up.

 

I ran out of determination after that. Any suggestions? I've been creating many system restore points, and I emailed Microsoft about their horrible oversight with the backup up utility. I stated that practicality was not on their list of concerns.

 

I'm going to look into partitioning.

 

K

[lokoike]

Oddly enough though, tonight my Microsoft Antivirus Beta (yet another one) decided that Spyblaster is a high risk threat (but I just ignored it).

 

I absolutely loath MS AntiSpyware Beta, as it started turning on startup processes that I had purposefully turned off (such as the Quicktime one that serves no purpose). It stayed on my system for a grand total of 2 hours; I'm surprised that I even let it last that long. I just found out that it is integrated into Windows Vista too (it's called Defender), so that royally sucks. Of course, I'm not buying into Vista anyway, so I guess it doesn't really matter.

 

I haven't used MS Antivirus, but I imagine it is about the same level of "quality". ROFL.

 

Did you know that with XP you need an external hard drive (something like that) for backups? It'll let you back up to floppy's, but after #40 with 2 days remaining I gave up.

 

Are you sure it has to be an external HD? Couldn't you just have a secondary internal HD? That would be more convenient, as it wouldn't take up any more space, and it would cost far less. Externals are terribly overpriced. If it has to be an external, my suggestion is to make your own. You'll save anywhere from $50-over $100 doing that!

 

It is pretty easy to do; all you've got to do is buy an internal drive, and then get an enclosure that fits that size of drive. For a desktop, the drive is 3.5" and for a notebook it is 2.5", or (rarely) 1.8". There is only two cables to hook up (power and data), so anyone can do it, and save a ton of dough in the process.

 

I can understand not using an external HD if you don't have one, but why on earth would you use floppies?!! You could've bought a cheap CD burner for the price of 40 floppies! And since a single CD can hold the same as over 500 floppies, well, you get the idea.

 

That is the most feasible suggestion I have; either purchase a CD burner or even better, a DVD burner (they can burn CDs too). The media is cheap and readily available, plus 5.25" disks will last far longer than any floppy ever could.

 

As far as backup software goes, I can't really help you there, as I do all of my backups manually. I have nearly everything saved under My Documents, so all I really have to do is break those files up amongst several DVDs, and viola, backup complete!

[krit86lr]

I absolutely loath MS AntiSpyware Beta, as it started turning on startup processes that I had purposefully turned off (such as the Quicktime one that serves no purpose). It stayed on my system for a grand total of 2 hours; I'm surprised that I even let it last that long. I just found out that it is integrated into Windows Vista too (it's called Defender), so that royally sucks. Of course, I'm not buying into Vista anyway, so I guess it doesn't really matter.

 

I haven't used MS Antivirus, but I imagine it is about the same level of "quality". ROFL.

Are you sure it has to be an external HD? Couldn't you just have a secondary internal HD? That would be more convenient, as it wouldn't take up any more space, and it would cost far less. Externals are terribly overpriced. If it has to be an external, my suggestion is to make your own. You'll save anywhere from $50-over $100 doing that!

 

It is pretty easy to do; all you've got to do is buy an internal drive, and then get an enclosure that fits that size of drive. For a desktop, the drive is 3.5" and for a notebook it is 2.5", or (rarely) 1.8". There is only two cables to hook up (power and data), so anyone can do it, and save a ton of dough in the process.

 

I can understand not using an external HD if you don't have one, but why on earth would you use floppies?!! You could've bought a cheap CD burner for the price of 40 floppies! And since a single CD can hold the same as over 500 floppies, well, you get the idea.

 

That is the most feasible suggestion I have; either purchase a CD burner or even better, a DVD burner (they can burn CDs too). The media is cheap and readily available, plus 5.25" disks will last far longer than any floppy ever could.

 

As far as backup software goes, I can't really help you there, as I do all of my backups manually. I have nearly everything saved under My Documents, so all I really have to do is break those files up amongst several DVDs, and viola, backup complete!

 

 

I'm sorry, no. It doesn't need to be an external hardrive...just a different hard drive. I don't know about partitioning, but I read about it in one of these forums. I'm wondering if that would do the trick. The other option is floppy's, and the third option is a (zip drive?)...zip something.

 

I have 2 CD burners, but according to Microsoft the backup utility can't be used with CD's. I know that the floppy's were a bad idea, but I was desperate after my computer downfall. I can't get the backup utility to save to my E drive.

 

Your manual way seems simple so I'll try that route now. Thank you. Do you use ERUNT for your registry backup?

 

What does ROFL mean?

 

I don't think that I can make my own external hard drive. I'm planning to install an additional internal HD soon, but I was planning to use it for added files storage. I'm a computer speed junky. I've maxed my memory card additions so I'm on to more HD.

 

Is Vista a 64-bit or 32-bit platform? Or something else? It sounds like a waste of money.

 

GOOD TIMES!!!

K

[lokoike]

...and the third option is a (zip drive?)...zip something...

 

No! Don't waste your money! Nobody on earth uses Zip drives anymore (or ever did, for that matter)! You'd be lucky if you could find zip disks! Plus, CDs/DVDs are cheaper and last longer than zip disks too.

 

 

Do you use ERUNT for your registry backup?

Actually, I don't really make registry backups, but if I did, that is probably what I would use. It seems to be the fad reg backup utility on the CCleaner forum, so why not?

 

 

What does ROFL mean?

Rolling On the Floor Laughing. Stupid internet acronym. Kind of like a more intense LOL.

 

 

Is Vista a 64-bit or 32-bit platform? Or something else? It sounds like a waste of money.

Yes. It will come out in both flavors, but I doubt that MS will support 32-bit architecture for too much longer.

[kaybee]

I absolutely loath MS AntiSpyware Beta, as it started turning on startup processes that I had purposefully turned off (such as the Quicktime one that serves no purpose). It stayed on my system for a grand total of 2 hours; I'm surprised that I even let it last that long. I just found out that it is integrated into Windows Vista too (it's called Defender), so that royally sucks. Of course, I'm not buying into Vista anyway, so I guess it doesn't really matter.

 

I haven't used MS Antivirus, but I imagine it is about the same level of "quality". ROFL.

Are you sure it has to be an external HD? Couldn't you just have a secondary internal HD? That would be more convenient, as it wouldn't take up any more space, and it would cost far less. Externals are terribly overpriced. If it has to be an external, my suggestion is to make your own. You'll save anywhere from $50-over $100 doing that!

 

It is pretty easy to do; all you've got to do is buy an internal drive, and then get an enclosure that fits that size of drive. For a desktop, the drive is 3.5" and for a notebook it is 2.5", or (rarely) 1.8". There is only two cables to hook up (power and data), so anyone can do it, and save a ton of dough in the process.

 

I can understand not using an external HD if you don't have one, but why on earth would you use floppies?!! You could've bought a cheap CD burner for the price of 40 floppies! And since a single CD can hold the same as over 500 floppies, well, you get the idea.

 

That is the most feasible suggestion I have; either purchase a CD burner or even better, a DVD burner (they can burn CDs too). The media is cheap and readily available, plus 5.25" disks will last far longer than any floppy ever could.

 

As far as backup software goes, I can't really help you there, as I do all of my backups manually. I have nearly everything saved under My Documents, so all I really have to do is break those files up amongst several DVDs, and viola, backup complete!

 

 

I just got someone in the family who was a bit techy to install an old hard drive inside my pc, just to use as a back up drive. I then use an MSDOS batch file I wrote to 'xcopy' any files in certain specified folders that are new or modified. It's then just a simple (?) matter of putting a shortcut on the desktop and disciplining yourself to 'click' on it before you turn the pc off. Works fine for me!

[Andavari]

Nobody on earth uses Zip drives anymore (or ever did, for that matter)! You'd be lucky if you could find zip disks! Plus, CDs/DVDs are cheaper and last longer than zip disks too.

 

I remember back in the day when a 100MB Zip disk was what I made system backups on, back when I didn't know what a CD writer drive was, and before I had an Internet connection and didn't have any downloaded software or know anything about ripping audio CDs. I also remember when I got excited that Iomega was releasing a 250MB version (the dumb-ole days). I actually still occassionally use my old click of death Iomega Zip 100 drive on my Win98 system only as a secondary backup for some programs and security settings, etc., just in case. They can still be found in some stores albeit collecting a bunch of dust as a pack of Fuji's are in my local Staples store I swear they've been there for five years and haven't ever moved. They're available mostly online or in office/computer mail order catalogs however they're a complete waste of money when compared to a run of the mill generic CD-RW that can hold allot more data, also they're very slow to write data onto.

[lokoike]

Heh, yeah, Zip drives were really something when they came out, but they didn't really take off as far as I can see. But you (Andavari) did make me think of another option that I hadn't mentioned previously; USB Flash ROM drives. They are fast, easy to use, hold a lot of information, and considering their abilities and size, are relatively cheap.

 

I just recently bought a 2 GB Flash ROM drive, and to me it is indispensible (not to mention it's a whole lot bigger than my 256 MB one that I had before). To get a 512 MB stick (about 2/3 of a CD-R), expect to pay around $30 or so. But it will pay for itself quickly.

 

Flash drives have some benefits over CDs, DVDs, hard disks, and of course, Zip drives. Since the drive uses Flash ROM, you can rewrite it infinitely; you can do that with the other media listed, but rewritable CDs and DVDs tend to degrade fairly quickly. And a feature that a Flash drive has, which no other other mentioned backup devies have, is the fact that it has no moving parts. Moving parts produce friction and heat, which wears away at the device with time. Obviously, when parts wear out or loosen, failures are bound to occur, and data is bound to be lost. You end up with fried hard disks, scratched 5.25" disks, and... well Zip disks suck, so we won't even go there. And if you are worried about compatibility in the future, Flash drives use a USB port; USB is here to stay (for a while, anyway), so you'll still be able to use it in 5-10 years with no problems.

 

Flash drives will basically last forever, and even if they get scratched or thrown, they'll still be okay. Just don't abuse it, and it will always work.