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FWIW, I would probably consider the Webroot detection as a false positive (have you checked the flagged site against any other analyzers?).

I have not checked SuMo’s website with any other software except for Heimdal Pro, and it’s not on their list of bad guys, so you’re probably right. Oh well, I think between Secunia, FileHippo, and Heimdal, I have the situation under control!:cool: I just like to ‘take new programs for a spin’ to see what they’re like…

Happy Holidays, everyone!:o

You might also wish to take a look at Patch My PC (portable freeware): http://www.softpedia.com/get/Others/Signatures-Updates/Patch-My-PC.shtml . As with virtually every other updater, its database is limited, but the developer encourages users to suggest applications to be added. Though it has an automatic feature, personally, I prefer to download and install updates manually; just being alerted is sufficient for my needs.

Thanks for the suggestion, but after trying Patch-My-PC, I have decided to go with two highly rated software updaters: Secunia PSI and FileHippo App Manager.

When I tried using SuMo, Webroot SecureAnywhere alerted me that it was trying to connect to an untrusted website. You guys can do what you want, but I think I’ll just stick with a couple of highly rated software update chechers. Besides, SuMo has no automated downloads or installs, and it bundles unwanted software, according to the review on Digital Citizen’s website. There are too many of these update programs for me to personally check every one out! Secunia does a great job. I am evalutating FileHippo right now. Seems great… Good luck.

Further – Windows Secrets Lounge has an excellent thread from 2014 on Secunia PSI and various versions of MSXML here: Upgrading to MSXML 6.0

You’re right. Some of us take all this free software for granted, and it is very easy to be critical. I was just trying to keep Secunia happy. Thank you very much for the link to the MSXML6 thread. Time to get educated!

As long as msxml6.dll is present, I don’t think there’s anything to worry about. It’s a newer version of the same .dll, isn’t it?

A new scan still tells me that I have installed version 4.20.9818.0, that the secure version is 6.x, and that the installed version is at “End of life”. Looking in the System32 folder, I find msxml3.dll, msxml3r.dll, msxml6.dll, and msxml6r.dll. Nothing obviously related to version 4. I’m not certain though that PDF-Xchange Editor and PDF-XChange Viewer are being confused or that I’m seeing a false positive. Viewer seems to be simply flagged as “Product Discontinued” which I think is correct. Whether there is any problem with keeping it is another question altogether.

There may possibly be a duplicate of this file in a backup copy of Windows (Windows.old or something? I forget…). It must be finding it somewhere… I’ve had that happen when I saved the contents of the hard drive of an replaced computer. Try a search for it. As for PDF Exchange Viewer, Confession Time: OOPS, I didn’t bother to read on the website that the Viewer has been discontinued and replaced by PDF Exchange Editor, yet it still can be downloaded right from their website. Why? In any case, amazing what happens when you do a little reading…

I’ve been wondering about Secunia too. It’s pretty good, but does have problems updating certain software at times like msxml4.dll — I had to go to the System32 folder and delete 4 to get it to stop trying to update it even with 6 installed. Little things like that detract from the program. Now it’s getting PDF Exchange Editor confused with PDF E Viewer because the file versions end in .319 but the version number for Editor is higher than Viewer’s, so it’s a false positive. Very annoying. Other than that, everything’s cool.

On the subject of software updaters, I found this website: http://www.digitalcitizen.life/best-tools-check-software-updates and I am trying Ninite Updater Free. Seems pretty good. The site reviews several of the popular updaters, and Secunia and FileHippo do pretty good, as well as Ninite. Anyone have any other recommendations? I guess the best thing to do is take a few of these babies for a little test drive… (Ninite did fail to update Paint.net Don’t know why) I use Heimdal (Pro) too. Good updater, but they need to add a lot more programs to the update list. Happy Holidays…:o

Bear in mind that malware is also spread via adverts through perfectly reputable websites so using something like NoScript or other ad blocker is good practise as well.

Excellent suggestion. I just added NoScript to Firefox. Forgot about that one… I have used it before and it is essential for cyber-security. I always enable ad blocking too.

I’m not so sure on Heimdal, I didn’t like the previous Free version(s), I’m just installing the latest Free version as Monitor-only for a quick check (initial thoughts, not great: “Recommended Software” includes most of the major malware targets, as well as older, vulnerable versions of Java – not good when the Free version doesn’t have an active scanner. Main overview page smacks of ‘scareware’: big red ! “Your computer must be updated” alongside a confusing “0 software patches”. Yes, it claims to have run a scan, warns me that my PC must be updated but can offer zero suggestions – very clever!?)

I kind of agree about the lack of help/advice, and the marketing hype that you claim, but I use Heimdal Pro, and it employs Traffic Filtering and Malware Scanning among other things to protect me from online criminals. Heimdal’s website contains a wealth of cyber-security information and expert advice, including smartphones too. Even if you don’t want to pay the $44 for the pro version, use the free version to keep your software updated. Their website is invaluable if it will save you and your PC from being victimized. In conjunction with a top rated anti-virus program, you should be able to sleep well at night…

My system actually slowed down while using my internet browsers, so I put it back up to 30, and in the process, I realized (by trial and error) that the way the value in the vm.swappiness file is changed is by executing the command I referenced above. That’s why it can’t be done directly. I think I’ll just leave it there. Anyway, hope this helps someone…

BTW, I experimented with 25, 20, and now 15, and everything is working perfectly. (33% of RAM / 23% of SWAP, because of hibernation, usually even lower than that) I guess the memory controller got overwhelmed or something. 85% Max RAM really makes this thing hum…:cool:

WOO HOO! It’s amazing what following the directions will do for you. I guess not adding bash -c “echo ‘vm.swappiness = 15’ >> /etc/sysctl.conf” is what was making the change impossible. I decided to be even more daring and make the value 5. Even now, with two internet browsers open with multiple tabs, I’m only using 57% of ram, so I’m not worried. We’re only talking about 4 Gigs out of 240, but it’s good to know how to do this sort of thing. Thanks for the help! Linux is a little hard, but lots of fun!:cool:

True, but distros like Ubuntu, Linux Mint Cinnamon, and Zorin are good ones to start with (and of course, my favorite). It’s important to know which ones to definitely rule out because they are either intended for business use, or just not there enough yet, etc.. You guys have a better feel for that than I do. A “good” distro has to have the essentials, like 1) Essential pre-loaded software so you can do what you need to do, 2) getting online easily, 3) Configuring any peripherals easily, 4) Updating easily, as with Synaptic, and obviously, an easy to use OS design you are comfortable with. Not every one likes the same kind of car, and such is the case with Linux. Thank God Linux is so easy nowadays. IMHO, the only decision to make these days is which distro you prefer. You just have to try a few and make up your mind, and it can be a little difficult because of the large number of distros and how good many of them are. That’s really the only trouble with Linux; there are so many distros, and Linux is arguably TOO configurable. Just get it set up the way you like it, and get to work. You can always fiddle around with it later. (that is once you figure out how to do all that…) Good luck!:)

Speaking of good Linux distros for amateurs like me, has anyone tried the “Elementary OS”? I read a review of the best distros, and it was mentioned. It looks interesting, and appealing if you like the Mac interface (or can’t decide between Windows and Mac which one you ultimately prefer) and simplicity. Of course simplicity and ease of use is why I like PCLinuxOS/KDE, especially the Start Menu. Anyway, check it out at https://elementary.io/ and http://www.techradar.com/news/software/operating-systems/best-linux-distro-five-we-recommend-1090058 for the other six recommended distros.

When you say “bad” websites, do you mean websites with malware and hackers, or do you mean websites containing porn, gambling, and other such things?

Porno. I developed an addiction to it, but managed to get away from it, thank God, and have usually been able to maintain that, but sometimes I am tempted to visit those kinds of websites, so OpenDNS is good for that purpose. I did use a filted web service (forget the name) at one time, but I don’t think I need such extreme measures now. I really love the fact that OpenDNS keeps me safe online from those with malicious intent. Thanks for the recommendation.

Well, according to Neil J. Rubenking’s review of WSA on PCMag.com,

“Webroot’s journaling and rollback feature should be able to recover from almost any attack, even encrypting ransomware. In fact, the company devoted quite a bit of developer energy specifically to the ransomware problems. At Webroot HQ last year, I saw a live demo of the recovery process. That was impressive, but how much more so if I could demonstrate it for myself.”

“Webroot’s cloud-based servers maintain a giant database of known programs, good and bad. Rather than maintain a local database, with all the headaches of keeping it up to date, your local Webroot installation queries that database about the programs it sees. If the program’s legit, Webroot leaves it alone. If it’s a known threat, Webroot cleans up its traces.

What about unknown programs? This is where it gets interesting. When Webroot encounters an unknown program, it sends detailed telemetry to HQ for analysis, and starts monitoring that program. Every action by the suspect gets journaled for possible rollback. Of course, some events can’t be rolled back. Transmitting data to an outside source is one example. Webroot doesn’t let an unknown program perform that sort of action. Yes, that means a valid unknown program might not be fully functional for a while, but in truth, valid programs almost never spend time in monitoring limbo.

In some cases, correlation rules let the server match the unknown app to an existing threat, resulting in a real-time response. In others, teams of human researchers around the globe dig into the unknown file. According to my Webroot contact, a weekly internal report shows that human analysis averages between 45 and 90 minutes.

Once the program has been analyzed, the server notifies your local Webroot antivirus. If the program turns out to be legit, its probation ends. If not, Webroot terminates the program and reverses all of its actions. And if another user encounters that same now-known threat, Webroot can smack it down right away.”

Not quite magic, but rather excellent computer science! IMO, that’s a great deal for $19.99, or even the regular price of $39.99. Check out the full article for all the details: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2470312,00.asp (And it’s small and fast too!)

I have since uninstalled Trusteer Rapport and also BitDefender, and installed Webroot SecureAnywhere because of its advertised ability to recover ransomware encrypted files. It appears to be a very robust security suite too, and I was able to buy it for $19.99 for a year of protection, so we’ll see how it goes. Highly rated by PCMag.com so I couldn’t resist. It even has a “Rootkit Shield” in addition to its “Realtime Shield” protection, and “Identity Protection” features. Mac version available too. Definitely worth checking out!