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T Bell
You Can Fly
Premium
join:2003-10-23
Terra Firma
| Protecting a Win98? My head is spinning from all the posts I've read, and I still need advice.
I'm working on a neighbor's old Win98 with an 8GB hd and 64MB ram. They are in their mid-60's and do not want to invest anything in a new pc. They use the pc for e-mail and sport stats, nothing else. He is currently in the hospital having knee replacement surgery, and may be spending more time on the pc than normal when he gets back, so I'm concerned about getting the pc "safe."
I reinstalled the os, set them up with Open Office (runs great) and disabled all the non-essentials.
From one of the threads I read last week, there was mention of Zone Alarm 2.6 as a good option for an old pc. Is this a decent choice?
And for an anti-virus does Avast use less resources than AVG?
I am going to try to get them to install Boclean since this seems the least intensive and most reliable CPU wise.
Right now, the setup looks like Zone Alarm 2.6, Avast 4.0 and Boclean. Everything will run on auto (and hidden as much as possible) because he can't be bothered with updates and adjusting settings. I also installed IESpyad as another precaution.
Thanks for your help. | |
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dslispower
join:2004-10-08
Ca Na Da
| Re: Protecting a Win98? You need these in this order. IMO.
1.) Firefox. Use the mozilla.org firefox help, faq, to install java, and flash. Then. Open tools, options, web features. And uncheck, allow websites to install software.
2.) Thunderbird from mozilla.org
3.) Spywareblaster, ad aware, spybot s&d. Download from here »www.majorgeeks.com/downloads31.html
4.) »www.javacoolsoftware.com/downloadfaq.html
Install these 2 programs, so spywareblaster can be installed on Windows 98.
5.) Use zonealarm free. I suggest you use the latest one. In programs. Allow, Access; trusted, Internet. Block, Server; Trusted, Internet. I do this for all my programs. Under alerts, I don't allow pop up warnings for every port probe.
6.) Use AVG free. It uses way less ram then Avast free. Only use Avast free on new PC's, with lots of ram.
7.) Use tea timer on Spybot s&d.
8.) You don't need boclean, but it's optional if he surfs porn. Then I would suggest he use boclean. | |
| B
Premium,MVM
join:2000-10-28
| T Bell (I was thinking "Taco" before I saw your icon), I'm one of the people who likes ZAF 2.6 for older (and newer!) hardware. I think it's better, faster, and more stable.
HOWEVER, you left out ISP in your description. Is it possible they have broadband? If so, then I would recommend a $20 NAT router and NO software firewall on that machine.
If they are on dial-up (and/or AOL), I'd stick with the ZAF 2.x.
AVG Free has historically been one of the lightest AV's, and definitely lighter than Avast. I have heard claims to the contrary about the new AVG Free 7, however.
All I can say is that I've given Avast another try on a couple of quite fast machines recently, and it STILL seems slow and bloated in comparison with AVG 6.
I'm a bit puzzled at your attachment to BOClean. Most people get by fine without antitrojans, particularly near-retirees who barely use a computer. I'm sure it's a fine choice; I just don't know that it's warranted in their case, particularly on that old machine.
You should see if Firefox seems snappier than IE on that machine -- with that low RAM it may be better to stick with IE.
If you do stick with IE, you'll need SpywareBlaster and the Spybot S&D immunizations.
If you do keep Avast, I suggest you turn off all the extra modules. Good luck.
-- B
P.S. One the nicest things you could do is throw $20 worth of RAM in there.
--
In a realm outside causality and function | |
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T Bell
You Can Fly
Premium
join:2003-10-23
Terra Firma
| Re: Protecting a Win98? dslispower,
Thanks for the link to »www.javacoolsoftware.com/downloadfaq.html. You solved the problem I was having with Spywareblaster.
I would like to install Firefox, but he'd have a fit.
As for Boclean, I was concerned about the cws infections, but when I checked his tif files before the reformat, I didn't find any porn sites so I guess he's safe. I would ask, but he may get the wrong idea, he's not my type. 
B,
I never thought of "Taco," but the thought made me update my user name!
He's on MSN dial-up and now that I was able to install spywareblaster and have AVG installed, and I will give Teatimer a shot, and hold off on Boclean.
B, it was your post I was trying to locate regarding Zone Alarm. Thanks for the memory jog.  | |
| | | B
Premium,MVM
join:2000-10-28
| Re: Protecting a Win98?I wouldn't use Teatimer on that old box either. From what little I know of it, it wouldn't offer enough bang for the resource hit buck.
I think you'll notice a big enough hit from Avast as it is. (Though not as bad as Norton or McAfee!)
Another random suggestion -- crank down the display mode to 16,000 colors or fewer, and 800x600 pixels or fewer.
I guess you meant the threads at »Non-sucky firewall for 9x? and »Free is better? ?
-- B
--
In a realm outside causality and function | |
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T Bell
You Can Fly
Premium
join:2003-10-23
Terra Firma
| Re: Protecting a Win? Yes B, this is the thread I was looking for »Non-sucky firewall for 9x?
So far the pc is chugging along nicely with AVG and Zone Alarm (2.6). I installed Spybot, but skipping Teatimer because of the pop-ups more than anything else. I want things running as transparent as possible and with little or no user intervention. Looks like Zone Alarm will be popping up now and then. I'll tell him when in doubt, don't. It's running with 81% free resources which is okay for that pc.
I was considering dropping a stick of RAM in there and letting it be a surprise. A little belated Christmas present.
Thanks for your help, guys. | |
| | | | | B
Premium,MVM
join:2000-10-28
| Re: Protecting a Win?
I do hope you deselected "Show the alert popup window" and disabled all ZoneLabs update checking. Otherwise the user will get hassled by passing worms and by ZA advertising.
The thing with Spybot is that you'll need to pop in every couple of months to update, re-immunize, and/or scan. Have fun.
-- B
--
In a realm outside causality and function | |
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T Bell
You Can Fly
Premium
join:2003-10-23
Terra Firma
| Re: Protecting a Win? said by B  :I do hope you deselected "Show the alert popup window" and disabled all ZoneLabs update checking. Otherwise the user will get hassled by passing worms and by ZA advertising. The thing with Spybot is that you'll need to pop in every couple of months to update, re-immunize, and/or scan. Have fun. -- B Yes B, I disabled the update checking, and the pop-up window.
I may set Spybot and Adaware to run scans as weekly Scheduled tasks. I have another two weeks before he gets out of rehab for the knee, so I have time to "tinker" and fine-tune
Thanks again. | |
| | | | | Reverend Ike
Premium
join:2001-08-24
Sacramento, CA
| said by T Bell :I was considering dropping a stick of RAM in there and letting it be a surprise. A little belated Christmas present. That was the first thing I thought of when reading your first post - relatively inexpensive and would give the system a bit of breathing room.
One of my systems is a Win98se box that currently has 256MB RAM, but previously ran fine with 64MB and ZAF 2.6, and AVG 7 and SpywareGuard resident. If your neighbor's browsing habits are conservative enough, he might be able to get away with using an on-demand anti-trojan program (or periodic online scans), to avoid the overhead of a resident anti-trojan. But no harm in trying BOClean first, to see what happens ... | |
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Mei Guo Ren
join:2001-11-05
Silver Spring, MD
1 edit | Check which chipset is on the motherboard. With 64MB, i'm suspicious that it is an Intel 430TX-based board. These are typically found with original Pentium 233MHz and slower. They are also very picky about memory--does it use SIMMs (EDO memory) or DIMMs (SDRAM memory)?
The 430TX chipset has a "feature"-- if you install more than 64MB of RAM, the L2 cache (which is on the board, either hard-wired or a separate dimm-like module) is *disabled.* So installing RAM above 64MB can actually hurt system performance. It's a tradeoff--sometimes it's worth the L2 hit, sometimes it isn't.
If it's using a VIA Apollo or other chipset of the same era, it should be fine with more RAM without paying the L2 cache penalty.
--
Addicted to Linux since 1998. | |
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T Bell
You Can Fly
Premium
join:2003-10-23
Terra Firma
1 edit | Re: Protecting a Win? said by Mei Guo Ren :Check which chipset is on the motherboard. With 64MB, i'm suspicious that it is an Intel 430TX-based board. These are typically found with original Pentium 233MHz and slower. They are also very picky about memory--does it use SIMMs (EDO memory) or DIMMs (SDRAM memory)? The 430TX chipset has a "feature"-- if you install more than 64MB of RAM, the L2 cache (which is on the board, either hard-wired or a separate dimm-like module) is *disabled.* So installing RAM above 64MB can actually hurt system performance. It's a tradeoff--sometimes it's worth the L2 hit, sometimes it isn't. If it's using a VIA Apollo or other chipset of the same era, it should be fine with more RAM without paying the L2 cache penalty. You're losing me here, but glad you brought it up as it was my next question. Will this help?
It's a P2, Intel MMX (Celron 400 MHz); 64 MB SyncDRAM. I checked in SysInfo, but not sure where to look.
I'll check back later this evening. Thank you. | |
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Mei Guo Ren
join:2001-11-05
Silver Spring, MD
1 edit | Re: Protecting a Win? you should be good to go-- probably the 440FX or similar P2 chipset; max ram should be at least 768MB, and PC66 or PC100 *should* work with it. 440FX could use EDO SIMMs or SDRAM DIMMs; some even had slots for either but you shouldn't mix and match. You can check www.crucial.com if you know the make /model number or the chipset-- there are devices in Device Manager that should give you a clue, typically the description associated with System components or the Hard Drive controllers.
BTW, Sun Java before the _06 release has a nasty exploit.
--
Addicted to Linux since 1998. | |
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Bubba
GIT-R-DONE
Premium,MVM
join:2002-08-19
Around, Us
 ·Comcast
| said by B :If you do stick with IE, you'll need SpywareBlaster and the Spybot S&D immunizations. Not excluding your other fine suggestions....I'd like to comment on the Spybot suggestion.
Yes....SpywareBlaster(SB) is definetly a good choice as far as the ActiveX protection for IE....but to compliment SB, I would instead suggest IE-Spyad instead of Spybot Immunization. Spybot's Immunization protection has the same 3 features as SB....Internet Explorer ActiveX clsid and Cookie protection along with Restricted Sites protection. The Restricted Sites protection is slim compared to IE-Spyad(8000 entries ~) and almost all of Spybot's Cookie protection URL's are part of it's Restrcited Sites list....where cookies are disabled by default. While Spybot is good layer for cleaning....the Immunization feature is still growing. | |
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T Bell
You Can Fly
Premium
join:2003-10-23
Terra Firma | Re: Protecting a Win98? Hi Bubba! Happy New Year!
IE Spyad was one of the first things to get installed. 
Thanks! | |
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jvmorris
I Am The Man Who Was Not There.
Premium,MVM
join:2001-04-03
Reston, VA
| Sorry for the late post, and most of what I'll say here has already been covered by others. . . .
said by T Bell :... I'm working on a neighbor's old Win98 with an 8GB hd and 64MB ram. They are in their mid-60's and do not want to invest anything in a new pc. Goodness! Sounds like my Compaq Presario 5610! Yes, first thing to do is look for some additional RAM -- and you may find it's actually cheaper to get a replacement RAM rather than an add-on RAM SIM (I did.). Even a 128 MB SIM replacement will likely make a noticeable improvement in performance; 256 MB RAM should satisfy all of this individual's needs.
They use the pc for e-mail and sport stats, nothing else. He is currently in the hospital having knee replacement surgery, and may be spending more time on the pc than normal when he gets back, so I'm concerned about getting the pc "safe." Ummm, is this Win 98 or Win 98 SE? If the former, I would certainly recommend downloading or otherwise installing the Win 98 SE upgrade. And the next thing to obviously do is use MSIE to install all available updates (especially critical updates) for both Win 98 and MSIE. It's best to do this now while access to these updates is still largely unrestricted. Any future updates to Win 98 or Win 98 SE are likely to be released only in the event of a new, drastic (as in fatal) vulnerability. But don't forget to upgrade to the latest version of MSIE in the process.
I reinstalled the os, set them up with Open Office (runs great) and disabled all the non-essentials. No personal familiarity with Open Office (but I have heard of it and it seems to get decent reviews). But, could you specify exactly what you considered as being "non-essentials" -- just to ensure you didn't wipe out anything likely to be critical for his/her expected functionality?
From one of the threads I read last week, there was mention of Zone Alarm 2.6 as a good option for an old pc. Is this a decent choice? For an older PC in which the primary user does not care to consume inordinate amounts of time in securing the system (and I don't think it would be necessary, given your indicated usage pattern), any of the ZAF 2.x versions should be adequate. Furthermore, if you install a recent version of MSIE (and tighten up its security settings), then I would also recommend that you set ZAF to disallow all Internet access for Windows Explorer.
... Right now, the setup looks like Zone Alarm 2.6, Avast 4.0 and Boclean. Everything will run on auto (and hidden as much as possible) because he can't be bothered with updates and adjusting settings. ... Of the various freeware AVs and ATs, I think the most important issue is that you select one (of each) which can be set to run memory-resident and (hopefully) to auto-update (but this may require you make an explicit entry in Task Scheduler, which I would certainly recommend). Unfortunately, I've always used pay-ware versions of AVs and ATs, so I can't comment on your choices beyond that.
The other possibilities that come to mind involve Ad-Aware, SpyBot S&D, CWShredder, and HJT. Now, I will acknowledge that running these is possibly beyond the capability (or perhaps just the interest) of your end-user, but still it would be nice to either have them installed on the machine or available on a CD that you retain ... just in case you need them. The problem with all of these utilities is in knowing what to do with them -- not to mention keeping them regularly updated.
The other thing that you might wish to maintain is some sort of system diagnostic utility on a CD ... just in case (preferably one that can do basic hardware/software diagnostics, maintenance and repair). Several years ago, I would have recommended Norton SystemWorks (pay-ware), but I'm not so inclined now. At the moment, I'm using VCOM's System Suite 5, but there are admittedly other alternatives. One feature of the VCOM Suite that I particularly like is its registry cleaner, but again, there are other equally sophisticated options.
--
Regards, Joseph V. Morris | |
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koma3504
Advocate
Premium
join:2004-06-22
North Richland Hills, TX | Re: Protecting a Win98? That old pc sure would make a good router!!!!!!!!! | |
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koma3504
Advocate
Premium
join:2004-06-22
North Richland Hills, TX | Re: Protecting a Win98? well jv no i wasnt less your Tinker Bell | |
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jvmorris
I Am The Man Who Was Not There.
Premium,MVM
join:2001-04-03
Reston, VA | Re: Protecting a Win98? Sorry, but it showed up here as being in response to my post.
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Regards, Joseph V. Morris | |
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koma3504
Advocate
Premium
join:2004-06-22
North Richland Hills, TX | Re: Protecting a Win98? ok its ok sorry hmm it does | |
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T Bell
You Can Fly
Premium
join:2003-10-23
Terra Firma
| The update to SE was the first stop, ( »Free update CD for Win 98 from Microsoft ) I have broadband and the old etower can only handle a 56k connection. I can't seem to get his pc online from my house. I tried running Juno to get the updates, but it won't run. That's another story, but I'll worry about that later. I haven't received the Microsoft CD yet, and will wait to see what other updates are needed after installing the CD.
The first thing I did was install IE6, Zip Central (a free zip utility), Acrobat 5, Sun Java j2re1.4.2_04 (needed for Open Office), updated MS Java and ran the diagnostic tool.
I installed IE Spyad, and after dslispower gave me the link for the msvbvm60.dll and mscomctl.ocx, I was able to get Spywareblaster installed.
Thank you for the reminder to "set ZAF to disallow all Internet access for Windows Explorer." I missed that one.
For "non-essentials," I ran through Windows setup in add-remove programs and uninstalled items like Chat, Net meeting, Real Player, AOL, etc...
There were a few items I wasn't sure of running at startup, but after a Google it seems some of these need to be running at Startup:
ScanRegistry
Task Monitor
System Tray
LoadPowerProfile (two instances were running so I unchecked one)
AtiCwd32
AtiKey
Sound Fusion
If I can drop any of the above, please let me know. Also, where is the registry key to remove the items permanently from MSconfig in 98?
He's the kind of person that doesn't want to know anything, and if something stops working on the pc, he'll shut it down and forget about it. He has no patience so whatever I can do now will have to hold for a while. | |
| | | Reverend Ike
Premium
join:2001-08-24
Sacramento, CA
2 edits | Re: Protecting a Win98? said by T Bell :ScanRegistry Task Monitor System Tray LoadPowerProfile (two instances were running so I unchecked one) The above are all normal Windows98se processes. One LoadPowerProfile instance is initiated by the Run key, the other by the RunServices key (I don't remember if it makes any difference if one is unchecked - I've always had both). Some tipsters say that if you don't use any Power Management features, you can disable both instances. The ATI processes are related to the video card.
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [ScanRegistry] C:\WINDOWS\scanregw.exe /autorun
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SystemTray] SysTray.Exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [LoadPowerProfile] Rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,LoadCurrentPwrScheme
O4 - HKLM\..\RunServices: [LoadPowerProfile] Rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,LoadCurrentPwrScheme
Program Name: AtiCwd32
Executable Name: AtiCwd.exe
Required: User's choice
Comments: This utility adds the ATI tab in the advanced display properties (gives the option for TV out). Do not uncheck if there is TV out on the video card.
Program Name: ATI Task Application (Atikey)
Executable Name: Atitask.exe
Required: No
Comments: System Tray access and key-combo shortcuts to common display functions on ATI video cards. Can be run from Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Display. | |
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, it currently serves as my Win 98 SE software development, test, and maintenance system.