Slashdot Mirror
Spyware Removal: Drop PC in Dumpster
morganx writes "The New York Times is reporting that some users prefer throwing out their PCs and buying new ones to actually removing their spyware. Does this mean lots of free hardware for the dumpster-divers among us?"
Drop timothy in the dumpster... along with Zonk, Taco, etc.
I'm typing this from a dumpster right now. Thank you, spyware.
http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/07/16/180 221&tid=126&tid=172&tid=98
By the looks of it, "the doctor who replaced her infected computer", and "says she no longer clicks on pop-ups" did more than replace her comupter. She switched to a Mac (and spent a bit more than $500 for that 51" Powerbook ;-)).
B
So, some friends of mine are going dumpster diving. This is back in the middle of the tech bubble, so fairly cash-rich companies are continually throwing out good equipment as they buy more. Anyway, the experienced one is driving around looking for suitable places, with the newbie riding shotgun. They pull up behind a high end computer service business in a strip mall to check out the goods. The experienced one had told many stories (and provided proof) of incredible finds in places like this, and spurred on by these stories the newbie hops out of the car, runs over, and vaults himself over the lip of the dumpster, feet first inside. What greeted him wasn't the spoils of computer repair, but the spoiled discards of the Chinese restaurant two doors down from the computer business...
In Phoenix, in the Summer...
And there weren't any computer parts discarded that day by that shop anyway...
Boy would that suck...
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
Crow T. Trollbot
Objection, Your Honor! Assumes digital media not in evidence!
Last I heard, MS was prohibiting OEMs from shipping recovery CDs. That hard drive is all you get.
Lacking <sarcasm> tags,
..of a guy I was phone supporting whom lived in Queens, New York:
Him: "Ahhh it's hopeless.."
Me: "Nah, let's just try the next solution.."
Him: "Ya know what would fix this up good?"
Me: *chuckle* "What's that?"
Him: "A 2 lb. sledge. I tell ya, 2 lb. sledge fixes EVERYTHING.."
Me: rofl
The accent was priceless.. the word 'sledge' must have been invented in NY..
Yeah, she must have spent a few grand on the crane alone ;)
Shouldn't THEY pay YOU to find problems in the stories?
Just the other day I made this very observation when I emailed an editor pointing out a grammatical error (usage of "your" instead of "you're") in a Mysterious Future post.
Alas, no reply offering employment along these lines. Still, hope springs eternal.
If you want a system which isnt affected by worms/virus/security issues at all, you could always use a TRS-80.
//. The hardware is a lot cheaper too.
definitely safer than OSX.
there's no OS updates to have to fuss about with, either.
They can download all the software they want, surf the web and write their email all on the same system they use for their data analysis without worry and I'm not getting calls or visits to my office saying "Ummmmmmm. I think my system is infected"
You could accomplish the same thing with apple
"After all, do you see people expecting to buy and use a car with zero training, no licence or maintenance? Why do they apply a different standard to computers?"
Ever heard of a MAC?
"It seems that we are at the age where life stops giving us things, and starts taking them away..." Indiana Jones
For starters, you need to go to some other Web site than MSN or the Microsoft intranet, Bill.
Richard Steven Hack - This sig is TOO GODDAMN SHORT TO DO ANYTHING USEFUL WITH! MORONS!