cpu usage when windows is idle

[Ophelia]

Thank you, bb I will have a wee lookie at that one too

Oh yes, that is a cracking bit of kit too, thanks)

 

[Dave]

I took a look at Security Essentials and decided against it. It phones
home to Microsoft, and you need to join the little Microsoft purity club
in order to get it, so I took a pass.

-Al-

I'm not arguing for or against, but I thought this feature was shut off if
you elected on install. AFAIR when I installed there was a selection on
sharing info with MS, which I declined. Not sure about the club though.
Dave

 

[Stephen Wolstenholme]

I'm not arguing for or against, but I thought this feature was shut off if
you elected on install. AFAIR when I installed there was a selection on
sharing info with MS, which I declined. Not sure about the club though.
Dave

That may go some way to explain how I managed to download Security
Essentials without joining any clubs.

Steve

 

[Al Smith]

I'm not arguing for or against, but I thought this feature was shut off if
you elected on install. AFAIR when I installed there was a selection on
sharing info with MS, which I declined. Not sure about the club though.
Dave

That may go some way to explain how I managed to download Security
Essentials without joining any clubs.

Steve

http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/default.aspx



*Your PC must run genuine Windows to install Microsoft Security
Essentials.

[end quote]

How does Microsoft determine whether or not you are running
"genuine Windows?" Why, it checks your computer, of course, by
scanning it. And if it happens to find something it doesn't like
.... which may well be completely legitimate ... it deactivates it
or cripples it.

I won't have Microsoft scanning my computer. It's that simple. For
that reason, I can't run Security Essentials. Not that I mind very
much -- lots of free alternatives available.

And yes, my install of Windows 7 is completely legitimate. It was
installed on my new Dell computer when I bought it, and I have the
OEM Windows 7 DVD.

-Al-

 

[Ophelia]

Dave wrote:


I use AVG and AVG has no automatic updating or whatsoever.

AVG Free auto updates daily, and the paid version can be set to
update
itself even more frequently. I don't think that's taking any
appreciable level of CPU, though, so keep looking.


I used AVG for a while and agree with your assessment, but like
another
poster pointed out, it is constantly creating a database of some sort.
This is only done in the background when system is idle; I'm at a loss
for the name of that feature though. You can start the creation
manually, let it create the db, then it should only do an update
incrementally, which I wouldn't think would take a lot of time. On
initial install there is a separate icon for this feature but you can
switch it to merge with the AVG icon and you never see the icon for
the
db creator again.
I'm not positive this is what's going on but I would suggest to the op
to try shutting this feature off and see it that solves their problem.
Dave
PS Another option is MS Security Essentials, which is a free antivirus
and is rated as one of the highest, even higher than AVG. Does
automatic
updates, auto-scan and warns you if you forget to do a scan for a
while.
It's not a suite though so if you need those features it won't fit the
bill.


I took a look at Security Essentials and decided against it. It phones
home to Microsoft, and you need to join the little Microsoft purity
club
in order to get it, so I took a pass.

-Al-

I'm not arguing for or against, but I thought this feature was shut off
if
you elected on install. AFAIR when I installed there was a selection on
sharing info with MS, which I declined. Not sure about the club though.
Dave

That may go some way to explain how I managed to download Security
Essentials without joining any clubs.

Steve

http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/default.aspx



*Your PC must run genuine Windows to install Microsoft Security
Essentials.

[end quote]

How does Microsoft determine whether or not you are running "genuine
Windows?" Why, it checks your computer, of course, by scanning it. And if
it happens to find something it doesn't like ... which may well be
completely legitimate ... it deactivates it or cripples it.

I won't have Microsoft scanning my computer. It's that simple. For that
reason, I can't run Security Essentials. Not that I mind very much -- lots
of free alternatives available.

And yes, my install of Windows 7 is completely legitimate. It was
installed on my new Dell computer when I bought it, and I have the OEM
Windows 7 DVD.

Amen!

 

[Stephen Wolstenholme]

http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/default.aspx

*Your PC must run genuine Windows to install Microsoft Security
Essentials.

[end quote]

How does Microsoft determine whether or not you are running
"genuine Windows?" Why, it checks your computer, of course, by
scanning it. And if it happens to find something it doesn't like
... which may well be completely legitimate ... it deactivates it
or cripples it.

I won't have Microsoft scanning my computer. It's that simple. For
that reason, I can't run Security Essentials. Not that I mind very
much -- lots of free alternatives available.

And yes, my install of Windows 7 is completely legitimate. It was
installed on my new Dell computer when I bought it, and I have the
OEM Windows 7 DVD.

-Al-

I saw all that when I first tried to download and ignored it. The
download still worked. I just tried it again and it still works.
Perhaps there is something on my computers that tells Microsoft I use
"genuine Windows" without any need for a scan. I am using Chrome it
that makes any difference.

I download mssefullinstall-x86fre-en-us-xp.exe rather than just run
it.

Steve

 

[Dave]

snip

*Your PC must run genuine Windows to install Microsoft Security
Essentials.

[end quote]

How does Microsoft determine whether or not you are running "genuine
Windows?" Why, it checks your computer, of course, by scanning it. And if
it happens to find something it doesn't like ... which may well be
completely legitimate ... it deactivates it or cripples it.

I won't have Microsoft scanning my computer. It's that simple. For that
reason, I can't run Security Essentials. Not that I mind very much -- lots
of free alternatives available.

And yes, my install of Windows 7 is completely legitimate. It was
installed on my new Dell computer when I bought it, and I have the OEM
Windows 7 DVD.

-Al-

That's your right to feel that way. MS does tend to get a bit intrusive as
almost any MS software you install is going to check if your OS is legit.
OTOH, almost any retail software is going to ensure your installation is
legit somehow or other so MS is not alone on that.
Dave

 

[Al Smith]

snip

*Your PC must run genuine Windows to install Microsoft Security
Essentials.

[end quote]

How does Microsoft determine whether or not you are running "genuine
Windows?" Why, it checks your computer, of course, by scanning it. And
if it happens to find something it doesn't like ... which may well be
completely legitimate ... it deactivates it or cripples it.

I won't have Microsoft scanning my computer. It's that simple. For
that reason, I can't run Security Essentials. Not that I mind very
much -- lots of free alternatives available.

And yes, my install of Windows 7 is completely legitimate. It was
installed on my new Dell computer when I bought it, and I have the OEM
Windows 7 DVD.

-Al-

That's your right to feel that way. MS does tend to get a bit intrusive
as almost any MS software you install is going to check if your OS is
legit.
OTOH, almost any retail software is going to ensure your installation is
legit somehow or other so MS is not alone on that.
Dave

I generally avoid software that checks back with home base, or
gives me a hard time about registration. I just can't be bothered
with it. I uninstall it unless for some reason I absolutely have
to have it. It's one of the litmus tests I apply to new software
after I install it ... Is it going to try to call home? Does it
call home even after I tell it not to do so? That was true of
Ad-Aware, which is why I uninstalled it. I installed it recently,
and set it not to check for updates, yet it was still trying to
make contact with home base, so I dumped it.

-Al-

 

[Zootal]

snip

*Your PC must run genuine Windows to install Microsoft Security
Essentials.

[end quote]

How does Microsoft determine whether or not you are running "genuine
Windows?" Why, it checks your computer, of course, by scanning it. And
if it happens to find something it doesn't like ... which may well be
completely legitimate ... it deactivates it or cripples it.

I won't have Microsoft scanning my computer. It's that simple. For
that reason, I can't run Security Essentials. Not that I mind very
much -- lots of free alternatives available.

And yes, my install of Windows 7 is completely legitimate. It was
installed on my new Dell computer when I bought it, and I have the OEM
Windows 7 DVD.

-Al-

That's your right to feel that way. MS does tend to get a bit intrusive
as almost any MS software you install is going to check if your OS is
legit.
OTOH, almost any retail software is going to ensure your installation is
legit somehow or other so MS is not alone on that.
Dave

I generally avoid software that checks back with home base, or
gives me a hard time about registration. I just can't be bothered
with it. I uninstall it unless for some reason I absolutely have
to have it. It's one of the litmus tests I apply to new software
after I install it ... Is it going to try to call home? Does it
call home even after I tell it not to do so? That was true of
Ad-Aware, which is why I uninstalled it. I installed it recently,
and set it not to check for updates, yet it was still trying to
make contact with home base, so I dumped it.

-Al-

I used to use WordPerfect X3. I also used a VPN connection to a
university from time to time. Everytime I would activate or deactivate
the VPN connection, WP would think something had changed and require
reactivation. After a very short while it used up all of my
reactivations, and it locked me out. I was locked out of software that
was legal and legit, that I had payed for. I quickly dumped it.

My solution was to purchase an OEM version off of eBay. While this OEM
version was of questionable legality, it was dirt cheap, I had already
payed for the full version, and *it worked*.

Software makers seem to forget who is paying whom these days. Too bad
there are so many sheep that willingly go along with their heavy handed
anti-piracy schemes.

 

[Al Smith]

snip
*Your PC must run genuine Windows to install Microsoft Security
Essentials.

[end quote]

How does Microsoft determine whether or not you are running "genuine
Windows?" Why, it checks your computer, of course, by scanning it. And
if it happens to find something it doesn't like ... which may well be
completely legitimate ... it deactivates it or cripples it.

I won't have Microsoft scanning my computer. It's that simple. For
that reason, I can't run Security Essentials. Not that I mind very
much -- lots of free alternatives available.

And yes, my install of Windows 7 is completely legitimate. It was
installed on my new Dell computer when I bought it, and I have the OEM
Windows 7 DVD.

-Al-

That's your right to feel that way. MS does tend to get a bit intrusive
as almost any MS software you install is going to check if your OS is
legit.
OTOH, almost any retail software is going to ensure your installation is
legit somehow or other so MS is not alone on that.
Dave

I generally avoid software that checks back with home base, or
gives me a hard time about registration. I just can't be bothered
with it. I uninstall it unless for some reason I absolutely have
to have it. It's one of the litmus tests I apply to new software
after I install it ... Is it going to try to call home? Does it
call home even after I tell it not to do so? That was true of
Ad-Aware, which is why I uninstalled it. I installed it recently,
and set it not to check for updates, yet it was still trying to
make contact with home base, so I dumped it.

-Al-

I used to use WordPerfect X3. I also used a VPN connection to a
university from time to time. Everytime I would activate or deactivate
the VPN connection, WP would think something had changed and require
reactivation. After a very short while it used up all of my
reactivations, and it locked me out. I was locked out of software that
was legal and legit, that I had payed for. I quickly dumped it.

My solution was to purchase an OEM version off of eBay. While this OEM
version was of questionable legality, it was dirt cheap, I had already
payed for the full version, and *it worked*.

Software makers seem to forget who is paying whom these days. Too bad
there are so many sheep that willingly go along with their heavy handed
anti-piracy schemes.

The anti-piracy stuff just seems to inconvenience the legitimate
users, without stopping the so-called pirates. It is driving more
people to downloading cracked programs from the torrents, which
are sometimes infected with malware, and this serves to spread
malware. I've read posts by a lot of people who say they've
downloaded and installed pirate Microsoft software, only because
they couldn't be bothered trying to sort out the "security
protection" in their legitimate copies. Seems almost as if
Microsoft is trying to make itself secure from its own customers.

-Al-

 

[Zootal]

Dave wrote:


snip
*Your PC must run genuine Windows to install Microsoft Security
Essentials.

[end quote]

How does Microsoft determine whether or not you are running
"genuine Windows?" Why, it checks your computer, of course, by
scanning it. And
if it happens to find something it doesn't like ... which may well
be completely legitimate ... it deactivates it or cripples it.

I won't have Microsoft scanning my computer. It's that simple. For
that reason, I can't run Security Essentials. Not that I mind very
much -- lots of free alternatives available.

And yes, my install of Windows 7 is completely legitimate. It was
installed on my new Dell computer when I bought it, and I have the OEM
Windows 7 DVD.

-Al-

That's your right to feel that way. MS does tend to get a bit intrusive
as almost any MS software you install is going to check if your OS
is legit.
OTOH, almost any retail software is going to ensure your
installation is
legit somehow or other so MS is not alone on that.
Dave


I generally avoid software that checks back with home base, or
gives me a hard time about registration. I just can't be bothered
with it. I uninstall it unless for some reason I absolutely have
to have it. It's one of the litmus tests I apply to new software
after I install it ... Is it going to try to call home? Does it
call home even after I tell it not to do so? That was true of
Ad-Aware, which is why I uninstalled it. I installed it recently,
and set it not to check for updates, yet it was still trying to
make contact with home base, so I dumped it.

-Al-

I used to use WordPerfect X3. I also used a VPN connection to a
university from time to time. Everytime I would activate or
deactivate the VPN connection, WP would think something had changed
and require reactivation. After a very short while it used up all of
my reactivations, and it locked me out. I was locked out of software
that was legal and legit, that I had payed for. I quickly dumped it.

My solution was to purchase an OEM version off of eBay. While this
OEM version was of questionable legality, it was dirt cheap, I had
already payed for the full version, and *it worked*.

Software makers seem to forget who is paying whom these days. Too bad
there are so many sheep that willingly go along with their heavy
handed anti-piracy schemes.

The anti-piracy stuff just seems to inconvenience the legitimate
users, without stopping the so-called pirates. It is driving more
people to downloading cracked programs from the torrents, which
are sometimes infected with malware, and this serves to spread
malware. I've read posts by a lot of people who say they've
downloaded and installed pirate Microsoft software, only because
they couldn't be bothered trying to sort out the "security
protection" in their legitimate copies. Seems almost as if
Microsoft is trying to make itself secure from its own customers.

-Al-

Back in the late '80s and early '90s, Microsoft was a pretty good
company. They didn't have odious copy protection and anti-piracy
policies, their tech support was top notch, accessible, and spoke
English, and the people that worked for them liked working for them.
(well, I guess some still do today, but Microsoft isn't the great
employer that they used to be). Unfortunately, Microsoft, like many
companies who experience some success, took their focus off of the
people that made them successful (ie their customers) and started to
focus on their shareholders wealth and market control. I use a lot of
competing products today because of that. WordPerfect, QuattroPro,
MySQL, Linux - all products where Microsoft doesn't get my money
anymore. QuattroPro narrowly escaped a trip to the trash can because
unfortunately, WordPerfect Office isn't much better anymore than
Microsoft products anymore - oh how the mighty have fallen

 

[Al Smith]

@edtnps82:

Dave wrote:


snip
*Your PC must run genuine Windows to install Microsoft Security
Essentials.

[end quote]

How does Microsoft determine whether or not you are running
"genuine Windows?" Why, it checks your computer, of course, by
scanning it.
And
if it happens to find something it doesn't like ... which may well
be completely legitimate ... it deactivates it or cripples it.

I won't have Microsoft scanning my computer. It's that simple. For
that reason, I can't run Security Essentials. Not that I mind very
much -- lots of free alternatives available.

And yes, my install of Windows 7 is completely legitimate. It was
installed on my new Dell computer when I bought it, and I have the
OEM
Windows 7 DVD.

-Al-

That's your right to feel that way. MS does tend to get a bit
intrusive
as almost any MS software you install is going to check if your OS
is legit.
OTOH, almost any retail software is going to ensure your
installation
is
legit somehow or other so MS is not alone on that.
Dave


I generally avoid software that checks back with home base, or
gives me a hard time about registration. I just can't be bothered
with it. I uninstall it unless for some reason I absolutely have
to have it. It's one of the litmus tests I apply to new software
after I install it ... Is it going to try to call home? Does it
call home even after I tell it not to do so? That was true of
Ad-Aware, which is why I uninstalled it. I installed it recently,
and set it not to check for updates, yet it was still trying to
make contact with home base, so I dumped it.

-Al-


I used to use WordPerfect X3. I also used a VPN connection to a
university from time to time. Everytime I would activate or
deactivate the VPN connection, WP would think something had changed
and require reactivation. After a very short while it used up all of
my reactivations, and it locked me out. I was locked out of software
that was legal and legit, that I had payed for. I quickly dumped it.

My solution was to purchase an OEM version off of eBay. While this
OEM version was of questionable legality, it was dirt cheap, I had
already payed for the full version, and *it worked*.

Software makers seem to forget who is paying whom these days. Too bad
there are so many sheep that willingly go along with their heavy
handed anti-piracy schemes.

The anti-piracy stuff just seems to inconvenience the legitimate
users, without stopping the so-called pirates. It is driving more
people to downloading cracked programs from the torrents, which
are sometimes infected with malware, and this serves to spread
malware. I've read posts by a lot of people who say they've
downloaded and installed pirate Microsoft software, only because
they couldn't be bothered trying to sort out the "security
protection" in their legitimate copies. Seems almost as if
Microsoft is trying to make itself secure from its own customers.

-Al-

Back in the late '80s and early '90s, Microsoft was a pretty good
company. They didn't have odious copy protection and anti-piracy
policies, their tech support was top notch, accessible, and spoke
English, and the people that worked for them liked working for them.
(well, I guess some still do today, but Microsoft isn't the great
employer that they used to be). Unfortunately, Microsoft, like many
companies who experience some success, took their focus off of the
people that made them successful (ie their customers) and started to
focus on their shareholders wealth and market control. I use a lot of
competing products today because of that. WordPerfect, QuattroPro,
MySQL, Linux - all products where Microsoft doesn't get my money
anymore. QuattroPro narrowly escaped a trip to the trash can because
unfortunately, WordPerfect Office isn't much better anymore than
Microsoft products anymore - oh how the mighty have fallen

I've been very tempted to move to Linux, but the distros I've
tried just don't recognize all my hardware, and they don't run my
games, so for that reason I've stuck with Windows. But I took a
pass on Vista completely. Right now, most new computer buyers are
moving to Windows 7 64-bit, and 64-bit free programs aren't quite
commonly available yet, but in a year or so this problem should
solve itself.

-Al-

 

[Zootal]

Zootal wrote:
@edtnps82:

Dave wrote:


snip
*Your PC must run genuine Windows to install Microsoft Security
Essentials.

[end quote]

How does Microsoft determine whether or not you are running
"genuine Windows?" Why, it checks your computer, of course, by
scanning it.
And
if it happens to find something it doesn't like ... which may
well be completely legitimate ... it deactivates it or cripples
it.

I won't have Microsoft scanning my computer. It's that simple.
For that reason, I can't run Security Essentials. Not that I
mind very much -- lots of free alternatives available.

And yes, my install of Windows 7 is completely legitimate. It
was installed on my new Dell computer when I bought it, and I
have the
OEM
Windows 7 DVD.

-Al-

That's your right to feel that way. MS does tend to get a bit
intrusive
as almost any MS software you install is going to check if your
OS is legit.
OTOH, almost any retail software is going to ensure your
installation
is
legit somehow or other so MS is not alone on that.
Dave


I generally avoid software that checks back with home base, or
gives me a hard time about registration. I just can't be bothered
with it. I uninstall it unless for some reason I absolutely have
to have it. It's one of the litmus tests I apply to new software
after I install it ... Is it going to try to call home? Does it
call home even after I tell it not to do so? That was true of
Ad-Aware, which is why I uninstalled it. I installed it recently,
and set it not to check for updates, yet it was still trying to
make contact with home base, so I dumped it.

-Al-


I used to use WordPerfect X3. I also used a VPN connection to a
university from time to time. Everytime I would activate or
deactivate the VPN connection, WP would think something had changed
and require reactivation. After a very short while it used up all
of my reactivations, and it locked me out. I was locked out of
software that was legal and legit, that I had payed for. I quickly
dumped it.

My solution was to purchase an OEM version off of eBay. While this
OEM version was of questionable legality, it was dirt cheap, I had
already payed for the full version, and *it worked*.

Software makers seem to forget who is paying whom these days. Too
bad there are so many sheep that willingly go along with their
heavy handed anti-piracy schemes.



The anti-piracy stuff just seems to inconvenience the legitimate
users, without stopping the so-called pirates. It is driving more
people to downloading cracked programs from the torrents, which
are sometimes infected with malware, and this serves to spread
malware. I've read posts by a lot of people who say they've
downloaded and installed pirate Microsoft software, only because
they couldn't be bothered trying to sort out the "security
protection" in their legitimate copies. Seems almost as if
Microsoft is trying to make itself secure from its own customers.

-Al-

Back in the late '80s and early '90s, Microsoft was a pretty good
company. They didn't have odious copy protection and anti-piracy
policies, their tech support was top notch, accessible, and spoke
English, and the people that worked for them liked working for them.
(well, I guess some still do today, but Microsoft isn't the great
employer that they used to be). Unfortunately, Microsoft, like many
companies who experience some success, took their focus off of the
people that made them successful (ie their customers) and started to
focus on their shareholders wealth and market control. I use a lot of
competing products today because of that. WordPerfect, QuattroPro,
MySQL, Linux - all products where Microsoft doesn't get my money
anymore. QuattroPro narrowly escaped a trip to the trash can because
unfortunately, WordPerfect Office isn't much better anymore than
Microsoft products anymore - oh how the mighty have fallen

I've been very tempted to move to Linux, but the distros I've
tried just don't recognize all my hardware, and they don't run my
games, so for that reason I've stuck with Windows. But I took a
pass on Vista completely. Right now, most new computer buyers are
moving to Windows 7 64-bit, and 64-bit free programs aren't quite
commonly available yet, but in a year or so this problem should
solve itself.

-Al-

I hear you on Vista. I got burned with WindowsME, didn't feel like doing
it again with Vista. The only reason I'm using Windows 7 right now is
because ATI fixed the opengl support in the drivers, whereas it's still
broken in XP64.

Try Slackware (www.slackware.com). Their default distro has a huge
kernel with just about every driver under the sun. If not, then you have
run into one of the main differences between Winbloze and Linux - if the
driver isn't there, Linux requires some Linux know-how to find it and
make it work. There is an excellent help forum,
http://www.linuxquestions.org/, with enough traffic that you often get
answers within hours. When I decided to move to linux, I spent many
hours there. I was using a toshiba laptop, and at the time drivers for
toshibas. With perserverance, I was able to get it working.

But games? Ain't gonna happen. Linux just isn't a gamers platform, and
game makers aren't going to waste their time making games run on Linux.
Excellent for servers, but not for clients. It's about the only thing
that keeps me from dumping windows for good.