| Author |
Message |
    
priceless1
Wisdom Member
Post Number:
638
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, March 18, 2006 - 08:59 am: |   |
I don't know if it's just a gift with me or I have some really bad karma floating around, but I seem to suffer from computer-itis far more than the average bear. This time has to do with evil suspicions of Microsoft.
Last night as I turned off my machine, I had a window pop up with the requisite "Microsoft has updates that need to be installed." Okay, I think, install away. As usual, the updates install before the machine turns off. Everyone with me so far?
So this morning I turn on my computer and click on Mozilla Firefox, my browser of choice, only to discover that every one of my bookmarks have been highjacked - gone - AWOL - including my Google search bar. The only thing remaining is my history, which appears to still work.
I immediately ran my virus scan and spybot programs to see if some wayward scum of the earth had bitten my hard drive. Everything came up clean. That's when I remembered the Microsoft updates. Could it be possible that their updates could actually sabotage a competitor's browser? Could they be that paranoid? Or am I just one of those lucky micks that suffers from an abundance of electronic bad karma? |
Claudia Turner VanLydegraf
Mindsight Moderator
Post Number:
2587
Registered: 06-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, March 18, 2006 - 09:23 am: | |
I had the same thing happen on my laptop last September and played hell getting it fixed again. But it wiped out my access ability to boot up or get into the computer at all. I let the program go ahead. When, in the comp shop, it finally came up and I was able to turn it on, with the fixer-upper there, it all worked fine. But for about 20 hours, I couldn't even turn the damn thing on. And it was a Microsoft popup update thing that started the whole thing not working, cause I said OK to the update just as I was turning it off. At teh shop they did a virus scan and boot check and everything came up roses, no problems, and great for me, no charge for the call at the shop, but it really had me panicked. The one guy thought that maybe a possibly low battery ,ight have had something to do with it. But my battery was at 87%, so go figure....
Claudia
MINDSIGHT MODERATOR
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Todd Hunter
Mindsight Moderator
Post Number:
3187
Registered: 02-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, March 18, 2006 - 02:38 pm: | |
My guess is that your new browser probably edited some common Windows files, then the Windows update went in and edited those same files (overwriting the files that Mozilla had made edits to). When the browser tried to use those files, then it choked on the new updates.
That the problem with common files...
My opinion is based on a circumstance where changes to a common file a piece of tax software performed years ago were overwritten by a piece of MS software I installed later during the same tax season, and precluded me from printing out of the tax software until I fixed the issue (after contacting MS for the solution).
I doubt it was intentionally malicious...
Mindsight Moderator
Check out the musings over at Aston's new blog
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priceless1
Wisdom Member
Post Number:
639
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, March 20, 2006 - 08:48 am: | |
Thanks, Todd, I'd hoped that it wasn't anything sinister. Can you tell I've been reading a consipiracy theory book? At any rate, I had backed up my bookmarks back in early Feb, so not all was lost. But all the new bookmarks were lost and, of course, I can't remember what they were. Back to the drawing board. |
Dennis Collins
Mindsight Moderator
Post Number:
1785
Registered: 06-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, March 20, 2006 - 09:02 am: | |
Lynn
I have had a similar experience and in my case the solution was simple. When I updated, MS pushed my SBC Yahoo browser out of the way and installed a MSN browser in it's place. It was creepy because almost everything looked the same except for the toolbar across the top (and it contained my 488 bookmarks). I re-installed my original browser and the bookmarks came back.
Dennis Collins
Moderator
www.theunrealmccoy.com |
Fred Dungan
Unity Member
Post Number:
1513
Registered: 10-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, March 20, 2006 - 11:04 am: | |
Think twice before you OK the update. If nothing is broken, why fix it?
http://www.fdungan.com/vigilantes.htm |
Tom Elkins
Hsympothai Member
Post Number:
385
Registered: 01-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, March 20, 2006 - 02:34 pm: | |
Yeah. My son, the Computer Tech, says never do the Microsoft updates. Of course, he shall remain nameless.
Tom Elkins
NORTH of TEXAS
www.authorsden.com/tomelkins |
priceless1
Wisdom Member
Post Number:
640
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, March 21, 2006 - 12:51 pm: | |
Yes, I agree about passing on the updates. Thing is, it automatically updates when I turn my machine off. Sometimes I'd really like to spank the dickens out of Bill Gates. |
Laurel Johnson
Unity Member
Post Number:
4239
Registered: 01-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, March 21, 2006 - 01:12 pm: | |
I never used to install the updates but my local computer store, where I bought my computer, slapped my wrists smartly for not installing all windows updates. In fact, they don't honor their three year parts and services warranty unless windows and antivirus updates are installed regularly.
Yes, windows updates wiped out a couple things I did not want wiped out but I did not have enough sense to get them back.
Laurel
My Name is Esther Clara
======================================
http://laureljohnsonblogs.blogspot.com
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Fred Dungan
Unity Member
Post Number:
1517
Registered: 10-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, March 21, 2006 - 09:01 pm: | |
When Gates & Co. does something bad to our computers, we are told to grin and bear it. But when anyone infringes on Microsoft in any way, it's a whole different matter.
http://www.fdungan.com/vigilantes.htm |
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