Techie Haven

Archive for the ‘AntiVirus Software’ Category

Not a day goes by that I don’t work on a home PC removing spyware or viruses that is missing all the current updates for Microsoft Windows, Java, and Adobe Acrobat.

Folks, if there is one thing you can do to minimize the cost of keeping your PC running well it is to keep up with the updates recommended for your PC by the software companies. Please take a look in your system tray… that is the area all the way on the right side of your toolbar (if it is on the bottom of your screen of course). There you will find little icons for programs that are either running or updates that are waiting to be installed. Click on the icons to look for updates. Java is an orange square, Microsoft is the Windows logo, and Adobe will usually be the Adobe logo in red. On some systems you might need to click an up arrow to see them all.

Rules:

1. Always install Microsoft Updates
2. Always install Java Updates
3. Always install Adobe Updates

The majority of risk to your PC is from viruses and spyware that take advantage of security holes in these products that are patched up by these updates. Run them whenever you see them and save yourself a lot of future hassle.

For those of you that have trouble installing Symantec Endpoint Protection on your clients I found these instructions to do the trick when I keep experiencing a roll back and the inability to install.

After uninstalling SEP or confirming it is not installed.

1. Delete C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Symantec\LiveUpdate\    (Windows XP, 2003)
2. Delete C:\ProgramData\Symantec\LiveUpdate\    (Windows Vista, 7, 2008)

Solution A) Invalid folder redirections
Windows 7 makes use of internal links and redirections that may not be understood by legacy installations and legacy software. To accommodate this, please check the settings that Windows 7 uses to determine certain folder locations within the operating system itself. Confirm that the settings are pointing to actual physical folders.

HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders\AppData:
- Change the value=%APPDATA% to value=%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming

Check any registry entries located in the key  HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders\ pointing to a folder has %USERPROFILE% as part of the value.

(Note: Verify the physical folder or folders exists, \Users\Default\AppData\Roaming, before finishing the renaming process. In addition, verify the value of the other keys located within the AppData folder, they all should be alike.)

3.Reboot
4. Right-Click ‘Run as Administrator’ and run Setup.exe