I still love Firefox. But I'm installing on a new computer,

[david13]

and moving QuickBooksPro 2007 the QB download help lady said, you must run ie to download the install program.
ok.
I do not like norton. I'd like to replace that with spyware doctor.
Any thoughts on them?
dc

[Why Syzygy]

1. What OS are you setting up?

A one stop download center for maintenance/security free software:

http://www.majorgeeks.com/page.php?id=20

(They suggest two on a couple of items. Personally, I only use one :shrug: You may not need each and every one (root kit checker, for example). Someone else may have a differing opinion.

Norton sucks. That's the group consensus, not just me.

[Duer 157099]

2. There's an IE plugin for Firefox

For those rare (and hopefully getting more rare) occasions when a site demands the use of IE. It's either IE View or IE Tab, can't remember since it's been quite awhile since I've used it.

[Why Syzygy]

3. Good Answer! nt

[david13]

5. Very good. I will try that next time I need it. Thanks. dc

[david13]

6. OS is whatever came on the box. I think it's Windows, which version,

I don't know. It may be Vista? The owner is rolling around on the floor in ecstasy over the idea of upgrading to 7 or having Vista.
I haven't tried 7. But having Vista for 2 years I think there is absolutely zero advantage to me to use it.
I have Windows XP and Vista and have never experienced even the slightest difference in them. So why pay 10 cents?
dc

[hobbit709]

4. This is what I do and use on new systems.

First get PC Decrapifier
http://www.pcdecrapifier.com/
This will get rid of all the "trial offers", Wild Tangent games and other crap they bog down a new computer with.

Then get Malwarebytes Antimalware
http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php
and Spybot S&D
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html
when installing Spybot, uncheck the TeaTimer option-it will work faster.

Then get either AVG or Avast antivirus.
If you install AVG, uncheck the Toolbar option-it's just a PITA.

These are some free programs I use for a lot of things
Instead of Adobe Acrobat Reader-which is now one big piece of bloatware get Foxit Reader
http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/reader/

Media Player Classic will play just about anything including DVDs You have to add the codecs for Quicktime and RealPlayer but they're available from the same site
http://www.free-codecs.com/download/Media_Player_Classic.htm

Advanced System Care is a nice utility that will clean registry errors, optimize your system for performance and clear out junk files
http://www.iobit.com/advancedwindowscareper.html

For email I would use Thunderbird from Mozilla instead of Outlook
http://www.mozillamessaging.com/en-US/thunderbird/

My favorite little program is TrayPlay-lets you listen to music from .wav, .mp3, .wma and .cda without any frills. Uses 37Kb and sits in your system tray. plays files from a folder in order or random, lets you adjust volume and gives track info. I've used it on Windows 98, 2000, XP, XP X64, Vista(32 and 64 bit) and it works on Windows 7 too.
http://chime.tv/multimedia.shtml
(It's about a third of the way down the page)

[Warpy]

7. I'd add one

http://wareseeker.com/free-tclock-light/

T-clock light. It sits where the MS time clock is but displays the day and date. Clock is 24 hour time. Calendar will pop up when you click it.

I discovered it when I was working nights and lost days all over the place.

[david13]

8. I guess that is one ever so slight advantage to Vista. The clock and

calendar will come up with one click on the time. With XP you must click adjust time and date on the menu after clicking on the time.
dc