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Ten Mins and 50 Viruses Later....

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wheezy

wheezy

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Apr 7, 2005
1,280
1
Alpine, UT
So I decide to be a good samaritan tonight and re-install Windows for a friend. They had a XP Pro SP1 disc in the box o junk, so I decided to install it. No worries. Then....the activation. Oh bother, why oh why must I activate? The CD they had was for a Dell, and therefore did not have the CD key anywhere on the book or CD, they put that on the Dell box, so I didn't have it.

I go online and try and find some activation hacks, I know I won't be going to the most trusted sites for those things, but, in less than 10 mins the new box is totally infected and running like crap. TEN FREAKING MINS doing very very little surfing.

Now I have this wallpaper that says SPYWARE INFECTION: Your system is infected, and a stupid balloon popup telling me it's infected. Glorious! I love Windows. SO GLAD I'm losing sleep now to fix the $%## box.

GOD BLESS OS X!!!
 
And the moral of the story is:

Keep PCs in their original shipping box. DO NOT unpack them.

That way you can't get viruses and, in addition, the activation key on the box will still be handy.
 
Doctor Q said:
And the moral of the story is:

Keep PCs in their original shipping box. DO NOT unpack them.

That way you can't get viruses and, in addition, the activation key on the box will still be handy.
Click to expand...

I think the moral of the story is:
Buy Mac OS X :p
 
It's not the actual PC Doctor Q, it's the OS. Take the PC out of its box by all means but do not plug it in and certainly don't try installing anything on it. :p
 
mad jew said:
Erm, to be fair it seems that you're not really using a 100% legal copy of Windows. You can't blame Microsoft for that. :eek:
Click to expand...

It is a 100% legal copy, came with a Dell Computer, I don't know where they got it, but it's not a downloaded copy. I'm just trying to hack the activation because the CD Key is glued to the Dell Box, and I don't know where that is.
 
wheezy said:
I go online and try and find some activation hacks, I know I won't be going to the most trusted sites for those things, but, in less than 10 mins the new box is totally infected and running like crap. TEN FREAKING MINS doing very very little surfing.
Click to expand...

n00b

;-)
 
wheezy said:
It is a 100% legal copy, came with a Dell Computer, I don't know where they got it, but it's not a downloaded copy. I'm just trying to hack the activation because the CD Key is glued to the Dell Box, and I don't know where that is.
Click to expand...

According to what Microsoft and your computer "think" you have an illegal copy.
 
wheezy said:
It is a 100% legal copy, came with a Dell Computer, I don't know where they got it, but it's not a downloaded copy. I'm just trying to hack the activation because the CD Key is glued to the Dell Box, and I don't know where that is.
Click to expand...


Technically it's illegal because Dell licence you to use a single copy of Microsoft Windows with its box, and its box only. Most PC makers do the same.
 
mad jew said:
Technically it's illegal because Dell licence you to use a single copy of Microsoft Windows with its box, and its box only. Most PC makers do the same.
Click to expand...

I know, and that's pretty lame. I mean, what if my dell died completely, I've still paid for Windows, right? So, I should have every right to build a new box and use it. Then again, if I did that, i would still have the Dell Box.....

noOb? Only to hacking windows. Thankfully I haven't had to really deal with it for a long time. And you and I both know a noOb can't even figure out how to re-install windows.....

Well, I reinstalled it again, 2nd time tonight. I'll forget the updates. I was trying to do that and it wouldn't even let me until I activated. (which I still haven't done...) but now, it's completely virus free. It hasn't gone online yet either though.....
 
Dell OEM copies of Windows XP do not require keys. It detects if it's a Dell machine from SMBIOS and will automatically install without a key. Sounds like you have a hacked copy.
 
wheezy said:
Well, I reinstalled it again, 2nd time tonight. I'll forget the updates. I was trying to do that and it wouldn't even let me until I activated. (which I still haven't done...) but now, it's completely virus free. It hasn't gone online yet either though.....
Click to expand...

I heard a study done on the topic of viruses and their conclusion was that the average computer got atleast one virus within 18 minutes of being attached to the internet.
So good luck with keeping it virus free once you plug that PC into the internet.
 
wheezy said:
Well, I reinstalled it again, 2nd time tonight. I'll forget the updates. I was trying to do that and it wouldn't even let me until I activated. (which I still haven't done...) but now, it's completely virus free. It hasn't gone online yet either though.....
Click to expand...

If you have access to one, install a router before you go online and keep it there until you've installed all updates and a spyware/virus scanner.
 
wheezy said:
I go online and try and find some activation hacks, I know I won't be going to the most trusted sites for those things, but, in less than 10 mins the new box is totally infected and running like crap. TEN FREAKING MINS doing very very little surfing.
Click to expand...
So you spend ten minutes on a standard unpatched, unprotected windows XP install poking around in somewhat dodgy areas of the internet looking for activation hacks and you wonder why your machine got hacked?
 
go to www.avast.com and install there anti virus software i used it on my windows XP pro pc and didnt get a virus one. its not a system resource hog. once you download you can force it to take a snapshot of all the files on the hdd and if a file gets infected it will restore the file back to normal it does what all the other bigger name anti virus company's does but better and less of a system hog.
i know i also ran it on a P1 200mhz mmx with 40mb ram running windows 98 and didnt notest a speed diffrence in windows and to top it all off its free to homw users. just read up on it
 
mad jew said:
Technically it's illegal because Dell licence you to use a single copy of Microsoft Windows with its box, and its box only. Most PC makers do the same.
Click to expand...

What a shame. I would want to use the OS on my computer. What good is a box that can run Windows?
 
wheezy said:
So I decide to be a good samaritan tonight and re-install Windows for a friend. They had a XP Pro SP1 disc in the box o junk, so I decided to install it. No worries. Then....the activation. Oh bother, why oh why must I activate? The CD they had was for a Dell, and therefore did not have the CD key anywhere on the book or CD, they put that on the Dell box, so I didn't have it.
...
Click to expand...
Funny, every Dell computer I've seen in the past several years has a sticker somewhere on the copmputer with the license key.
 
Doctor Q said:
And the moral of the story is:

Keep PCs in their original shipping box. DO NOT unpack them.
Click to expand...


ROFL!

And, If you do open it, do not plug it into a modem, connect Ethernet, or activate Wireless networking.. EVER!

And to be safe, do not insert any CD/ROM disks, or (gasp!) Floppy disks!
 
Thats like going into the city , trying to buy some weed off a guy on the corner for you 'grandma who has glaucoma' and wonder why you got robbed.

No sympathy, sorry and I dont blame Windows.

Hell, if you are a Mac guy why didnt you use you Mac to look for the hacks?

Duh....
 
Bear said:
Funny, every Dell computer I've seen in the past several years has a sticker somewhere on the copmputer with the license key.
Click to expand...

They have been putting the COAs on the towers since..... forever. I smell a troll who did something dumb and wants to try and make himself feel better by blaming Windows.
 
Hmm, that's strange. Typically with Dell computers and the actual re-install CD that came with them don't require activation or the CD key. It's all built into the re-install disk and handled automatically. I'm constantly re-installing on Dells and have never had to activate or use the CD key.

Perhaps it's an older model before Dell started automating it with the scripts. How old is the computer?
 
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