New user needs help; numerous issues with Windows 7

richc46 said:

I do apologize for not explaining my position on the email client. Although, I am not disputing the information provided to you by the serviceman, I must comment that I never heard of a situation like you described.

In addition you mention that you cannnot avail yourself to the advanced A/V provided by the cable company, because it is incompatible with Windows 7.

With all due respect, may I suggest that maybe that is not the most advantageous ISP service to use. According to them, no A/V and no email client.

Go to the Thunderbird site that I provided and try to download,again. This time with your A/V in place, that site does not have a virus.

You may also want to try to download the email client that I suggested, your serviceman, could have been in error. Before you download make a System Restore point, so that if it does not work you can go back to the point prior to installation.

Mediacom has the local broadband monopoly, and I still had the second cable line from 5 years ago. The only alternative would be to have DSL installed at extra expense and surf 8 times slower. Mediacom, for the first year, is $19.95/month; same cost as the slower DSL. Only other alternative (besides having a telephone landline installed at extra expense; and if I wanted 56k dial-up speed internet, I would just stick with my Blackberry) is wireless broadband, which is $60/month through Sprint with my mom's discount (they have a contract with the hospital where she works, so she gets 20% off), and apparently Sprint told her that they don't offer unlimited data plans, and the service is only intermitently available.

Like I said, first PC in 5 years, last used Windows 98, so I have no idea what a "system restore point" is, where to find it, or how to use it.

s0c9 said:

Annastasia said:

Sorry, maybe my post was too long to actually convey what I was trying to say:

I had my cable company come out to set up the broadband this morning, but they couldn't set up my email because Windows Live Mail is not compatible for configuration with my local cable broadband.

I'll be blunt.. !! Your cable company service guy is a blithering idiot !!
Live Mail should not be incompatible with your local cable broadband. It's just a web based interface to manage email accounts. It may not be supported by your ISP and work with its email accounts, but that's a different issue.
Is that what you meant ?

If so, call their service folks and demand that they send out someone who knows what they are doing! Heck, my cable provider refused to support me for years, 'cus I was running a network behind the modem and always wanted me to plug a PC directly into the modem port. Blah!!
Having that type of config is now commonplace.

The Windows Live Mail that was DLed to my PC appears to be a non-web-based email program that does not open in a browser window, it appears to have some or my requirements, like providing an inbox that can consolidate mail from different addresses from different providers and store them offline, but according to the tech that came out, as well as their phone tech support, this progam is not compatible for configuring with Mediacom cable broadband service.

ignatzatsonic said:

Ann:

Restated, I guess you have 3 problems

Getting an email client that can handle multiple addresses
Proper antivirus
Getting support for your new purchase
Getting a backup disk

I'd concentrate on the first two for now.

The people on this forum can likely provide all the knowhow you need.

You have AVG installed. Does it appear to be working properly?

If yes, have you tried to download Thunderbird 3.0 from here?

Mozilla Messaging

Microsoft's own Security Essentials is probably the easiest to use and configure alternative to AVG in use by forumites if you are looking for something other than AVG.

Don't rely on whatever antivirus your ISP may provide. Run your own on your own PC.

If you think you have no virus issues at this time, I would find out why you can't download a proper copy of Thunderbird. If you can't do so from a legitimate site, you may have some sort of malware or virus on your system, despite AVG.

Concentrate on antivirus and mail first.

How much does MS Security Essentials cost?

Thunderbird was the first thing I tried to DL on my PC other than the Windows Live Mail client, so unless some of the virus snuck through when it started to try to DL on its own without me selecting run or save when I went back to try to double check the virus warning, or WLM is infected, or Lenovo has factory installed viruses and malware, I don't know how I would have any virus. Mediacom is supposed to provide CA Internet Security Suite A/V free with the service, but when I went to the download page on the Mediacom site, it specifically says that Internet Security Suite by CA is not yet Windows 7 compatible.

I am aware that free AVG is barebones A/V, without the advanced features of things like Norton's A/V or CA ISS, so until I have a more dependable and advanced A/V, I am still scared to try going back to Mozilla, since I couldn't read the virus warning details fast enough, I have no way of knowing if it is a virus that AVG could catch.

Wishmaster said:

Windows Live mail should be fairly straightforward setting up ..

new Account

1st page:
email address
PW

next page ..

the server addresses (incoming POP3 & Outgoing SMPT) will be something like :
mail. <carrier> . <com or net>

least, thats how most cable services work :-/

thunderbird should be the same

Because the service tech and phone tech from Medicaom both said WLM is not compatible with Mediacom, I was unable to get a new Mediacom email address and password, or their mail server address information, to even attempt to try to set it up on my own. They said to call back after I found a Mediacom-compatible email client, but gave no info on how to find out which one that would be, telling me to call Lenovo or MS, the saga of which I have already posted.

Ann:

Microsoft Security Essentials is free.

It is very peculiar that you cannot go to the Thunderbird site and download without issues.

That suggests to me that you may have a malware problem.

Go here:

|MG| Malwarebytes Anti-Malware 1.43 Download

and download Malwarebytes, a free highly regarded scanner for bad critters on your PC.

Install it.

Open it.

Go to the "update" tab and update.

Go to the scanning tab and do a complete scan. It might take 20 or so minutes to complete.

Let us know what it finds. But don't let it delete anything yet. Just report back here.

If it finds nothing, then the problem with the Thunderbird download is even more mysterious.

Annastasia said:

I downloaded the free AVG anti-virus this morning, but I am supposed to have access to a more advanced and featured, normally paid security software as part of my cable broadband service, but the program is not compatible with Windows 7.
I tried to download Thunderbird from Mozilla before I had installed ANY security software, and the infection messages appeared to be pop-ups coming from the site itself.

AVG is not the lean mean free AV it once was. It has been surpassed by Avast in preference by tech enthusiasts among the free AV's. And now MSE is being talked up as a real contender to Avast.

IMO paying for AV is paying for bloat in almost exact proportion to what you pay.
Either Avast or MSE give you the leanest possible no-impact AV which will not let in any infections. The Win7 firewall is perfectly optimized now to work with one of those as long as you keep your Windows Updated.

Have put Avast on over 100 machines with Win firewall without a single infection or issue to date.

ignatzatsonic said:

Ann:

Microsoft Security Essentials is free.

It is very peculiar that you cannot go to the Thunderbird site and download without issues.

That suggests to me that you may have a malware problem.

Go here:

|MG| Malwarebytes Anti-Malware 1.43 Download

and download Malwarebytes, a free highly regarded scanner for bad critters on your PC.

Install it.

Open it.

Go to the "update" tab and update.

Go to the scanning tab and do a complete scan. It might take 20 or so minutes to complete.

Let us know what it finds. But don't let it delete anything yet. Just report back here.

If it finds nothing, then the problem with the Thunderbird download is even more mysterious.

I have no extra money after Christmas, and having to pay bills right after New Year's, I can't afford the $24.95 license fee listed for Malwarebytes on that page, and when I try the link to just run the scan from the page, I get redirected to a PCTools site selling a download of Registry Mechanic 9.0 for Windows.