Trouble with Paint Shop Pro 7

I have been using Paint Shop Pro v7 for many years but just recently it has become a bit flaky and when I try to open an image (jpeg) it says it is not a proper jpeg image and refuses to open it. As a temporary solution I installed Gimp which opens the images OK but does not do what I used to do with PSP7. I mostly use PSP to resize images, to reduce the file size for uploading images to websites. I figured maybe the software is somehow corrupted and decided to reinstall it. Problem. I have lost the original disc I loaded it from. The internet is full of sites that supply out of date software but pretty much every one I investigate is known for adding bloatware, adware, or malware to the free downloads. Can anyone either suggest a safe site to download from or perhaps suggest a simple alternative for quick resizing of images? I prefer to use PSP because I am very familiar with it and anything else will require a long learning curve to wade through all the bells and whistles I don't need.

Quite some time ago I had a link to a site where you could upload to and it would check the file for malware. The site stopped offering the service and I have not found anything else to replace it. What do you guys use to scan stuff before downloading?

VirusTotal would be one....

VirusTotal

If you want to scan it yourself you could install MalwareBytes. It supports W7.

• Operating System: Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, or Windows 7 SP1
  Note: For Windows 7 devices, you need to apply the Microsoft 2019-09 Security Update. For more information, see Windows 2019-09 Security Update for Windows devices running Malwarebytes home products.

System requirements for Malwarebytes for Windows

Bree said:

VirusTotal would be one....



VirusTotal

If you want to scan it yourself you could install MalwareBytes. It supports W7.

System requirements for Malwarebytes for Windows

Thankyou Bree. VirusTotal is the one I used in the past. I will go for that.
I have Malwarebytes installed but being the free version it doesn't have that functionality. It doesn't prevent attacks in real time, only if I do a scan after something has been downloaded. Then it might be too late.

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townsbg said:

You know that software is from 2001 right? Being 20 years old there could be compatibility issues with modern files. Not to mention compatibility issues with Windows. XP wasn't even out then. I'm sure it's designed for Windows 98 and ME. I'm surprised that you've been able to get it running on 7 64-bit to begin with. There are plenty of other programs that do image resizing.

I have used PSP7 since 2000 on a laptop running 98 and a self built PC running XP and two more running W7 Pro without issue until a few weeks ago. I haven't been using it for anything terribly challenging, maybe a bit of cropping and sharpening of images but mostly resizing nowadays. I still use a lot of older software because I'm a believer in sticking with what I understand and what works for me. In my view, newer is not always better. It is usually only better at making someone else a lot of money.

townsbg said:

You know that software is from 2001 right? ... I'm surprised that you've been able to get it running on 7 64-bit to begin with. There are plenty of other programs that do image resizing.

I have PaintShop Pro 7.04. It does a lot more besides resizing - think PhotoShop and you get a good idea of what it capable of. There are no compatibility issues, I have had it running in Windows 7, Windows 10 and now in Windows 11.

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Aardvarkly said:

I have Malwarebytes installed but being the free version it doesn't have that functionality. It doesn't prevent attacks in real time, only if I do a scan after something has been downloaded. Then it might be too late.

If you download an installer with malware hidden in it, then it can only get out and do damage if you run it. Plenty of time to scan it with Malwarebytes before you decide if it's safe to run.