McAfee Site Advisor

[volatile]

oops, sorry I didn't realize someone already posted removal instructions. Yea, that should be fine too.

[ShinyGreenApple]

I also used the removal tool from this link that clowninasack provided, does that make a difference?

And before I did all this, I tried to find a way to disable certain things in McAfee and only ended up going round in circles. I swear, it was like trying to cancel AOL I didn't realize how much that program took over my whole system.

[volatile]

Ok, I got that all done, and I went with Comodo for my firewall. And all I can say now is . . .

GONE, GONE, GONE, Smeagol's I'm FREE! No more stupid MA logo, no more snail pace computer. *le sigh*

Thanks so much to everyone!

If you only removed the program through Add/Remove Programs then please download this and run it. McAfee does not cleanly remove itself when you install only by the default method.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/McAfee_Con...ool_d5420.html

[ShinyGreenApple]

Ok, I got that all done, and I went with Comodo for my firewall. And all I can say now is . . .

GONE, GONE, GONE, Smeagol's I'm FREE! No more stupid MA logo, no more snail pace computer. *le sigh*

Thanks so much to everyone!

[JLRodgers]

Some cable modems (and DSL ones) have a "internet button" or power switch. Hit that and you're offline. Hit it again and you're back on (although if you kill the power, it might take a few seconds/minute to be back up). The internet button (on/off internet button) is instant.

[Broomjockey]

Just unplug the network cable from the computer. It shouldn't do anything to your system, and will just hop right back online when you plug the cable back in.

[ShinyGreenApple]

But when the tech installed our high speed, he said that all we need do is turn on the computer and voila! We are online. I don't know how to disconnect from the web

[RichS]

And I'm assuming I should have AVG and Windows Firewall up and running before I try to take off McAfee, right?

Not good to have two antivirus programs running at the same time. At the least, they'll argue with each other and slow your system to a crawl. Here's what to do: Download AVG, go offline, uninstall McAfee, install AVG, go online to download AVG updates.

You should be all set then!

[ShinyGreenApple]

AV = shorthand of anti-virus.

Whoa, now I do feel dumb

But thanks a lot for all the input, guys. I'll see if I can't get it all taken care of before bed. Not seeing all these images (it even happens on deviantart and youtube ) is beyond irksome.

And I'm assuming I should have AVG and Windows Firewall up and running before I try to take off McAfee, right?

[clowninasack]

Heh, I usually don't recommend anything other than AVG Free and Windows Firewall because they're rather low-maintenance and simple. Comodo is nice, but alot of inexperienced users get overwhelmed with the 'training' it requires. Windows firewall will protect you from most crud unless you're really determined to get infected .

[LostMyMind]

I'll check out AVG, and to possibly sound like a complete and total dummy here, what is "AV"?

AV = shorthand of anti-virus.

[JLRodgers]

I'd definately disable all the internet-based things (other than virus scan and firewall) in that program.

I know that the new AVG prigram has a stupid "link scanner" that does something "wonderful": it downloads and scans every single search result hit and gives you a report -- sometimes taking 20 minutes to scan 10 links. On top of it all, once you click the link, it scans the site again (making the original scan pointless overall).

But yeah, definately disable everything that you don't use in that program.

[ShinyGreenApple]

Yeah, I noticed since I downloaded the update this morning, my machine has been running like cold molasses. Particularly when I run programs like media player and Paint Shop Pro. McAfee just came with my computer, and I went ahead and took it, since I wasn't at all impressed with how Norton had taken care of my parents' comp.

I'll check out AVG, and to possibly sound like a complete and total dummy here, what is "AV"?

[LostMyMind]

Personally if you're concern about sites "executing" malware/virus from websites. Get the free Comodo Firewall. Their newest version will bring up a "hey did you start this program". I got mine on paranoid mode. Haven't had an malware attempt, but it's useful in preventing programs from doing things you don't want it to. Like the dang media player always trying to download information from the internet. I love selective port blocking (which microsoft firewall don't do). So some programs can still access some ports but others the mail client can access port 110 but not port 80. It also protects the start-up entries so nothing add themselves to the start-up, unless of course you say it's ok.

As far as Mcafee, norton, or any pay to use anti-virus. Don't, not worth it. They don't do better than the free AVG.

[clowninasack]

I would remove McAfee and use a free AV (and only AV) program like AVG Free Edition or Avast!. I install AVG on all my customer's machines and have had no complaints. They're just as good as Norton / McAfee (if not better) and are way lighter on system resources (considering they JUST do AV, and nobody really needs anymore than AV nowadays. Windows comes with a suitable firewall so you don't need anything extra).

If you're not comfortable with that you'll want to look for some ad-blocking feature of McAfee and turn it off.