The Windows and Windows Software Megathread

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The Lord Bude: May 23, 2007; ASK ME ABOUT MY SHITTY, BOUGIE INTERIOR DECORATING ADVICE

Windows 10 has perfectly good antivirus and firewall built in. Using a third party security suite in this day and age is not that far removed from snake oil; and the emerging consensus among security experts is that they actually harm your security.

# ? Feb 10, 2018 12:34

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# ? May 5, 2024 03:21

fishmech: Jul 16, 2006; by VideoGames; Salad Prong

Alpha Mayo posted:

What antivirus are people fond of these days? NOD32 still a favorite?

my main concern is to not be hacked by hackers so if a good firewall is important or other heuristic scanning included that would be nice. I don't care about speed in this case as long as it does the job well.

Windows Defender is built-in for Windows 8 and 10. Use that.

# ? Feb 10, 2018 15:18

JohnnyCanuck: May 28, 2004; Strong And/Or Free

Thirding Windows Defender and Windows Antivirus. Pair that with a good adblocker and sane browsing policies, and you're as secure as you can be.

# ? Feb 11, 2018 00:05

Ynglaur: Oct 9, 2013; The Malta Conference, anyone?

Thoughts on Malwarebytes?

Also, setting up an OpenDNS for your home network is painless and free. Corporate versions that enable roaming cost money, however.

# ? Feb 11, 2018 00:30

mystes: May 31, 2006

Do people still use opendns? Why?

# ? Feb 11, 2018 00:32

Ynglaur: Oct 9, 2013; The Malta Conference, anyone?

I found it a quick and easy way to block a bunch of websites I didn't need my kids to stumble over. I'm sure it's imperfect, but it's a good padlock, so to speak.

# ? Feb 11, 2018 00:42

GreenNight: Feb 19, 2006; Turning the light on the darkest places, you and I know we got to face this now. We got to face this now.

Our company migrated to Cisco Umbrella (what used to be OpenDNS) and it works pretty great in our corporate environment.

# ? Feb 11, 2018 01:02

fishmech: Jul 16, 2006; by VideoGames; Salad Prong

If what you're actually after is making sure your DNS won't resolve malware domains: https://www.quad9.net/

9.9.9.9 and 149.112.112.112 are their filtering DNS IPs. They also have those on IPv6 at 2620:fe::fe

9.9.9.10 and 149.112.112.10 are their non-filtering DNS IPs. 2620:fe::10 is the IPv6 nonfiltering DNS. These are still a good deal faster than like the old standby 4.2.2.x anycast DNS and even Google's 8.8.8.8 etc.

# ? Feb 11, 2018 01:37

redeyes: Sep 14, 2002; by Fluffdaddy

Ynglaur posted:

Thoughts on Malwarebytes?

Also, setting up an OpenDNS for your home network is painless and free. Corporate versions that enable roaming cost money, however.

I love malwarebytes. Except where they just hosed up and pushed an update that broke Windows computers about 2 weeks ago. I got 30 calls that morning in the span of 2 hours. Actually thought MS's spectre/meltdown patch had broken everything until I realized all the machines had Malwarebytes. Other than that one gently caress up (in memory), the program is legit and keeps computers clean.

# ? Feb 11, 2018 16:34

Lork: Oct 15, 2007; Sticks to clorf

I've got a Windows license conundrum for you all:

A friend of mine has a copy of 8.1 that he upgraded to 10, but ended up rolling back because hated it. Since then he's run into some hardware trouble and replaced his motherboard and CPU. In light of the aggressive tactics Microsoft is taking to force people to upgrade, he's now resigned to his fate and is planning on switching to 10. But the question is, what's the status of his license? After the rollback it told him that he was free to go back to 10 at any time, but with a new motherboard and CPU, his computer is presumably a "different one" now, so does that still apply? Complicating matters is the fact that rolling back screwed up a bunch of miscellaneous things (several scheduled tasks, like clock synchronization stopped working for example), so he'd very much prefer to do a clean install if possible. Is there a way to non destructively test if the license will work on his computer?

# ? Feb 12, 2018 23:43

Rexxed: May 1, 2010; Dis is amazing!
I gotta try dis!

Lork posted:

I've got a Windows license conundrum for you all:

A friend of mine has a copy of 8.1 that he upgraded to 10, but ended up rolling back because hated it. Since then he's run into some hardware trouble and replaced his motherboard and CPU. In light of the aggressive tactics Microsoft is taking to force people to upgrade, he's now resigned to his fate and is planning on switching to 10. But the question is, what's the status of his license? After the rollback it told him that he was free to go back to 10 at any time, but with a new motherboard and CPU, his computer is presumably a "different one" now, so does that still apply? Complicating matters is the fact that rolling back screwed up a bunch of miscellaneous things (several scheduled tasks, like clock synchronization stopped working for example), so he'd very much prefer to do a clean install if possible. Is there a way to non destructively test if the license will work on his computer?

If his windows 8 install is activated (check the system control panel), he can re-upgrade it to windows 10. His new hardware is probably not licensed for Windows 10 without doing that. If it were me, I'd probably do the 8 to 10 upgrade, then if issues with the OS persist, do a windows 10 reset to clean it up. Failing that, after the upgrade, wipe the disk and install 10 fresh (the reset should essentially be the same as this so it's likely to be unnecessary).

# ? Feb 13, 2018 04:46

Lork: Oct 15, 2007; Sticks to clorf

Rexxed posted:

If his windows 8 install is activated (check the system control panel), he can re-upgrade it to windows 10. His new hardware is probably not licensed for Windows 10 without doing that. If it were me, I'd probably do the 8 to 10 upgrade, then if issues with the OS persist, do a windows 10 reset to clean it up. Failing that, after the upgrade, wipe the disk and install 10 fresh (the reset should essentially be the same as this so it's likely to be unnecessary).

Thanks. Do you know where he needs to go to start the upgrade process?

# ? Feb 13, 2018 11:05

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

Lork posted:

Is there a way to non destructively test if the license will work on his computer?

Only by doing it, pretty much. To make it non destructive you need either a backup image of the drive you can restore if it doesn't work or a different drive (hdd or ssd) you attempt to do a clean install to instead with the original drive disconnected.

I haven't seen people whine that "do clean install with 10 install media, insert 7 or 8 key if asked for any, 10 activates on whatever hardware, regardless of whether the upgrade was ever attempted on it" stopped working. There's a guy in SA-Mart selling 7 keys for that purpose, where I'd expect there'd be customer feedback if that wasn't viable anymore. So that'd be the way I'd go (with the key you have) if a clean install was what I'd be going with anyway.

# ? Feb 13, 2018 11:06

thebigcow: Jan 3, 2001; Bully!

Lork posted:

Thanks. Do you know where he needs to go to start the upgrade process?

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10ISO there's a link on that page for the media creation tool

make backups before you start etc

# ? Feb 13, 2018 15:32

spasticColon: Sep 22, 2004; In loving memory of Donald Pleasance

I'm not sure if this is the right thread to ask about this but what's a good and free utility that displays CPU, GPU, RAM, and VRAM usage/temps on-screen while playing a game? My OS is Windows 10 Home 64-bit.

# ? Feb 14, 2018 05:27

Nucken Futz: Oct 30, 2010; by Reene

spasticColon posted:

I'm not sure if this is the right thread to ask about this but what's a good and free utility that displays CPU, GPU, RAM, and VRAM usage/temps on-screen while playing a game? My OS is Windows 10 Home 64-bit.

Is Rainmeter still a thing? If so, that will do the trick however you want it.

# ? Feb 14, 2018 05:45

Alpha Mayo: Jan 15, 2007; hi how are you?
there was this racist piece of shit in your av so I fixed it
you're welcome
pay it forward~

spasticColon posted:

I'm not sure if this is the right thread to ask about this but what's a good and free utility that displays CPU, GPU, RAM, and VRAM usage/temps on-screen while playing a game? My OS is Windows 10 Home 64-bit.

I use Afterburner for this

# ? Feb 14, 2018 06:46

Rexxed: May 1, 2010; Dis is amazing!
I gotta try dis!

spasticColon posted:

I'm not sure if this is the right thread to ask about this but what's a good and free utility that displays CPU, GPU, RAM, and VRAM usage/temps on-screen while playing a game? My OS is Windows 10 Home 64-bit.

Use HWInfo64. There's a bunch of other utilities but a lot of them are garbage. In HWInfo look at the sensor screen. You can pin values to the system tray by right clicking if you want, and you can set it to run with windows, minimize itself, and minimize sensors, minimize to system tray.

# ? Feb 14, 2018 06:57

spasticColon: Sep 22, 2004; In loving memory of Donald Pleasance

Thanks for the replies. I completely forgot about Afterburner :doh:

but I have a factory OC'd GTX1070 and reinstalled Windows since then so I haven't used or needed it for a while.

# ? Feb 15, 2018 01:25

bobfather: Sep 20, 2001; I will analyze your nervous system for beer money

Afterburner satisfies that nice 2 in 1 of giving you CPU and GPU temperature in your system tray AND letting you do a custom fan curve to keep noisy video cards quiet.

# ? Feb 15, 2018 15:05

Jewel Repetition: Dec 24, 2012; Ask me about Briar Rose and Chicken Chaser.

Is there an app for Windows like the Windows 10 calendar, except it still gives you reminders for events even if you miss the time it would normally show?

For example, if you have an event at 3 PM, so you'd normally get a remiinder at 2:45, but your computer's off from 2:30 to 3:30, is there an app that would give you the reminder when you log in at 3:30 even though the time has passed?

# ? Feb 15, 2018 18:22

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

That what the Windows 10 calendar app does for me, even after I dismissed it on my phone.

# ? Feb 15, 2018 19:00

Jewel Repetition: Dec 24, 2012; Ask me about Briar Rose and Chicken Chaser.

Flipperwaldt posted:

That what the Windows 10 calendar app does for me, even after I dismissed it on my phone.

Maybe that's because your phone's always on. I'm on desktop and I miss a lot of notifications from my PC being asleep when it should send them.

# ? Feb 15, 2018 19:26

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

Jeb! Repetition posted:

Maybe that's because your phone's always on. I'm on desktop and I miss a lot of notifications from my PC being asleep when it should send them.

Yes, my phone is always on and I get the notifications and dismiss them there and I still get notified for all of them on my pc when I turn it on. So what you're asking for is definitely implemented, to the point that it does that even when it technically shouldn't.

# ? Feb 15, 2018 20:30

Jewel Repetition: Dec 24, 2012; Ask me about Briar Rose and Chicken Chaser.

Flipperwaldt posted:

Yes, my phone is always on and I get the notifications and dismiss them there and I still get notified for all of them on my pc when I turn it on. So what you're asking for is definitely implemented, to the point that it does that even when it technically shouldn't.

Well, it doesn't do it on desktop only.

# ? Feb 15, 2018 21:31

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

Jeb! Repetition posted:

Well, it doesn't do it on desktop only.

Are you using it with a Microsoft account? If not, I imagine that could be the source of the different behavior.

Anyway, sorry for maybe drawing the attention away from suggestions for alternative good software.

# ? Feb 15, 2018 21:49

BangersInMyKnickers: Nov 3, 2004; I have a thing for courageous dongles

Anyone have a recommendation on enterprise Ramdisk software? I need something vended and supported because I need it to optimize a lovely business critical application.

# ? Feb 16, 2018 00:19

peak debt: Mar 11, 2001; b& :(; Nap Ghost

Is an SSD really not fast enough?

RAM-Disks for performance optimization are a very 2005 thing.

# ? Feb 16, 2018 16:05

MikeJF: Dec 20, 2003

There are still definitely use cases; access speeds to RAM are still like 40 times that of an SSD.

# ? Feb 16, 2018 16:12

Zorak of Michigan: Jun 10, 2006

I use Primo Ramdisk at home and it's been done exactly what it advertises with no issues. I'm a little worried that the last version came out in 2016, but then, why would they need to keep issuing new releases if the current one works?

# ? Feb 16, 2018 17:14

Jewel Repetition: Dec 24, 2012; Ask me about Briar Rose and Chicken Chaser.

Flipperwaldt posted:

Are you using it with a Microsoft account? If not, I imagine that could be the source of the different behavior.

Anyway, sorry for maybe drawing the attention away from suggestions for alternative good software.

Well it has a little dropdown that says Microsoft account that contains a checkbox next to "Calendar" and when I uncheck it all my events go away.

I'm trying to connect my google account now and see if that does anything.

# ? Feb 16, 2018 17:30

fishmech: Jul 16, 2006; by VideoGames; Salad Prong

peak debt posted:

Is an SSD really not fast enough?

RAM-Disks for performance optimization are a very 2005 thing.

Clearly it's a job for 3D xpoint.

# ? Feb 16, 2018 17:31

BangersInMyKnickers: Nov 3, 2004; I have a thing for courageous dongles

peak debt posted:

Is an SSD really not fast enough?

RAM-Disks for performance optimization are a very 2005 thing.

I cannot begin to stress how dogshit SEPM's coding is. The whole thing is constrained by disk latency.

# ? Feb 16, 2018 17:55

Dr. Fraiser Chain: May 18, 2004; Redlining my shit posting machine

If I have a Windows 7 license what's the cheapest way to get into 10 with it

# ? Feb 16, 2018 18:44

Toast Museum: Dec 3, 2005; 30% Iron Chef

Goodpancakes posted:

If I have a Windows 7 license what's the cheapest way to get into 10 with it

$0: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

# ? Feb 16, 2018 18:56

Wirth1000: May 12, 2010; #essereFerrari

Goodpancakes posted:

If I have a Windows 7 license what's the cheapest way to get into 10 with it

Sorry, mate, this is SH/SC. ADTRW is thatta way.

# ? Feb 16, 2018 18:57

bobfather: Sep 20, 2001; I will analyze your nervous system for beer money

Goodpancakes posted:

If I have a Windows 7 license what's the cheapest way to get into 10 with it

Stop worrying about paying money for something that is broken spyware, and just install it and accept that you'll get nagged occasionally and won't be able to change your themes.

(USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)

# ? Feb 16, 2018 20:07