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[Sappho]

What the fupping frig... How is it that Windows Defender and Windows Firewall keep turning themselves back on? I turn them off, everything is fine for a month or two, then suddenly they're back on again without my consent. What the crap? Windows Update occasionally does the same thing, too.

The new computer I'll be getting will come with Windows 8. Is that any better? I hope to Armok it isn't worse... Maybe it's time for me to learn how to use Linux... although I'd still need Windows for many things. : /

[Thief^]

What the fupping frig... How is it that Windows Defender and Windows Firewall keep turning themselves back on? I turn them off, everything is fine for a month or two, then suddenly they're back on again without my consent. What the crap? Windows Update occasionally does the same thing, too.

Never heard of that, sorry. But then I have all those turned on myself (windows update turned down to let me tell it when to install (e.g. at shutdown time) rather than at the default 3am (which actually means during startup the following day when I really want to use the pc...))

The new computer I'll be getting will come with Windows 8. Is that any better? I hope to Armok it isn't worse... Maybe it's time for me to learn how to use Linux... although I'd still need Windows for many things. : /

Yes, it's better. The new start "screen" instead of menu takes a little getting used to and many people dislike it, but if you tell it to boot directly to the desktop and use taskbar pinning of programs you'll almost never use it anyway. Make sure you install the 8.1 update if it doesn't come with it.

Windows Defender in 8 is a full virus checker, and a really good one at that (it's a renamed Microsoft Security Essentials, not related to Windows 7's defender at all).
Windows Firewall is also much better than it's normally given credit for, if you stick "advanced" into your start menu search box and click on "windows firewall with advanced security" you get the "advanced" interface, which is fantastic and puts pretty much all 3rd-party firewalls to shame (though obviously it's not for all users, it's quite complex).

[Sappho]

Hm... I generally just keep the firewall off when I'm at home, and use Avast! for antivirus purposes. Could it be true that Microsoft actually made security software that actually works? Without pestering me with warnings and confirmations every five minutes? Can anyone confirm this?

EDIT: Also, it turns out that at work, my shiny new freshly reinstalled system has a pirated copy of Windows 7 on it. I keep getting nag windows telling me I need to get a legit version, and all my settings are undone every few minutes, so I can't customize anything. I know that software piracy is not something advocated on this site, but this is absolutely beyond my control -- the boss refuses to buy a legit copy of windows for me to use. If anyone has any thoughts on how to solve this situation, feel free to PM me... Thanks guys.

[Aklyon]

Well, would you happen to have any win7 keys on the case? (or on a laptop you have, basically any key that has not been used yet) Outside of getting them to buy a key or you doing it yourself, I can't think of much else around that.

Also yes, Microsoft Security Essentials works perfectly fine without pestering.

[Sappho]

I don't have any keys. That's the problem. I figure there must be "questionable" ways to get rid of the DRM on windows 7, but I'm afraid to use any of them, given the inherent dangers of such tools and the fact that all the important work stuff is there.

[Thief^]

Hm... I generally just keep the firewall off when I'm at home, and use Avast! for antivirus purposes. Could it be true that Microsoft actually made security software that actually works? Without pestering me with warnings and confirmations every five minutes? Can anyone confirm this?

Yep. It's fantastic. See also SmartScreen (new in Windows 8 ): Checks new programs against the (huge) Microsoft software database to find trusted/dodgy/unknown software, and act as appropriate. Far more accurate than virus scanning
Defender is more of a backup to that, really, despite being one of the best virus scanners on the market.

EDIT: Also, it turns out that at work, my shiny new freshly reinstalled system has a pirated copy of Windows 7 on it. I keep getting nag windows telling me I need to get a legit version, and all my settings are undone every few minutes, so I can't customize anything. I know that software piracy is not something advocated on this site, but this is absolutely beyond my control -- the boss refuses to buy a legit copy of windows for me to use. If anyone has any thoughts on how to solve this situation, feel free to PM me... Thanks guys.

Anonymously report them to the appropriate authority. As a developer, I'm of the opinion that pirating software isn't really ok, but I understand it for individuals as some stuff is (stupidly IMO) beyond the budget of a lot of individuals. For businesses however, there's no excuse. If you can afford to pay a salary you can afford to buy a software license.
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/piracy/reporting/us.aspx
https://reporting.bsa.org/r/report/add.aspx?src=us&ln=en-us
(they may ignore it if it's only the one license)

[Sappho]

In a larger company, I might do just that. I don't think it's feasible where I am, though. There are only about 10 people in this company, and I'm the only one with a pirated copy of Windows. If they got reported, it would be pretty obvious who did it. Having only just started this job and still trying to prove myself, it would not look good if I went behind their backs and reported them for software piracy. I do really love this job and I don't want to screw it up.

I'm considering trying a boot loader, but I'm worried about either damaging files, or getting caught by Microsoft. : / What's worse, it doesn't even seem to be possible to buy a key for 7 anymore. Trying to do so on the Microsoft web site just takes me to a page advertising how much better 8 is and pushing me to upgrade. I can't find anywhere to just buy a replacement key for 7... : /

EDIT: Wait, can a key be used more than once? Maybe I could try my key from this computer. It's only been used once...

[Rose]

I've been using bootloaders for ages without issues, but you have to make sure you get one from a more reputable irreputable site.

[Sappho]

Hm... doing some research, it seems that since my copy of Windows came preinstalled on the computer, it won't be possible to reuse the key on another system. I might try anyway, just to see what happens...

Japa, could you possibly PM me with some details about such utilities? I don't want to anger the almighty Toad by discussing illicit activities out in the open.

[Lord Shonus]

I've got a large number of videos I want to burn to DVD for playing on a DVD player (They're older videos from the internet, which are already DVD quality anyway, makig a disc very convienient). Is there a good program that will both convert them and build a decent menu?

[Thief^]

In a larger company, I might do just that. I don't think it's feasible where I am, though. There are only about 10 people in this company, and I'm the only one with a pirated copy of Windows. If they got reported, it would be pretty obvious who did it. Having only just started this job and still trying to prove myself, it would not look good if I went behind their backs and reported them for software piracy. I do really love this job and I don't want to screw it up.

How about telling them it's making it difficult for you to work? They don't have to buy you a legit version if they really don't want to (but come on, it's not that expensive) bit they should at least properly crack it for you...

[Sappho]

I suppose the truth of the matter is that it isn't making it difficult to work. It's just annoying not being able to have a wallpaper on my desktop (it constantly resets it to just plain black) and once every few hours I have to click a box saying "remind me later." Since I'm only in the office 16 hours per week, it's hard to justify that it's interfering with my work. It's just mildly frustrating not to be able to have my sweet Spock wallpaper on the desktop, where I can show off what a nerd I am.

The guy who's directly above me in the pecking order said he'd try to convince the boss to get a legit copy for me, but basically he said nope, not giving money to Microsoft, and my boss sort of shrugged and said sorry, there's nothing I can do. I suppose I could ask permission to crack it myself, though I have a feeling they won't want me to do that out of fear for all the sensitive data that would be at risk. We use Google Drive for everything, so if something bad gets on one computer, everything could be fucked. Now, I think that using Google Drive for an entire business is an incredibly stupid idea, and we've already had several problems with it, but there's no convincing my boss that we should stick to FTP and normal file sharing even though most of us think that would be a much better system.

Le sigh. Again, I really do love my job. I get to write articles about video games and books and psychology and all kinds of fun stuff, and they're even letting me start my own YouTube channel where I review games officially for the magazine. But there are definitely some things that are kind of shitty.

[Gentlefish]

Uh. So a free linux distro is out of the question?

[Alastar]

That was my first thought as well, and definitely something I would consider in that situation.

Not sure I'd recommend it to someone with no prior Linux experience thoug: She might need to use software not available/annoying to run on Linux, and the company may regard it as an unwanted complication. If interested, she could bring it up as a legal alternative that doesn't require any license fees, and see what reaction this gets.

[Sappho]

Hm... That's not a bad idea at all. I don't have any experience with Linux, though. Is there an easy way to install it?

Although one of the other people in the office asked if she could use her Mac, and they said no, because they weren't sure she'd be able to use all the software. But the only software I need for the job is Thunderbird, Chrome, LibreOffice (everyone else uses Microsoft Office 2010 but FUCK THAT), Skype, FileZilla, and Google Drive, all of which will presumably run on Linux without any complications, as long as the file extensions when I create documents are all the same. I'm a magazine editor, so all I mostly do is write and edit Word documents, which are stored on Google Drive, and communicate with Skype (which I hate but I can't get them to switch to anything better) and email.

They might say that they need all the computers the same, in case someone else needs to use mine. But I could counter that we already have a "guest editor" computer available, and that no one knows how to use my software anyway (they all use MS Office for mail and documents and Total Commander for FTP and all seem very nervous about me using other programs that they've never used before).

But I'll ask, and see what they say. I should make sure I know how to install it first, though. Can anyone point me to a good tutorial?

I should also probably wait until a day when I have time to mess around with it. At the moment I'm snowed under with work that they want me to get done ASAP (even though we have a month before it goes to print).

EDIT: Damn it, I'm getting more Microsoft glitches on my home computer. Now I can't access help files in Windows programs; it crashes immediately. Is there any way to fix all these problems (Windows Live Movie Maker and Desktop Gadgets crash when trying to open as well) without a system restore? I have no idea what caused this problem. The only thing I've installed recently, besides some Minecraft stuff, is Hamachi... Oh, and Letter Quest, a $1 game I grabbed off of IGS (not on Steam). I think that's everything...