When she did windows update, it loaded the latest Windows Genuine advantage patch that checks the validity of the installation. If it thinks it's not valid, it will start popping up warning messages. At that point firewalls don't matter it's already on the computer. I agree with Clint I would tell your friend to go back to the store and tell them she is reporting them to Microsoft if they don't give her a valid copy of windows. The only thing I would accept would be a cd with a hologram authentication on it. If they won't Microsoft is offering a big discount to people who report companies selling bogus software.
Losing the firefox bookmarks is not related to this. Take a look at http://kb.mozillazine.org/Lost_bookmarks . That page may not help her with losing bookmarks but it shows how to backup and restore bookmarks in Firefox. Apparently in version 1.05 bookmarks are backed up automatically. Ben Moore -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Support-OrpheusComputing.com Sent: Monday, June 05, 2006 12:08 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: PCWorks: Another Firefox victim I don't see how she could have been getting messages from M$. Unless, her PC is wide-open and unprotected by any firewalls, and even then "according to M$" their website and update site "neither sends nor retrieves any personal identifiable information" back to them! Which I always knew was a lie. She needs to enable the Native XP firewall, get another firewall that blocks both incoming AND outgoing information, and be sure to disable automatic updates. Now what she can do is simply tell M$ about the place from where she got the PC, and TELL THE PLACE she's going to do it. I bet that will get her a valid OS CD! As far as FireFox, no, that's unrelated. It is becoming more and more vulnerable and she needs to check for program updates and patches for it on a regular basis. Loosing bookmarks could be another vulnerability. Bookmarks should also be backed up on a regular basis. -Clint God Bless Clint Hamilton, Owner http://OrpheusComputing.com http://ComputersCustomBuilt.com ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sue Cubic" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> A friend of mine wrote me on Thursday that she had lost all of her Firefox bookmarks. I've been watching the thread on here and sending her your answers. Do her comments below sound similar to the problems you've had? She has recently discovered that the computer she had built at a local shop a year ago does not have a valid copy of XP on it. She is not terribly computer literate, but went following links on the MS site and her suspicions have been confirmed. The shop is trying to wiggle out of responsibility, but if I know her, she will hold their feet to the fire. She thought maybe her Firefox problems were related to this. She has been getting some kind of nasty messages from MS about not having a valid copy of XP, and thought maybe MS was taking things away from her. :) Quote: >I can't remember if I had to do anything or if it just showed >up and said >it had been updated. it also started making firefox my >homepage instead >of yahoo. the part that says quick search that has google and >such is even >gone. Thanks for any advice. Sue ============= PCWorks Mailing List ================= Don't see your post? Check our posting guidelines & make sure you've followed proper posting procedures, http://pcworkers.com/rules.htm Contact list owner <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Unsubscribing and other changes: http://pcworkers.com =====================================================
