Miffed by Best Buy

go to the run command and type in msconfig.

when it loads on screen go to the start menu and untick the things you want to stay quiet.

then go to www.adaware.com get the personal edition free

at http://www.lavasoft.com/products/ad-aware_se_personal.php

then go to http://www.spybot.info/ pick your language and download that.

Install then both and run them. they will find the stuff you want rid of.

the free versions are not as good as the paid one. you choose

Thanks for this advice - I did as you say and discovered some 57 items listed in the startup menu, some I recognised, others a complete mystery - how do I know good from bad?

What happens to my poor old laptop if I deselect all?

Will it still run so I can re-select all or some, if neccessary?

I recognised an msn.exe type command and unticked it and the annoying MSN Messenger window immediately disappeared, along with assorted registry changes being requested, to be replaced by Mr Microsoft warning me of dire consequences for eliminating this window, accompanied by sotto voce bleating every time I did anything - this eventually stopped after I ticked an OK box in this repetitive warning message.

At one stage in the history of this 6oomc machine, it was so slow because of about 80 spyware occupiers, it was vitualy impossible to keyboard, now I have regular sesssions with Spybot S&D and AdawareSE, all updated at least weekly, and especially after any Internet Explorer expeditions I may be forced to undertake for whatever reason I cannot use Mozilla, and life is pretty good.

To remove some of those StartUp menu entries would probably probably make it go almost at the speed of light, by comparison - so how do I determine whats what amongst these myriad entries?

Also, do the paid versions of Spybot and Adaware automatically block and remove this spyware etc as it comes in, or later?

Thanks everyone

The issue isn't Best Buy, It is the "Geek Squad". The Quality of service, total cost, and days to check out problem was not what I expected after having them check out my computer and replace a bad power supply. I checked my computer after repair and found not of any cooling fans had been clean out. About 3 months later it tooks 6 Geeks 4 weeks to tell me they didn't know what was wrong with my computer. It took 2 hours for another company to tell me the old power supply had caused a fault in main Chip when failing and only took 2 days to install new motherboard. No wonder the Geek Squad costs so much it must be time based service not quality based. Best Buy is still a great store it is just not easy to find Quality repair services at resonable prices today.

The stuff the Geeks do will be to set up your internet, email(s) and other typical utilities as well as the startup menu and harware settings. I have installed the big $60 Norton package and the paid version of spybot (webroot) and window washer (webroot). All this stuff makes the machine one tick slower but it will not be vandalized by anyone but me. Load your protection software and everything else then go to the startup area like the other response said and turn off the unwanted stuff. The Geek price isnt bad because they bring a CD with a bunch of protection crap and system tweaks when they leave you are left with reliable, fast, simpicity without you hacking you way through the oods for a week or so. If you are not a computer wiz ..... hire the Geeks.

We just bought a new laptop from them as well and was offered the very same thing. They also offered their (expensive) extended warranty. Each person who offered it laughed with forced incredulity when I said no (I think they all went to the same school - "laugh like this when the customer tries to say no and then scare them with the price of a laptop screen replacement..."). I didn't buy it.

Most of the offending free junk can be removed by going to Control Panel, Add Remove Programs. A screen will appear that lists all the programs installed along with a button to allow removal. Make sure you know what you are removing so you don't remove things you need. I also agree with the comment about msconfig (again, be careful). As far as spyware - you might check some of the ratings - Spybot used to be the best but has slipped a bit. Many of the "free" spyware removal tools are actually spyware themselves.

Best Buy can be annoying. It is their company policy to not cater to the savvy customer (they don't make enough profit off a savvy customer). They are still a resource, so I have not struck it from my list of places I shop, but it is the store of last resort for me.

Windows doesn't do a good job of cleaning/removing softwares. The best way is a reinstall and only install thing that you need. For AV I recommand Trend Micro. It doesn't slow the computer down as much as Notron or McAfee. ZoneAlarm is the firewall I'll use.

Sure the decent utility is built in. You will find it in the control panel under add/remove programs. scan them( highlight and look at) one at a time and select remove on any you don't want, then follow the dialog instructions.

cautions: don't remove anything you are not sure of needing. And as for anything else you find on your desktop or startup menu if it doesn't have a program associated with it you can just highlight and delete.

Wow! I had no idea. Glad I buy Apple!

Apple is even worse, if you take the inflated prices for apple stuff into account and the high price for all the accessories.

That is why they have steadily lost market(and are still losing it) share all the way from having 100%.

Apple sank so low they were no longer able to make a good enough market for a CPU maker to spend $$ keeping them going.

Their only trick now is the ipod and derivatives and their greed will be their undoing...it always is with Apple.

Dell does quite bad in that respect.

You are obligated to have the McAfee stuff installed, and it would not uninstall properly, an internet search was necessary.

I am computer literate and opt to use Avast, Zone Alarm and Spybot S&D an have been doing great for years.

Why in the world would I need help and do special tricks to remove McAfee?

The short answer is that McAffee and Norton are both hugely overbloated monsters developed for the most unsavvy of computer users. They can be managed in the enterprise environment but in a single machine they have so many tenacles into the OS, browser, email, and office applications that a simple uninstall is futile. An uninstall will remove functionality but the remnants of code that were placed in the registry will remain forever until you manually hunt them down and delete them. Even the manufacturer's deletion procedures are incomplete with regard to shared DLLs and other shared hidden .exe files. In addition, some files are purposely left behind so that if you or someone else reinstalls the same application, or a later version, the installer will have an easier time of it.

I have issues with Best Buy too. Will give details on how things ended if negotiations breakdown on the replacement of my twice returned laptop that has 3-year extended warranty at huge cost.

BestBuy Customer on the brink.

with a laptop three years old that cost $3000 and you can now buy a better faster one for $800, they should give you a new one and save grief.

50% of laptops are broken/killed/gone within 3 years, due to fragility and carelessness and theft