Ditching Avast!

There seems to be something in humanity which will not bow meekly to the insolence of power.
Terry Eagleton, Why Marx Was Right, p. 100

The Oracle of Ottawa just doesn't understand it. It all started out so well. He was a big Avast! fan. It worked so well back then, so well, that the Oracle of Ottawa paid for the professional version. Then there was that very shaky release of the last most recent version. But it all went really to hell at renewal time. Two months before my subscription expired, the Avast! program was really starting to pester me to renew. So, being really busy at the time, I thought I would renew promptly and be done with it. So I purchased another year, and then I would have 14 months until the sucker started up again. Well no, the bastards ripped me off for two months! So the yearly subscription was in actuality a 10 month subscription!

Microsoft - Like Chevrolet - Like a Rock...

 The Oracle of Ottawa was not amused, and neither should you be! There is a very good and free solution. Never, ever pay for anti-virus  protection for a computer. There are many solutions, and the Oracle of Ottawa did a little asking around to people who know a lot about such things and they recommended Microsoft Security Essentials, which they swear by and is to be had for the best price - FREE -, like air and beer! The Oracle of Ottawa immediately "signed up" and became a user of the latest release. And sure enough, it is what the Oracle of Ottawa considers a masterpiece of real "old school" software. Very small in size, does not use up a ton of CPU, and very little overhead of your available RAM. Microsoft must be becoming soft in their old age, but they are still sharp as hell. To use the MSE you must have a valid copy of a Microsoft operating system on your computer!

Well, no problem with the Oracle of Ottawa! Windows XP Professional forever! Been a user right from the start, and the Oracle of Ottawa hopes that MS will reconsider the present decision about the end date. Xp was probably the greatest software engineering next to DOS! And by the way, if you really like MSE you might also want to try Process Explorer, it has the good price also - FREE - and you will learn a ton about what is going on in your box. And it will help you to identify problems, why like Avast!, and other things that can bring your online experience down.... If you are youngster it is also a very good introduction into how complex and important a well designed and supported operating system really is.  

Isn't that pretty? Or what....