"K Barrett" wrote in
oups.com:

Hi all,

OK, this is on topic only because we're all reading this group on
computers, so I have a computer question.

My ISP changed to Giganews, making access to Usenet difficult.
Therefore I'm taking this opportunity to research changing from Outlook
Express to some other news reader. I'm also taking this opportunity to
finally stop using Internet Explorer as a browser. Something I intended
to do 4-5 yrs ago, heh.

I'm considering Mozilla/Firefox and Agent. (Unless Mozilla has its own
newsreader... hadn't thought of that)

Any input as to ease of use or frequency of attacks by
popups/worms/viruses etc with these alternate programs? Like would
they be more/less open to attack?

I find I have gotten stuck in my ways and only understand programs of
the 1995-1998 vintage, so I'm anticipating a steep learning curve, as
well as frustration and hair pulling when I make this switch. Its hell
getting old.

K Barrett


I hated OE from day one and never could get it to work right or be as
secure as I like.
I use Xnews as a news group reader it's freeware and easy to use.

http://www.snapfiles.com/get/xnews.html

I've heard that Giganews is supposed to be a great sevice but I've never
tried it.

If you want a new NNTP client (Newsgroups) I use the totally uncensored
Tera News the low cost package is a one time fee of $3.95 which allows you
to download 50 meg a day. the retention varies from 3 to 8 days. The also
have a ton of other packages here. note the $3.95 packages is at the bottom
of the selections.
https://secure.usenetbilling.com/new...?referredby=10
89565316&action=Create+New+Account&vendor=teranews

hope this helps

"K Barrett" wrote in
oups.com:

Hi all,

OK, this is on topic only because we're all reading this group on
computers, so I have a computer question.

My ISP changed to Giganews, making access to Usenet difficult.
Therefore I'm taking this opportunity to research changing from Outlook
Express to some other news reader. I'm also taking this opportunity to
finally stop using Internet Explorer as a browser. Something I intended
to do 4-5 yrs ago, heh.

I'm considering Mozilla/Firefox and Agent. (Unless Mozilla has its own
newsreader... hadn't thought of that)

Any input as to ease of use or frequency of attacks by
popups/worms/viruses etc with these alternate programs? Like would
they be more/less open to attack?

I find I have gotten stuck in my ways and only understand programs of
the 1995-1998 vintage, so I'm anticipating a steep learning curve, as
well as frustration and hair pulling when I make this switch. Its hell
getting old.

K Barrett


I hated OE from day one and never could get it to work right or be as
secure as I like.
I use Xnews as a news group reader it's freeware and easy to use.

http://www.snapfiles.com/get/xnews.html

I've heard that Giganews is supposed to be a great sevice but I've never
tried it.

If you want a new NNTP client (Newsgroups) I use the totally uncensored
Tera News the low cost package is a one time fee of $3.95 which allows you
to download 50 meg a day. the retention varies from 3 to 8 days. The also
have a ton of other packages here. note the $3.95 packages is at the bottom
of the selections.
https://secure.usenetbilling.com/new...?referredby=10
89565316&action=Create+New+Account&vendor=teranews

hope this helps

Maybe I haven't been paying attention, but what's wrong with IE and
OE?

IE has a popup blocker that's quite effective, and I have all sorts of
mail rules set up that block the vast majority of spam in OE.

Am I missing something THAT significantly different?

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!
..
"dusty" wrote in message
...
"K Barrett" wrote in
oups.com:

Hi all,

OK, this is on topic only because we're all reading this group on
computers, so I have a computer question.

My ISP changed to Giganews, making access to Usenet difficult.
Therefore I'm taking this opportunity to research changing from
Outlook
Express to some other news reader. I'm also taking this
opportunity to
finally stop using Internet Explorer as a browser. Something I
intended
to do 4-5 yrs ago, heh.

I'm considering Mozilla/Firefox and Agent. (Unless Mozilla has its
own
newsreader... hadn't thought of that)

Any input as to ease of use or frequency of attacks by
popups/worms/viruses etc with these alternate programs? Like would
they be more/less open to attack?

I find I have gotten stuck in my ways and only understand programs
of
the 1995-1998 vintage, so I'm anticipating a steep learning curve,
as
well as frustration and hair pulling when I make this switch. Its
hell
getting old.

K Barrett


I hated OE from day one and never could get it to work right or be
as
secure as I like.
I use Xnews as a news group reader it's freeware and easy to use.

http://www.snapfiles.com/get/xnews.html

I've heard that Giganews is supposed to be a great sevice but I've
never
tried it.

If you want a new NNTP client (Newsgroups) I use the totally
uncensored
Tera News the low cost package is a one time fee of $3.95 which
allows you
to download 50 meg a day. the retention varies from 3 to 8 days. The
also
have a ton of other packages here. note the $3.95 packages is at the
bottom
of the selections.
https://secure.usenetbilling.com/new...?referredby=10
89565316&action=Create+New+Account&vendor=teranews

hope this helps

I am with you Ray, albeit, I have a computer guru that helps me.
He did make Mozilla Firefox my default browser but can still use IE.
I use Outlook Express for reading my news groups.
I personally feel that a lot of problems users have is due to the
fact that their computers are not set up correctly.
--
Cheers Wendy

Remove PETERPAN for email reply

Ray wrote:
Maybe I haven't been paying attention, but what's wrong with IE and
OE?

IE has a popup blocker that's quite effective, and I have all sorts of
mail rules set up that block the vast majority of spam in OE.

Am I missing something THAT significantly different?


Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!
.
"dusty" wrote in message
...
"K Barrett" wrote in
oups.com:

Hi all,

OK, this is on topic only because we're all reading this group on
computers, so I have a computer question.

My ISP changed to Giganews, making access to Usenet difficult.
Therefore I'm taking this opportunity to research changing from
Outlook
Express to some other news reader. I'm also taking this
opportunity to
finally stop using Internet Explorer as a browser. Something I
intended
to do 4-5 yrs ago, heh.

I'm considering Mozilla/Firefox and Agent. (Unless Mozilla has its
own
newsreader... hadn't thought of that)

Any input as to ease of use or frequency of attacks by
popups/worms/viruses etc with these alternate programs? Like would
they be more/less open to attack?

I find I have gotten stuck in my ways and only understand programs
of
the 1995-1998 vintage, so I'm anticipating a steep learning curve,
as
well as frustration and hair pulling when I make this switch. Its
hell
getting old.

K Barrett


I hated OE from day one and never could get it to work right or be
as
secure as I like.
I use Xnews as a news group reader it's freeware and easy to use.

http://www.snapfiles.com/get/xnews.html

I've heard that Giganews is supposed to be a great sevice but I've
never
tried it.

If you want a new NNTP client (Newsgroups) I use the totally
uncensored
Tera News the low cost package is a one time fee of $3.95 which
allows you
to download 50 meg a day. the retention varies from 3 to 8 days. The
also
have a ton of other packages here. note the $3.95 packages is at the
bottom
of the selections.
https://secure.usenetbilling.com/new...?referredby=10
89565316&action=Create+New+Account&vendor=teranews

hope this helps

Eric Hunt wrote:
Kathy,

I am confused - I *pay* to use giganews because my ISPs news servers
are
such crap. Why would your ISP switching to Giganews cause problems?

I've found good ole Outlook Express to work fine for newsgroups but I

definitely recommend Firefox as your browser. You'll wonder why you
didn't
switch before.

-Eric in SF
www.orchidphotos.org



WOW!! Thanks to everyone who has commented!! This is great info!

I'm replying to everyone by replying to Eric's message so include any
of your further input here if you want. (don't think I'm ignoring you,
*G*!)

Eric, I'm able to get Usenet via Giganews only if I use my primary
email address... well, I don't use my primary email address online. I
use a Hotmail address, thinking it blocks any spambots or email
harvesters. Seems to have worked so far, or maybe I'm deluding
myself....

So far it looks like Mozilla is the way to go.

K Barrett

Eric Hunt wrote:
Kathy,

I am confused - I *pay* to use giganews because my ISPs news servers
are
such crap. Why would your ISP switching to Giganews cause problems?

I've found good ole Outlook Express to work fine for newsgroups but I

definitely recommend Firefox as your browser. You'll wonder why you
didn't
switch before.

-Eric in SF
www.orchidphotos.org



WOW!! Thanks to everyone who has commented!! This is great info!

I'm replying to everyone by replying to Eric's message so include any
of your further input here if you want. (don't think I'm ignoring you,
*G*!)

Eric, I'm able to get Usenet via Giganews only if I use my primary
email address... well, I don't use my primary email address online. I
use a Hotmail address, thinking it blocks any spambots or email
harvesters. Seems to have worked so far, or maybe I'm deluding
myself....

So far it looks like Mozilla is the way to go.

K Barrett

Ok, that's most of what is going on here. The way I have my computer
set up is to hide my primary email address and to show a Hotmail
address. I also don't use Outlook Express as my default email program.
I use Eudora. I'm sure if someone was truly interested they could
find my primary address as well as anything else they'd want to know
about me. But I'm trying to hide from email harvesters, and so far I
think its worked.

K Barrett

Ok, that's most of what is going on here. The way I have my computer
set up is to hide my primary email address and to show a Hotmail
address. I also don't use Outlook Express as my default email program.
I use Eudora. I'm sure if someone was truly interested they could
find my primary address as well as anything else they'd want to know
about me. But I'm trying to hide from email harvesters, and so far I
think its worked.

K Barrett

I agree too. With any browser or operating system you need to keep up with
the security patches. Keep your spam and virus checker up to date and make
sure your firewall/router is configured correctly. Most isp providers now
add an extra level of protection on their servers too, but that is not an
excuse for letting your software get behind the hackers. :-) No matter
which you use. Some of the off brands I have seen named do offer a bit more
flexibility than outlook express (and I have tried a few) but I guess I
can't argue if somebody wants to tell me they are safer for some reason.
Discussing Browser/operating systems is a bit like discussing politics and
religion. Or viruses and whether ladyslippers are real orchids. It can get
touchy. I am a live-and-let-live person in a do-as-I-say world.

I am using outlook 6. something as my email program and it connects to an
old outlookexpress as the news reader. Don't have any problems. Most of my
spam and virus control is on my server/domain and not on my personal
computer behind the firewall. By the time something gets to my computer it
has been picked at several times already. I had switched to giganews,
leaving behind my adelphia news servers because they were crappy. Then
adelphia outsourced it's news servers to giganews and saved me 9 or 10
dollars a month. They do control a lot of the spam and I never see pictures
posted to the text newsgroups. Also they have the longest retention rate
for binary (Abpo) newsgroups, like 45 days.

I say, KB, figure out how to configure your current newsreader to use
giganews and see how it works out before making too many changes.


"wendy7" wrote in message
news:wRSDd.15973$yW5.9549@fed1read02...
I am with you Ray, albeit, I have a computer guru that helps me.
He did make Mozilla Firefox my default browser but can still use IE.
I use Outlook Express for reading my news groups.
I personally feel that a lot of problems users have is due to the
fact that their computers are not set up correctly.
--
Cheers Wendy

Remove PETERPAN for email reply

Ray wrote:
Maybe I haven't been paying attention, but what's wrong with IE and
OE?

IE has a popup blocker that's quite effective, and I have all sorts of
mail rules set up that block the vast majority of spam in OE.

Am I missing something THAT significantly different?


Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!
.
"dusty" wrote in message
...
"K Barrett" wrote in
oups.com:

Hi all,

OK, this is on topic only because we're all reading this group on
computers, so I have a computer question.

My ISP changed to Giganews, making access to Usenet difficult.
Therefore I'm taking this opportunity to research changing from
Outlook
Express to some other news reader. I'm also taking this
opportunity to
finally stop using Internet Explorer as a browser. Something I
intended
to do 4-5 yrs ago, heh.

I'm considering Mozilla/Firefox and Agent. (Unless Mozilla has its
own
newsreader... hadn't thought of that)

Any input as to ease of use or frequency of attacks by
popups/worms/viruses etc with these alternate programs? Like would
they be more/less open to attack?

I find I have gotten stuck in my ways and only understand programs
of
the 1995-1998 vintage, so I'm anticipating a steep learning curve,
as
well as frustration and hair pulling when I make this switch. Its
hell
getting old.

K Barrett


I hated OE from day one and never could get it to work right or be
as
secure as I like.
I use Xnews as a news group reader it's freeware and easy to use.

http://www.snapfiles.com/get/xnews.html

I've heard that Giganews is supposed to be a great sevice but I've
never
tried it.

If you want a new NNTP client (Newsgroups) I use the totally
uncensored
Tera News the low cost package is a one time fee of $3.95 which
allows you
to download 50 meg a day. the retention varies from 3 to 8 days. The
also
have a ton of other packages here. note the $3.95 packages is at the
bottom
of the selections.
https://secure.usenetbilling.com/new...?referredby=10
89565316&action=Create+New+Account&vendor=teranews

hope this helps

I agree too. With any browser or operating system you need to keep up with
the security patches. Keep your spam and virus checker up to date and make
sure your firewall/router is configured correctly. Most isp providers now
add an extra level of protection on their servers too, but that is not an
excuse for letting your software get behind the hackers. :-) No matter
which you use. Some of the off brands I have seen named do offer a bit more
flexibility than outlook express (and I have tried a few) but I guess I
can't argue if somebody wants to tell me they are safer for some reason.
Discussing Browser/operating systems is a bit like discussing politics and
religion. Or viruses and whether ladyslippers are real orchids. It can get
touchy. I am a live-and-let-live person in a do-as-I-say world.

I am using outlook 6. something as my email program and it connects to an
old outlookexpress as the news reader. Don't have any problems. Most of my
spam and virus control is on my server/domain and not on my personal
computer behind the firewall. By the time something gets to my computer it
has been picked at several times already. I had switched to giganews,
leaving behind my adelphia news servers because they were crappy. Then
adelphia outsourced it's news servers to giganews and saved me 9 or 10
dollars a month. They do control a lot of the spam and I never see pictures
posted to the text newsgroups. Also they have the longest retention rate
for binary (Abpo) newsgroups, like 45 days.

I say, KB, figure out how to configure your current newsreader to use
giganews and see how it works out before making too many changes.


"wendy7" wrote in message
news:wRSDd.15973$yW5.9549@fed1read02...
I am with you Ray, albeit, I have a computer guru that helps me.
He did make Mozilla Firefox my default browser but can still use IE.
I use Outlook Express for reading my news groups.
I personally feel that a lot of problems users have is due to the
fact that their computers are not set up correctly.
--
Cheers Wendy

Remove PETERPAN for email reply

Ray wrote:
Maybe I haven't been paying attention, but what's wrong with IE and
OE?

IE has a popup blocker that's quite effective, and I have all sorts of
mail rules set up that block the vast majority of spam in OE.

Am I missing something THAT significantly different?


Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!
.
"dusty" wrote in message
...
"K Barrett" wrote in
oups.com:

Hi all,

OK, this is on topic only because we're all reading this group on
computers, so I have a computer question.

My ISP changed to Giganews, making access to Usenet difficult.
Therefore I'm taking this opportunity to research changing from
Outlook
Express to some other news reader. I'm also taking this
opportunity to
finally stop using Internet Explorer as a browser. Something I
intended
to do 4-5 yrs ago, heh.

I'm considering Mozilla/Firefox and Agent. (Unless Mozilla has its
own
newsreader... hadn't thought of that)

Any input as to ease of use or frequency of attacks by
popups/worms/viruses etc with these alternate programs? Like would
they be more/less open to attack?

I find I have gotten stuck in my ways and only understand programs
of
the 1995-1998 vintage, so I'm anticipating a steep learning curve,
as
well as frustration and hair pulling when I make this switch. Its
hell
getting old.

K Barrett


I hated OE from day one and never could get it to work right or be
as
secure as I like.
I use Xnews as a news group reader it's freeware and easy to use.

http://www.snapfiles.com/get/xnews.html

I've heard that Giganews is supposed to be a great sevice but I've
never
tried it.

If you want a new NNTP client (Newsgroups) I use the totally
uncensored
Tera News the low cost package is a one time fee of $3.95 which
allows you
to download 50 meg a day. the retention varies from 3 to 8 days. The
also
have a ton of other packages here. note the $3.95 packages is at the
bottom
of the selections.
https://secure.usenetbilling.com/new...?referredby=10
89565316&action=Create+New+Account&vendor=teranews

hope this helps

Ray wrote:
Maybe I haven't been paying attention, but what's wrong with IE and
OE?

IE has a popup blocker that's quite effective, and I have all sorts of
mail rules set up that block the vast majority of spam in OE.

Am I missing something THAT significantly different?

*I* must be missing something. Which IE has a popup blocker??? The
Google toolbar blocked mine, but IE??
But I don't even have to go through the hassle of setting up rules with
Thunderbird.

--
Reka

This is LIFE! It's not a rehearsal. Don't miss it!
http://www.rolbox.it/hukari/index.html

Reclaim Your Inbox!
http://www.mozilla.org/products/thunderbird/

Rediscover the Web!
http://www.mozilla-europe.org/en/products/firefox/

They're free!

I think it's part of Microsoft's security patch two (SR2) It added a popup
blocker and a firewall. I have had to turn off Microsoft's pop-up blocker
because my Google tool bar does this already and I have the Microsoft
firewall turned off because I already have one I like.

"Microsoft: busy building in all the stuff you want after somebody else
things of it first."

"Reka" wrote in message
...
Ray wrote:
Maybe I haven't been paying attention, but what's wrong with IE and OE?

IE has a popup blocker that's quite effective, and I have all sorts of
mail rules set up that block the vast majority of spam in OE.

Am I missing something THAT significantly different?

*I* must be missing something. Which IE has a popup blocker??? The
Google toolbar blocked mine, but IE??
But I don't even have to go through the hassle of setting up rules with
Thunderbird.

--
Reka

This is LIFE! It's not a rehearsal. Don't miss it!
http://www.rolbox.it/hukari/index.html

Reclaim Your Inbox!
http://www.mozilla.org/products/thunderbird/

Rediscover the Web!
http://www.mozilla-europe.org/en/products/firefox/

They're free!

It was automatic with the Win XP SR-2

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!
..
"Reka" wrote in message
...
Ray wrote:
Maybe I haven't been paying attention, but what's wrong with IE and
OE?

IE has a popup blocker that's quite effective, and I have all sorts
of mail rules set up that block the vast majority of spam in OE.

Am I missing something THAT significantly different?

*I* must be missing something. Which IE has a popup blocker??? The
Google toolbar blocked mine, but IE??
But I don't even have to go through the hassle of setting up rules
with Thunderbird.

--
Reka

This is LIFE! It's not a rehearsal. Don't miss it!
http://www.rolbox.it/hukari/index.html

Reclaim Your Inbox!
http://www.mozilla.org/products/thunderbird/

Rediscover the Web!
http://www.mozilla-europe.org/en/products/firefox/

They're free!

Ray and Al,

When you updated to SP2, was the original XP cd required?

Scottie
"Ray" wrote in message
news
It was automatic with the Win XP SR-2

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!
.
"Reka" wrote in message
...
Ray wrote:
Maybe I haven't been paying attention, but what's wrong with IE and
OE?

IE has a popup blocker that's quite effective, and I have all sorts
of mail rules set up that block the vast majority of spam in OE.

Am I missing something THAT significantly different?

*I* must be missing something. Which IE has a popup blocker??? The
Google toolbar blocked mine, but IE??
But I don't even have to go through the hassle of setting up rules
with Thunderbird.

--
Reka

This is LIFE! It's not a rehearsal. Don't miss it!
http://www.rolbox.it/hukari/index.html

Reclaim Your Inbox!
http://www.mozilla.org/products/thunderbird/

Rediscover the Web!
http://www.mozilla-europe.org/en/products/firefox/

They're free!

Here, Microsoft Window's XP home edition is running on a Hewlet Packard
something or other. It came installed on this computer. I do not have any
original disks and was not asked to provide one during the installation of
the SP2. Your results may vary.

I would check out Microsoft's website for problems installing the SP2 if you
suspect there is anything out of the ordinary with the edition of your
operating system. I would check out this website for information only if my
day was already as bad as I could possibly imagine, but sometimes you have
no choice. it is rumored that lots of people had trouble upgrading. For my
own part, after the computer rebooted itself, it took like 45 excruciating
minutes to reorganize it's insides before the new version came up and then I
had to pretend it was an initial installation and set up everything all over
again, from the log on screen to the pop-up blocker, passwords and firewall,
etc. All the installed software, like my email and newsgroup readers were
not affected outwardly by the upgrade. I take that back, the explorer
browser had to be configured for "privacy concerns" We have just reached
the limit of my computer knowledge. Goodnight....and happy orchid growing.

Oh yes, and back up everything important first.

"Scottie" wrote in message
ink.net...
Ray and Al,

When you updated to SP2, was the original XP cd required?

Scottie
"Ray" wrote in message
news
It was automatic with the Win XP SR-2

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!
.
"Reka" wrote in message
...
Ray wrote:
Maybe I haven't been paying attention, but what's wrong with IE and
OE?

IE has a popup blocker that's quite effective, and I have all sorts
of mail rules set up that block the vast majority of spam in OE.

Am I missing something THAT significantly different?

*I* must be missing something. Which IE has a popup blocker??? The
Google toolbar blocked mine, but IE??
But I don't even have to go through the hassle of setting up rules
with Thunderbird.

--
Reka

This is LIFE! It's not a rehearsal. Don't miss it!
http://www.rolbox.it/hukari/index.html

Reclaim Your Inbox!
http://www.mozilla.org/products/thunderbird/

Rediscover the Web!
http://www.mozilla-europe.org/en/products/firefox/

They're free!