GSIM

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In my Add or Remove Programs I have a program named GSIM. What is this and
can it be removed?
 
Thanks! I'm a total computer DORK! But I greatly desire to learn about
computers. I have a couple of questions if you have the time. I guess I
should tell you I'm running XP Home and now SP2.

Q1-I've deleted the GSIM program. Is that it? Do I need go any where else
and clean it out? Is there any way to prevent it from coming back, like
blocking it in my internet options?

Q2-The other programs, how can I tell if they are the ones that are the ones
that came with my computer? Some are obvious like Adobe and I've down loaded
Morphus. None will give me properties or discriptions of what they do. I
don't want to delete programs that my computer needs to operate.

Q3-You have advised me to go to some web sites and down load some software.
I'm trying to get a grasp of the big picture so I mean no offence but how do
I know you, or anyone else on this site for that matter, are not a hacker,
sales person or just somone who's trying to do harm for kicks? I can see all
the above persons all over this site looking for a dork just like me. I don't
think you've given bad advise because the web sites below I've seen over and
over again.

Thanks in advance!!
 
DPaul said:
Thanks! I'm a total computer DORK! But I greatly desire to learn about
computers. I have a couple of questions if you have the time. I guess I
should tell you I'm running XP Home and now SP2.

Q1-I've deleted the GSIM program. Is that it? Do I need go any where else
and clean it out? Is there any way to prevent it from coming back, like
blocking it in my internet options?
Click to expand...

what do you mean by 'deleted the GSIM program?' Control Panel, Add/Remove
Programs? that's the right place to start, but there may or may not be
nasty remnants left behind, so to be sure you've cleaned-up your system
properly, download, install, update, and run any one (or more) of the
ad/spy/malware utilities i mentioned before
Q2-The other programs, how can I tell if they are the ones that are the
ones
that came with my computer? Some are obvious like Adobe and I've down
loaded
Morphus. None will give me properties or discriptions of what they do. I
don't want to delete programs that my computer needs to operate.
Click to expand...

i'm assuming you're talking about an OEM machine, like a Dell, Gateway, IBM,
etc. well, the fact is, much of the pre-loaded software that comes
installed on these machines, like yours, are not worth the drive space and
system resources that they consume. with rare exceptions, the OEM
manufacturer of your machine will have entered into agreements with 3rd
party software vendors to install preview or lite editions of their full
featured application(s). it's advertising, a not so subtle way to
*encourage* you to upgrade to the full version, and you are usually invited
to do so with a link to the 3rd party website... mouse clicker in one hand,
and your credit card in the other! there are differing opinions on this,
but i'll just state mine outright, most of the pre-installed software on OEM
machines is garbage, needlessly consumes system resources and impedes
overall performance. having said that, i obviously have no idea what came
pre-installed on your system, so the most informed suggestion i can give you
would simply be to monitor what software you use over at least several
months, then sometime in the future, use Add/Remove Programs to remove what
you don't use. the Add/Remove Programs applet will show you the Last Used
date for each application, so you can use that as a guide when deciding
whether the software/application is worth keeping or not. be prudent when
removing stuff from the Add/Remove Programs, if you're not sure removing it
will interfere with the proper operation of your system, then don't remove
it until you've researched what it is that's being uninstalled. you can ask
here in these groups or just 'google it', as they say. if you see entries
that refer to 'drivers' you usually do not want to remove those, as device
drivers are the software components that enable the hardware inside/attached
to your machine to actually work. although, you may wish to check for
updates to those drivers (beyond the scope of this article). have a look
through add/remove programs, make a list of the stuff you never use, then
ask for advice.
Q3-You have advised me to go to some web sites and down load some
software.
I'm trying to get a grasp of the big picture so I mean no offence but how
do
I know you, or anyone else on this site for that matter, are not a hacker,
sales person or just somone who's trying to do harm for kicks? I can see
all
the above persons all over this site looking for a dork just like me. I
don't
think you've given bad advise because the web sites below I've seen over
and
over again.
Click to expand...

you're very smart to be cautious, so to answer your question, BEFORE visting
any sites, even if you're absolutely sure they are legit, it is imperative
that you have *up-to-date* antivirus software installed and actively
monitoring your system. i'm assuming you have antivirus software running,
correct? you should also have the built-in Windows XP firewall enabled. i
can assure you the links i provided are legit and safe, but there are
instances when a system that has already been infected with malware or virus
will actually redirect itself away from the sites where you are attempting
to obtain these tools for cleaning the infectious agent off of your machine.
getting rid of this junk has become a nasty business. anyway, i'll assume
your antivirus software is running and that you've recently up-dated-it
(like today), so go ahead and visit http://www.lavasoftusa.com/ to obtain
the personal (free) edition of AdAware and/or
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html to get Spybot Search
and Destroy (poorly named if you ask me, sounds like a nasty virus itself!)

best of luck, followup with more questions, if any
--
francis

ps if you don't have antivirus software installed, a very good (free) one
can be obtained from here http://grisoft.com/ look on the page for the link
that says 'AVG Free Edition'
 
francis gérard said:
what do you mean by 'deleted the GSIM program?' Control Panel, Add/Remove
Programs? that's the right place to start, but there may or may not be
nasty remnants left behind, so to be sure you've cleaned-up your system
properly, download, install, update, and run any one (or more) of the
ad/spy/malware utilities i mentioned before
Click to expand...



Yes. Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs. I did a search of all files and
folders and found 8 or 10 items related to GSIM. I assume I can delete these
as well?

i'm assuming you're talking about an OEM machine, like a Dell, Gateway, IBM,
etc. well, the fact is, much of the pre-loaded software that comes
installed on these machines, like yours, are not worth the drive space and
system resources that they consume. with rare exceptions, the OEM
manufacturer of your machine will have entered into agreements with 3rd
party software vendors to install preview or lite editions of their full
featured application(s). it's advertising, a not so subtle way to
*encourage* you to upgrade to the full version, and you are usually invited
to do so with a link to the 3rd party website... mouse clicker in one hand,
and your credit card in the other! there are differing opinions on this,
but i'll just state mine outright, most of the pre-installed software on OEM
machines is garbage, needlessly consumes system resources and impedes
overall performance. having said that, i obviously have no idea what came
pre-installed on your system, so the most informed suggestion i can give you
would simply be to monitor what software you use over at least several
months, then sometime in the future, use Add/Remove Programs to remove what
you don't use. the Add/Remove Programs applet will show you the Last Used
date for each application, so you can use that as a guide when deciding
whether the software/application is worth keeping or not. be prudent when
removing stuff from the Add/Remove Programs, if you're not sure removing it
will interfere with the proper operation of your system, then don't remove
it until you've researched what it is that's being uninstalled. you can ask
here in these groups or just 'google it', as they say. if you see entries
that refer to 'drivers' you usually do not want to remove those, as device
drivers are the software components that enable the hardware inside/attached
to your machine to actually work. although, you may wish to check for
updates to those drivers (beyond the scope of this article). have a look
through add/remove programs, make a list of the stuff you never use, then
ask for advice.
Click to expand...



Yes. I have a Gateway. What does OEM mean? I'll ask Gateway what programs my
computer came with, I guess that's a start. Yes, I had a feeling removing
anything having to do with drivers is a bad thing. I'll be carefull. I'll
make a list of the questionable programs and post them. This is also where
SP2's are also? I guess I find this odd. What do you mean by just "google
it"? Is that another way of learning about my computer?


you're very smart to be cautious, so to answer your question, BEFORE visting
any sites, even if you're absolutely sure they are legit, it is imperative
that you have *up-to-date* antivirus software installed and actively
monitoring your system. i'm assuming you have antivirus software running,
correct? you should also have the built-in Windows XP firewall enabled. i
can assure you the links i provided are legit and safe, but there are
instances when a system that has already been infected with malware or virus
will actually redirect itself away from the sites where you are attempting
to obtain these tools for cleaning the infectious agent off of your machine.
getting rid of this junk has become a nasty business. anyway, i'll assume
your antivirus software is running and that you've recently up-dated-it
(like today), so go ahead and visit http://www.lavasoftusa.com/ to obtain
the personal (free) edition of AdAware and/or
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html to get Spybot Search
and Destroy (poorly named if you ask me, sounds like a nasty virus itself!)

best of luck, followup with more questions, if any
--
francis

ps if you don't have antivirus software installed, a very good (free) one
can be obtained from here http://grisoft.com/ look on the page for the link
that says 'AVG Free Edition'
Click to expand...


Yes. I have Norton (auto updates) and my firewall is up. I let Norton lapse.
Paid for it but it wouldn't renew. Took a day off this Friday (after 7mos),
called them, they screwed up, they fixed. Scanned my computer, found 3
infections and they're quarrentined. I was on Microsoft site. It offered to
scan my computer to make it as safe as possible. It scanned and found my
firewall down. It put it back up. I have no idea how it went down. Frankly I
don't know where and how to check it in the future. Any help?

I have a new problem. My Pictures folder is screwed up. It keeps freezing on
me. I have to use Task Manager to end program. On Saturday I uploaded new
pictures from CD from Walmart. I've tried deleting the new pics (nerver had
problem with old pics) but is still freezing up. I think Norton is the
problem, Norton resumed on Friday. I've scanned "My Pictures" with Norton at
least twice now and nothing. I can't imagine the new SP2 is the problem. I'll
email Norton and ask if they can help.

Thanks for all your help in advance!
 
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