Vista and Windows OneCare Live: MASSIVE Problems?

[Vista User]

Greetings,

It can take a week of system settings being tweaked and adjusted in order to
get my computer usable. IE7 zone settings, script settings, add-ons
checked; then, often uninstalling/reinstalling my important applications and
programs, for which I even HAVE a computer in the first place.

After having spent some six hours attempting to use my computers this
morning (finally running just fine the last couple of days), I discovered
that Windows Live OneCare has gone through and "cleaned up" my startup
programs, "reset" my Internet Explorer security settings (including the
Trusted Zone settings, which allow certain applications to run on my
computer), while Windows Update has updated system drivers that I already
know cause my laptop computer to hang.

Did Windows Live OneCare ask me if I wanted these changes to made on my
computer? Did it tell me what it had done (which startup programs were
"cleaned up," like my network printing monitor program, which is the only
way I can scan and print from my wireless laptop?), or did it even give me
an alert when it went through and "reset" my IE7 security settings
(including the Trusted Zone, upon which a few of my applications rely in
order to even start up)? And did Windows Update let me review which updates
I do and don't want installed on my laptop (selecting any setting other than
Automatically Download and Install gives an annoying non-green status
indicator on Windows OneCare Live, which could then let serious security
issues go unnoticed. Hence, you're forced to do Automatic Install, or lose
any further alert status from Windows Live OneCare).

I've spent more of my life this year researching, adjusting, configuring,
protecting and reinstalling my computer thanks to Vista, Windows OneCare
Live and their endless changes, updates and driver replacements that keep me
and my computers held hostage, and forcing me to pay for the privilege with
an unused computer, stealth configuration tactics and live-world testing
using my time, equipment and funds.

 

[Wandering]

I am curious as to why you are using Windows Live One Care. It's not a
question, just food for thought.

Even in the matter of updates, it is best to let Windows tell you what it
wants to install, and then pick from the list. Don't install drivers from
Windows upgrade site. Get them from the mfg site.

 

[Bill Halvorsen]

Greetings,

It can take a week of system settings being tweaked and adjusted in order
to get my computer usable. IE7 zone settings, script settings, add-ons
checked; then, often uninstalling/reinstalling my important applications
and programs, for which I even HAVE a computer in the first place.

After having spent some six hours attempting to use my computers this
morning (finally running just fine the last couple of days), I discovered
that Windows Live OneCare has gone through and "cleaned up" my startup
programs, "reset" my Internet Explorer security settings (including the
Trusted Zone settings, which allow certain applications to run on my
computer), while Windows Update has updated system drivers that I already
know cause my laptop computer to hang.

Did Windows Live OneCare ask me if I wanted these changes to made on my
computer? Did it tell me what it had done (which startup programs were
"cleaned up," like my network printing monitor program, which is the only
way I can scan and print from my wireless laptop?), or did it even give me
an alert when it went through and "reset" my IE7 security settings
(including the Trusted Zone, upon which a few of my applications rely in
order to even start up)? And did Windows Update let me review which
updates I do and don't want installed on my laptop (selecting any setting
other than Automatically Download and Install gives an annoying non-green
status indicator on Windows OneCare Live, which could then let serious
security issues go unnoticed. Hence, you're forced to do Automatic
Install, or lose any further alert status from Windows Live OneCare).

I've spent more of my life this year researching, adjusting, configuring,
protecting and reinstalling my computer thanks to Vista, Windows OneCare
Live and their endless changes, updates and driver replacements that keep
me and my computers held hostage, and forcing me to pay for the privilege
with an unused computer, stealth configuration tactics and live-world
testing using my time, equipment and funds.

WLOC is a miracle of FUD and MS knowing better than users. They have added
"enhancements" to 2.0 at the last minute that even changed the screen saver
to the standard Vista MS whatever, 10 minutes timeout, and if you changed it
back to something else, next boot WLOC would change it BACK.

I went through a very bad time getting "unsubscribed" from WLOC. A new
"support web flow" seems to have been "slipstreamed" into the process; in my
case, I was asked to allow an active-x control to be installed so that my
WLOC installation could be "verified." I wanted to contact Microsoft to
cancel my subscription, which HAD to be done over the phone (it doesn't),
but COULD NOT FIND A TELEPHONE NUMBER through their webpages that seem to
lead in a circular fashion to nowhere, a situation made worse my my WLOC
installation being "not detected." Finally MVP Steven Boots helped out in
that respect. I expected 2.0 to allow the user a little bit of flexibility;
but MS doesn't see it that way. So away it went, I have Avast and it seems
to do quite well along with the Vista firewall.

Microsoft seems to be using the business model in WLOC, and in Vista, of
"let the customer make it work in service." In other words, release it full
of "issues" (I love the use of that word now for everything that is a
Microsoft PROBLEM). In the WLOC forum you see endless non-answers, that "it
should, it might, it could" and little else.

WLOC was OK, as integrated into XP in 1.0 and now is a PITA; yellow or red
status unless you do things (e.g., url lookups through their "phishing
filter" and "automatic updates or die" their way; otherwise green status
isn't possible, and the whole color scheme becomes ridiculous. The
apologists will all clamor that WLOC is meant for the "average or
inexperienced user" but methinks MS understimates its userbase. I'm doing
the preparations for "upgrading" from Vista to XP very soon; and yes I gave
Vista a chance, since public beta 2. Money wasted big-time for no real
gain, just a lot of things rearranged and restricted for no good reason. My
favorite Vista program is Acronis backup, a non-Microsoft program. They are
one company that somehow wrote software that had no "gotchas" in the backup
arena.

Bill Halvorsen