mycorkboard.com screensaver/desktop

I usually don't like to install screensavers, they tend to make my computer run differently. I'm sure they are loaded with spyware.

Gotta say I'm not familiar with mycorkboard per se, but in my experience, just about any "Free" downloadable screensaver or other desktop utility is adware at best, outright malware at worst. Odds are its tracking your browsing, stashing cookies all over the place, and has firmly itertwined itself among your registry. A free spyware/adware/malware detector-remover is Spybot. Download it, run it, then update it and run it again, then reboot. If yuck-ware is causing your problem, that'll probably get things back to normal. Of course, it might not. Give it a shot, let us know what happens, and we'll go from there.

also you may have a version for the wrong opperating system (or version of Windows);

i have a post-it notes program, super simple, and very useful (except i don't have it running currently, and can't immediately find it)
i will look for a link (pretty sure it came from CNet/ZDNet.

I concur with timber 100%... I ran Spybot and it uncovered 2 dozen pieces of spyware... and I didn't even know I had a problem. FYI I had already been running behind a firewall with Anti-Virus software and a popup-blocker. Where does it end?

btw; spyware is not by nature harmful, or likely to throw off your system; it is there to spy, and the last thing it wants to do is make itself noticed, or cause problems which might cause a witch hunt!

more likely bad software, wrong version, insufficient resources, etc.

also many screensavers use up huge quantities of resources, memory, hd space, etc., making them unsuitable as a background.

OCCOM BILL - It doesn't. I have both Ad Aware and Spybot. A couple of days ago, I ran Spybot first, and cleaned everything out. Then I ran Ad Aware, which told me that my computer was clean of spyware. At the end of the day, I ran AdAware again, and found that I had picked up about a dozen tracking cookies during a day of surfin'!

BoGoWo- Doesn't running a passel of tracking thingies slow down the computer?

Sorry for getting off topic so early, onyxelle, but BoGoWo reminded me of post-it notes. I couldn't get alarms to pop up on screen and got tired of that little yellow square on my screen and killed it. Of course, Post-it Notes is by 3M Corp, a distinctly respectable corporation.

i run the Opera Browser, which can be configured to delete all cookies upon closing each session.

It would be serious overkill for your application Oxy, but Symantec's Act! is the bomb for pop-up reminders and a calendar. If you have a need; for a powerful database program; I strongly recommend it.

Ony,

you can read download.com user reviews for mycorkboard here... http://download.com.com/3302-2407_4-4508395.html

It might or might not have caused your windows startup problems, but from what people there say it does install spyware on your system.


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Tracking cookies won't slow down your PC. Besides, it's likely that all of those AdAware catches were false-positives (AdAware is notorious for that).

found it:
http://download.com.com/3000-2351-10239500.html?tag=lst-0-3

give it a look/try.

I run both Spybot and the subscription version of LavaSoft's AdAware, along with a couple anti-virus utilities, software firewalls, and a hardware firewall built into my router. Sometimes one will catch something the others missed. Ya gotta keep 'em all right up to date, of course; check for updates at least once a week, or configure them to do it themselves at least that frequently, if they will. My preference is for daily update checks.

Of course, machine resources are a consideration. All my machines have plenty of RAM memory (all they'll take) and fast processors. A bunch of stuff running in the background will noticeably slow a RAM-poor machine, and/or place a big load on a slower processor. At the very least, you should have 256MB of RAM, and a processor running at 600 MHz or better to take advantage of today's software, peripherals, and advanced webite technologies. Win 9x operating systems don't know what to do with more than 384MB of RAM, so there's no point adding more than that to Win 95/98/ME machines, but Win NT/2K/XP, Linux, and Apple OS7 and up will utilize all the memory you have slots for. Memory is dirt cheap today (unless you use RAMBUS, damnit ), and easy to install. Get all you can ... its the cheapest, easiest, most effective upgrade you can give your machine.

Just another quick thought here ... screensavers were necessary back when displays were monochrome CRTs and the output was strictly text-and-lines. With today's monitors, "burn-in" is nowhere near the consideration it used to be. I run no screensavers whatsoever; my monitors are configured to go into standby after several minutes of non-use. A running screensaver can cause problems with regularly scheduled maintenance utilities such as defrag and virus scans. IMHO, you're better off without 'em. You'll save money on electricity if you just let your system "Go to sleep" when you're not using it. All my machines are "On" 24/7/365, unless I'm actually poking around in their innards (sometimes even then ... though that's just asking for trouble). The monitors power down, somewhat later the machines "go to sleep", but they're "always on". One has been running since '98, apart from hardware-change-related shutdowns. Of course, its a good idea to reboot every couple days or so, but I never shut 'em down just to shut 'em down. Even my laptops are only "Off" while actually being transported somewhere. At home, they're in the network and always-on with all the rest of 'em.

before i initiated this thread, i ran the spybot & hijack programs, i no longer have a problem...hindsight is 20/20 and maybe I should have mentioned that I'd taken it off already and system is back to normal. My main reason for posting was the search for a post-it type of desktop program. bogowo, lemme try yours.

timberland, occom - thanks buds.

I downloaded My Corkboard about a month ago and have not had any problems at all with it and I love it.