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Originally Posted by andy
You'd be surprised how many PCs are thrown away because of spyware. Most people have no idea how to reinstall windows even if they figure out what the problem is. I guess they just assume it's running slow because it's old.
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Reminds me of the story of the man who sold his car simply because the ashtray was full.
As to the ones who discard perfectly good computers simply due to spyware, I think some may know full well how to reinstall Windows, but they cringe at the sheer amount of time it takes to do it. On my ancient (technologically) IBM Aptiva 595 (bought new almost seven years ago and was already obsolete after six months--grrr) it takes a good 45 minutes to install the operating system. I've only done it twice since I've had the computer.
About spyware: Have these people never heard of system maintenance programs that delete this harmful stuff from your hard drive? (Apparently not, if they put the system out for the trash at the first sign of spyware and/or adware.) The software isn't cheap, but it's a small price to pay for peace of mind, and it's a lot cheaper than buying a new computer. I have AdAware SE and Spyware - Search and Destroy on mine, plus a registry repair program and System Mechanic v5.0, all of which (except Spyware S&D, which is redundant) I run regularly. Seems like every time I run AdAware I find at least some spyware on the drive. With identity theft being such a huge (not to mention dangerous) problem these days, it is very,
very important to have and use some kind of spyware scanning scheme on your computer.
To discard a perfectly good (and likely very expensive) system that may be only a couple of years old simply because of spyware, though--sheeeeeesh! Finding TVs, radios and stereo gear in the trash which may have only minor problems (even as minor as dry-rotted line cords[!] or consoles, table sets, etc. that don't match the decor of the owner's home after times and styles change) is bad enough, but when we start finding computer systems on curbs and treelawns . . . again I say,
sheeeeesh! Today's world practically runs on computers; because of this, more folks should learn how to maintain their own systems. If more people would obtain, learn to use, and above all else use regularly programs such as AdAware, et al. (not to mention firewall software) we could conceivably find far fewer perfectly operational computers headed for the landfill.