Who ever demanded software and an operating system that would allow advertisers and marketers to seize control of their computer, direct it to some or other Web site, install software on it and then execute it for the purpose of extracting money from the owner for the benefit of some corporation? And could the manufacturer of that software and operating system ever think for a moment that offering that control to anyone other than the owner of a personal computer would not result in abuse? What is the purpose of a personal computer if not personal? The simple solution is to return control of the personal computer to the person controlling the computer! It is an obscenity that I must install firewall software to keep programmes from attempting to connect my computer to the internet in the background where I cannot see it. We insist on law enforcement agents presenting search warrants but apparently welcome Microsoft and Norton and any number of others unlimited access to our computers and wonder why this gets abused.Plugging holes simply is unacceptable. Can we not demand they build the software without the access in the first place? We are discussing here, entire suits of software and entire industries to protect our computers from the very software enabling the intrusions in the first place. Bazaar! Dale Leavens, Cochrane Ontario dleavens@xxxxxxx Home of the Polar Bear Express! ----- Original Message ----- From: "Microsoft Inc." <microsoftinc@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: <jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Friday, January 30, 2004 7:10 PM Subject: Anti Virus Software... Fellow Listers: Software is like cars; In that some are great for some people and lemons to other folks. While I am not allowed to endorse a product other than Microsoft's I will say I personally use Norton and that is the application used on all machines in our lab. -- To post a message to the list, send it to jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send a message to jfw-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word unsubscribe in the subject line. If you have any concerns about the list, post received from the list, or the way the list is being run, do not post them to the list. Rather contact the list owner at jfw-admins@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx -- To post a message to the list, send it to jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send a message to jfw-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word unsubscribe in the subject line. If you have any concerns about the list, post received from the list, or the way the list is being run, do not post them to the list. Rather contact the list owner at jfw-admins@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx