If I download something off the net, is spyware included?

Not necessarily, although if it's shareware or freeware, there's a better 'n average chance it includes an added "bonus." Somebody is usually paying for your ability to get software off the net, and if it's not you, it may be someone who thinks they may get something out of the deal -- i.e., spyware maker. Some very honorable people actually do offer programs for nothing, with no spyware, and ask for a voluntary donation by Paypal or something similar; Mailwasher, for example.

On the other hand, there are liars. One program, which gives you a toolbar to insert lots of clever smileys in email, certifies that it contains no adware or spyware.  My mom downloaded it and immediately started having lockup problems; I ran a check of her computer (using Ad-Aware) and found 64 data miner modules, all associated with the smiley program.

If a program contains its own toolbar for working on the internet, you can pretty much bet it's got spyware in it. (By the way, for those of you into porn on the internet, guess what...your computer is loaded with spyware.)

Also, is there anything I can do to prevent this add'l 'baggage'?

There are a number of free anti-spy/adware programs available. Ad-Aware 6.0 is probably the most common; it's not perfect, but it's a pretty good defense. A lot of new AV programs, like Norton, also apparently include anti-spy/adware/trojan software. Some anti-trojan programs, like The Cleaner and Tauscan, will pick up some spyware  as well (though not as much as a dedicated anti-spyware program), since the stuff basically is a trojan.

You can get Ad-Aware at www.lavasoftusa.com; it'll direct you to a site where you can download it for free. It's pretty easy to use. As I said, sometimes the actual program you downloaded won't run if you remove the spyware that came with it. This gives you the option of quarantining the spyware first to make sure the program will run after you've gotten rid of the offending stuff.

--Mark

Raineypark wrote:

I think it's reasonable to say that those of us who are prepared to leave the new production in the hands of it's creators, and wait to see what they have done, have at least a chance of enjoying a new DS.....while those who expect the new production to meet their own specific, personal and detailed criteria for success are pretty much asking to be disappointed.

Very true. I think the reasonable majority among us agrees mainly that a general high level quality is more important than actual specifics of plot and character. As yet, we're far from even having a show to judge at all. I would consider just having one on the horizon an agreeable prospect.

--Mark

Because if this new pilot is not exactly like the original series with the possible acception of different actors playing the familiar characters and maybe different sets for the familiar settings and locations and better special effects, but not overkill so that it takes awaya emphasis on the character, content and atmosphere of the show, i will not watch it past the first episode.

If the show is exactly the same the as the original, why would anyone want to watch a new one? Between the Sci Fi channel's run of the show and MPI's video releases, there have been more than ample opportunities for viewers, both new and old, to see the original series for quite a few years now. That's not to say that the original characters aren't important; there's an awful lot that can be done with them beyond the same old well-trodden ground. Rehashing a moribund story yet again isn't the answer.

--Mark

[shadow=red,left,300]HAPPY HAPPY HAPPYBIRTHDAY[/b][/shadow]
--Mark

MB wrote:

But in the case of the "hippie" sequences in the NoDS script, I actually think it was an excellent decision not to have shot them. They would have tipped the audience off way too early that Carlotta and Gerard were, well, pretty much a pair of homicidal maniacs when it came to protecting the "secrets" at Collinwood. I think it's much better that that fact evolves/reveals itself at the slower pace as edited...

The opening hippie scene might have done too much too early for -- or to -- the movie as a whole, but as a set piece, the way it reads in the script, it's outright scary. I can envision every detail of it, and I'd love to have seen that filmed -- even if it were a five-minute short film.

--Mark

Melissa and Cassandra -- What beautiful critters! Lots of pet-lovers here, it looks like.

--Mark[/b][/color]

Nothing like pictures of kitties to make one's day brighter.

--Mark

What a sweet-looking kitty. Glad she got a good report!

BTW... anyone need their laundry pressed? We do it cheap.

--Mark[/color]