Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2013 February 9

= February 9 =

using two antivirus programs
Is it advisable to use two anti-virus programs on the same computer? In particular, avast! along with Malwarebytes? Bubba73 You talkin' to me? 01:19, 9 February 2013 (UTC)


 * For two actual anti-virus programs, probably not, since a process lurking in the background moving files around and changing computer settings is both what a virus does and what an anti-virus program does, so they tend to treat each other as viruses. However, the second one you listed is a more general anti-malware program, and those tend to be more tolerant of each other.  Specifically, programs you run periodically to clean things up play better together than those which run constantly.  StuRat (talk) 01:27, 9 February 2013 (UTC)


 * Probably depends strongly on which operating system is used, and what purposes the computer is used for. Anti virus programs help a bit - but I've seen a few viruses out there that were not caught by these programs - so they are no substitute for safe behaviour and a securely designed OS. Years ago viruses used to be highly public and quickly captured by the AntiV companies - I think there has been a bit of a change where viruses now tend to be much more focussed and commercial - in these cases I guess you are relying on the heuristic analysis capabilities of antiV software which by their nature seem to be a bit more hit and miss.  nonsense  ferret  01:43, 9 February 2013 (UTC)


 * Last week the computer at my bridge club (it gets light, limited use) picked up a Trojan. They got someone who seemed knowledgeable to fix it.  He removed the AV software that had been in use and added Malwarebytes and avast.  That computer gets limited use.  But a few months ago I got rid of Norton and started using Malwarebytes only.  I thought that it covered viruses, but I guess not.  So now I'm adding avast.  Bubba73 You talkin' to me? 02:51, 9 February 2013 (UTC)


 * Likely to be more effective to consider proper user account control. People using the computer are unlikely to require administrator access, so if you make sure the system is only logged into an account that can't do any harm - this would be quite helpful in avoiding viruses. No AV program will give you 100% coverage.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Nonsenseferret (talk • contribs) 03:18, 9 February 2013 (UTC)


 * A policy statement to that effect went out this week. Bubba73 You talkin' to me? 03:31, 9 February 2013 (UTC)


 * If it picked up a trojan (which needn’t be a virus, but which antivirus software would still likely detect), most likely the definitions for the existing software were out of date, or it had otherwise expired (so many new computers come with trialware antivirus software). Additionally not all antivirus software can or necessarily will (if configured in a certain way) scan every file downloaded by a browser automatically; particularly with older software. ¦ Reisio (talk) 05:38, 9 February 2013 (UTC)


 * The packaging of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Pro says, "Compatible with leading antivirus software Visit www.malwarebytes.org [not .com] for more details." --anon 71.183.136.48 (talk) 15:04, 9 February 2013 (UTC)


 * Using two anti-virus programs at the same time is not a good idea. They might well go to war against each other, each accusing their rival of being infested with every virus under the sun.  That said, Malwarebytes is not an anti-virus program but an anti-malware program with a different purpose and different targets.  Astronaut (talk) 20:57, 11 February 2013 (UTC)

Bubba73 You talkin' to me? 06:18, 12 February 2013 (UTC)

iOS 6.1 Safari issues with Wikipedia-en
Ever since I upgraded to 6.1, I have to click most Wikipedia links twice in order to open the page. This happens on at least two of my devices. This behavior happens on my watch pages and article histories for the most part. Any idea on how to fix this? little green rosetta $central scrutinizer (talk)$ 01:40, 9 February 2013 (UTC)


 * Sure you don’t just need to clean off your touchscreen? That’s exactly what happens with “dirty” screens. ¦ Reisio (talk) 22:31, 12 February 2013 (UTC)

Window controls
On the Windows O/S's, the higher my screen resolution, the harder it is to hit things like the minimize and maximize buttons on the title bar of a window, or grab an edge to resize. How do I make those features larger ? I'm on Windows 7. StuRat (talk) 04:28, 9 February 2013 (UTC)


 * If you use the Windows Classic theme, you can do it by clicking the cleverly named "Window Color" link at the bottom of the Personalization control panel. I don't know about Aero. -- BenRG (talk) 05:23, 9 February 2013 (UTC)


 * Thanks. "Window Color", LOL, they keep working hard to make things even harder to find, don't they ?  Then when I changed the settings, my windows expanded so all the controls were off the screen.  I had to reboot.  Oh well, all is good now, except that it didn't seem to change all the windows, like my Google Chrome browser window.  Any ideas ? StuRat (talk) 06:18, 9 February 2013 (UTC)


 * I've had similar problems, ctrl-+ to zoom in on browser pages - or ctrl-mousescrollwheel nonsense  ferret  23:34, 9 February 2013 (UTC)


 * That only zooms in on the content of the web pages. What I need to do now is increase the size of the windows controls, like the minimize and maximize buttons. StuRat (talk) 23:41, 9 February 2013 (UTC)


 * I assume this process didn't help  nonsense  ferret  19:12, 10 February 2013 (UTC)


 * I think it did (hard to tell since it required a reboot and only promised to increase size by 50%). Unfortunately, as in previous Windows versions, this setting seems to cause problems, like text no longer fitting in the window on selection items. StuRat (talk) 07:48, 11 February 2013 (UTC)


 * Here's how I did it in Win7 using Aero. Open Control Panel, click 'Appearance and Personalization' then 'Change window glass colors', then 'Advanced appearance settings' (logical, huh?), which should bring up the 'Windows Color and Appearance' dialog. From here you can increase and decrease the size of individual aspects of the desktop furniture. I think you want 'Active Window Border' - try changing the size to 10 points. Note that although it says 'Colors and sizes selected here apply only if you have selected the Windows 7 Basic theme or an Ease of Access theme' it worked fine for me with Aero enabled. - Cucumber Mike (talk) 14:07, 11 February 2013 (UTC)


 * Its not the Window Border but the Title Bar that you want to resize. The 'advanced appearence settings...' in Windows 7 has a "Active Title Bar" and "Inactive Title Bar" which you can change the size and and font.  The little trial window they show and the text immediately below it, suggests to me than such personalization only works on Windows Basic theme, but like Mike above, I found the Title Bar size and font setting also worked in Aero.  Astronaut (talk) 20:53, 11 February 2013 (UTC)


 * Actually, I needed to change both to change the minimize & maximize button sizes, and also allow me to more easily grab an edge to do a window resize. StuRat (talk) 16:19, 12 February 2013 (UTC)

What votes are currently going on Wikipedia?
Is there a place that lists all current votes going on Wikipedia? I know there are many (RfAs, AfDs, and others), but I wonder if there is a page that either lists them all (a category?) or at list offers a table of contents? --Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus&#124; reply here 17:13, 9 February 2013 (UTC)
 * Very few "votes" or "polls" on Wikipedia have any substantive or official impact, because Polling is not a substitute for discussion. So, it's unlikely that you will find any "official" repository listing all votes - since almost all such polls are impromptu, unofficial, and carry no actual weight in determining outcome of a policy decision.  Nimur (talk) 21:01, 9 February 2013 (UTC)
 * That's a bit of an overstatement, but there's a weird political-correctness on wikipedia about not using the term "vote", which is why it's a trait of a savy editor to put "!vote" instead of "vote". It's one of those dumb social rules we've come up with, and it's much easier to play along, even though everyone knows it's a convenient fiction. You might be interested in the WP:Village Pump for ongoing discussions of interest. Shadowjams (talk) 23:18, 9 February 2013 (UTC)
 * See Category:Wikipedia surveys and polls.—Wavelength (talk) 22:15, 9 February 2013 (UTC)
 * Ah, that's the one I was looking for, thanks! --Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus&#124; reply here 14:04, 10 February 2013 (UTC)
 * See also Dashboard, which centralizes links to some of the most important discussions at any given time. -- Ypnypn (talk) 03:15, 11 February 2013 (UTC)

python
how do i use gui in python to input a name, display it on button click and the program should be ".EXE".--EatIcecream2 (talk) 18:46, 9 February 2013 (UTC)


 * You haven't given many details, but you may want to look at Tkinter and py2exe. -- BenRG (talk) 19:00, 9 February 2013 (UTC)
 * Tkinter is too hard, how do I get a text box?--EatIcecream2 (talk) 19:53, 9 February 2013 (UTC)


 * EasyGUI. OsmanRF34 (talk) 20:00, 9 February 2013 (UTC)

Laser printers and compatible toner
What manufacturers are more successful at imposing a lock-in to their toner refill cartridges? And what allow compatible toner explicitly (if any at all)? OsmanRF34 (talk) 19:56, 9 February 2013 (UTC)


 * In general, those which use "ink", in small quantities, follow the "sell the printer cheap then rip them off on ink" model of business, while those which use "toner", in large quantities, sell the printer for more, but then offer the toner at a more reasonable cost (although the actual price may be higher, just because they sell toner in such large quantities). Since they are no longer reliant on follow-up sales to make a profit, they would seem to have less need to prevent third party refills. StuRat (talk) 16:26, 12 February 2013 (UTC)