Welcome to Gaia! ::

Don't Bump. This is a slow moving forum, you do not need to bump in here. Don't bump, your topic isn't going anywhere for a few hours. Got it?

Read the stickies. All of them. That means the D2D. Before you post any thread. NOW. If you create a mirror thread to one of the stickies, it will be deleted.

Use Google. More often than not, your problem can be solved by a quick google search. If you can't find it from google, then post here. But if your problem is solved by "I'm feeling lucky", people are going to get ticked off.

Don't cuss. Keep language clean.

Don't Flame. Flame posts get deleted, and if you are a repeat offender, you will be warned.

Speak English. Try and use proper grammar, and proper spelling. This will make your posts easier to read and understand.

State Facts. If defending a point in a debate, use facts to back your opinion. Opinions are not facts, and are not considered valid.
Keep in mind, everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

No Repeat Threads. Do not make "clone posts", or repeat threads. Before starting a new thread, check the Done to death[/URL!] list, for threads about the same thing. This helps keep down clutter. This is getting to be a hassle, so we're being less lenient with it.

No Illegal Downloads. Do not request Warez, Anime, or anything that is illegal to download in the U.S. This is against Gaia policy, and will not be tolerated. We are not your link to underground/illegal files. This is a bannable offense.

Don't Advertise. Do not pimp your Forum/website/game dev. team here. It's all right to ask for opinions, but let's keep it reasonable. Gaia is not your free advertising service. You can ask for ratings on your website here.

Don't convert. If someone is requesting help with a certain Software program/hardware/console do not tell them to use another. If you cannot help solve the problem, don't post. If they really wanted suggestions on what they should be using instead, they would ask for them.

Don't Hate. Do not create "I hate this" posts or threads. These only lead to flamewars and deleted posts/threads. You are all entitled to your opinions, but we don't have to, or want to hear them. Whether it be a certain software or hardware or computer company. Please respect others decision to use this, and do not disrespect them because of this. Actions like this will not be tolerated.

No "Which is Best". Do not create "Which is the best" threads (ie, Which is the best browser?, which is the best image editing software?, etc) for the purpose of general discussion; threads like this belong in the chatterbox, not in the C&T.

No Versus. Do not create general "versus" threads (ie, Mac vs PC, IE vs Firefox, etc.) These topics are generally spammy in content, and lead to flamewars. All such threads will be removed to the chatterbox. You can, however, compare OSes here.

No Linklists. Do not create threads containing lists of links to websites you like: Such a topic is more suited for the Chatterbox, so make such posts there. Also, do not make links to advertise your forums or site with the intent of getting people to join as users or as staff/developers; such threads are spam advertising, and will be removed from the C&T.

No Hacking. Gaia does not support nor tolerate hacking. General discussion of hacking is fine, but this is not the place to teach, learn, or ask for help about hacking. Threads of this nature will be deleted, and repeat offenders will be warned. We will not teach you!

No Virus Distrobution.Do not ask for viruses, or help making viruses in C&T. This will not be tolerated.

Don't Derail Threads Threads that dissolve into spam, or pointless conversation will be removed. Other than the certified "C&T regulars chat", since there is more to us than computers. Feel free to hold a conversation there. You can also talk in general about Computers and technology here.

No File Deletion Posts. Anyone making posts directly telling users or suggesting that users delete files which will effectively crash their (the users') systems will be seriously warned, if not banned.
This violates #7 of the ToS of Gaia which states:Such posts, if followed, can "limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment" and are considered malicious posts.

Don't Necropost.A few gaians have gone back into our archives and brought back threads that have been dead for ages. This practice is called necroing.
Although Gaia has no specific rule against it, use my general rule...
Say you have something to say about a post, and the last person in the posted 2 weeks ago. If your post would warrant a new thread on its own, then its ok, necro it. If you were going to start a thread like the old thread anyways, necro it.
If you want to say w00t about a topic, or tell gaians about a vague time that something almost kinda happened...Don't.
C&T is a slow moving forum. By necroing topics to babble randomly, you are simply pushing down people who might currently need help or other current topics.

Get Facts Straight. When posting statistics or system specifications (such as the capabilities of a new video card, processor, memory standard, etc.), check, double-check, and triple-check to make sure you have the facts straight. This way there will be no "but I thought that was only a 16-bit pipeline!" or "no, that can only address x of y, not z of y" and the inevitable flamewars to follow.

This is not a Mod-x Help Board. Mod-x, according to their own rules, is to be done on your own. It's your code, you need to decode it. Not us, not your friend, not your brothers step son in laws childs nephew's aunt's cousin on your fathers side. You.

Contributors: siskataya, Xeon Sempai, Slutty_Eddie, Druidic Dream, Kiretsu, Lady Niniane, dev/fox/, Angry Excel, Saint, Twistex, Symmetriad

What is a Virus?
A virus is a malicious code that can cause things to not work and generally mess up your computer.

What's Spyware/Adware?
Spyware and Adware tend to slow down your computer and send information to companies. Spyware mainly gathers information about things such as pages you go to, programs you use, and such and send them to companies to analyze. This slows down your computer and it is a big privacy issue.
Adware tends to come along with programs. Like Kazaa, for one. They often will give you undesired pop-ups and also slow down your computer. Plus they can interfere with programs you use. They are just downright annoying.

What is a keylogger?
A keylogger is what it says - It logs your keystrokes. Then it sends those logged keystrokes, which may include usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, or whatever you type, to someone. These are very bad, especially if you use paypal, a credit card, or log into your bank account online.



It is important to scan, and often. At least once a week, scan. It�s also very important to use more than one program. Here are the ones I prefer:
Avast! - Free for home use, General Virus Protection with resident protection which will notify you if something fishy happens or something is trying to access your machine.
Ad-aware - Free for home use, a very good spyware/adware scanner.
Spybot: Search and Destroy � Free for home use, Also very good. I�d suggest using both this and Ad-aware, because they often will catch things the other didn't.
Microsoft antispyware - Free. I havent actually used this, but I've heard it's good.
Hijackthis Free, ONLY FOR EXPERIENCED USERS. This is a great tool for getting rid of particularly nasty ones. It's very important that you always make a backup before you remove anything and DO NOT MESS AROUND! If you don�t know what you're doing, leave it alone. You could severely mess up your computer and have to re-install your Operating System.
CWShredder Free, From the same people who made Hijackthis, this particular tool gets rid of CoolWebSearch crap. If you�re homepage starts going to a search page with tons of pop-ups and wont let you surf, it�s probably CoolWebSearch.


Well, almost everyone gets one at some point. They're everywhere.
Here are things/sites to steer clear of:
Toolbars: Most of the time, these are chocked full of spyware, adware, and sometimes worse. Google toolbars and such are fine, but it's important not to use and strange ones. Do your homework, go to google and look it up to make sure it�s not crap. If the first few results you get are about how to remove it, don't touch it. Use common sense.
Smilies: I've seen a zillion flashing ads for "COOL IM SMILYS HERE!!!" and such. Don't get them unless you are prepared to deal with wave after wave of spyware and adware.
Crack/Serial Sites These are absolutely packed with things. Viruses. Heavy-duty spyware that will take you ages to remove.
Porn sites Same as crack/serial sites.
FREEEEE!!! Sites When you see a big, flashing banner ad telling you something is free, it isn't.
Get paid to surf sites 9.9/10 times, these are a scam and ask you to install a plugin, which contains so much adware and spyware, you�ll have a hard time getting rid of it all. Some even contain keyloggers. And you don�t get paid.
P2P Programs - Some of these have tons of junk in them. I personally suggest using Bittorrent or WinMX, because they don't have any crap in them.
Emails - Never, NEVER open an email attachment from someone you don't know. There are alot of viruses that will send themselves to everyone in your address book, so if someone you know sends you something that looks fishy or you weren't expecting, DON'T OPEN IT! Email that person and ask them if they sent it.

Another big thing is don't open strange .EXE files. Especially if they're small (1KB~3MB). Even if you suddenly get a message over MSN saying "hey, look at this cool thing"...don't do it. It's probably a virus. There are ones that will continue to spread because they send that message to everyone on the infected person's buddy list.
Also, .WMVs can have some bad things in them. Just don't download them unless you know what you're getting and you trust the source. Do not download porn :/

Patch messengers often. A while back, MSN had an exploit in it in which a person could put a keylogger on your computer without your knowledge. That was fixed immediately, so always check every few weeks and make sure you have the latest version.

The bottom line is to use common sense. If something seems dodgy, look it up and check if it has and adware or whatever in it. Look at reviews of the program, whatever. Just look around.

Contributors: Hoshitachi

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