What do you look for when buying a PC or Laptop?

Oi, so many questions ahahaha. Glad to help.

:lol: Yeah, I know... when it comes to computers, sure, I use them all the time, but I've reached the point where I must take control of my computer life and learn some stuff. If I were doing this stuff alone I'd be like :confused:, and then like :annoyed:, and then like :sleep:...

Anyway, I got some more questions... lol! I really do appreciate the help, though.

So, technically, laptops, even with the chips the same name as their desktop counterpart, are not actually as powerful, and may actually make things run slower, but not so much you'll even notice anything if you keep your system in good health?

So, after you install the latest Avast, you just turn it off or uninstall it until another 6 months have past and repeat the process?

Does Adblocker block anything other than ads? I've heard it can conflict with certain sites if something is intended by the site, but can't run because of Adblocker, or because of a Firewall.

If I have Avast installed, is there any need for Malwarebytes? Why are they different?

Is a grey area website one that is somewhere between Youtube and some crazy virus-riddled porn site?

So, really, forget the brand thing... It's more about specs and price? Still, are there any brands to just flat-out avoid altogether?
 
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So, technically, laptops, even with the chips the same name as their desktop counterpart, are not actually as powerful, and may actually make things run slower, but not so much you'll even notice anything if you keep your system in good health?
Mostly depends on what you're doing - trying to do hard-working tasks on the machine may make it struggle on a laptop vs a desktop...but for basic tasks you won't notice much.

Does Adblocker block anything other than ads? I've heard it can conflict with certain sites if something is intended by the site, but can't run because of Adblocker, or because of a Firewall.
Depends on the site entirely - I have uBlock Origin on Chrome and I don't have any issues with it blocking anything legit. I also have FlashControl which blocks Flash content from auto-playing, as well as Privacy Badger from the EFF which blocks cookies / tracking stuff from advertising sites that don't get blocked by Ad-blockers.

If I have Avast installed, is there any need for Malwarebytes? Why are they different?
Avast is primarily a preventative/proactive protection in the sense that it's main goal is to block things from coming in, where as the free version of Malwarebytes is reactive in the sense that it's main goal is to remove things that have already gotten in to your system.

Is a grey area website one that is somewhere between Youtube and some crazy virus-riddled porn site?
Could say that :lol:

So, really, forget the brand thing... It's more about specs and price? Still, are there any brands to just flat-out avoid altogether?
Main things you want to look at are good quality parts and good cooling with the different brands. I'd add on MSI to the list of suggested brands. I don't really recommend consumer-level HP's (tend to be lower quality), and consumer-level Dells aren't all that great either. Their business line ones are good though.
 
Mostly depends on what you're doing - trying to do hard-working tasks on the machine may make it struggle on a laptop vs a desktop...but for basic tasks you won't notice much.


Depends on the site entirely - I have uBlock Origin on Chrome and I don't have any issues with it blocking anything legit. I also have FlashControl which blocks Flash content from auto-playing, as well as Privacy Badger from the EFF which blocks cookies / tracking stuff from advertising sites that don't get blocked by Ad-blockers.


Avast is primarily a preventative/proactive protection in the sense that it's main goal is to block things from coming in, where as the free version of Malwarebytes is reactive in the sense that it's main goal is to remove things that have already gotten in to your system.


Could say that :lol:


Main things you want to look at are good quality parts and good cooling with the different brands. I'd add on MSI to the list of suggested brands. I don't really recommend consumer-level HP's (tend to be lower quality), and consumer-level Dells aren't all that great either. Their business line ones are good though.

Why uBlock Origin? Are there any particular reasons you'd go with one over the other?

What Flash content would auto-play?

Privacy Badger? EFF? Is this just to block potential trackers? What could a tracker do other than offer advertisements; anything dangerous?

Right now I'm using a HP Pavillion something. Had it since 2010... haven't once cleared temporary files, defragged, etc.. I'm guessing this is bad, and why things are slow as f... you know the word.;)
 
Yea I forgot MSI as a brand, I don't typically deal in laptops. Dell as a better track record than HP IMO which is why I listed them.

Avast is a virus scanner first and foremost, so when running a scan it picks up on what the definitions are made to look for. Malwarebytes is more geared towards malware and spyware like I said.

Flash content plays all the time, I'm sure you've seen it quite a bit. Go to a site and some stupid video just starts auto playing.
 
This one's gonna seem stupid: Can a modem or a router carry viruses on their own, or are they purely for converting analogue signal to digital signal (modem), and for routing of data, or whatever (router)?
 
Yea I forgot MSI as a brand, I don't typically deal in laptops. Dell as a better track record than HP IMO which is why I listed them.

Avast is a virus scanner first and foremost, so when running a scan it picks up on what the definitions are made to look for. Malwarebytes is more geared towards malware and spyware like I said.

Flash content plays all the time, I'm sure you've seen it quite a bit. Go to a site and some stupid video just starts auto playing.

So, MSI, Lenovo, ASUS are some good brands to keep in mind?
 
Why uBlock Origin? Are there any particular reasons you'd go with one over the other?
Better performance (i.e. uses less resources) from the benchmarks I've seen.

What Flash content would auto-play?
Like PP said, pretty much any site that has Flash content.

Privacy Badger? EFF? Is this just to block potential trackers? What could a tracker do other than offer advertisements; anything dangerous?
The EFF is the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Here's the add-on they developed, you can read all about it and what it does here:
https://www.eff.org/privacybadger

This one's gonna seem stupid: Can a modem or a router carry viruses on their own, or are they purely for converting analogue signal to digital signal (modem), and for routing of data, or whatever (router)?
Best answer? Maybe.

99% of the time: no. But there are specific strains of malware out there that infect the firmware chips on devices - but they're pretty uncommon and not really used "in the wild". Most malware just spreads via PC's or other methods of storage (flash drives, hard drives, networks, etc.).

So, MSI, Lenovo, ASUS are some good brands to keep in mind?

In addition to the ones PP mentioned, yes.
 
Should I avoid Intel m? I've been told Intel m is mainly for Tablets and things like that, and are in no way good enough to run properly in a laptop, at least when compared to Intel Core I products, as they're actually designed for laptops/desktops, and not for little devices like Tablets, etc..
 
Should I avoid Intel m? I've been told Intel m is mainly for Tablets and things like that, and are in no way good enough to run properly in a laptop, at least when compared to Intel Core I products, as they're actually designed for laptops/desktops, and not for little devices like Tablets, etc..
Whoever you're getting this information from, just stop. I have done performance analysis on both the Surface Pro 3 and Toshiba Z20T and the Core M performs just as good as the i7 in the Surface for basic tasks. Core M is just lower power variant for longer battery life.
 
Whoever you're getting this information from, just stop. I have done performance analysis on both the Surface Pro 3 and Toshiba Z20T and the Core M performs just as good as the i7 in the Surface for basic tasks. Core M is just lower power variant for longer battery life.

What exactly are the differences between the Core I products? And how do they differentiate from Core m? I see some laptops for sale and some are Core I3, Core I5, Core I7 and Core m...:confused:
 
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