I would not do the one through windows update and go online with out the protection especially since you said you had a problem with it when doing it that way before. The stand alone file you simply select to download it to your pc, to like your desktop or where ever you choose, then once you have the internet connection disabled and have your security programs off then go to where you downloaded that file to and double click it to begin the install of it. Yes you can remove IE8 through add remove before you do sp3 and it will go back to IE6, then as soon as you are back online (with your security programs back on) from the install of sp3 go immediately to your windows updates site and get any other updates and you should be offered IE8. the guidelines link Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) Installation Guidelines where to download the stand alone sp3 file from, click the download button and save to your pc, ignore any info there saying it is for IT professionals and not for single pc, this is the only download and is the one everyone uses when not doing it through windows updates. Windows XP Service Pack 3 as to foxit reader, it is a much better choice than Adobe but you do have to make sure it is always updated to the latest version because it also has been targeted by the bad guys. Opening pdf files online has always been a bad habit that is not something new but now more are hitting it with some bad exploits. So whether or not you choose to continue opening them online would be up to you. Since you have foxit now have you removed the Adobe Pdf reader? if not you do still need to keep it updated because having any program on the pc that has not been updated can be a security risk.

nope I am all current on windows updates except for sp3 and since what it does is mostly give you all the windows updates since sp2 I doubt I will add it. The minor core changes it makes are of no interest to me. IF at any point in time they make it a mandatory update to get further windows udpates I may add it but it is doubtful that will happen. If it were a major security update I would do it. That is a decision each person needs to make on their own once they have weighed the pros and cons.

I still use land-line phone, and I can tell you all the poor reception I hear on the calls, long distance and local, come from poor performance of the cellular on the other end. When I call someone else on a land-line the call is clear and never drops out. I returned an Acer notebook early this year because of driver problems and poor technical support, I also note it had Vista. I then looked for a notebook with XP, found a good deal on a Gateway, demo unit, which had XP. I also have a Dell PC with XP Media and the Dell update DvDs to "Upgrade" to Vista. I have not done so, nor do I plan to, and given the good news that there is a SP3 coming for XP, I'm happy with my decision. SP2 is fine, but SP3 says to me MS will support XP for many years to come. PC World ran tests of Vista and picked as one of the test machine the same Dell PC I have. They said it worked ok, but slower than XP. Whatever the eye candy is with Vista, I've missed seeing it.

Please pardon this quick deviation. I've read this forum, off and on, for about 5 years. "majickmann" seemed familiar, but figured that it is German for "magic man", which is a long-time favorite song by Heart. Then, I realized that for the very reason above, I remember a majickmann that used to post to this forum. Are you the same person? I took your advice, ravencajun, to read the AVG posts. And, I must say that was an abrasive post by majickmann. So, majickmann, you certainly could have been nicer. "Blindly" was definitely crossing the line. But, I don't see what is wrong with the rest of his posts, including the two posts above. They have been polite and informative. In your post above, I had understood the links are to installation instructions for Kubuntu and Ubuntu 8.04. And, that "the distro number versions are out dated now since there is a new version". It seems very clear to me that there is a newer version Ubuntu (8.10), so I would want to download it. And, I could use the tutorials even though they were for the out dated version. Majickmann's reply was polite and provided an explanation about the two version of Ubuntu. While I understood what he said, just like on the Ubuntu pages, this is where majickmann probably should have explained the meaning of long term support. Because I did not understand why anyone would want to install an out dated version. So, I turned to my husband, the IT guru. (He really is.) Basically, my husband said that many people want the long term support version because the environment is stable and is supported for 3 or 5 years. That would be me. I don't want to "upgrade" every 6 months. The other people, for varying reasons, want to be "on the bleeding edge" or want the improvements associated with the newer version. So, they may upgrade or install the newest version as soon as it's available. So, the 8.04 version is actually the newest Long Term Support version while 8.10 is, for lack of a better term, the newest bleeding edge version. I'm confused with your last reply, for example, "I no where stated that the older versions were no longer available." You certainly did not make that statement, but, neither did majickmann. I hope each of you take my comments to heart. They are not meant to belittle anyone. Again, I find myself apologizing for the long winded post. But, it is my last post. espicer, I'm sorry we got so far off topic. I thought it would be good to contribute to the forum that has given me so much over the years. But, I now know that I'm just not a poster. It is too easy for misunderstandings over the simplest words or ideals. And, while I have the opportunity, thanks to everyone for the help and guidance over the past 5 or 6 years, especially cboy, mikie, owbist, majickmann, and most recently, ravencajun. Happy Holidays, Mimi