There are different things you can do to control privacy. You can set your browser to store no cookies, you can surf anonymously by going through a site that will create a new ip address randomly for each site visited so you cannot be traced (what hackers do), all kinds of stuff. But it takes research and reading to do the stuff. You have to decide if the effort it takes is worth it. I use firefox and don't get popups any more. Also disables almost all advertisements.

Ravencajun/genes: I cleaned up a few problems with TrendMicro but am not sure if that software works right. After cleaning some spyware, it went back to "Step 1: preparing" status/mode which I thought would be followed by yet another system scan in order to show that there was nothing on the PC then. But... it stayed "preparing" until I got tired of that and X'ed out the IE Window. It never went to Step 2 (scanning) or 3 (removing infections). Question #1: Did it do that to you too after it cleaned up infections? I also installed SpywareBlaster but was "left hanging". Maybe it is that I am not familiar with the program yet. Once it installed, I expected that it would scan my system but it just finished installing and that was that. Question #2: does install not scan your PC automatically? Then I looked for a way to force to scan my PC but did not find a way. All I managed to do was pick up some updates. My IE, restricted Sites and Mozilla Firefox Protection settings are set to 'Protection Enabled' with a status of 0 items have protection disabled. I am guessing that if it comes across some spyware because it is activated or downloaded or whatever, it will stop it; but if there was something already on the PC it will not tell me about it. Question #3: Is that right? Question #4: what do I do about IE7's crashes now? Do I need to delete it & reinstall it after those spyware infections were removed by TrendMicro? TIA, Luis

I've had a Kenmore front loader for 15 years that has been a great washing machine. It originally cost about $600 in 2001, and has just kept on chugging. Right at the moment, it is dripping a bit from the bottom from a leaking outer tank, but not enough leakage that it doesn't dry out between uses. Since it's on a slab, not a big issue, but I expect to be replacing it within a year or so, Can't really complain about that length of service for what we originally put into it. I'll be looking for another front loader, this one has gotten our clothes clean without damaging them with minimal water use. No smell, but we leave the door and the soap drawer ajar between uses so that they dry out inside. Yes, it does vibrate, but it doesn't rip out pipes and walls or walk around, just makes some noise on fast spin. I haven't got enough money to buy a washing machine that doesn't make any noise. And yes, there's a certain amount of luck involved with any major appliance purchase, and I'm well aware that we've been lucky with this one. Lemons do happen. But you can take a lot of the doubt out (except the probability of getting a lemon *smile*) by doing your research up front. Good luck!

Some people love toploaders and curse front loaders. Some people love frontloaders and curse top loaders. Some people wouldn't have a machine without a heater and some don't care. Personally, I look for what cycles the heater works. Often they only work on a cycle or two and that would not justify the cost to me. Some have physical issues with bending and yes, even sitting to do laundry. I solved my dryer issue with some cement blocks and a homemade pallet. Raised the dryer up 14" and I have a nice table now with the hamper door. (I have the 7.4 cf Whirlpool dryer. Beats the daylights out of the previous Frigidaire and yes, even the Maytag dependable care dryer I had) Some are sold on brand name. That's foolish IMO. Many times you don't know where or by whom they're built. What should be important? IMO your budget is the #1 consideration. Always. Then consider any preferences, how much laundry you do, what features you find important and the other things. There's a bunch of threads here addressing this topic. Seems like this question is asked many times a month and often gets the same people arguing the same points. FWIW, my sister bought a Cabrio unit a couple months ago. I tried to convince her to go with the heater but she is old-world, haven't had one - no need for one... She couldn't be happier with her Cabrio. She decided (and rightly so IMO) to repair her dryer rather than buy a new one. Dryers are pretty basic all in all. There's pros and cons to everything. I don't care what brand you take for example every brand will have people who have had bad luck with it somewhere, sometime. For my money, they're all pretty much the same reliability-wise when you factor price into the equation and sometimes the cheaper units are more cost-effective. High end unit owners will scream theirs is so much better and 10 times the price. To compare to what I have, they'd need to last 300+ years to be comparable in service. I haven't seen one go that long yet. How often you wash, how big a loads you wash, what wash habits you have, can all factor in too. Generally, FL take longer to wash. Some units with heaters can take upward of 3-4 hours to do a load. If you're a person who does one (or maybe 2) loads every day, this isn't an issue. If you're one who wants to wash 10 loads on a Saturday, this will make a difference. If you're used to one technology, a different one will have a learning curve. If you don't like to learn new things, then factor that in too. How big a laundraholic/laundromaniac are you? If you get into technical details, you might like new gadgets. If you want clean clothes, a rock and a river or a tub and washboard will do the job. Many people bring on their own troubles by not learning how to use their machines properly. There's a lot of info on here, I highly recommend reading through the threads. Yes, it'll take some time and there's a variety of opinions and disagreements. See where you weigh in on the controversies! Happy hunting.