Ctopher-- the packaging pouch containing the test components was very clearly labeled HVX. The sample extract bags and instructions were for HVX but the test strips they gave me were for cucumber mosaic virus. As I'm sure you know, the labeling letters on the strips are pretty tiny. I had never used this test before, nor is my eyesight that great. Only if the outer packaging pouch had been labeled CMV would I have noticed. On the plus side, Agdia overnighted a new HVX test kit at no charge (which arrived less than 24 hours after I called them!) and only one of the six hostas I re-tested was positive. Not much false hope given by those first six mismatched tests. Also, the buffering solution in the HVX sample extract bags is the same as the solution used for a CMV test, so I essentially got a free set of CMV tests out of it. Not that I was particularly concerned about CMV. If there are any hosta peeps in central VA who are, stop by the house and I'll hook you up.

Bill Castner has created a little program that fixes some of the changes that these infections cause you can look at that too. Download to your Desktop FixPolicies.exe, a self-extracting ZIP archive from here: http://downloads.malwareremoval.com/Bil ... licies.exe * Double-click FixPolicies.exe. * Click the "Install" button on the bottom toolbar of the box that will open. * The program will create a new Folder called FixPolicies. * Double-click to Open the new Folder, and then double-click the file within: Fix_Policies.cmd. * A black box will briefly appear and then close. This will enable your Control Panel and stop the Administrative warnings, at least until the malware infection resets the registry policy keys again. You can run this as many times as you like. A permanent fix requires removing the infection. http://downloads.malwareremoval.com/Bil ... licies.exe that might fix your issue with it not allowing you to gain access.

kaismom, I almost don't want to answer that question because I feel like we sound like such idiots, but I will. First of all, I am a little shy. We were new to the area and I saw his van working on a neighbors house. All the homes in our neighborhood are down sweeping driveways. I plucked up the courage to go down one when we bought the house and knock on the door to ask about the house and neighborhood, but failed to do it on this occassion. I figured if they were working on a million dollar home they must be decent. I googled and found no negative reviews... in fact no reviews at all. Of course his next customers won't find any reviews either. I checked his license and insurance, but failed to realize just how easy it is in PA to get the license. Basically I could get one tomorrow if I wanted to. Then once we hired him our mistakes continued. I KNEW that he hadn't vented the hood, but whenever I asked about it I was brushed off and told it would happen later. I KNEW that was wrong, but I didn't want to be an ahole and question every single thing he did (I had kicked up a fuss about greenboard in the shower). I did ask many times, but I should have stopped him and made him do it the right way. Of course I tried to do that with various other things with no success at all, so I would have got nowhere, but I should have tried harder. Also one thing I have learned, is that anyone who repeatedly says "I'm a good guy" generally isn't. Genuinely good guys don't need to go on and on about it. Next GC who tells me to trust them because they're a 'good guy' I'm running in the opposite direction as fast as I can! Also never believe someone who repeatedly tells you that all his other clients let him A: use their credit cards for materials, B: make all the design decisions and C: never question any of the process. So yeah, we're trusting idiots. The end. : (

Mothers are often bound to their son's advice, but I think there are many better choices than Microsoft Security Essentials. It's not highly regarded. A good program works in real time to monitor activity and intercepts undesired traffic, dangerous downloads, etc., in addition to simply scanning drives for known problems If you want to restrict your choices to free ones, any of the "A's" - Avast, AVG, Avira - should all work fine for you. Here's an independent review from a respected source Free Security programs Others are very capable and offer wider services. Most can be obtained for less money than shown, and many ISPs provide a quality product for free. I get Norton free from Comcast Not free security programs