Q: My computer is now 3 years young and I thought it would be a good time to invest in a new one. I have been reading about the newest computer trend -- using solid state hard disks instead of a regular hard disk. At my age, this may be the last computer I buy and I would like the best. Any ideas on this?
Agnes Boardman
A: I've edited down a long and excellent note from Agnes that contained several questions. I think the question about solid state hard disks is especially interesting. I'll answer first and then explain a bit.
Buying a computer with a solid state hard disk, or adding one of these hard disks to a computer you already own, can really speed things up. But the disks available now offer a relatively small amount of storage space and are expensive compared to ordinary disks. I think sizes will increase and prices will decrease over the next year or two. So it's a decision that Agnes will need to make for herself -- whether to pay more now, or wait a bit before adding one.
There's no doubt that solid state hard disks will be common in the coming years and I suspect that they'll eventually replace the older style hard disk. Here's why there's such a huge speed difference between these disks and the ones commonly used now. Regular hard disks are hybrids -- they contain both mechanical parts and electronic parts. Solid state disks have no moving parts; when you store or recall data stored on one, the process is blazingly fast. That means programs and data stored that way, including Windows, load in a blink of an eye.
Solid state drives are on the market now. You can read about Intel's drives here: http://tinyurl.com/5vwmltw .
While I will wait a bit before going this route myself, the disks have enough advantages to be seriously considered right now by some computer users.
Q: I am running Windows 7 on my machine along with Windows Security Essentials. When I scan the machine I receive a notice that there is adware callled Win32/OpenCandy on the machine and I should "clean" the machine. I do that, but when I scan again, the adware is still there. Any thoughts on how to remove and where is it coming from?
Gary Kazanjian
A: OpenCandy is a strange little program that isn't really classic adware or spyware, but it comes awfully close in my eyes. It's used as a marketing device by some software companies. Gary wanted to get rid of it and I don't blame him. So I suggested that he try Superantispyware -- my favorite program for finding and deleting adware and spyware. That worked.
Since OpenCandy is fairly common, I'll offer a Web page that goes in great detail explaining why OpenCandy isn't a perfect fit into the adware category; in fact, its creators make a strong claim that it is not adware. Here's the link: http://tinyurl.com/5syg5sp.
Near as I can tell OpenCandy is not harmful but, if it appeared on my computer, I'd remove it anyway.
Q: I use Windows XP and Firefox. Every time I open a new tab in Firefox, I get a warning advising me that the Web site's certificate has expired. I cannot get rid of the message. What should I do?
Jerry Corrodi
A: Based on a quick Web search this is a fairly common Firefox bug. Here's how we got rid of the problem on Jerry's machine. Open the browser and type about:config in the area where you would ordinarily type in a Web address.
Then, you'll see a window that will let you make this change. In the area that says "filter control" you'll see this: browser.xul.error_pages.enabled. If you see that it is set to false, double click on it to set it to true, and you should get normal functionality back again.
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