Concerning AOL

hi everyone
I was just browsing through the posts and noticed hardly no one likes aol.i know there must be a good reason.Is it for security reasons?I am just curious
thanks
Rita

 

IMO Rita....the like\dislike of AOL is akeen to individuals like\dislike of different browsers. There are MANY satisfied users of AOL....just like there are MANY satisfied users of browser A.

 

hi bubba
thanks for replying,it just seems like it was pretty well hated.I thought it might be security related.I was just wondering-thanks
rita

 

My folks have it and insist on using it for whatever reason - but there are a multitude of processes that autostart and run at all times no matter what - most of which demand internet access whether the PC is accessing the internet or not, as well as the "media viewer" or two that are bundled. I find it a major drag on their system resources and one invasive monster, not to mention the fact it demands unfettered internet access from any and all of its many ever-running processes.

 

hi detox
i know it's always wanting access for something-firewall alerts me and i click yes because never knowing if I click no it may be something that i could'nt even get online.quicktime is something aol wants you to have i guess(somekind of player) and every time I sign on it asks do i want to install and i always click no-but its aggravating because every time i sign on i have to do it.It has no option of dont ask me again.i noticed on firewall security log there are numerous times aol accesing something has been blocked-no port scans-just wanting to access.thanks for answering my question
Rita

 

Actually you can cut a lot of crap out. I don't even have to mention how much Real Player is hated by most everyone because of the privacy concerns so I uninstalled that and I installed codecs. As far as AOL's concerned I have the Real Player installed and does not alert me. As far as security I think they're doing better than a lot of other ISPs because they stealth their customer's NetBIOS ports from the Internet. Something I know Qwest doesn't do for my friend. According to Steve Gibson these ports "should not be seen from the internet". And AOL is one of the few ISPs to offer spyware protection. The only process that runs on my computer all the time is the WAN Miniport and the system tray icon that I choose to have there. Other than that when I close the browser the connectivity service (ascd.exe) stays running til I kill it.

 

AOL dial up uses a special protocol. Therefore, it is NOT POSSIBLE to establish a DIAL UP NETWORKING account with AOL. There are ways around this limitation, but it's not proper to visit this topic in this forum. Bottomline is that you have to download the massive AOL software to connect to the internet. Once you're connected to the AOL server, then you could use any browser to access the net.

The second problem is price. You're paying $24/month to obtain the same throughput speed of 49Kbps as another user on Access4less. A4L deducts $5.95/month from my CC. It's an unlimited service. However, you will be disconnected after 5 hours. You can immediately redial to the server for another 5 hours.

Finally, AOL has a bad habit of disconnecting you from the internet after a short period of inactivity. Why pay $24 when you can step up to a slower version of Road Runner broad band for $29.

Also forgot about the push update. AOL may not let you shut down at the end of the browser session because it wants to update its piggy software profile.

You would think that AOL would be hugely profitable with the $24 subscription. The truth is that this ISP is a black hole. Why? Just look at millions of those nice wrapped AOL promo packages.

 

My view of AOL has always been that it's great for new computer users, but more experienced users tend to find it more frustrating than anything else.

 

hi Ron
thanks for the link,i learned some important things from it.i had already got rid of real player,now I am going to try and find the startup of quicktime as it told how to do it.then maybe it wont ask if i want to install every time i sign on-again thanks
rita

 

hi Ericguy
I agree,they do have a good spyware scanner and I like the computer check prog.too -thanks for your opinion
rita

 

Hi nod32
Yes, the price is higher than alot of others i've looked at,but one time i switched to a local provider and hated it-it could be i'm just a creature of habit though everything was just so different.and i have noticed it takes a long time(sometimes)to shut down-didnt know why though,sometimes when i try shutting the computer off the message was a program wasnt shutting down and i did find out it was aol but since then if it happens i just click end program even if it does mean i'll lose unsaved stuff.i dont have anythin saved there anyway i figure,I only do this when i'm in a hurry to shut down and dont want to wait--thanks for your opinion
rita

 

It can take a while to learn a new browser. The AOL browser is just a re-tweaked version of Internet Explorer. There is nothing to install with Dial Up Networking (DUN) because DUN is already part of windows. You can configure DUN to auto dial when you launch your browser and auto disconnect when you shut off the browser.

You'll be a pro with IE in two weeks. If Access4less is available in your area, then you will be able to save $216/year simply by switching ISP.

https://www.access4less.net/signup/flspecial.htm

http://www.access4less.net/access.htm

 

If you can get AOL you should be able to get Roadrunner instead - since Time-Warner is now AOL Time-Warner or whatever - one of 'em bought the other. Possibly not since Roadrunner is probably only available in more urban settings where cable is available. Anyway it's cheaper and completely unintrusive.

For the record, it's not Quicktime or Real player that AOL force installs now... I cannot remember the name of the media player/viewer but I reemoved it and then almost nothing worked on the internet. My folks have Quicktime (as do I) since that's the format my Kodak camera uses to make movies of my daughter. Real Player has been removed from all family PCs due to its spying activities, but this other one... I'd hafta check through the forums.. had to remain on my folks PC in order for them to properly surf the net.

 

Hi Detox
I could have cable internet hookup but the price was double almost from dialup-thats why i dont.i get mail from cable company all the time wanting me to switch
Rita

 

Your talking about the Viewpoint Media Player, and from my experience its needed for some AOL features to work properly (Expressions, AOL media player, etc.).

I've been an AOLer since version 3.0, and since then they have improved alot. The 9.0 version have great spam control, e-mail virus protection, pop-up control, etc. Those are some of the reasons why I'm still with AOL. In the past AOL used to annoy users with alot of pop-ups, but now you have the option to disable those. The only 2 un-needed programs AOL installs are QuickTime and RealPlayer which can easily be uninstalled. I think everything AOL offers is well worth the $14.99/per month.

I wouldnt advise trusting your spyware removal needs on AOL' Spyware Protection. Their software is based on Aluria's Spyware Eliminator, which have a bad reputation detecting alot of false positives. In my experience, AOL's spyware protection only detected fp's on my computer. I would still stick to Ad-aware SE, Spybot S&D, and/or PestPatrol (the 3 best IMO).

-J

 

hi untouchablej
my aol is $23 per month-wonder why?i have unlimited access for this price..i dont depend on aol spyware prog.i've got all the others as adaware se and spybot and a2,its just an added bonus,also have spyware blaster thanks for replying have a good night
Rita

 

Unlimited access is important seeing as how I'm sometimes on for 6-8 hours at a time and 5 hours is just not acceptable especially when I leave overnight downloads. Yea AOL has some simple settings for the novice computer user but I have found that there is enough complex settings to satisfy the "tweaker". A lot of settings have some depth and obscurity to them that only an advancer user would find and comfortably change. I mean I'm not pushing for AOL either way I'm just saying that it's not as bad as others make it out to be. As with many other things... People have their own opinions of things. My friends are always bad mouthing my hardware but I have found that they either didn't find a hidden software setting or they just had bad luck with it. I'm just stating the facts of what I have found.

 

Use a download manager like Download Express if you need to download huge chunk of data that would exceed the 5 hour time out limit. If you're disconnected after 5 hours, then just hit the reconnect button and you're ready to go in 25 seconds. A 56K modem will pull in 100MB of data in 5 hours...more than sufficient for 99.99% of dial up users.

I go to the local library if I need to download a 250MB windows update. Don't need to work hard when you can work smart.

The biggest incentive for me, of course, is the $216/year savings!

 

Like a friend might say: STOMPING ON RUG LOL..... NASTY NASTY THING LOL
ALLWAYS NASTY ..... LOL

 

Its because I added AOL Broadband to my cable connection. When I had dial-up I had to pay $23/per month also. I'm basically paying $14 per month to use AOL with my own connection.



-J

 

I've been using AOL for many years now and have never had a problem with them in any way.

Sure... the program install is big and adds the various add on players... but these can easily be disabled in the startups... no problem there at all.

And yes... it does tweak the IE browser to its own requirements, but in fact I quite like using the AOL version... it's so easy.

Also... in all these years, I have never got a virus via their own email client... which again I like very much... it's all I need an email system to be... very easy. They auto scan all emails for virus and for many years I ran with no anti-virus program... but I do now because I realise that it's also possible to get infected from bad sites... scripts and the like etc.

One thing I may try soon however... coz I like experimenting... is see if it's possible to use one of the other browsers I see mentioned on times in these forums... just for the fun factor... I see good things about Mozilla... and so I may try this one day soon. Does anyone know if this is possible with AOL.

Anyway... for me... no problems.

Oh yeah... just one thing... I also get the hang on shut down. This appears to be linked with the time spent on-line... for me this is usually 6 to 10 hours solid in the evenings with no boot offs via my dial-up here in the UK. It can take a few seconds for the AOL shut down screen to finally clear even after the connection icon in the systray shows disconnected... I think this may be due to the phone company not actually disconnecting the phone rather than anything else... if you pick the phone up in this time... you can still "hear" data noise from the connecting devices that probably have to be flagged off somewhere down the myriad of inter connections.

So from me... one very happy happy AOL user... bye for now.

 

hi Ericguy
yeah i agree unlimited access is very important,I'm usually on about a couple hours or so a day but i'd like to stay on longer when i want and unlimited acess is the way to go
Rita

 

What it really probably comes down to is how much you like the AOL program. One of the main points is that it puts everything in one program, rather than having a host of different programs for different tasks. It's the Norton of internet apps

 

Hi zarzenz
no i've never got a virus either,i also have panda av too even though aol email is scanned for virus'es and yes i too believe its the phone companys fault,at least part of the time for the slow shut downs.thanks for replying
rita