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Windows Media Player sucks. So yesterday I downloaded VLC Media Player. I've used it before and I like it.
The first sign of a problem is when I opened IE and Chrome to see that my homepages had been changed from Google to this[^].
Easy to change back. And I removed the #!#@#%^! Sweetpacks crap!!!
Then, even worse, now all the text on most web pages is either BOLD or ITALIC, and, it's the same when in Word docs I open.
Other apps such as VS and Outlook look ok.
I ran Malware and an AVG scan with no results
How do I fix this??? How do I get the font corrected????
If it's not broken, fix it until it is
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will this help? remove sweetpacks toolbar[^]
Every day, thousands of innocent plants are killed by vegetarians.
Help end the violence EAT BACON
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That did it. Thanks
If it's not broken, fix it until it is
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Personally I'd just reinstall the whole OS. Sounds drastic, but you can never be sure if you've 100% got rid of the nasty sh*tty crapware that toolbars install.
.-.
|o,o|
,| _\=/_ .-""-.
||/_/_\_\ /[] _ _\
|_/|(_)|\\ _|_o_LII|_
\._. |\_/|"` |_| ==== |_|
|_|_| ||" || ||
|-|-| ||LI o ||
|_|_| ||'----'||
/_/ \_\ /__| |__\
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Rule 0 : If you didn't write it, you can't trust it.
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PIEBALDconsult wrote: Rule 0 : If you didn't write it, you can't trust it.
Marc's Corollary:
Even if I wrote it, I still don't trust it.
Marc
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Yeah, I might not fully trust code that I wrote, but at least I can be sure I didn't write a virus to infect my computer.  
Just because the code works, it doesn't mean that it is good code.
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CIDev wrote: but at least I can be sure I didn't write a virus to infect my computer
I won't go into any details and it's way back in time anyhow, but I once wrote a so called TSR program[^] (DOS era) that did stuff that was not quite what I had intended. Needless to say it wreaked all kinds of havoc before I could remove it.
So I'm with Marc on that one. I can't even trust software written by myself. 
Cheers!
"I had the right to remain silent, but I didn't have the ability!"
Ron White, Comedian
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Exclusive Linux at home for three years - I'd almost forgotten all the shite that you get with 'free stuff' on Windoze.
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I just dealt with that Sweetpacks crap last month. There's something else that you won't see in most Google searches. It installs a Windows service with a cryptic name. I found it when searching for excessive net traffic after I'd cleaned up.
I just searched and I can't find the company name - I think it was something like Circuit. Look under Program Files (regular or x86) and then for the company name. The name of the service (which is masked in Task Manager because it's launched with svchost) is something cryptic like clsvc.exe. When you get to this program folder, you'll see an uninstall app. Note that this never shows up in control panel. Run that and it cleans up the service.
Check your registry Run key - I think that's where they put the an auto launch app that should lead you to the proper folder.
I was able to get it all cleaned up, but it was an evening of aggravation I didn't need.
I'd dearly love to meet those programmers in a back alley dive bar someday...
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I think I got it all. What a total PITA
Christopher Duncan wrote: I'd dearly love to meet those programmers in a back alley dive bar someday...
If you do, call me, I'll help
[UPDATE]
The font issue is still there. Italics & bold in IE and Word docs
If it's not broken, fix it until it is
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I didn't get the font thing, but try this - go to your fonts folder, detail view, sort by modified date and look for anything recent. Delete the font and replace with a copy you snag from another box. Worst case scenario, smoke 'em all.
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Good thought, but there's no Date/Time shown
If it's not broken, fix it until it is
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Once you browse to the Fonts folder, right click on the fonts folder area and switch to details view. Then go up and right click on the column heades and you'll get a context menu. It'll let you select modification date - the creation date comes up blank. See if that helps.
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That did it. No idea why I didn't think of that. Probably cause I'm seriously pissed
I installed VLC yesterday. The latest font change was 09/25/13, so I don't thinks that's it
If it's not broken, fix it until it is
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Kapla! 
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Christopher Duncan wrote: I'd dearly love to meet those programmers in a back alley dive bar
someday...
Let me know when and where and I am down to help deal with those umm people.
Common sense is admitting there is cause and effect and that you can exert some control over what you understand.
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Christopher Duncan wrote: Check your registry Run key
I've recently found out that more and more apps in the Win7+ world aren't using the start folder *OR* the registry run keys.
They're using Tasks that are scheduled to run "At log on". Go ahead and check - Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Task Scheduler / Active Tasks. Look for any that are scheduled to run "At log on of any user".
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That's one that hasn't bee on my radar, thanks.
Didn't find any malware but turned off a bunch of MS crap (customer experience, etc.)
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I installed the portable version of VLC (which IMHO is an awesome app) from this[^] link. I never use installers created by CNet - they're notorious for packaging crap along with the app. 
/ravi
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Second that. VLC is a great app and quite reputable. Avoid Cnet downloads at all cost.
I was looking for a DVD burner, found one, and didn't stop to Google whether or not there were known issues (which I normally do), just installed it.
Stupid, stupid, stupid...
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Cool, thanks. It was one of those days that started with, "All I wanted to do was..."
And you know how that usually works out.
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There's also infra recorder[^] which is neat and fast.
Did I mention that it's open source, and so you could be rest assured it doesn't come with any unwanted crap.
"Real men drive manual transmission" - Rajesh.
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Yep, that comes under the heading of "Nothing is ever easy" 
Just because the code works, it doesn't mean that it is good code.
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