5 comments about Microsoft Expression Web Upgrade from FrontPage [OLD VERSION].

1. I bought this product thinking it would be a great upgrade to my Front Page. Boy was I wrong. It is nothing like Front Page and a lot of the short cuts that you learned do not work with this product. The instructions are very much like Front Page - non existent. If your happy using Front Page I would not upgrade to this program unless you like a lot of frustration!



2. I had never created a website, but with a very rudimentary knowledge of HTML was able to make some slight modifications to an existing website with Notepad. I had looked at purchasing FrontPage, but reviews said that it did not work well with Vista, which I had. Therefore, if I was going to buy any program to create a website, price forced me to Expressions Web. After checking the Microsoft website for EW, I discovered that the "upgrade" version would install if there was any version of Microsoft Office on the computer. For the $99 price, I felt I could not go too far wrong.
   The install went extremely easy as I do have Office 2007 on the computer. I read the complete EULA and think that it will actually allow me to install EW on multiple computers as long as only one copy is being used at any given time. (If you want to install it on multiple computers, which I did, be sure to read the EULA.)
   Some of the reviews had said that the tutorial did not work. They were right. I discovered that the small tutorial had used the word "click" at one point and it should have been "right click". Once that discovery was made, I was able to complete the tutorial. The written documentation is very skimpy, but it does offer some help to a novice if you read it several times.
   There is no wizard program to help you create a website as there is in FrontPage. There are, however about a dozen templates. I wanted to create a new website for my family genealogy association and I needed flexibility in having several links to multiple pages with different topics. I chose a "Business" template that I was able to modify to fit my needs. Without any knowledge of HTML, I would not have been able to make these modifications. I also used the help screens and never found one that had instructions that would work for me. I do not know if the help screens were not accurate, or if the problem was caused by something that I had incorrectly done before I went to the help screen. There were also lots of trial and error procedures, but after about 30 hours on the computer, I was finished.
   I did not use EW to upload to the web server; instead I used a separate FTP program. I also had the luxury of uploading my beta versions to a subfolder on the website so that I and others could test it out.
   I am giving Expressions Web 4 stars because it was economical to buy, easy to install, gave me no problems while running, and did allow me to create a good looking and very functional website. Now I am going to try and find a good instruction book for the program.



3. A very thorough easy to follow reference manual for Expression Web. The use of hands on examples makes learning how to use this new web design software understandable and easy to design your website the way you want it. The CD of the book and software applications included make this an excellent value. .Special Edition Using Microsoft Expression Web



4. I watched the quickstart video from microsoft expression http://www.microsoft.com/expression/kc/resources.aspx?type=quickstart and was able to figure basic html changes from front page in a day. After importing I found it better to copy and past text and functions/objects to remove errors into a new page rather then edditing them in the imported page. Imports include errors (highlighted in html)but does make it function without front page extensions. Even then I had to redo it a 4th time because if you copy text it comes with bad code unless you specify text only. The biggest improvement on my site was switching to layers from old style frames. The advantage is when you paste text or art into a layer it is fully drag positional vs a frame. Using Styles (text type and font and color prespecified at the begining) was easy as when ever you define a font it creates a new style and posts the info for you. This can cause a mess of extra code so watch and try to use as few styles as possible rather then creating more and more and then when you redifine the style it change all text using that style even in different locations keeping uniformity. I had to go back through as somehow I got around 25 styles (a fifth time). But now I have an error free compliant website.



5. It is a great product, easy to use and fast to start working with it.

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5 comments about Webroot Spy Sweeper Antispyware 5.x.

1. I used Spy Sweeper since 2003. Great product and never had any real issues with it until... V5. While it was excessive with resources and slowed considerably I continued to use it because it did its job and did it quite well... until version 5.5.7.
   
   
   After upgrading to 5.5.7 my desktop failed to appear after boot. Basically Spy Sweeper disabled my entire pc. I could only do a hard and lengthy reboot and the same thing happened. The desktop failed to appear, no functions were available. If by chance the desktop did appear, it locked up soon after. This behavior was consistent on 2 PCs and a laptop. I can't run the latest first person shooters on them but they are robust with 1G Ram (one with 2GB because I edit a ton of audio and video since I dabble in filmmaking).
   
   After opening a ticket and several exchanges with webroot it was suggested I call for phone support. After several tries and being left on hold for (realistically it was probably 20-25 minutes) but felt longer, I used a removal tool I received from webroot to remove 5.5.7 and reinstalled the older 5.3
   
   Couple months later one subscription expired so I decided to remove Spy Sweeper from that PC. I tried using Windows and CCleaner to uninstall but it didn't work. I use the removal tool from Webroot and that worked. But on reboot, my PC locked up when any key on the keyboard is pressed. I try to reinstall from the CD and that doesn't work because I need to enter the key code and the keyboard locks up the entire PC. So I do a system restore to the previous day. Then I tried to install from the CD again but I get the same error message as when I tried to uninstall. The unins00 yada yada is missing.
   
   So to fix this, I log in using Safe Mode. I delete the Spy Sweeper files manually, one by one except for one that wouldn't delete. Then I deleted the registy entries. I rebooted and tried again to install from the disk. That worked. Then I uninstalled using the normal Spy Sweeper uninstaller and FINALLY, that worked and the software is removed from my system. I run CCleaner and remove the excess files and registy entries.
   
   After an extensive search I found a replacement for Spy Sweeper I'm happy with. I don't know what happened to it. It was an incredibly good product that appears to have gone really bad. I can only hope they fix the issues with Spy Sweeper and get it back to being the dependable, well oiled product it used to be.



2. I purchased SpySleeper to fix a recent infection in my computer. Although it detected and cleaned 2 trojans: trojan-fisher-bzub and trojan-downloader-zlob, SSleeper missed the trojan-spyware.webhancer. I had to use PC Doctor to detect and clean it.
   
   Now I am having to work with Webroot online tech support to clean a final infection that it missed, and it has taken 7 days of trivial pursuit and poorly written quick fixes to get them to look at a scan and (hopefully) come up with a fix.
   
   Phone tech support hold times are about 20 minutes as they are having to deal with significant Windows Vista compatibility problems with their product.
   
   Although this product has had a good reputation, it is now asleep at the wheel in many ways. If you are trying to fix an infection you would be better off doing a Windows reinstall than spending time and money on SSleeper. Read the PC World recent review on antispyware to confirm what I have posted (poor infection removal, last place in overall ranking.)
   
   2/25/08 update: It took 3 weeks to remove all spyware with ssleeper thru tech support. I have removed ssleeper from my active startup programs and use it only to run occasional scans after updating it. I do not plan to do anything with my computer during ssleeper scans because it slows to nearly lockup speed when a scan is running. Also, after definition updates, ssleeper automatically opens a new browser window that advertises the webroot antivirus product (kind of like what adware does!)
   
   Pitty the poor people who do not read the more current reviews of this product before buying (amazon, your default should be to display most current reviews first.)



3. GOOD: detected spyware that I didn't even know was there.
   
   As you read on, keep in mind I am a recently retired engineer who spent his last few years supervising code writers' (even wrote some myself).
   
   BAD: Out of the box had bugs for Vista (and XP, IMO) so when I went to update for the "fix", their server was painfully slow ... oh so slow. It was throttling me. After nearly 2 hours for the 14.5 Meg download, the "fix" was in. Now for every manual update, it gives me a nag screen to purchase (for $10) their version that adds virus protection.
   
   UGLY: Telephone support. After 40 minutes on hold, someone answered. Not sure why as he was of no help, but he did speak English! I asked if they could send me a CD with a version that works to avoid the slow server problem. $8.95 plus S&H. I asked how to eliminate the nag screen since I did not want to buy their virus protection. He said, "can't be done". I then asked to have my 30-day money back guarantee, he said it had to be within 30 days of purchase, not activate date! I am over the 30-day limit -- this was a Christmas gift to me by my wife and with holidays, I just didn't have time to install ... sigh ... "too bad, sir."
   
   My recommendation is to not deal with this company, as they are not flexible and want to charge for everything. Nickel and dime you.
   
   With that, I give them the lowest rating possible. Wish I had read customers reviews here first before buying at Best Buy. Caveat emptor.
   
   Oh, and if you must purchase, only buy the single user one, not the family or 3 user version unless you need it -- will save you money.



4. As many people in these reviews have claimed, version 5 is a real hog. After installing and running the application for a few days, I was forced to remove it. It slowed everything to a crawl. Switching between windows took 2 seconds. My CPU usage was usually at 90 to 100 percent. Fortunately for me, the disk I purchased had version 4.5 available as well. I have been running that version for about a day without the same problems. I would recommend to my friends and family to avoid version 5.
   
   Sincerely, Steve in Florida



5. By far the greatest dangers lurking on the internet are not viruses but trojans, browser highjackers and cookies. While Norton is arguably the best anti-virus software and the best firewall it has flaws. Long before Norton will notice a problem, Spy Sweeper will bag it and tag it. Hackers have learned to hide viruses in cookies and trojans instead of sending them out on their own. With Spy Sweeper you have excellent protection against trojans and cookies and fair protection against highjackers; these are the nasty bugs that cause your browser to lock onto their web page.
   
   Here's some comments on Spy Sweepers operational behavior. It is slow to start up so give it some time. The first thing it will do is load a fresh copy of instructions from their website every morning. This will delay browser operation but it's necessary to keep you out of trouble. I just grab a cup of coffee and let it finish, which takes about 2 minutes. Spy Sweep is a little intrusive when it knows there is a program update scheduled so my advice is go with the flow.
   
   As I pointed out, Spy Sweeper provides only fair protection against highjackers. There is free software that will cover this modest vulnerability but like everything free there is a price: poor updating. When you buy software, or subscribe might be a better word, they guarantee that they will support you. I've tried four softwares to cover this vulnerability and settled on Spyware Doctor and one made by Sun. Spyware Doctor does an excellent job, often catching bugs before Spy Sweeper. Between the two of them, I seldom fall back on Norton for protection. The only problem with Spy Sweeper is that it does not like other protection software and will frequently alarm during start-up. It's nothing serious, just close the window properly and all will be well.
   
   If you can afford only one other protection, besides an anti-virus program, then spend your money on Spy Sweeper.
   
   I hope this review was helpful. If so, please add your vote. I write these reviews at a considerable expense of time and money as a public service. I believe that Amazon provides the best reviews and often serves as the best means of efficiently buying products.

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