What can I say to my mom to allow me to download Photoshop, gimp, or Paint.net?

[I Love House]

Since we got a new computer, she hasent let me download anything on it since our old one broke. She let me download iTunes, cuz i got an ipod, and hypercam, which I dont know why since it's not from a popular company or anything. Our old computer broke around the time I got Photoshop. I told her that we have so much space on our computer, 222 GB, that these programs won't make our computer slow or anything. I said Photoshop and Paint.net wont give us any viruses, since Photoshop is from Adobe and Paint from microsoft. But that surprisingly didn't work. She says she doesnt want to take any chances, but on our old computer we didnt have a virus protection, and thats why our computer broke. But now this one has a strict virus protection thing. It scans the stuff you download before you download it, but she still says no. She thinks that eventually either program will take up all the space on the computer and break it somehow. She's being ridiculous. Help.

 

[gromit801]

She's being partly ridiculous, and you're being partly naive.

There's quite a few legitimate programs out there with malware embedded, then offered for free. Unless you get those apps from the source company, like Adobe or MS, you run a real risk of down loading a virus, and your anti-virus software won't catch it. Believe me, anti-virus software is reactive, meaning it won't catch a new virus it doesn't know about. Only after McAfee or Norton (for example) send an update to your anti-virus software, will you computer know it has a virus. By then, too late.

The joys of owning a windows pc.

GIMP is free however, from it's source. And from the source, should be safe. Stay away from file sharing sites. They are loaded with viruses.

 

[Matt]

first of all tell your mom she knows absolutely nothing about computers i download shit on a daily basis never once have i had a virus spyware on my laptop i have NO virus protection or ANTI-Spyware programs. Also computer programs dont make a computer slow. NOT CLEANING them does. this is along the lines of blowing out the dust in the computers case that will just overheat the comp and kill it if you dont clean the dust out. to clean unwanted or temp stored files folders download a free program called ccleaner or if she still wont let you download anything go to (Start/all programs/accessories/system tools/disk cleanup. and run the disk cleanup check everything off and let it run. Another thing to do is in the same file path there will be another thing under system tools called disk defragmentor. Basically what happens to a computer after you download anything some of the files of the program get scattered all around the HDD and slow the computer down for it has to search for the files. what disk defrag does is moves those scattered files into the same area as the others hence, making the computer load things faster.