Winston's Attic

MIDTOWN COMICS NEW FREE BACK ISSUE PICK UP

2011-06-12T16:46:00.002-05:00

For years, you could purchase your comics from Midtown Comics Online. Midtown Comics offers both domestic and international shipping. However, there is a hefty price for shipping. Now, Midtown Comics is offering free in store pick up of back issues ordered from their online store. Customers can have their comics sent any one of their three stores. The process is not without its shortcomings. The offer applies to back issues only. Customers should expect to wait 3 to 5 business days before they can pick up their purchase. There is no e-mail notification that alerts you that your comics are ready for pick up. However, a store manage did tell me that they are working hard to provide e-mail notifications. All in all, it is a good deal.

MIDTOWN COMICS NEW CODEWORD FOR JUNE 2011

2011-06-09T15:59:00.005-05:00

Midtown Comics, which his located in New York City, have a special sale for the month of June. Customers can use the secret codeword "LANTERN" to get 25% off of all DC Comics. The sale is particularly attractive because it applies to both current and back issues. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time that Midtown Comics is offering a sale on new issues. Usually, these discounts only appear on their in-store sales. So enjoy the sale and save some bucks.

The codeword is not case sensitive. When you go through checkout, make sure to type in the codeword and click "Activiate."

BurnAware the Best Free Burning DVD Software Program

2009-06-14T18:23:00.004-05:00

There are no shortages of good commercial burning software (e.g. Nero). But, really, how often does the average computer user need all that extra and intricate editing tools. In my experience, most users just want a simple way to burn files on to a CD or DVD. These can be either data files or video files or what have you. For simple jobs, I highly recommend BurnAware Free Edition. It does'nt have all those bells and whistles found in commercial burning software but, what it does, it does well. What I found particularly useful is its ability to burning video files (e.g. VOB, IFO, BPU...etc.). It has a clean interface making it very easy to use. Best of all it's free.

Speedup Your Browser

2008-12-03T17:00:00.007-05:00

Believe it or not, there are simply things you can do to speed up your browser. The default settigs on most browsers are not optimized for fast internet connections (e.g. dsl, cable or satellite). This article details how you can change those settings to speedup your browser. In this article, I will cover Internet Explorer 7.0, Mozilla Firefox and Opera 9.6. I can not empathize enough that you should create a restore point if something goes wrong you can undo any changes.

Internet Explorer 7.0

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 7.0 is a vast improvement from version 6.0; however, they left the default maximum number of connections per server to a measly 2. Theoretically, the more connections a browser has with a server, the faster the rendering of the webpage. However, there are limits and too many connections can be counterproductive. If you have a fast internet connection (i.e. dsl, cable or satellite), you can increase the maximum number of connections to a more reasonable 8. If you have fast cable or satellite, you can even bump that up t o 10. In order to change the default setting, you will need a single free third party program called “IE7 Pro.” I love this little program. Its adds so many more features to IE 7, including: ad blocking, proxy settings, mouse gestures and many more fun things. For more info about the problem, read Lifehacker’s piece on the program.

Download IE7 Pro and install it.
Once installed, start Internet Explorer.
On the menu bar, click on “Tools.”
Scroll down and select “IE7Pro Preference.”
On the left column, select “IE Settings.”
Under “Max connections to server,” increase the number to 8 or 10.
Click [OK] and you are finished. Enjoy faster browsing.

Firefox 3.0x

Mozilla Firefox 3.0 requires a little more work in order to speed it up but don’t be intimidated. There is no third party software or add-on you need in order to make the necessary changes.

Start Firefox and, in the address bar, type “about:config” without the exclamation marks.
Next, click [I’ll be careful, I promise!].
In the “Filter box” enter “network.http.max-connections” without the exclamation marks.
Right click the entry and select “Modify.”
In the new dialog box enter “40” and click [OK].
Next, right click “network.http.max-connections-per-server” and select “Modify.”
In the new dialog box enter “32” and click [OK].
Next, right click “network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-poxy” and select “Modify.”
In the new dialog box enter “16” and click [OK].
Right click “network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-server” and select “Modify.”
In the new dialog box enter “8” and click [OK].
Right click “network.http.pipelining” and select “Toggle.” The entry should change from “false” to “true.” (see note at the end of this article)
Restart Firefox.

Opera 9.6

Opera 9.6 is one of the best browser I have tested. It’s fast and feature rich. Many of the features found in Firefox and IE have long been available in Opera, such as: mouse gestures, tabs, integrated RSS reader, integrated e-mail and the list goes on. There are some minor tweaks you can make to speed up this already blazing fast browser.

In the menu bar, click on “Tools” and scroll down to “Preferences….”
Click on the “Advanced” tab.
In the left column, select “Network.”
In “Max connections to server,” select “16.”
In “Max total connections,” select “32.”
Next, in the left column, select “History.”
In “Check documents,” change the default to “Every 10 minutes.”
In “Check images,” change the default to “Every 5 hours.”
Click [OK] and restart Opera.

Note: For those curious about pipelining and how it speeds up your browser, read this article written by Mozilla.

Fed slashes rates - Jan. 22, 2008

2008-01-22T11:01:00.000-05:00

Fed slashes rates - Jan. 22, 2008

Today, in response to growing concern that the United States' economy is heading towards a recession, the Federal Reserve lowered 2 key interest rates, the federal funds rate and the discount rate, both by three-quarters of a point. This is the first major cut made by the Federal Reserve for the year of 2008.

The interest rate cuts did manage to stave off a large drop in the U.S. Stock Market, where the Dow Jones Industrial dropped 400 points before the rate cuts were announced. The rate cuts will not be enough for the U.S. economy to recover. However, in combination with the propose tax rebate and other initiatives called by President George Bush to revitalize the economy might be enough to save it.

Netflix Now Offers Subscribers Unlimited Streaming of Movies and TV Shows

2008-01-14T20:55:00.000-05:00

Netflix Now Offers Subscribers Unlimited Streaming of Movies and TV Shows on Their PCs for Same Monthly Fee

Several months ago, Netflix started offering to their customers free their "Watch Now" service. With the "Watch Now" services, customers could watch streaming video on their PC's. The selection was limited to older and B-rated movies and T.V. shows. Nevertheless, it was a wonderful addition to Netflix online DVD rental service. At the time, customers received a limited number of hours for the streaming video service based on their online DVD rental plan they were enrolled in. For example, customers on Netflix's unlimited 3 DVD at a time plan, which costs $16.99, received 17 hours of free streaming video. That was then.

Now, Netflix is offering unlimited access to their video streaming service to all their customers enrolled in their unlimited DVD rental plan. Translation, customers can watch as many hours as they like for free. Customers belonging to Netflix's limited 1 DVD at a time with 2 DVD maximum per month plan are not eligible for this offer. The one thing which would make this offer even sweeter is if Netflix offer a greater selection of content. I expect Netflix to do so soon.

Free 6 Months Trial of Antivir Antivirus Premium Edition

2008-01-14T14:37:00.000-05:00

Try Avira's Antivir Personal Edition Antivirus Premium Free Through Dennis Publication Special

Antivir Antivirus Personal Edition, which is free for personal non-commercial use, is one of my favorite antivirus applications - AVG and Avast Antivirus are the other 2. Antivir has a powerful scanning engine which scans for viruses, worms,Trojan Horses and rootkits. It also scans outgoing e-mail but not incoming e-mail. In addition, the free edition does not scan for spyware or adware. These features are only found in the premium paid version. In addition, the paid version uses a dedicate server for updates while the free edition uses a shared server which downloads updates at a snail pace. I use a fast DSL broadband connection and downloading via the free edition feels like downloading using a 56kps dial up connection. And, as an additional annoyance, after every update, Antivir displays an obnoxious splash screen urging users to upgrade to the paid version.

Thankfully, there is a bit of good news. For a limited time, you can enjoy a free 6 months trial of the premium paid edition. And, all you have to do is fill out a subscription form, which require a name and a valid e-mail address - you don't even need to use your real name or e-mail address. Once you have filled out the form, Avira will send you an email with an activation code and instructions on how to install Antivir. Save the activation code on to your hard drive. Download the premium edition off of Avira's server and start the installation process. During this process, you will be asked to browse to the location of the activation code. That's it. Update the signature database and you are ready to run your first scan.

How to adjust disk space in Windows Vista:

2008-01-11T13:27:00.000-05:00

How to adjust disk space in Windows Vista

Did you know that Windows Vista, by default, allots an obscene 15% of a computer's hard drive space to System Restore. So, for example, if you have a 200GB hard drive then 30GB is devoted to system restore. Who needs a 30GB system restore? It seems Microsoft doesn't seem to have too much confidence in the stability of its latest operating system. You can change the amount of space that's system restore uses; however, it is far from easy to do so. You will need an account with Administrator privileges and use the command line utility "vssadmin." Read MVP website's howto tutorial on how to use vssadmin.

2008-01-07T19:44:00.000-05:00

Remove The Crapware Which Came With Your New Computer

Well, last week, I treated myself by buying a new laptop. For the most part, I am happy with my new Compaq Presario laptop. What I didn’t like was the collection of trialware, a.k.a. crapware, preinstalled on it. This isn’t a unique problem. Several computer vendors add trial software to their products. Why? For profit. Profit for them but not for you. What you can do is remove them. The first thing you can try is to see if the software program came with an uninstaller. In Windows XP and Vista, go to the Start Menu > All Programs > [Software Program] > Uninstall [Software Program]. If there isn’t an uninstaller, go to the Start Menu > Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs…and find an entry for the software program you want to uninstall > [Remove] > [Restart]. If you don’t find an entry for the software program, all is not lost; you can try a standalone uninstaller program, like Total Uninstaller. Total Uninstaller scans the Windows Registry and files belonging to the software program and then removes them. It is by far the most elegant way to remove a software program. Other popular and effective software uninstallers include Tune-Up Utilities 2008, System Mechanic 7 and CCleaner. Nevertheless, there is a small chance that some stray registry keys and files will be left behind. You can use a registry cleaner to remove them but this isn’t absolutely needed. These stray registry keys rarely cause any problems.

2008-01-06T13:14:00.000-05:00

Sphinx Software’s Vista Firewall Control

Microsoft touts Windows Vista as its latest and most secure operating system. Starting with Windows XP SP2, Microsoft has included a firewall which, by default, is enabled. While Windows XP’s firewall only monitors inbound Internet traffic, Windows Vista’s firewall monitors both incoming and outgoing Internet traffic. Windows Vista’s firewall is enabled by default. Windows Vista’s firewall isn’t the most user friendly application. In fact, it is downright impossible to customize. It does not allow users to set rules for traffic. Thankfully, there is a handy utility that can help, namely, Vista Firewall Control (VFC).

There is both a free and paid version of VFC. With the free VFC program, users can choose what type(s) of connections applications can make. For example, users can allow applications to make both types of connections, only one type of connections or block both. In addition, users can choose to apply it only once or apply it all the time. VFC doesn’t have all the bells and whistles found in other paid firewall programs; however, if you want to keep Windows Vista’s firewall then VFC can give you more control over the it. For those who want the bells and whistles, there are several free firewalls which support Windows Vista, such as: Comodo Firewall Pro, PC Tools Firewall Plus and ZoneAlarm.

2008-01-05T12:00:00.000-05:00

Great Online Savings and CD Offers

The last quarter of 2007 has been particular rough on the U.S. economy. Several banks have lowered their interest rates on their products, including savings accounts and certificates of deposit (CD). For example, in the beginning of 2007, HSBC Bank offered their online savings account with an interest rage of 5.05%. After the mortgage market crash, the rate dropped to 4.50% and continued to fall to today's 4.25%. The Federal Treasury lowered interests rates but it did little to alleviate fears of a slowing economy. However, not all is lost. There are a number of decent investments.

Washington Mutual is still offering an online savings account with a 4.75% interest; however, you need to open a free checking account as well. The minimum deposit is $1.00. Washington Mutual is also offering an online 6 months CD with an interest rate of 5.10%. Minimum deposit is $1,000.

Countrywide Bank is also offering an online savings account with an interest rate of 5.25%; however, to get this rate there is a $10,000 minimum deposit. Countrywide Bank is also offering a 6 months CD with an interest rate of 5.45% with a minimum deposit of $10,000.

ING Direct is offering an online savings account with a more modest interest rate of 4.10%. There is a minimum deposit of $1.00. In addition, it is offering a 6 month CD with an interest rate of 4.70%.

2008-01-02T10:41:00.000-05:00

HSBC Bank Credit Card Anyone?

Well, the holidays are over and you are reeling from the small fortune you spent for holiday gifts. But, don’t panic. There is some good news on the horizon. HSBC Bank is offering a number of credit cards with a special 0% introductory APR for balance transfers and purchases for 12 months. In addition, during this introductory promotional period, there are no fees for balance transfers. And, of course, there are no annual fees. If you have outstanding balances on your current cards, why don’t you transfer them to a new HSBC credit card? You can avoid huge finance fees and, with the money, you save you can deposit it in to your interest bearing bank account(s). Personally, I calculate the total for my balance transfer then invest that amount in to a 1 year high-yield CD. At the end of the year, when the CD matures, I use the principle balance to pay off my HSBC credit card and I get to keep the interest. If these aren’t enough reasons to go ahead and apply for a HSBC credit card, here are some additional benefits:

Free online Bill Pay
Purchase Protection
Master RoadAssist® Roadside Service (1-800-MC-ASSIST)
MasterRental® Insurance Coverage
MasterCard Travel Assistance Services
24-hour toll-free assistance with lost or stolen cards, emergency card replacement and emergency cash advances

2008-01-01T11:08:00.000-05:00

Spyware Doctor Starter Edition

Threats to computer security have changed drastically in the past decade. While once the greatest threat to computers were viruses written by introverted teenagers seeking bragging rights, now, the greatest threat is spyware written by criminals for profit. For the most part, viruses are destructive. Spyware, by nature, seeks to steal information (e.g. user ids, passwords, account numbers…etc.). Optimally, any computer connected to the Internet should have a firewall, antivirus and anti spyware installed. That’s a lot of software but you don’t need to spend a ton of money to secure your computer. In fact, you don’t need to spend a dime. If you are looking for a good free anti spyware program, look no further. PC Tools offers a free version of its very popular and effective Spyware Doctor. Spyware Doctor has earned high honors from both PC World and PC Magazine.

While the commercial version of Spyware Doctor regularly sells for $29.95, Google Pack offers a starter edition of Spyware Doctor for free. The starter edition uses the same scanning engine as its big brother; however, it lacks a number of real time protection features. Specifically, the starter edition does not offer real time protection for web browsers, Windows processes, network connection and startup programs. In short, the starter edition does not monitor and block unwanted changes to browser settings, addition of new Windows processes, changes to network settings and addition of startup programs. However, it does offer real time protection for files. Still, even without these real time protection components, it does an outstanding job of detecting and removing both inactive and active spyware.

To download the starter edition, you have to go through Google Pack installer. On the main webpage, uncheck all items expect Spyware Doctor. Next, click [Download Google Pack]. When prompted, save the Google_Updater.exe file to your desktop or some other accessible location on your computer. When you are finish, double click the executable file to start the download process. Once you have successfully installed Spyware Doctor, you need to update its definitions. To do so, on the main menu, click [Smart Update]. The initial update can be long depending on your Internet connection. After the update, click [Start Scan] > select “Full Scan” > click [Scan Now]. Be sure to quarantine any suspicious files. Spyware Doctor, by default, will create a system restore prior to any removal. I highly recommend that you keep the default settings. To schedule a scan, click [Settings] > [Scheduled Tasks] > highlight a task and click [Edit] to edit a task or click [Add] to add a new task.

Of course, the starter edition’s main menu has a radio button to upgrade to the full commercial version. Still, I am happy that PC Tools didn’t make the upgrade button too conspicuous. For those who want additional protection to cover the areas which the starter edition lacks, I highly recommend Bill Studio’s Winpatrol. There is a free and paid version of Winpatrol. For most users, the free edition is just fine. Winpatrol will monitor any changes to browser settings, startup programs, Windows services, Windows processes and Hosts file. I use Winpatrol and I find it indispensible.

Optimizing Windows Vista

2007-12-29T18:45:00.000-05:00

Whether you upgraded from Windows XP to Windows Vista or purchased a computer with Windows Vista preinstalled, there’s a lot you can do to optimize Windows Vista. Optimization involves not only making Windows Vista work faster but more usable and safer. Optimizing Windows Vista isn’t too different from optimizing Windows XP. Before making again changes, it is best to create a system restore point. To create a restore point, Start Menu > in the Start Search box, type “system restore” (without the quotation marks) > click “System Restore” > the User Account Control (UAC) will appear, click [Continue] > click “Open System Protection” > select your local hard drive (e.g. Local Drive C: ) > click [Create] > type in a name for the restore point > click [Create].

Once you have created a system restore point, you are already to start optimizing Windows Vista. Here is how:

Restrict the number of startup programs: All programs use up RAM and CPU cycles. By limiting the number of startup programs, you have more RAM and CPU free. There are a number of ways to change the programs which load at startup. By far the easiest way is to use the Windows Vista’s System Configuration Utility. To access it, go to Start Menu > in the Start Search box, type “msconfig,” > from the search results, click “msconfig” > the UAC will appear, click [Continue] > a new dialog window will appear, click on the “Startup” tab > uncheck any program that doesn’t need to be loaded at startup > [Apply] > [O.K.] > Restart. It may be difficult to identify the startup program solely by its file name. Should you come across a program you don’t recognize, use the website Process Library to identify the program.

Remove junk files: You would be amazed that the number of temporary files, temporary Internet files, download files and log files which Windows Vista generates. Removing these useless files will free up hard drive space. Like the older versions of Windows operating system, Windows Vista has a built in disk cleanup utility called, of all things, Disk Cleanup. To start Disk Cleanup, go to Start Menu > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Cleanup. Disk Cleanup gives you the option of cleaning files only from your user account or all users’ accounts. For now, just clean files from your account. Next, select the hard drive or partition where the files are located. Disk Cleanup allows you to select what files are to be deleted. At the very least, remove Download Files, Temporary Files and Temporary Internet Files. You can also include log files as well though some users might find the log files useful - to be honest, I have never found a need for them.

Defrag the hard drive: After cleaning your hard drive, it is time to defrag it. To start Windows Vista’s Disk Defragmenter, go to Start Menu > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter. Be aware that it might take several minutes or hours to defrag your hard drive, depending on the size of the hard drive and the level of defragmentation.

Get rid of the eye-candy: Windows Vista comes loaded with special visual effects, such as: transparent windows, animation, fading, special icons, sliding menus and other eye pleasing but computer resource hogging effects. You can select which visual effects you want to keep or disable, right click the “My Computer” icon on your desktop > click “Advanced system settings” > the UAC will appear, click [Continue] > in the new Windows, click on the “ Advanced” tab > under “Performance,” click [Settings] > click on the “Visual Effect” tab > uncheck any visual effect you can live without > [Apply] > [O.K.]. Personally, I keep “show contents when dragging,” “show shadows under mouse pointer” and “smooth edges of screen fonts.”

Get rid of the sidebar: Windows Vista is the first Microsoft operating system to have a sidebar. The sidebar can be used to install several gadgets on the desktop. For example, by default, there is an analog clock and RSS gadget installed. To access the sidebar, go to Start Menu > in the Search box, type “sidebar” > in the search result click “Windows Sidebar Properties” > uncheck “Start Sidebar when Windows Starts.”

Optimize the size of the paging file: There are 2 types of memory that Windows Vista uses. The first is the physical memory, RAM, and the virtual memory, paging file. With the paging file, Windows Vista converts part of the hard drive, ROM, to act like RAM. The important thing to remember is that RAM works much faster than virtual memory. By default, Windows Vista sets the size of the paging file to 1.5x the amount of RAM. For the most part, this is size is fine. But, if the size of is too large, Windows Vista would use more virtual memory, which is slower, than is optimal. So, the goal is to a set an appropriate size for the paging file. In addition, since the paging file which is part of the hard drive, it can also become fragmented. Fragmentation can be minimized by setting a fixed size for the paging file. To change settings for the paging file, right click on the “My Computer” on the desktop > click “Advanced system settings” > the UAC will appear, click [Continue] > click the “Advanced” tab > under “Performance,” click [Settings] > click the “Advanced” tab > under “Virtual memory,” click [Change] > select the local drive (e.g. C: ) > select “Custom size” > for both “Initial size” and “Maximum size” enter the same number. If you have 1GB of RAM, set these values to 1024MB. If you have 2GB of RAM, see these values to 512MB. If you have more than 2GB of RAM, consider setting these values to “0” and not using any virtual memory. When you have enter the amount of virtual memory, click [Set] > [O.K.] > [Apply] > [O.K.] > Restart.

Optimize the size of the Recycle Bin: The size of the recycle bin is a percentage of the hard drive. If you have a 200GB hard drive then 12% of 200GB is 24GB. Who needs a 24GB recycle bin? Thankfully, Windows Vista allows users to adjust the size of the recycle bin, right click the “Recycle Bin” icon on the desktop > select “Properties” > select the hard drive > select “Custom size” > enter a reasonable size for the recycle bin (e.g. 250MB) > [Apply] > [O.K.].

Display the extension for all files: By default Windows Vista does not show file extensions. Why is it important to see file extension you ask? Well, you don’t want to accidentally open an executable file (e.g. .exe). Sadly, hackers create files which look like innocent text files but, in fact, they are program files. Users click on them and end up installing spyware or some other form of malware. However, you can have Windows Vista show file extensions, start Windows Explorer > from the menu bar, select “Tools” > Properties > Folder Options > select “View” tab > uncheck “Hide extension for known file types” > [Apply] > [O.K.].

Make Windows Vista Secure: Microsoft made Windows Vista to be the safest operating system it has ever created and they did a decent job. Windows Vista comes with a bi-directional firewall and Windows Defender, Microsoft’s anti spyware application. However, you will need an antivirus program. There are several decent free antivirus programs so you don’t have to spend a dime - which is a good thing since you had to spend your money on Windows Vista. The 3 most popular free antivirus programs are: Avast, AVG and Antivir. All 3 programs can be downloaded from Filehippo’s website. All 3 programs have their strengths and weaknesses. Antivir has the highest detection and removal rate of the 3 but does not scan incoming e-mail – it does however scan outgoing e-mail. Avast has a detection and removal rate but its unorthodox GUI is less than intuitive to use. Grisoft’s AVG has the lowest detection and removal rate of the 3 but its inituitive controls makes it easy to use. PC World Magazine has an excellent review of many popular free and not so free antivirus programs.

Increase the number of simultaneous connections that Internet Explorer 7 (IE 7) uses to connect to the Internet: By default, IE 7 only creates 2 simultaneous connections to the Internet. However, if you have a broadband connection, you can increase the number of simultaneous connections to 10. Unfortunately, to increase the number of simultaneous connections, you need to edit the Windows Registry, which is no small matter. If you do decide to go ahead, create a system restore point prior to editing the registry. It will save you a lot of grief should something go wrong. To edit the Windows Registry, you need to start Vista’s registry editor, go to Start Menu > in the search box, enter “regedit” > in the results, click “regedit.exe.” At this point, refer to Microsoft’s support page to edit the registry. The webpage is for IE 5 and IE 6, however, they apply to Windows Vista as well. You can also refer to VistaWired’s tutorial as well. I am sure many people would say that, instead of editing IE 7 settings, switch to Firefox web browser. Well, I can’t deny that is a great idea.

Download details: Standalone Update Package for Windows XP Service Pack 3

2007-12-19T21:29:00.000-05:00

Download details: Standalone Update Package for Windows XP Service Pack 3

Today, Microsoft has released the first candidate of Service Pack 3 for Windows XP. This was quite unexpected since many believed that even a release candidate would not be offered until after Windows Vista SP1 was released. I must emphasize that this is only a release candidate and not a final product. Nevertheless, there is great excitement over this third service pack for Windows XP. The computer gurus over at Devil Mountain Software have tested the preliminary SP3 and, based on their benchmark, they saw a 10% gain in performance compared to Windows XP SP2 (link).

BurnAware Free Burning Software

2007-12-11T21:25:00.000-05:00

BurnAware is a free alternative to Nero and Roxio burning software. BurnAware can burn data, audio, image and video files to almost any CD/DVD media. There is no shortage of free burning software – DeepBurner comes to mind – but BurnAware is the first free alternative that burns video files effortlessly. It is incredibly easy to use. There is a main menu where you select what type of media file you want to burn. Next, you browse to where the file is located on your hard drive or optical drive and BurnAware does the rest. BurnAware doesn’t have the advance features you would find in Nero and Roxio. However, the average user rarely uses these advance features anyway. So, if you are shopping for free burning software, you don’t need to look and further.

PC World - Microsoft Readies 7 Patches

2007-12-09T10:14:00.000-05:00

PC World - Microsoft Readies 7 Patches

Come next week's scheduled "Patch Tuesday," Microsoft will be releasing a total of 7 security patches. Of the seven patches, 3 are "critical" and the other 4 are "important." It is interesting to not that 5 of the patches affect Windows Vista, Microsoft's newest and supposedly securest operating system - I guess everything is relative. As usual, Microsoft has not disclosed details of the 7 patches. Sadly, once the patches are released, it is common now for hackers to use the details on the patches to create hacks to exploit them. Thereby threatening Windows users who do not patch their computers promptly.

Hackers Use Banner Ads on Major Sites to Hijack Your PC

2007-11-19T20:48:00.000-05:00

Hackers Use Banner Ads on Major Sites to Hijack Your PC

There is a new danger on the Internet. Banner ads on several legitimate websites have been "infected" with malware.

Wire writes "If you've seen any of the ads, you may have experienced something like this: You're on a legitimate site. Your browser window closes down. A new browser window comes up, redirecting you to an antivirus site, while a dialog box comes up telling you that your computer is infected and that your hard drive is being scanned. The malware tries to download software to your computer and scans your hard drive again."

PC World - Gmail Update Draws Gripes

2007-11-17T19:40:00.000-05:00

PC World - Gmail Update Draws Gripes

Earlier this month, Google has been slowly rolling out an upgrade to its popular e-mail client, Gmail 2.o. Sadly, many users are reporting problems with this latest version. The most common complaint is Gmail 2.0 works very slowly. Google is aware of the problems and are working hard to correct it. Many users, frustrated with the new upgrade, have returned to the old Gmail 1.0.

Wal-Mart fires warning shots over Black Friday sales price leaks

2007-10-24T16:19:00.000-05:00

Wal-Mart fires warning shots over Black Friday sales price leaks

Many of you are familiar with Black Friday, the Friday after Thanksgiving, which starts holiday shopping. Between Black Friday and Christmas, retailers make 50% of their sales for the year during this period. Typically, retailers slash prices to entice buyers to purchase items from their stores. However, sale prices are not revealed until Black Friday. Each year, certain individuals manage to get their hands on these sale prices and post them on various websites. Retailers frown upon the early release of their sales. Up until now, retailers rarely have pursue legal actions against those suspected of publishing their sales. However, this year, it looks like retailers have lost their patience over the matter and have made taken serious steps to penalize anyone who published their sales before companies' release date. Wal-Mart is leading the charge. Wal-Mart contends that their sales circulars are copy protected, which is a new twist. Read the full article for more details.

Removing Rogue Antispyware

2007-07-17T14:25:00.000-05:00

Malwarebytes.org

Unfortunately, not all advertised antispyware applications are legitimate security software. In fact, for some time now, there are scores of what are commonly called "Rouge Antispyware" programs. These programs advertise to remove spyware when, in truth, they add spyware to computers. Oftentimes, these programs install themselves without the user's knowledge or consent. Once installed, they display ominous messages warning the user that their computer has been infected with spyware and scare them to purchase their product to remove them. Sadly, the only spyware installed is the rogue antispyware program. Oftentimes, these programs are incredibly hard to remove, even genuine antispyware programs have a hard time remove all their files. Thankfully, there is a free utility, RougeRemover, which can remove a long list of rogue antispyware programs. If you find yourself in a position where your computer is possibly infected with rogue antispyware, try RougeRemove which is absolutely free and is the real deal. Here is the list of rogue antispyware programs which it can remove.

$100 Bonus for Opening Up Citibank Ultimate Savings Account

2007-07-09T18:02:00.000-05:00

$100 Bonus for Citibank Ultimate Savings Account

Direct saving accounts seem to be all the rage as of late. Direct accounts are those which are maintained by the customer using the Internet and ATM machines. There is no teller services and no statements by mail. It is a win win situation for both the banks and its customers. The bank saves money by providing less tellers for personal services which allows the banks to offer a higher interest rate. Citibank offers a 4.65% APR for its Ultimate Savings accounts. Now, as an added incentive, Citibank is offering a $100 signing bonus to all "New" account holders. There is no minimum opening balance! This offer ends on 8/31/2007. Customers will receive have $100 added to their accounts 90 days after the account has been opened. The account must be in good standing during this period. Who doesn't like free money?

Top 15 Ways to Extend Your Laptop’s Battery Life

2007-07-09T17:28:00.000-05:00

Top 15 Ways to Extend Your Laptop’s Battery Life

This is for all you laptop owners. Here are some tips on how to extend the life of your batter, both short-term and long-term. No one wants their laptop's battery to die after 2 hours and no one wants their battery to be unable to hold a full charge after only 1 year.

The 3 most power consuming components of a laptop are the display, hard drive and CD/DVD drive. Needless to say, the best way to conserve power is to reduce the power used by these 3 components. This collection of tips have some old as well as new tricks to do just that. The article touches on some ways to make sure your laptop continues to hold a charge many years after you brought it.

It is good to talk about topics on laptop batteries other than their danger of catching on fire.

Top 20 Temporary and Disposable Email Services

2007-05-28T17:43:00.000-05:00

Top 20 Temporary and Disposable Email Services

There are many instances when a disposable e-mail service comes in handy. For instance, a website requires you to register with your e-mail address in order to download a "free" software program. Or, if you want to search a website's database, you have to create a free account using your e-mail address as your user id. Whatever the case, there is always a potential abuse of e-mail address. The website can send you unwanted newsletters, ads or promos. Worse, the website can see your e-mail address to a third party - despite the fact their privacy policy forbids such a thing.

Disposable e-mail services create temporary e-mail address which works like ordinary e-mail address. However, they hide your real identity. Many of these disposable e-mail services offer a plethora of extra features. For example, some allow you to set the lifespan of e-mail address - 10 minutes to 10 days. Some forward received e-mail messages to your real e-mail address. Some even allow you to create a name for the e-mail address. For example, sleazycompany@mailinator.com.

The vast majority of these services are free. The article reviews a list of 20 disposable e-mail services. You don't need to use all of them. My personal favorite is Jetable, a French company. I like it because it allows me to set the lifespan of the e-mail address as well as forward any messages.

Remove Stubborn Files

2007-05-19T18:03:00.000-05:00

New software programs offer more features and speed. However, this growth is not without its share of problems. In fact, as software becomes more and more sophisticated, it becomes bloated and more cluttered. As a result software programs become harder to uninstall. Yes, it is true that most programs come with their own uninstaller. But, they still leave remnants of the program on the computer, such as orphan registry keys and .dll library files. It has become such a problem that several major software makers have developed their own special removal tools, including: McAfee, Nero and Symantec.

For example, a colleague of mine recently decided to switch from McAfee Antivirus to Symantec Norton Antivirus. He used McAfee regular uninstall program and not their Consumer Product Removal Tool (MCPRT). After uninstalling McAfee, he tried to install Norton Antivirus. But, Norton Antivirus refused to install because it detected the presence of another antivirus program. You guessed it. There was enough trace McAfee registry keys and files left behind to prevent Norton Antivirus from installing, which was to be expected since 2 antivirus programs installed on the same computer just doesn’t work. Running MCPRT would remove the trace elements but it would create another problem. MCPRT not only removes McAfee Antivirus but all McAfee products, including McAfee SpamKiller, McAfee SiteAdvisor and etc.

There are other problems such as the dreaded “can’t locate install.log.” In situations such as these you need is a dedicated uninstaller program. Many of uninstaller programs are bundled with utility suites, such as: TuneUp Utilities 2007 and Iolo’s System Mechanic 7. Others are standalone programs such as Your Uninstaller and Total Uninstall. All the programs I mentioned come with a free trial period so you can try them before deciding to purchase it.

BetaNews | Zango Sues Spyware Remover, Again

2007-05-19T11:00:00.000-05:00

BetaNews | Zango Sues Spyware Remover, Again

This is rich. Zango, previously known as 180Solutions, has filed suit against PC Tools, a well established security software maker. In particular, Zango accuses PC Tools' Spyware Doctor of falsely labeling its software as malicious. The suit asks for $35 Million USD as compensation. This is an old tactic used by Zango in the past to intimidate security software makers to delist their software products. In November 2005, Zango sued Zone Labs for falsely labeling their software as adware and/or spyware. But, by then, both the federal government and public were wary of Zango products and actions. Zango later dropped the lawsuit without any explanation.

In November 2006, the federal government charged Zango with deceptive tactics to install their software on personal computers without user's knowledge and approval. In addition, their software was designed to make it very difficult to remove. Zango settled out of court with the federal government and paid a fine of $3 million USD to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). After the settlement, top executives at Zango pledged to totally revamp their advertisement operation with promises to end distribution of what many considered adware. Well, true to form, this was another ruse and Zango is back to its old dirty tricks.

Unlimited storage, it’s coming! - Yodel Anecdotal

2007-05-16T14:37:00.000-05:00

Unlimited storage, it’s coming! - Yodel Anecdotal

Yahoo! announces unlimited storage space for Yahoo! Mail. This includes all free mail accounts. Yahoo! will be slowly rowing out the unlimited storage, so don't panic if you haven't gotten it yet.

BetaNews | Microsoft Preps 7 Security Bulletins

2007-05-04T11:47:00.000-05:00

BetaNews Microsoft Preps 7 Security Bulletins

Next week Tuesday, Microsoft plans to release 7 security patches. Microsoft will not release details about the patches until Tuesday; however, it is known that 1 of the patches will address a DNS vulnerbility in Windows 2000. Other patches will most likely include fixes for Microsoft Office and Windows XP.

TrendSecure | TrendProtect™ Overview

2007-05-03T11:44:00.000-05:00

TrendSecure TrendProtect™ Overview

Many of you might be familiar with Trend Micro, a leading security software company. Trend Micro Internet Security Suite is one of the most popular security software bundle. What you might not know is that Trend Micro has a number of free products which can protect Internet users. With phishing scam on the rise, there is an increasing need to identify fake websites. TrendProtect is a plugin for both the Internet Explorer and Firefox web browsers which identifies phish websites. In addition, the plugin also scans individual webpages for malicious content. For a more in-depth review of TrendProtect read PC Magazine's review article.

Official Google Blog: We're expecting

2007-04-17T21:20:00.000-05:00

Official Google Blog: We're expecting

As many of you know, Google acquired Writely, an online word processor service, and combined it with Google Spreadsheet to create Google's Docs and Spreadsheet. Now, there is news that Google will add a presentation module to Google's Docs and Spreadsheet. It looks like Google is creating an online clone of Microsoft Office. Google's CEO Eric Schmidt denies that Google is trying to compete with Microsoft Office. For one thing, Google Docs and Spreadsheet does not nearly have the same features as Microsoft Office. I am not entirely convinced. Earlier this week, Google announced that it had worked out a deal to buy DoubleClick for an astounding $3.1 billion USD. Google's cash cow is its online advertisement business. With its purchase of DoubleClick, Google has firmly cemented it dominance in online advertisement. Microsoft had high hopes to increase its presence in the online advertisement industry but that hope has evaporated. Unlike Google, Microsoft's cash cow is in its software products. With the exception of its Windows operating system software, Microsoft Office brings in the greatest revenue. Should Google be able to offer a viable free alternative to Microsoft Office, Microsoft can see its revenue from its software products evaporate as well.

Google Pack Gets Updated

2007-03-28T11:29:00.000-05:00

Google Pack

Google Pack has been updated. In response to users' comments, Google has made some changes to the free software programs that make up Google Pack. Previously, Google Pack contained a special version of Symantec Antivirus program, which offered free updates for 6 months. After 6 months, the program will alert users that, in order to continue receiving signature updates, they had to purchase a license. However, in this latest edition of Google Pack, Symantec offers unlimited signature updates. Also, Google has add a special version of Spyware Doctor - Spyware Doctor Starter Kit - to the latest edition. This starter kit version only offers limited real time protection - only OnGuard and File protection - but it is still an awesome addition to the pack. The Google Pack still includes: Picasa, Google Earth, Google Desktop and the other programs found in the previous edition.

Yahoo! Mail goes to infinity and beyond - Yodel Anecdotal

2007-03-27T20:51:00.000-05:00

Yahoo! Mail goes to infinity and beyond - Yodel Anecdotal

In celebration of its 10 year anniversary, Yahoo! Mail announce that it will offer unlimited e-mail storage. The program will be slowly rolling out starting this May. I have to admit I am a little surprise by Yahoo! announcement. I have a Gmail account with 2.7GB+ e-mail storage and I have only used up 2%. What are people going to do with all that e-mail storage space? I wonder what Google and Microsoft are going to do in response to Yahoo! offer.

High Yield Savings Accounts

2007-03-22T15:22:00.000-05:00

Which Online High-Yield Savings Account is Best? ∞ Get Rich Slowly

Personally, I wouldn't mind a little more cash. There are a number of banks which are offering a high yield savings account. These banks are able to offer higher yields because the saving accounts are direct accounts. Everything is done electronic. Instead of using a bank teller, you can deposit, withdrawal and several other types of transaction via the Internet, ATM and telephone. The bank saves money and passes on these savings on to the customer. In fact, HSBC Direct is offering a promotional 6.00% APR from now to April 27th 2007.

Your ISP may be selling your web clicks

2007-03-16T13:03:00.000-05:00

Your ISP may be selling your web clicks

Net users know that there is no such thing as privacy on the Internet. But, few know that people's own Internet Service Provider (ISP) sell logs of their customers' activity on the Internet to market research firms. What is more troubling is that ISP never inform their customers that they sell their data. ISP argue that the data is stripped of any details which might identify the customer. Still, this is little solace for customers who feel betrayed by their ISP.

Windows Defender 7 Released

2007-03-15T14:28:00.000-05:00

Windows Defender home

Today, Microsoft released its latest version of Windows Defender 7. As some of you may know, several years ago Microsoft acquired Giant Software and its anti spyware program. Windows Defender is included in Windows Vista and is a free download for Windows XP users - users must go through Microsoft WGA validation process to install it. Windows Defender provides both real time protection and on demand scanning. Despite Microsoft best efforts, Windows Defender only provides mediocre detection and protection. Unlike antivirus programs, users can use more than 1 anti spyware program. In fact, it is recommended you do. On my computer, I have installed Spybot Search & Destroy, Lavasoft's Ad Aware and Windows Defender and have experience no problem.

Microsoft Security Bulletin Advance Notification

2007-03-08T17:47:00.000-05:00

Microsoft Security Bulletin Advance Notification

Surprise, surprise! No security patches for next week's Patch Tuesday. However, there will be a new version of Microsoft's Malicious Software Removal tool. In addition, there will be 2 non critical patches on Windows Update and 4 non critical patches on Microsoft Update.

Enable Netflix Watch Now movie streaming on any account - Lifehacker

2007-03-07T20:29:00.000-05:00

Enable Netflix Watch Now movie streaming on any account - Lifehacker

Earlier this year, Netflix rolled out a new service called "Watch Now." The service allows users to stream movies to their computer. Depending on which plan users use, users get an alloted amount of free movie downloads. For instance, users of the 3 out at a time plan get 18 hours of free movie downloads. Users can watch the movie but can not burn them to DVD or save them on to the hard drive. Netflix's plan was to slowly roll out the new service to members and have the service available to everyone by June of this year. However, a clever user discovered an easy way to automatically get the service without waiting. I am sure that Netflix will fix the glitch soon; so, if you are a Netflix customer and have not received the service then you better get going.

Save cached copies of your favorite webpages to your Gmail account for online and offline browsing

2007-03-05T12:56:00.000-05:00

Save cached copies of your favorite webpages to your Gmail account for online and offline browsing

There are no shortages of good social bookmarking services on the Internet. Personally, I use Del.icio.us, Digg and Yahoo! My Web. I have a preference for Yahoo! My Web because I have the option to save cached copies of any webpages. This comes in handy if, for whatever reason, the webpage disappears. Yes, you can use a permalink but not all websites offer them. In addition, with cached copies, you can instantly view them without having to go to the originating websites.

Today, I will describe how to save cached copies of webpages to Gmail, Google’s online e-mail service. Gmail offers an astounding 2.8+ GB of storage. You can use this space to hold all your saved webpages. You can tag and label all of your webpages for easy retrieval. Using Gmail’s sophisticated search options, you can generate a list of webpages which match your search query. In addition, you can setup your desktop e-mail client to download all these webpages and have them available for offline browsing.

For this to work, you will need a Gmail Account. Sign up for one at Gmail’s website. Jot down your new e-mail address and go toread.cc website. Enter your gmail address and click [start menu]. The website will send an e-mail message to your gmail address. Return to your Gmail account and open the new message. The message will contain a link to register your toread account. Click on it to go to your account. On this new webpage, you will see 2 links, [toread] and [toread +]. Both are bookmarklets which you can drag and drop on to your toolbar. You will use [toread+] because it allows you to add a comment to your bookmark. Simply, drag and drop the link on to your toolbar. If you are using Internet Explorer, right click on the link > select Add to Favorites > select Links > [Add]. If you get a warning message, ignore it; [toread] uses javascript to bookmark webpages, which IE flags as a potential security risk.

Now, you are ready to save your favorite webpages. When you come across a webpage you want to save, click on the [toread+] bookmarklet. A new window will appear. Under comment, enter tags which will identify this webpage; separate each tag with a blank space. For example, for the Mozilla’s homepage, I enter the following tags: “mozilla opensource firefox browser freeware” (without the quotation marks). The webpage and tags are then sent to your Gmail address. The body of the message will contain a copy of the website. The tags will appear on the subject line and info.toread.cc. appears in the from field.

You can use Gmail sophisticated search options to easily find and sort your saved webpages. Open your Gmail account. To the left of the search box, click on Show Search Options. You can search by tags by entering the tag(s) on the Subject Line. You can search by content on a webpage by using Has the Words as well as search by date. Of course, you can use any combinations of these filters. You can also add labels to the messages to further sort your messages. For example, I use labels like “to do” or “important.” Now, you have a database of all your favorite webpages with an outstanding search tool to find and sort them. You can use your desktop e-mail client to download Gmail messages to browse your favorite webpages offline.

Restore Windows XP Performance

2007-03-03T22:17:00.000-05:00

Restore Windows XP Performance

When you first took your computer out of the box, your computer was blazing fast. However, over time, you noticed that your computer gradually slowed down. Unfortunately, over time, your computer starts amassing useless temporary files, fragmented files on the hard drive, startup programs and the occasional spyware or other malicious files. Believe it or not, restoring your computer’s performance is relatively easy. What you need to do is to Clean It Up, Trim It Down and Lock It Up. Before going any further, you should create a system restore as a safety precaution. To create a system restore point, go to Start > Help and Support > Undo Changes to Your Computer with System Restore > Create a Restore Point > enter a name > [O.K.] > [Close].

Clean It Up

No matter how you use your computer, obsolete and useless files will clutter your hard drive. Removing these files will free up some precious hard drive space. But, that is not enough. You also need to defrag your hard drive. Ideally, you want your files to be consolidated on the hard drive for faster retrieval. But, in the real world, files are scattered throughout the hard drive. That’s why you need to defrag your hard drive.

Remove Obsolete and Useless Files: Windows XP comes with its own disk cleanup utility. You can find it at Start Menu > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Cleanup. If you have more than one hard drive, you need to select the hard drive you want to clean. Once you are in Disk Cleanup, select Download Program Files, Temporary Internet Files, Temporary Files and Recycle Bin. I recommend you don’t select Compress Old Files. After making your selection, click [O.K.].

Defrag the Hard Drive: Once again, Windows XP comes with a disk defragmenter. You can find it at Start Menu > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter. If you have more than one hard drive, you need to select the hard drive you want to defrag. Once in Disk Defragmenter, click [Analyze] to check the level of fragmentation your hard drive. Windows XP will inform you if you hard drive needs to be defrag. Of course, you can always click [Defragment] with or without Windows XP recommendation. Be patient; the process can take minutes or hours to complete depending on the level of fragmentation. Unfortunately, Windows XP’s defragmenter does not defrag the paging file. To defrag the paging file, you need to use the free utility PageDefrag. You don’t need to install it. Instead, click on it and select to defrag the paging file on the next reboot.

Remove Obsolete Registry Keys: This is very important. Unless you absolutely know what you are doing, Do Not make any changes to the Windows registry. This includes adding, deleting and editing any registry key. Even a slight error in the Windows registry can lead to your computer becoming unstable and even unusable. You will need a registry cleaner to scan and remove obsolete registry keys. There are several free registry cleaners so you don’t need to spend a dime. But, I should mention that in my experience, the paid versions are invariable better than their free versions. Broadly speaking, all registry cleaners can be divided in to 2 groups. The first group are aggressive and the second not so aggressive. Each group has its own pro’s and con’s. Aggressive registry cleaner will search deep and wide to find all obsolete or useless keys; however, they cast a large net and they occasionally mislabel a registry key as useless when in fact it is not. The second group plays it safe and only includes registry keys that are completely safe to remove. However, they will miss some useless registry key. I recommend you stick with the second group. In this second group, I recommend the free CCleaner and Easy Cleaner. If you want a more aggressive scan, use either Eusing’s Registry Cleaner or Regseeker. Finally, always create a system restore point before making any changes. All of these programs prompt users to create a backup of the registry keys before making any changes. If you don’t mind spending some cash, PC Tool’s Registry Mechanic, TuneUp Utilities 2007 and Iolo’s System Mechanic 7.0 are excellent commercial registry cleaners.

Trim It Down

Once you have completed cleaning the junk on your computer, you need to turn off the bells and whistles on your computer. Have you ever noticed that after installing a new piece of software, a new icon appears on your system tray? It is very common for programs to add themselves to the startup program list. Ask yourself, do you really need Real Player to load at startup? Having to start so many programs takes time and resources. You need to cut down on the number of startup programs. Startup programs aren’t the only things which take up resources. Windows XP has a lot of eye candy. All those animations, fading toolbars and pretty icons make your desktop look great but slow down your computer. By cutting down on the number of special effects, you can free up CPU cycles and RAM. In addition, there are several Windows services working in the background. Many of which you don’t necessarily need. Microsoft tries to anticipate which services Windows users need. As a result, several services are turned on by default, some of which you don’t necessarily need. You can free up resources by disabling unnecessary services. This requires caution since disabling the wrong service might make your computer unstable or unusable.

Turn Off Unnecessary Startup Programs: To remove a program from the startup program list, go to Start > Run > type “msconfig” (without the quotation marks) > [Enter] > click on the Startup tab > uncheck any program you don’t want > [O.K.] > Restart. It might be difficult to identify a program solely by its name. You can find out what a particular program does by searching for it on Bleeping Computer’s Startup Program Database. Just type in the name and click [Search]. In the rare case where it can not identify the program, you can also search for it on CastleCops’ Startup Program Database or search for it on the Process Library website. There are a number of programs that you want always to keep, such as your antivirus program, anti spyware program and firewall.

Disable Visual Special Effects: The simplest thing to do is to remove the desktop background. You can trade in your Star Trek theme desktop background for something that doesn’t need as much resources. Go to Start > Control Panel > Display > click on the Desktop tab > select None > and select a color for the background. Next, move on to disabling visual effects. Right click My Computer > select Properties > click on the Advanced tab > under Performance, click [Settings] > click the Visual Effects tab > select Custom > uncheck any special effects you can do without > [O.K.]. Personally, I do away with everything except Show Window Content When Dragging and Show Shadow Under Mouse Pointer. You can experiment.

Disable Unnecessary Windows Services: Again, this is an area in Windows XP which you need to know exactly what you are doing. Turning off the wrong service can cripple your computer. Create a system restore point before making any changes. Once you are done, go to Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services. Things you need to know. Under status, if it says Started then the service is currently active. Under Startup Type, there are 3 possible values: (1) Automatic – the service is always on; (2) Manual – the service is turned on when needed; (3) Disable – the service is always off. Only change one service at a time. Keep a list of Windows services you have changed and their original settings. Consult online guides like The Elder Geek website for a description of each Windows service. Another good source is the Black Viper list hosted on MajorGeeks’ website. Determine if you need a particular Windows service or not. If you are not sure if you need a particular service, set it to Manual. If it is needed, the service will turn on by itself. To disable a service, right click the service and select "Stop." Right click the service again and select Properties > under Startup Type, select either "Disable" or "Manual" > [Apply] > [O.K.].

Lock It Up

Unfortunately, spyware is a very common cause of computer slow down. A decade ago, there was little spyware. Instead, your common hacker was a computer savvy teenager who created viruses for the purpose of bragging rights. These days, malicious files are created for the purpose of making money. For example, a third party hired by an ad agency might create an adware application which downloads itself on to your computer without your knowledge and consent. The adware then changes your web browser’s settings so the browser is redirected to the ad agency’s website. Another common tactic is to install spyware on your computer and steal all your user ids and passwords. To fight against these newest attacks, you need to add security software to protect your computer. All computers should have at least an antivirus program, anti spyware program and a firewall. There is no shortage of good free security software. Remember, free does not mean inferior. Please read my post of free security software. To secure your computer, you need to set Windows XP to automatically download and install Windows updates. In addition, you need to install and update your security software regularly, secure Internet Explorer and disable Windows components which pose a security risk.

Set Windows XP to Automatically Download and Install Windows Updates: This is the single most important step towards securing your computer. To turn on automatic updates, go to Start > Control Panel > Security Center > Automatic Updates > click [Turn on Automatic Updates].

Installing and Updating Your Antivirus and Anti spyware Software: Be it your antivirus or anti spyware, you need to update it regularly. Most antivirus and anti spyware programs have an automatic update function; be sure to turn it on. Antivirus and anti spyware programs need virus and spyware signatures to detect and remove the latest threats. In addition, try to use an antivirus which has heuristic capabilities. Heuristic scanning is different from regular virus scanning. It does not use virus signatures to detect malicious files; instead, it focuses on detecting behavior which is common to all viruses. This is great when a new virus signature is not available. I highly recommend Antivir, which offers both real time and on demand heuristic scanning. In regards to spyware, unlike antivirus programs, you can install more than 1 anti spyware program. In fact, it is advisable to do so. I use Lavasoft’s Ad Aware, Spybot Search & Destroy and Microsoft’s Windows Defender without any problems.

Install a Firewall: The function of a firewall is to monitor communication between your computer and the Internet. Ideally, you want the firewall to monitor both incoming and outgoing traffic. Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) comes with a firewall. If you haven’t already downloaded and installed SP2 then now it is a good time to do so. Unfortunately, the firewall is only unidirectional; it only monitors incoming traffic, which is less than ideal. Windows XP’s firewall assumes anything already running on your computer is safe and allows any of your computer’s applications to connect to the Internet. This is problematic. For example, let’s say a Trojan Horse was already on your computer when you installed SP2. Windows XP’s firewall will not stop it from collecting data from your computer and transmitting it to the Internet. There are several free bidirectional firewalls. I highly recommend Sunbelt-Kerio Firewall. Other good free firewalls are Comodo Firewall Pro and Jetico Firewall. These last 2 firewalls are more suited for advanced users since they will prompt a user to either allow or block a connection while Sunbelt-Kerio Firewall will make the decisions for you

Secure Internet Explorer: As a result of being the most widely used web browser, Internet Explorer is a prime target of hackers. By far the single most important thing to secure Internet Explorer is to update to Internet Explorer 7. Internet Explorer 7 fixes several vulnerabilities found in Internet Explorer 6. IE 7 adds an integrated anti phish tool, tighter control over ActiveX and Javascript, easy security certificate identification and blocking popup windows disguised as new windows. In order to update to IE 7, you will need to go through Microsoft’s Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) Validation process to install it. You can download IE 7 from Microsoft’s download webpage. If you don’t want to update to IE 7, there are still ways to secure IE 6. From the menu bar go to Tools > Internet Options > click the Security tab > click on the Internet icon > under Security Level for this Zone, click [Custom level]. Make the following changes:

Download signed ActiveX controls – [Prompt]
Download unsigned ActiveX controls – [Disable]
Initialize and script ActiveX controls not mark as safe – [Disable]
Run ActiveX controls and plugins – [Prompt]
Script ActiveX marked safe for scripting – [Prompt]
Active Scripting – [Prompt]
Allow Programmatic Clipboard Access – [Disable].

Remove Windows Services and Components which Pose a Security Risk: Unfortunately, Internet Explorer is not the only security risk in Windows XP. In fact, there are security vulnerabilities throughout the operating system. Microsoft included many services to Windows XP to provide users with more features; unfortunately, hackers have exploited these services to take control of your computer. For the best security, disable Windows services which allows remote access to your computer.

Remote Access Auto Connection Manager – [Manual]
Remote Desktop Help Session Manager – [Disable]
Remote Registry Service – [Disable]
Telnet – [Disable]
Terminal Service [Disable]
Universal Plug and Play Device Host – [Disable]
WebClient – [Disable].
Messenger (has nothing to do with MSN messenger) – [Disable]. (You can choose to uninstall Messenger, go to Start > Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs > Add/Remove Windows Component > select Messenger > Remove).

Notes

Moziilla Releases Thunderbird 1.5.0.10

2007-03-02T11:07:00.000-05:00

Mozilla Releases Thunderbird 1.5.0.10

Mozilla has released the latest version of Thunderbird. The new version contains a few security fixes as well as some bug fixes. Users can choose to either download the complete installation file or use the "Check for Updates" feature found on the menu bar's Help Option. For more information on the changes, read the release notes.

Men make plea deal in MySpace case - CNN.com

2007-02-28T13:37:00.000-05:00

Men make plea deal in MySpace case - CNN.com

There few things that give me greater pleasure than hearing criminals being caught and convicted. Today, Shaun Harrison, 19, and Saverio Mondelli, 20, of Suffolk County, New York pleaded no contest to charges of extort and illegal computer access. The 2 teenagers had developed a program whereby visitors to MySpaces were monitored and recorded. In a daring move, they demanded money from MySpace for the program claiming it as a "consulting fee." MySpace responded by contacting the authorities. Afterwards, with the help of authorities, they lured the 2 teenage hackers to Los Angeles. Instead of gettings their ransom, they were quickly arrested by Secret Service agents. The 2 teenage hackers could have received up to 4 years imprisonment but, as a result of a plea, they only received 3 years of probation. In addition to probation, both teenagers are forbidden to visit the MySpace website and had severely limited access to computers. Personally, I would have like to have seen a stiffer punishment. Only with harsh sentences will others like these 2 teenagers be dissuaded from committng such crimes.

Reduce Firefox Memory Consumption

2007-02-27T18:49:00.000-05:00

Reduce Firefox Memory Consumption

I am a big fan of Firefox, Mozilla's open source web browser. Unfortunately, Firefox has been plagued by memory leaks which have been present since Firefox 1.x. However, there are ways to curb Firefox use of memory, such as decreasing the number of webpages Firefox keeps in memory. Find more tweaks and tips to reign in Firefox memory use.

Mozilla releases security updates | CNET News.com

2007-02-23T21:11:00.000-05:00

Mozilla releases security updates | CNET News.com

Mozilla has released a security update for both Firefox 2.0 and Firefox 1.5. The new versions 2.0.0.2 and 1.5.0.10 are available at Firefox's homepage. Users can also choose to update via the "Check for Update" feature. This release address a number of security flaws, including: Firefox cookie flaw discovered by Michal Zalewski, the location.hostname vulnerability and others. For complete details, read Firefox's release notes.

BetaNews | Google Treads Further on Microsoft's Turf

2007-02-22T13:00:00.000-05:00

BetaNews Google Treads Further on Microsoft's Turf

For some time now, many have speculated that Google will release its own online version of Microsoft Office. Today, rumor has become reality as Google released its Google Apps Premier Edition. Google Premier Edition is a fee based version of Google Docs and Spreadsheets for business. In addition to a word processor an spreadsheet, it also provides access to APIs, conference room scheduling for calendar, 10GB of e-mail storage, extended phone support, and mobile access to e-mail on BlackBerry devices. Granted, Google Apps Premier Edition is not on par with Microsoft Office yet, but who is to say what will be the case a year from now.

Is Netflix using a new way to throttle customers?

2007-02-13T17:33:00.000-05:00

Many of you are familiar with Netflix, the popular online DVD movie rental service. This is how it works. Netflix customers create their own DVD movie queue. Netflix will mail the DVD movie, in the order of the queue the customer created, to the customer. The customer can keep the DVD movie as long as he likes without late fees. When the customer is finished with the DVD, he mails the DVD movie back to Netflix using Netflix pre paid envelope. When Netflix has received the DVD movie, it will send the next DVD movie on the queue.

Netflix has several plans; the 3 DVD movies at a time plan is the most popular, which Netflix charges $17.99/month. Sounds like a good until someone find out that Netflix penalizes those customers who have a high turn over rate. You see, the greatest overhead for Netfix is the postage. For those customers who receive more than 10 DVD movies/month, Netflix losses month. As a result, Netflix uses a technique called “throttling,” whereby Netflix purposely delays sending DVD movies to these customers. The idea is to curb their high turnover rate.

Supposedly, Netflix uses an algorithm to monitor customer turnover and slow down delivery as needed. However, I suspect that there is a new gimmick Netflix is using to curb turnover rate. These past 2 months, most of the movies on my queue are part of a series. For example, I have on my queue the entire third season of Enterprise. What was strange was I didn’t receive them in order. I received disc 2 before disc 1 by 2 days. Now, of course, you can say this is a fluke. However, just this week, I placed the 2 disc series for Bleach – a somewhat popular anime series – and again I received disc 2 before disc 1 by 2 days. Now, this couldn’t be a coincidence. What am I am going to do with disc 2 when I haven’t seen disc 1? Well, obviously, I have to wait until disc 1 will arrive before watching it. And there is the beauty of it. Now, I have to keep disc 2. Now, Netflix has effectively “throttled” me. What do you think?

BillP Studios: WinPatrol

2007-02-12T21:02:00.000-05:00

BillP Studios: WinPatrol

Winpatrol 2007 has been released. I have spoke about Winpatrol in the past. It is a fantastic free intrusion detection software (IDS) or host intrusion prevention (HIP). Winpatrol monitors several critical areas within Windows OS. For example, it monitors changes to the Windows Registry, Startup programs, Internet Explorer's homepage, IE's default search page, Browser Help Objects (BHO) and many more items. This is the first version which is compatiable with Windows Vista. This newest version also adds startup program delay. I find this feature to be invaluable. Oftentimes, you don't need programs to launch immediately after logging in to your account. The more startup programs a system has the longer it takes start. Of course, you want your antivirus and firewall to start immediately. But, you can delay the start of programs like Microsoft Office or Real Player. A paid version of Winpatrol is available. The paid version adds much more in depth information about processes and software running on the computer.

Optimize Your Broadband Connection

2007-02-10T13:01:00.000-05:00

Windows XP’s default settings are not optimized for broadband use. There are several ways to optimize your broadband connection speed. Perhaps the easiest way is to use the free utility TCP Optimizer. It does not need to be installed. Instead, just run it from whatever folder you saved it to. Here are the items you need to get started.

TCP Optimizer
Adobe Flash Player
Internet Explorer 6 or later
Firefox 1.5 or later

Before changing any settings, you should create a system restore point – just in case things go wrong. Afterwards, you need to measure your current connection speed. This will serve as a baseline to compare connection speeds after changing the settings. There are several websites which can measure your connection speed. I recommend Speakeasy Speed Test. Go to Speakeasy Speed Test website. On the left side, there is a list of web servers. Choose the one geographically closes to you. Click on the button and the site will start measuring your speed. During the test, do nothing. After measuring your download speed, it will also measure your upload speed. Be patient and wait until both tests are completed. You can tell when it is completed when both your download and upload speeds are displayed. Jot down your download speed in kbps (kilobits per second).

Double click TCP Optimizer to launch the program. On the menu bar, go to File > Backup Current Settings. Give the backup file a name > [Save]. You can never be too careful. Now, you can start tweaking the settings. Just below the menu bar is a scale. On this scale, slide the bar to the speed you jotted down from Speakeasy Speed Test. Next, under “Network Adapter selection,” select the adapter you are using to connect to the Internet. Usually, it is the name of your router, cable modem or DSL. If you are not sure then check “Modify All Network Adapter.” On the bottom right hand corner, you will see 3 settings: Current settings, Optimal settings and Custom settings. Select Optimal settings and then click [Apply changes]. You will need to restart your computer.

After restarting your computer, go to Speakeasy Speed Test and measure your connection speed again. You should see an increase in the download speed. Unfortunately, you will most likely not see a significant increase in the upload speed. Once you got a hand on things, you might want to customize the settings. You can find some helpful tips on Speed Guide’s website. PC Tool’s website also has some helpful tips.

BetaNews | Super Size Patch Tuesday No Valentine

2007-02-09T16:50:00.000-05:00

BetaNews Super Size Patch Tuesday No Valentine

Next Tuesday, Microsoft is expected to release 12 patches for February's Patch Tuesday. The package will include at least 5 "critical" patches. A number of the patches are expected to close up vulnerabilities in Windows, Microsoft Office and Visual Studio. Some of these vulnerabilities are already being exploited.

Microsoft’s Vista anti-virus solution slammed

2007-02-08T13:09:00.000-05:00

Microsoft’s Vista anti-virus solution slammed

This is just plain embarrassing. Microsoft's Live OneCare failed to pass Virus Bulletin’s VB100 tests. Virus Bulletin is a security software research laboratory which runs a battery of tests on antivirus software to checks the software effectiveness in detecting viruses which are known to be active in the real world (a.k.a. in the wild). In order to receive Virus Bulletin's VB100 certification, the antivirus program has to not only detect all the viruses but also generate no false positives. It is clear that Microsoft's Live OneCare failed to receive certification; however, at this time, it is not known which tests Live OneCare had failed. The latter strikes a heavy blow at Microsoft which has been touting the new security on its newest Windows operating System, Windows Vista. After so much "hype," you would think that Microsoft would have done at better job of ensuring the efficacy of its security software.

FYI, Live OneCare was not the only major security software which failed to pass Virus Bulletin's VB100 tests. McAfee’s VirusScan Enterprise, G DATA’s AntiVirusKit 2007, and Norman’s VirusControl all failed to pass the series of tests. However, many antivirus program did pass the tests, including: Computer Associates, Fortinet, F-Secure, Kaspersky, Sophos and Symantec.

Google opens Gmail to all | CNET News.com

2007-02-07T22:30:00.000-05:00

Google opens Gmail to all CNET News.com

Today, Google officially open Gmail for all who want to open an account. Previously, Gmail was only available by invitation from an existing account holder. Later, Google opened Gmail to those with a mobile cell and students. At present, Gmail provides 2.8+ GB of space and it keeps inching up. Gmail is easy to use with intuitive controls. In place of folders, messages can be sorted with labels. Gmail sports one of the most effective message search feature. Gmail integrated with other Google services, such as: Google Documents and Spreadsheet, Google Maps and Google Calendar. Some users have utilize the hugh amount of storage space available on Gmail to backup files online.

PC World - Hackers Slow Internet Root Servers With Attack

2007-02-07T17:40:00.000-05:00

PC World - Hackers Slow Internet Root Servers With Attack

Hard to believe but there was a DDoS attack on several servers which direct traffic on the Internet. In particular, 2 of the 13 "root" servers suffered significant slow down as a result of the attack, one was maintained by the United States' Department of Defense and the other maintained by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ( ICANN ). An army of compromised computers (a.k.a zombies) launched the attack. As of today, there is no clear motive behind the attack. But, it is unsettling to see how hackers can easily cripple the Internet.

PC World - Super Bowl Virus Spreads

2007-02-05T13:27:00.000-05:00

PC World - Super Bowl Virus Spreads

Visitors to the Miami Dolphins websites had an unpleasant surprise. Over the weekend, hackers embedded malicious files on the sites, including a Trojan Horse which stole user names and passwords. It is still unclear how many sites were affected, those affiliated with the Miami Dolphins or otherwise. What is clear is the malicious files exploited 2 vulnerabilities in Windows. Patches for these vulnerabilities have already been made available by Microsoft. Only computers which had failed to install these patches were affected. In other words, this is yet another example of why all Windows users should enable automatic Windows updates.

Shrinkwrap Licenses: An Epidemic Of Lawsuits Waiting To Happen - News by InformationWeek

2007-02-04T13:18:00.000-05:00

Shrinkwrap Licenses: An Epidemic Of Lawsuits Waiting To Happen - News by InformationWeek

As many of you know, software makers oftentimes include End User License Agreements (EULA). Potential users need to agree to the terms spelled out in the EULA before the software application can be installed. Unfortunately, the vast majority of people don't bother reading the EULA; instead, people usually scroll down to the "I Agree" portion and proceed to install the software without realizing what they have agreed to. Would you agree to allow the software program to record what other software programs are installed on your computer? Would you agree to allow the software program to remove record your activity on the Internet? Chances are you wouldn't but, by signing off on the EULA, you may very well have done just so!

Like many other people, I am also very intimidated by the wording of EULA's. Almost without exception, they are written in a language which is incomprehensible to average Joe Schmo. You need to be a lawyer to understand the jargon. Well, there is a way to check if an EULA is safe to agree to without having to get law degree. You can use Javacool Software's free EULAlyzer. It is a simple tool which analyzes an EULA searching for key words, such as: third party and/or sponsors. Basically words which are often found in less than reputable EULA's. Don't neglect to check the EULA. It might very well save you from a ton of grief. As I oftentimes say, "A pinch of caution is better than a pound of trouble."

Make Firefox Look Like Internet Explorer :: Mozilla Stuff :: JohnHaller.com

2007-02-03T20:39:00.000-05:00

Make Firefox Look Like Internet Explorer :: Mozilla Stuff :: JohnHaller.com

Some of you may have heard of John Haller. He is the creator of the portable versions of both Firefox and Thunderbird. In a strange move, he has written a guide on how to customize Firefox user interface to look like Internet Explorer. I am a little bewildered. I was under the impression that people switched to Firefox because they wanted get away from Internet Explorer. Perhaps, he wrote the guide in order to make the process of switching from Internet Explorer to Firefox less intimidating. Regardless, it is an interesting guide.

Windows Vista Launches to Consumers

2007-01-30T22:49:00.000-05:00

Windows Vista Launches to Consumers

After several delays, Windows Vista has finally arrived. Many large computer vendors are offering computers with Windows Vista already installed. In addition, people can purchase Windows Vista upgrade CD's, Windows Vista Installation CD's (Retail) and Windows Vista installations CD's (OEM). As many of you are aware, Windows Vista comes in several favors, including, Windows Vista Home Basic, Home Premium, Ultimate, Enterprise, Business and Starter. Windows Vista Starter is not available in the United States. This version of Windows Vista is available for those in the third world. Be advised, Windows Vista Home Basic and Windows Vista Starter do not have Aero. Also, those considering buying Windows Vista should review the system requirements before buying it. Please read PC World Magazine's FAQ website for Windows Vista.

When They Say Upgrade, They Mean It: No Clean Installs with Windows Vista Upgrade Discs

2007-01-29T22:04:00.000-05:00

When They Say Upgrade, They Mean It: No Clean Installs with Windows Vista Upgrade Discs

In the past, when a user upgrades to a newer version of Windows, users could perform a "clean" install by inserting the upgrade CD and then the old installation CD. The old installation CD served as proof of a legitimate copy of the older Windows OS. The latter is a clean installation of the new Windows OS because users were not copying the upgrade over the older Windows OS. Now, starting with Windows Vista, Microsoft has halted such clean installs with upgrade CD. In order to upgrade Windows, a pre existing Windows OS must already be installed. This poses a problem since it would mean copying the new Windows OS over the older one. The process will work but there will be outdated and useless files left behind by the older Windows OS. This is yet another measure by Microsoft to halt piracy of their software.

RadarSync Your Source of Drivers for Windows Vista

2007-01-29T20:14:00.000-05:00

RadarSync Your Source of Drivers for Windows Vista

As many of you know, Microsoft's latest operating system Windows Vista is scheduled to be released tomorrow, January 30th, 2007. But an operating system without drivers is worthless which RadarSync is so important. RadarSync is your one stop spot for getting all your Vista ready drivers - or at least most of them. The list is updated regularly. And, best of all, it is absolutely free.

Anti-Spyware Rival Slams Microsoft's Windows Defender, Vista

2007-01-26T16:39:00.000-05:00

Anti-Spyware Rival Slams Microsoft's Windows Defender, Vista - News by InformationWeek

Gerhard Eschelbeck, Webroot's Chief Technical Officer, has anything but praise for Windows Defender, Microsoft's antispyware application. Instead, Eschelbeck accuses Windows Defender of being a poor tool for detection and removal of spyware. He claims Windows Defender suffers from infrequent signature updates - once every week - and fails to detect 84% of known spyware. As a result, Windows Defender users are given a false sense of security. But it is likely there is a conflict of interest. As many of you know, Microsoft plans to include Windows Defender in Windows Vista, its latest operating system . In addition, Windows Defender is already available for free to Windows XP users who have gone through their WGA validation process. This poses a threat to security software makers since many computer users would rather use the free Windows Defender than have to spend money to buy one. As you know, Webroot's cash cow is Spy Sweeper. It is easy to see why Eschelbeck would want to criticize Windows Defender.

Google's anti-phishing plugin leaked passwords

2007-01-23T19:38:00.000-05:00

Google's anti-phishing plugin leaked passwords

Hard to believe but Google's anti phishing plugin for Firefox leaks both e-mail addresses and passwords. The flaw lies in how Google generates its blasklist of phish websites. When a phish website is submitted to Google's server, embedded within the URL are e-mail addresses and passwords. Since this list is public, anyone can view the addresses and password. The flaw was discovered by web security provider Finjan Inc. The company quickly contacted Google about the flaw. Google has since fixed the problem.

Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor

2007-01-23T11:16:00.001-05:00

Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor

As Microsoft newest operating system, Windows Vista, is about to be rolled out to the public, Microsoft has released Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor. Windows Vista Upgrade is a free download. It is a small utility which scans a computer to check to see if it is compatible with Windows Vista. As many of you know, Windows Vista requires a great deal more hardware than previous Windows versions. Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor not only scans the hardware but the software as well. It scans to check if already installed programs and drivers will work after making the switch. In addition, it even helps you pick with version of Windows Vista is best for your needs.

Review: Six Rootkit Detectors Protect Your System

2007-01-19T15:46:00.000-05:00

Review: Six Rootkit Detectors Protect Your System

Serdar Yegulalp, of InformationWeek, has written a fine review of 6 "free" rootkit detection and removal utilities. Rootkits are a new form of malware which has proven to be incredibly hard to remove. Rootkits install themselves deep within Windows system core making them difficult to detect. The rootkit itself is not the greatest danger; instead, it is its ability to hide other malware which makes it a big threat. Think of it as a one - two punch. The rootkit hides spyware - any many other form of malware - from detection by spyware scanners, allowing it to work freely. For a more in depth look at the dangers of rootkits, read PC World Magazine's article on the subject.

The rootkits detectors mentioned in the article fall in to 2 categories, free for life and free only during the beta testing phase. Many security software vendors are adding rootkit detection to their own all in one Internet security suites. I was surprised the review article left out other rootkit detectors which have been available for some time. Below, I have included a short list of other rootkit detectors available for free download.

BitDefender Rootkit Uncover (registration required)
McAfee Rootkit Detective (a.k.a. Stinger)
Sophos Anti Rootkit
Trend Micro Rootkit Buster

Decrease the amount of resources Ad Aware and Spybot use during scanning

2007-01-17T14:00:00.000-05:00

All computer users should have a antivirus and anti spyware application installed on their computers. Unfortunately, many of you might have noticed that they can be computer resource hogs. It is not uncommon for them to use >95% of the CPU. Recently, I came across a tweak from Tech-Recipe website which described how to decrease Lavasoft's Ad Aware Personal Edition, a very popular free anti spyware scanner, CPU usage. Below, I have reproduced the steps for this tweak:

Open Ad-Aware and click on the Gear button to open the Configuration Window.

Click the Tweak on the bottom of the left column.

Click the + next to Scanning Engine.

Click the x next to Run scan as background process (Low CPU usage) to change it to a checkmark.

Click the Proceed button to save your settings.

Close Ad Aware

After reading the article, I wondered if the same tweak could be performed in Spybot Search & Destroy, another very popular free anti spyware scanner. I discovered it was quite easy to apply the same tweak. Below, I have listed the step for this tweaks:

Open Spybot Search & Destroy.

Make sure you are using the advanced mode. On the menu bar, click Mode and make sure Advanced mode is selected.

Click [Settings].

On the new window, click [Settings].

Scroll down to Scan Priority and select Lowest.

Close Spybot Search & Destroy.

PC Tools AntiVirus Free Edition - Virus, Trojan & Worm Protection

2007-01-15T22:54:00.000-05:00

PC Tools AntiVirus Free Edition - Virus, Trojan & Worm Protection

PC Tools, maker of the popular anti spyware scanner Spyware Doctor, has released free versions of its antivirus scanner and firewall. In a not so surprising move, PC Tools tries to expand in to the security software market. More and more, security software makers are developing all in one security solutions. PC Tools doesn't want to be left out. However, PC Tools has a tough road ahead of it. Companies like Symantec and McAfee are well established and it would be difficult for PC Tools to get a foothold in an already tight market. In addition, this might be a case of PC Tools trying to be a "Jack of All Trades" but end up being a "Master of None." I am eager for security experts to test out these new products.

Internet Explorer 7 a major improvement but still lacking some features

2007-01-13T21:48:00.000-05:00

Don’t get me wrong. I agree Internet Explorer 7 (IE 7) is a vast improvement over its predecessor but I still feel that Microsoft failed to include what I consider some essential features – many features found in its competitors. When I say competitors, I am referring to Mozilla’s Firefox and Opera web browser. Here are some things I would have wanted to see included in IE 7, including: ad blocking, download manager, spell checker and mouse gestures.

I understand that many websites host ads in order to support themselves. But, I am not very fond of viewing a website where 50% of the screen is filled with flash animation, sponsor links, marquees and ads for Viagra. At best, it clutters the webpage and, at worst, a visitor might inadvertently click on a sponsor link which leads them to a drive by download site. There are a number of free third party software which adds content blocking. I recommend CyberGuard’s Webwasher Classic. Webwasher cleans a webpage of its banners, animations, scripts and popup windows. As an added bonus it provides excellent cookie management – users can filter out third party cookies. There are other free add-ons, including: IE7Pro and Reify’s Turnabout. Both of these products integrate themselves in to IE 7 and add itself to the menu bar.

Have you ever started a download and, just as it was 99% completed, you lost the connection to the Internet? You ended up losing everything and having to start from scratch. Well, you don’t ever have to suffer this tragedy again. Download managers can speed up downloads as well as resume downloads which were inadvertently disconnected. Both Firefox and Opera come with their own download managers. In addition, both web browsers can enhance their download managers with add-on (e.g. Firefox’s FlashGot extension). Internet Explorer 7 does not have its own download manager but there are a number of free download managers which can integrate themselves in to IE 7. Even better, most of them have click tracking. By just clicking on a download link, the download manager automatically launches and begins downloading. I recommend using Free Download Manager, a free third party add-on with no adware or any other non sense. Other good alternatives include: LeechGet, GetRight and WellGet. Both LeechGet and WellGet are freeware while GetRight is shareware. WellGet is no longer being developed.

I think many web users under appreciate the value of a good spell checker. It comes in handy when you want to write a comment for a post or write a message. Firefox 2.0 is the first version to offer an integrated spell checker. In the case of IE 7, users can install ieSpell, a free add-on which provides spell checking just a click away.

Mouse gestures allow a user to navigate the web without using the navigation toolbar. Usually, a user holds down a predefine mouse button and drags the mouse. For example, holding down the right mouse button and dragging to the left reloads the previous webpage. Another example, holding down the right mouse button and drawing a line through a link opens the link in a new tab. Both Firefox and Opera have a mouse gesture feature. In Firefox, you need to add the mouse gestures extension while Opera has one built in. IE 7 users can also enjoy the benefits of mouse gestures by using Unhsolution’s Easy Go Back.

IE 7 has a decent RSS reader but users can install Windows Live toolbar which adds greater RSS feed discovery and management. In addition, Windows Live toolbar has a decent auto form filler. My favorite Windows Live add-on is Onfolio; it allows users to save cache copies of web content on to the hard drive for offline viewing. Users can create folders to organize these “clippings.”

In conclusion, IE 7 is a vast improvement over IE 6 – it only took Microsoft 5 years to develop – but there is room for improvement. There are a number of third party add-ons which can improve on an already decent web browser.

Apple Seeks To Muscle Into Telecom With iPod Phone

2007-01-09T23:13:00.000-05:00

Apple Seeks to Muscle Into Telecom With iPod Phone

Today, at the Macworld Conference and Expo in San Francisco, Steve Jobs wowed the crowds with announcement of the new iPod Smart Phone and Apple TV. The iPod phone is to offer "a device that will make calls, surf the Internet, send and receive e-mail, and -- naturally -- play music and video downloaded from Apple's iTunes Store." As for Apple TV, it will stream video files from iTunes to a television set wirelessly. And, to top it off, Apple Computer's Inc. has changed its name to "Apple Inc." The name change is to signify that Apple has moved beyond just developing computers. After the announcements, Apple's share price soared to an all time high of $92.57/share (up 8.3%).

Eight Patches To Ring in New Year 2007

2007-01-05T18:55:00.000-05:00

Eight Patches To Ring in New York 2007

Next week Tuesday, Microsoft will be releasing 8 patches which address vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office, Visual Studios and Windows. At least one of the patches for Microsoft Office is expected to address some of the zero-day attack threats. A new Malicious Software Removal Tool will also be available.

Cancer cure patented

2007-01-05T14:27:00.000-05:00

Cancer cure patented

I think it is premature to say that the drug will cure cancer. However, the research done so far is very promising. Unlike contemporary cancer drugs, this new drug targets cancer cells and not healthy cells. Contemporary drugs are not very selective, they will attack both cancer cells and healthy cells alike. The research is in the very early stages. If it indeeds becomes a viable drug against cancer, it will not be on pharmacy shelves for another decade.

Take control of your browsing time with Browser Timer

2007-01-04T20:12:00.000-05:00

Take control of your browsing time with Browser Timer

Now, here is something interesting. Are you addicted to the Internet? Be honest now. Well, if you want to cut down on the amount of time you spend on the Internet then Browser Timer might be your salvations. Set an amount of time you want to spend on the Internet and Browser Timer will do the rest. Once the elapse time has expired, Browser Timer will kick you off the Internet.

Receive Digg Stories in Your E-mail Inbox

2007-01-03T17:03:00.001-05:00

Receive Digg Stories in Your E-mail Inbox

When it comes to social bookmarking websites, Digg sets the standard whereby all other websites are compared. Digg is a dynamic website where stories are constantly changing. But, for many of us, we can't spend all our time on Digg. Unfortunately, the latter means we sometimes miss stories which we are interested in. Wouldn't it be great if we could receive alerts on stories we are interested in from Digg? Well, you can.

In order to accomplish this, you need to setup a custom search in Digg and use a service called R-Mail. Starting on Digg's website, run a search on a topic of interest to you. For example, I ran a search for "Thunderbird." Digg will display the most recent submitted stories on Thunderbird. But, more importantly, Digg also generates a RSS feed for the search. This is commonly called a "persistent search." Everytime a story, which mentions Thunderbird, is submitted, the RSS feed gets updated. Now, if you could somehow have the RSS feed sent to your e-mail inbox, you could be automatically alerted to submitted stories you are interested in. There wouldn't be a need for you to stand watch over Digg's website, waiting to see if something shows up. There are a number of services which forward RSS feeds to e-mail. I find R-Mail to be one of the more easy service to setup.

Once you have copied the link for the RSS feed, go to R-Mail's website. Under RSS, enter the link. For my search for "Thunderbird," I enter this link. Under it, enter your e-mail address.

Once you are done, click [Subscribe]. You will receive a confirmation message. Within the e-mail, there will be a link to start the subscription and another link to unsubscribe - don't get them mixed up. You are all set!

Windows XP Tips and Tweaks Part 3

2007-01-02T19:38:00.001-05:00

Windows XP Tips and Tweaks Part 3

This is the third and final chapter of my series on Windows XP Tips and Tweaks. You can the other posts at Part 1 and Part 2.

Enable Hibernation: By default, there are 3 options for turning off computer, which are: Stand By, Turn Off and Restart. There is a 4th option, which is Hibernate. In hibernation, all active tasks are saved in to memory and the computer shuts down. When you restart the computer, it will start where you left off. Hibernation is best suited for laptops while Stand By is best suited for desktops. To enable hibernate, you need to use Windows XP's Power Option. Here's how to enable hibernate.

Go to Start Menu > Control Panel > Power Options > "Hibernate" tab > check "Enable Hibernation." > [Apply] >[O.K.].
Now, the next time to turn off the computer, hold down the [Shift] key and Stand By will switch to Hibernate. Viola.

Install Windows XP Backup Utility: Windows XP comes with NTBackup, a backup utility. It is not the most robust backup utility but NTBackup can perform both full and incremental backups. It also allows shadow copying (i.e. you can have NTBackup working in the background while you continue your work). Windows XP Professional version already has NTBackup installed. However, for what ever odd reason, by default, NTBackup is not installed on Windows XP Home Edition. To install NTBackup in Windows XP Home Edition, you will need your Windows XP installation CD. Here's how to install NTBackup.

Place the Windows XP installation CD in to your CD drive.
Right click on the CD drive and select "Open."
Browse to [Drive Letter]\VALUEADD\MSFT\NTBACKUP.
Copy "ntbackup.msi" on to your hard drive.
Double click on .msi file to install NTBackup.

Change the Refresh Rate of Your Monitor: The picture on your monitor is constantly being refreshed. The refresh rate is expressed as the number of frames per second. Most people can't detect if the display is being refreshed with a refresh rate of >70. If the refresh rate is too low, people will notice the display flickering on and off. If you notice your monitor is flickering on and off, it is time to increase the refresh rate. Here's how to change the refresh rate.

Go to Start Menu > Control Panel > Display >"Settings" tab >[Advance] >"Monitor" tab > Adjust the refresh rate > [Apply] > [O.K.].
Restart.

Check Out the New Daily Rotation Website

2007-01-01T21:55:00.001-05:00

Daily Rotation, one of my favorite website, has undergone a facelift and adds some new features. Some of you are familiar with the website. Daily Rotation is like a RSS aggregator. Users get to pick the RSS feeds they want to read and Daily Rotation displays them all in one simple page.

What's new? Now, users can create their own account with Daily Rotation. The account holds all the user's preferences and RSS feeds. For example, in the past, if a user was using another computer other than their own then they had to go through the trouble of selecting their preferences and RSS feeds again. In the previous version, the preferences and RSS feeds were saved on a cookie stored on a user's computer. Well, there is no longer any need for a cookie. Users can use any computer and all they have to do is enter their user id and password.

In addition, users can now mouse the cursor over a entry and a short summary of the story is displayed. Also, users can now drag and drop feeds to create their own layout. These features are identical to the one's found in Netvibes.

These new features are a welcome addition to Daily Rotations.

GMail Vulnerable To Contact List Hijacking

2007-01-01T18:13:00.000-05:00

GMail Vulnerable To Contact List Hijacking

There seems to be a newly discovered security flaw in Gmail, Google's online web service. For the hack to work, the user must already be logged in to Gmail and must visit a site which runs the malicious file. The hack exploits a vulnerability in cross scripting, which is a common weak point for many types of attacks (e.g. phishing scams). At first, many believe that only Firefox was vulnerable to the attack; however, there is some debate as to if Internet Explorer and Opera are vulnerable as well.

Windows XP Tips and Tweaks Part 2

2006-12-31T16:44:00.001-05:00

Windows XP Tips and Tweaks

Today, I will pick up where I last left off on Windows XP Tips and Tweaks.

Control the number of startup programs: Having a large number of startup programs can slow down Windows XP. Oftentimes, when you install new software, it will add itself to the list of startup programs. Here is how to disable startup programs you don't need.

Go to Start Menu > Run > enter "msconfig" (without the quotation marks) > [O.K.] > "Startup" tab > uncheck any program you don't need to load at startup > [O.K.] > [Restart].

Some of the entries use cryptic names and it is not obvious what the program it corresponds to. In such cares, you can use Bleeping Computer's startup program list. Enter the name which appears in "msconfig" and Castlecop will display the corresponding program.

Change a process priority: At any given time, numerous processes are working in the background without you realizing it. Windows XP assigns different priorities for different processes. Windows XP allots more memory and CPU power for higher priority processes than low priority processes. For example, you working on a Microsoft Word document takes precedent over the printer spooler service. Most processes are given a "normal" priority but you can change the priority level manually. Here's how to change it.

Press Cltr+Alt+Delete to display the task manager.

Go to the "Process" tab > scroll down to the process you want to edit > right click the process and choose "Select priority" > change the priority level.

Show file extensions: By default, Windows XP hide file extensions. However, you can change it to show them.

Open Windows Explorer.

On the menu bar, go to Tools > Folder Options > "View" tab > scroll down and uncheck "Hide extension for known file types." > [Apply] > [O.K.].

Disable search for network folders and printers: By default, Windows XP will search for network folders and printers even if you don't have any. This causes a drop in Windows XP performance. You can speed things up by disabling this feature.

Open Windows Explorer.

On the menu bar, go to Tools > Folder Options > "View" tab > scroll down and uncheck "Automatically search for network folders and printers." > [Apply] > [O.K.].

Change the default program for a file extension: Most file extensions are opened in a default program. For example, .doc files are opened with Microsoft Word while .txt files are opened with Notepad. You can change which program to use for any given file extension.

Open Windows Explorer

On the menu bar, go to Tools > Folder Options > "File Types" tab > scroll down and select the file extension > click [Change] > under Recommended program, is the current default program > under Other programs, are programs recommend by Windows XP > if the program you want to use is not listed, click [Browse] > select a default program > [Open] > [O.K.] > [O.K.].

Passwords Basics

2006-12-30T20:48:00.001-05:00

Password Basics

If you are like me, you probably have around 2 dozen passwords. This is not a ridiculus amount of passwords. If you are using the Internet, you probably have a passwords for your e-mail account(s), online calendar, online photo service, online banking, online stores and credit card services. There are a number of safety tips to keep in mind when creating and managing passwords.

When creating a password, be sure to follow these rules:

Do not use the same password for different websites or accounts. If one of your accounts in compromised then the others will be too.
Do not include any personal information in your password (e.g. jsmith). This includes: proper names, birth dates, addresses and telephone numbers.
Avoid using words found in the dictionary (e.g. mypassword).
Use both upper and lower case letters.
Use numbers, but avoid using sequential numbers (e.g. jsmith1234) or repetitive numbers (e.g. jsmith2222).
Use special characters when permitted to do so (e.g. !@#$).
Use at least 8 characters and, optimally, 20+. The length of a password determines its strength. Here is an article on how much time it takes to guess a password based on the length of a password (link).

It wouldn't be a bad idea to use a password manager. A password manager stores all your user ids and passwords. All you have to remember is the password to open the password manager. One password to rule them all. In addition, to storing passwords, they also can generate hard to guess passwords. There are several free password managers. I recommend open source KeePass available at Sourceforge. Password Safe and Password Agents are good alternatives.

Gmail Disaster Causes Mass E-Mail Deletions

2006-12-29T21:38:00.000-05:00

Gmail Disaster Causes Mass E-Mail Deletions

For reasons unknown, a number of Gmail users had their e-mails deleted - all of their e-mails. The first signs of trouble began when several Gmail users posted alarming messages on Google Group Forum. Of those affected, many reported they were using Firefox 2.0 when the deletion occurred. In addition, there were rumors that hackers were responsible for the deletions. Google tried to mitigate people fears saying only 60+ Gmail users were affected and that Google was working very hard to correct the problem. Google did not comment if hackers were responsible for the problem. In fact, they haven't said anything about what caused the problem.

Antivir Antivirus Free Edition

2006-12-28T21:22:00.001-05:00

Antivir Antivirus Free Edition

There is no shortage of good free antivirus software programs. The 3 most popular free programs are: Antivir, Avast and AVG. Today, I will be talking about my personal favorite Avira's Antivir Personal Edition Classic. It is an excellent antivirus software program, which is both reliable and efficient. It is available free for personal non-commercial use. There is a premium version, which adds POP3 scanning and a dedicated update server.

Antivir 7.00.00.47 is the latest version, only 12.74MB. I had no problem installing Antivir. Once installed, Antivir prompted me to update the virus signatures and perform a system scan. Updating went smoothly as did the system scan. There's no registration required. The license renews automatically. Antivir updates are free for life. Antivir had a major makeover from version 6.x to 7.x. The user interface is clean and tidy. The Main menu shows the status of Antivir Guard, the most recent update, virus scanner build and expiration date of license.

Most of Antivir’s settings are accessible via the Configuration menu. In the Main menu, click on “Configuration” or its icon. In the new window, in the upper left hand corner, there is an “Expert mode,” check it. The advance settings are only accessible through the “Expert mode.”

Antivir provides real time, on demand and on access protection. Antivir is always working in the background protection your computer. It works invisibly allowing you to do work without any interruptions. If you are connected to the Internet, it will scan files which are downloaded to your computer. It will scan during both reading and writing of a file. You can use its Scheduler to automatically scan your computer or you can manually start a scan. Antivir has a number of advance features which really makes it stand out, such as heuristic scanning and scanning archives. Antivirus scanners depend on updated virus signatures to both detect and removal viruses. Unfortunately, if there is no virus signature available, antivirus scanners won’t be able to detect them. However, heuristic scanning does not depend on virus signatures but rather it looks for characteristics and behavior common to all viruses, which is great when there is a new virus floating around. To avoid detection by antivirus scanners, virus writers try to hide their viruses in archive file types, such as .zip files. The good antivirus scanners scan within .zip files or any other archival file types (e.g. WinRAR).

One of my favorite features is the creation of a desktop shortcut which starts a scan you specify. For example, I created a desktop shortcut to scan of all my local drives. In order to start the scan, I just double click on the shortcut. Users can specify which file types to scan. For most users, the default file types are fine. If you elect to scan all file types, you might notice a lag in computer performance.

Antivir’s real time protection is provided by Antivir Guard. Antivir Guard has heuristic scan capabilities as well and you can even adjust the detection level. For most users, the default settings are fine. I don’t recommend making any changes, unless you know exactly what you are doing.

Users can also schedule regular updates of virus signatures. By default, Antivir will update daily as well as scan daily at a time you specify. Also, Antivir will maintain both an event and report log – just in case you want to see what Antivir was doing in the background.

There are a few omissions in the free version of Antivir. Antivir will can outgoing e-mail but does not scan incoming mail. As I mentioned before, POP3 scanning is only available in premium version. For myself, I use the free Gmail and Yahoo! E-mail, both of which scan incoming e-mails. As a result, the lack of POP3 scanning is not of great concern to me. However, for those who use e-mail services without virus scanning, Antivir might not be the best choice for you. Both Avast and AVG antivirus offers both incoming and outgoing e-mail. In addition, updating virus signatures can be slow at times. The premium version has a dedicated server, the free version does not. I’ll admit, when there is a large size update, I have to wait several hours or even a day before I can download it. One thing I find very annoying is, when updating virus signatures, Antivir will display a splash page advertising their premium products. Some might call it adware but there is no such thing as a “free lunch.” It is not a big deal. You can close the splash page at any time.

Antivir’s scan engine is top notched. PC World Magazine reviewed all 3 free antivirus scanners and showed Antivir had superior detection and removal over Avast and AVG. About.com corroborated PC World's findings.

ID theft growing concern for MySpace users

2006-12-27T12:09:00.000-05:00

ID theft growing concern for MySpace users - Yahoo! News

As the MySpace's popularity grows so does the number of attacks on the popular social network website. MySpace has suffer a wide variety of attacks, including: sexual predators, Trojan Horses, spyware, adware, viruses, worms, identity theft and spam. MySpace responded by creating a security "czar" position. Hemanshu Nigam has been hired as MySpace's chief security officer. He has a great deal of experience. He was once a federal prosecutor specializing in child pornography and computer crime cases. He help developed security at both Microsoft Corp. and the Motion Picture Association of America.

Nigam has start a number of countermeasure against attacks on MySpace. He has create educational programs to teach users how to use the website safely. He has security officers create phony profiles to bait would be sexual predators and hackers. He has hired software engineers to find and close security vulnerabilities in the network. When possible, lawsuits have been filed against attackers.

MySpace has a vested interest in improving their security as many MySpace users are fed up with the attacks and have moved on to other safer social networks, such as Facebook or Friendster.

Fears of tsunami ease after Taiwan quake

2006-12-26T11:46:00.000-05:00

Fears of tsunami ease after Taiwan quake

On Tuesday, December 26th, 2006, Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau reported an earthquake measured at 6.7 on the Richter scale. The quake originated at sea about 13 miles southwest of Hengchun on the southern tip of Taiwan. As of now, there has only been 1 death reported. Many were concern that the earthquake might set off a tsunami, much like the one 2 years ago which claimed over 230,000 people. Fortunately, there are no signs that a tsunami was or would be triggered. Earthquakes are common in Taiwan since the island sits on a volcanic fault.

Getting Started with Opera 9.10 (Part I)

2006-12-25T14:18:00.001-05:00

Getting Started with Opera 9.10

Earlier this month, Opera Inc. released Opera 9.10 web browser. Though Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox 2.0 get all the publicity, Opera should not be overlooked. Many of the features in both IE and Firefox have long been available in Opera.

If you are new to Opera, here are some tips to get you started. Start Opera. You will be redirected to Opera’s homepage – you can change it easily. On the menu bar, go to Tools > Preference. A new window will appear with several tabs. Let’s start with the “General” Tab

General Tab: Controls for the home page, pop-up controls and language

By default, when Opera starts, it will load the webpage(s) from the last session. There are several options. I recommend starting with the home page. The other choices are self explanatory.
By default, the home page is set to Opera’s website. You can change it to what ever page you want. Or, you can simply click [Use current] and Opera will save the current webpage(s). Important, if you have multiple webpages when you click [Use current] then the homepage will include all webpages opened not only the first webpage.
Under pop-ups, select “Block all unwanted pop-ups.” I find the latter to be the best fit, blocking most pop-ups with the lowest false positive rate (i.e. genuine objects on a webpage incorrectly flagged as pop-ups).
Under language, the default value is English (US). Opera supports several other languages, change it accordingly.

Wand Tab: Opera's password manager and auto form filler

Wand is Opera’s password manager and auto form filler. Check “Let Wand remember passwords.” Afterwards, to see all saved passwords click [Passwords].
The auto form filler is optional. Opera’s form filler works much like Google toolbar’s auto form filler. It is quite accurate.

Search Tab: Quick search controls

In Opera, you can associate keywords to search engines and run queries from the address bar. This is the same feature found in both Firefox 2.0.x and Internet Explorer 7. For example, the keyword for the Google search engine is “g.” So, if you enter “g firefox” (without the quotation marks) in to the address bar then Opera will run a search for the term “firefox” using Google search engine. Opera, by default, already has several keywords associated with various search engines. You can add, edit and delete any keyword(s).
Let’s exam a keyword more closely. Select “Google” by left clicking on it once. Click [Edit]. Under name, is the name of the keyword and search engine association (i.e. Google). Under keyword, is the word you need to enter, on to the address bar, to start the search (i.e. “g”). Click [Details]. 2 more entries should appear. Under Address, you should see the string http://www.google.com/search?q=%s&sourceid=opera&amp;amp;num=%i&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8.
To create a new keyword association, click [Add]. I will discuss this particular feature in a later post.

Web pages Tab: Define Opera's layout and appearance

By default, Opera will show al web images; however, there are 2 other options. To speed up the rendering of a webpage, you can select either to show only "cached images" or "show no images." Initially, I select show all images. However, after surfing the Internet for awhile, enough images are saved to Opera's cache that I can switch to show only "cached images." Of course, this isn't feasible if you view webpages where the images are updated frequently. Those who use a dial up connection will notice a mark increase in speed; however, those with broadband connections will not.
Opera's page zoom feature is superior to both Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox 2.0.0.1. In particular, Opera can format a webpage to fit the width of the web browser - no more horizontal scrolling. By default, the page zoom is set to 100% and the "fit to width" is unchecked. I recommend keeping the default settings. However, if you want to automatically format a webpage to fit the width then check the box.
The settings for fonts and color are self-explanatory. Unless you have a pressing desire to use a particular font or color, keep the default settings.

Advance Tab:

Tabs: Check "Open new tab next to active."
Content: Uncheck "Enable Java" for speedier webpage rendering.
History: (1) By default, Opera will save the 500 most recent web addresses; however, decreasing it to "100" will improve performance. (2) Unlike Firefox and, to a smaller extent, Internet Explorer 7, Opera does not suffer from a memory leak. You can increase the memory cache (the amount of RAM used by Opera) to "40 MB" or even "60 MB" for improve performance. In addition, in cache the disk cache to "50 MB." For privacy, you can have Opera clear the cache when exiting the program. (3) Opera will periodically update the documents and images of webpages. By increasing the time interval, you can improve performance but also run the risk of outdated content. For a good balance, I set the time interval to check documents to "10 hours" and check images to "24 hours." This setting is optimized for dial up users but those with broadband connections should just keep the default settings.
Cookies: Select "Accept only cookies from the site I visit." This will block cookies from third parties, such as doubleclick and hitcounter. I recommend keeping the other default settings.
Security: (1) For maximum security, set a master password. Click [Set master password] > under "new password", enter a password > enter it again in "confirm new password" > [O.K.]. You can change the master password at anytime from this window. (2) Under "Ask for password," select "Once per session." Prompting for a password more frequently is just annoying. (3) Check "Use as master password for e-mail and wand." (4) Check "Enable Fraud Protection" for protection from phishing scams. Important, with this feature turned on, the browser will connect to Opera's web servers to check the web address before actually loading the webpage. Opera's privacy statement clearly states it does not keep any personal information; however, if you see this as a privacy risk then you can choose not to use it. With this feature enabled, there is a marginal increase in the time it takes to load a webpage.
Network: (1) If you use a proxy to connect to the Internet, click [Proxy servers] and enter your proxy settings. (2) Click [Server name completion]. To improve performance, you can disable prefix and suffix completion. Nowadays, there is very little use for the completion feature. (3) By default, the "maximum number of connections to a server" and "maximum total connections" is set to "8" and "20", respectively. The default settings are fine for dial up connections. However, if you are using a broadband connection, you can increase the values. I tend to keep the default value for maximum connections to a server but I increase the maximum total connections to "32" for improve performance. I don't recommend going higher than this value.
Shortcuts: Check "Enable mouse gestures."
Voice: Perhaps the most unique feature of Opera. Voice allows users to surf the web via voice command. This requires a separate download and you will need a headset with a microphone for best performance. I have never used the feature myself.

Prosecutors Drop Duke Rape Counts

2006-12-23T12:03:00.000-05:00

Prosecutors Drop Duke Rape Counts

On March 13th,2006, Duke University's lacrosse team threw a party and hired 2 exotic dancers. The next day, one of the exotic dancers accused several members of the lacrosse team of kidnapping and raping her. The accusations ignited an already volatile relationship between the university and the community. The accuser is a young black woman, a single mother, attending the local community college while the accused are young privileged white men attending a prestigious university. In a city where the population is evenly divided between white and black, the incident further divided the city and lines were drawn.

Of those accused, 3 were charged with rape, kidnapping and sexual assault. The accused are Reade Seligmann, 20, of Essex Fells, N.J.; co-captain David Evans, 23, of Bethesda; and Finnerty, 19, of Garden City, N.Y.

However, recently, there have been surprising revelations. The accused has recanted her testimony about the players raping her. DNA experts have been unable to match the DNA any of the lacrosse player with the DNA collected from the accuser's body and clothing. The police had used a bias line up of possible suspects. These latest developments forced the district attorney, Michael B. Nifong, to re-exam the case. Earlier this week, the Nifong dropped the rape charge against all 3 men. However, the charges of kidnapping and sexual assault remain.

Many are crying afoul saying that Nifong is using the case to launch his career without regard to the merit of the evidence.

Sony Reaches Rootkit Settlement with 39 States

2006-12-21T21:24:00.000-05:00

Sony Reaches Rootkit Settlement with 39 States

Finally, there is some closure to Sony's fiasco of adding a rootkit to their CD's. As many of you know, Sony, in an attempt to deter piracy of its property, secretly placed a rootkit on several of its music CD's. It wasn't too long before people, who brought and played those CD's on their computer, noticed something amidst. When the rootkit came to light, hackers started targeting computers which had Sony's rootkit installed. The rootkit created a vulnerability on those computer and hacker exploited it. Sony has settled with 39 states over its use of rootkits. In the settlement, Sony is to pay $4.25 million to people whose computers were infected by the rootkit. Those affect will have to show proof that their computers were indeed infected by the rootkit. Qualified receipents will receive compensation up to $175.

Alan G. Hevesi, Comptroller in N.Y., to Resign

2006-12-21T17:19:00.000-05:00

Comptroller in N.Y. to Resign, Official Says

Despite being re-elected State Comptroller, it appears that Alan G. Hevesi will resign. As many of you know, Hevesi went afoul of the law when he used state employees to act as chauffeurs and personal assistants for his wife. Governor Pataki appointed a special investigator to investigate if there were grounds to remove Hevesi. The special investigator concluded that there was indeed legal grounds to remove Hevesi. Hevesi is expected to be indicted by a grand jury this Friday.

Hevesi's lawyers are trying very hard to make a deal with Albany's district attorneys wherein Hevesi will resign from office as well as plead guilty to the charges in exchange for not spending time in jail. The deal has not been finalized.

This is a sad chapter in Hevesi's long record of public service to New York State.

Windows XP Tips and Tweaks

2006-12-20T22:14:00.000-05:00

Using Administrator Privileges in a Limited Account

I strongly encourage PC users to create at least two user accounts on their systems, one with administrator privileges and one limited account. Use the limited account to do your daily chores, such as: checking your email, uploading and downloading files off a network, and the occasional Role Playing Games (RPG). Use of the administrator account should be limited to installing applications and changing settings. This is for security reasons. However, I oftentimes find myself in a situation were I am using a limited account and I need to perform a task which requires administrator privileges. I don’t want to log off the limited account and then log on to the administrator account just to do a simple task. Well, there is a workaround. Using the limited account:

1. Create a shortcut for the application you want to use but requires administrator privileges.

2. Place the shortcut in a convenient place, for example the desktop. Then, right click the shortcut and go into “Properties.”

3. Now, you should be looking at the “Shortcut” tab. Left click the “Advance” button.

4. Check off box that reads “Run with different credentials.”

Hit “OK.”

5. The next time you left click on the shortcut, it will ask you if you want to run wit different credential. Click on “The following user.”

6. Select the account you want to use and enter the password. Click “OK.”

Taming the Recycle Bin

You can set the size of the Recycle Bin. I’m referring to how much hard drive (HD) space the Recycle Bin takes up. The size of the Recycle Bin is a percentage of the size of your HD, which you can adjust. If you have a 100GB HD and you set the size of the Recycle Bin to be 10% then you can store up to 10GB worth of trash. Can you think of anyone who needs a 10GB Recycle Bin? Yeah, neither can I? You can change the percentage by:

1. Right click the Recycle Bin icon on the desktop and select “Properties.”

2. On the “Global” tab slide the ruler to the desired percentage.

3. Click “OK.”

Stop those Annoying Error Reports

Windows is setup to send software error reports to “Big Brother.” Microsoft contends the reports are used to improve Windows. Actually, it does make sense since Microsoft wants to ferret out any software incompatibles. Nevertheless, some see this feature as a way for Microsoft to spy on people. There is an easy way to turn off the Error Reports:

1. Right click on the “My Computer” icon and select “Properties.”

2. Left click on the “Advance” tab.

3. Left click on the “Error Reporting” button.

4. Check off “Disable error reporting.”

5. Press “OK.”

Control the size of the System Restore

System Restore has saved me on many occasions. Oftentimes, I’m playing around with settings or installing a new program. But, ever so often, those changes cause my computer to become unstable and crash. System Restore quickly undoes the damage. I recommend that you keep System Restore on. Some experts recommend that you turn off System Restore since certain virus and other malware can use it to resurrect themselves after being deleted by a security program. I think the benefits outweigh the risks. Now that I have convinced you to keep it on, here is the way that you can adjust the amount of HD space allotted for System Restore.

1. Right click on the “My Computer” icon and select “Properties.”

2. Left click on the “System Restore” tab.

3. Under the “Disk space usage,” slide the ruler to the desired percentage of HD allotted for System Restore.

4. Click “OK.”

Assigning Drive Letters

I have a number of different USB and Firewire peripheral devices on my system. One problem I run into is that the drive letter changes for the same peripherals depending on what other peripherals are plugged in at the same time. Well, you can assign a drive letter to a specific device to solve the problem.

1. You need to use an account with administrative privileges.

2. From the Start menu > Accessories > Administrator tools > Component management.

3. Left click on the “Disk management” icon.

4. On the lower frame, right click on the desired device and choose “Change Drive Letter and Paths…”

5. Choose a drive letter you want to assign to the device. Click “OK.”

Stop Windows from dialing a connection

Does your computer try to dial a connection when you start Windows or start a program? It is downright irritating. Here’s how to stop Windows from automatically dialing a connection.

1. You need to use an account with administrative privileges.

2. From the Start menu > Control Panel > Network Connections > on the menu bar, click Advanced > Dial up preferences > “Autodial” tab.

3. Uncheck “Enable autodial by location.”

4. Check “Always ask me before autodialing.”

5. Check “Disable autodial while I am logged on.”

6. [O.K.] > Restart.

Silencing the Dial-Up Modem

Strange though it might sound, I only use dial-up. This is not out of choice. The area where I live does not have broadband service. When it comes to dial-up, I detest the sound the modem makes when trying to connect to the Internet. Shrills like a banshee. Well, luckily there is a remedy. To turn off the modem sounds follow these steps.

1. Control Panel > Network Connections

2. Right click on the dial-up connection and choose “Properties”

3. Under the “General” tab, press the “Configure” icon

4. Uncheck “Enable modem speaker”

5. Press “O.K.”

Keeping the Network Connection Alive

Don’t you hate it when you want to change to another user account but doing so disconnects the computer from the network. There is a way to change user accounts and still keep the connection. Follow these steps:

1. Control Panel > Network Connections

2. Right click on the desired network connection and choose “Properties”

3. Click on the “Advance” tab and check off “Allow other network users to connect through this computer’s Internet Connection.

4. Press “O.K.”

Keeping Icons Visible on the System Tray

After a prolong period of time, unused icons on the system try are hidden from view. The system tray collapses. However, users can select which program icons to be always show or always hidden. Follow these instructions to change the settings.

1. Right click any empty space on the system tray and choose “Properties.”

2. On the “General” tab, press the “Customize” button.

3. Right click any program icon and choose how the icon behaves on the drop down menu.

4. Press “O.K.”

Decide which default application to use to open a particular file type

Oftentimes, a particular file type can be opened with more than one software program. For example, the .rdf file type can be opened with OpenOffice or Microsoft Word. To set the default application, follow these steps:

1. Open Windows Explorer and choose “Tools” from the menu bar.

2. Scroll down to “File Options.”

3. Click the “File Types” tab

4. Scroll down the list and highlight the file type you are interested in changing.

5. Click the “Change” button and then used the desired software program and click “Apply.”

6. Press “O.K.”

Enabling CD Recording

You don’t need software like Nero and Roxio to burn CD’s on your computer. Instead, Windows XP comes with CD burning software. To enable CD recording, follow these steps:

1. Right click the optical drive icon > Properties > “Recording” Tab.

2. Check “Enable CD recording on this drive.”

3. [Apply] > [O.K.].

Mozilla Patches 10 Firefox Bugs

2006-12-20T15:51:00.000-05:00

Mozilla Patches 20 Firefox Bugs

Earlier this week, Mozilla released Firefox 2.0.0.1. The latest version patches 10 security flaws in Firefox 2.0. Firefox 1.5.0.9 was also released. The latest version patches 9 security flaws. Of note, Mozilla will end development and support for Firefox 1.5.0.x after April 24th2007. Users are urged to update to Firefox 2.0.0.x. In addition, Mozilla also released Thunderbird 1.5.0.9. which patched 6 security flaws. For more details on the security flaws which were patched, please read the release notes.

Process Library just got even better!

2006-12-20T11:20:00.000-05:00

Process Library just got even better!

The website processlibrary.com has a new online service. Click [Scan] and Process Library will scan your system and display all running process. In addition, it will provide a description for each process and whether it is genuine or malicious. Best of all, it is free.

Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.1 for Windows

2006-12-19T12:30:00.000-05:00

FileForum | Mozilla Firefox for Windows

Mozilla has released Firefox 2.0.0.1. It is still unclear as to what changes were added to this newest edition. But, based on the version number, it is likely only minor bug fixes were added. Users can either download the entire software program or current users can use Firefox's auto update feature. Currently, the latter is not available but will appear sometime later this week. In addition, Mozilla has also released Thunderbird 1.5.0.9. Like Firefox, it is unclear what changes were made in this newest version. Of note, earlier this week, Mozilla released the first beta of Thunderbird 2.0.

Password Protect Your Files and Folders

2006-12-18T19:55:00.000-05:00

There are several instances in which password protecting files and folders is necessary. For example, you are using a shared computer or you are using a laptop computer with sensitive information. Despite what many might think, password protecting files and folders is neither expensive nor difficult. There is a large number of excellent free privacy software.

Password protecting files and folders involve encryption. Encryption involves taking the raw data and scrambling it until it is unrecognizable. In order to unscramble the encrypted data, you need a key (a.k.a. password). There are 2 major factors which determine the strength of encryption; they are the quality of the password and what bit encryption was used. A strong password includes:

The password should be at least 8 characters, preferably >20 characters.
The password should use both upper and lower case letters.
The password should contain numbers, preferably without repetition (e.g. password1111) or sequential (e.g. password12345).
The password should contain special characters (e.g. @#%$..).
Never use complete words (e.g. password).
Never include personal information, such as your birth date or last name.

Now, there is no guarantee that your password won’t be cracked but, if you follow the guidelines mentioned above, it will be painfully hard for anyone to do so.

Moving on to what bit encryption was used. It is hard for me to explain. Let me illustrate it. Say you have 2 quarters (coins). If you flip one quarter it can land either head or tail. Now, let’s say you flip 2 quarters, how many unique combinations can you get. Well, you could get (head, head), (head, tail) or (tail, tail) - (tail, head) does not count because it is identical to (head, tail). Now, flip those 2 quarters again and guess the outcome. Whatever you choose, there is a 33% chance you are right (i.e 1 out of 3). Now, imagine, instead of 2 quarters, you use 100 or 1,000. How many unique combinations can you get? There is a whole lot more. With more unique combinations, it is harder to guess the outcome. The same is true for what bit encryption was used. As the number increases, it becomes harder and harder to guess. Most of the programs that I will be discussing provide either 128-bit encryption or 256-bit encryption. As a frame of reference, most online secure websites use 128-bit encryption.

TrueCrypt is a free open source application hosted on SourceForge.net. TrueCrypt offers several types and level of encryption, including 265-bit encryption. TrueCrypt can encrypt a partition of a hard drive or even an entire jump drive (e.g. flash drive or thumb drive). In TrueCrypt, you create a virtual drive and save your files in to it. To access the virtual drive, you have to mount it - much like mounting a .iso image file on to a virtual drive. I use Truecrypt myself. Personally, I found the controls hard to use. However, Lifehacker.com has a great TrueCrypt tutorial.

AxCrypt is another free open source application hosted on SourceForge.net. AxCrypt offers 128-bit encryption. AxCrypt works differently than TrueCrypt. AxCrypt adds an option to the right click contextual menu. You can encrypt a file by simply right clicking its icon and select AxCrypt. AxCrypt creates an encrypted version of the file. You can choose to keep or not keep the unencrypted version. AxCrypt is fairly easy to use. However, if you run in to any problems, Jameser’s website has an excellent tutorial.

Cryptainer LE is a free encryption application from Cypherix, a security software maker. Cryptainer offers 128-bit encryption. Unfortunately, the free version only allows you to encrypt up to 25 MB. To encrypt more, you have to switch to the paid version. It works very much like TrueCrypt. You create a virtual drive which you have to mount in order to access it. I don’t know of any tutorials for Cryptainer but Cypherix’s website has a good FAQ section.

Honorable Mentions

There are 2 other encryption applications which are worth mentioning. EncryptOnClick is a free program from software maker 2BrightSparks. EncryptOnClick offers 256-bit encryption. It can encrypt both files and folders. EncryptOnClick works very much like AxCrypt. As its name implies, right click on any file or folder and select EncryptOnClick on the contextual menu. The other application is Windows Privacy Folder (WPF). WPF was created by Microsoft but Microsoft does not support it. Microsoft released WPF only to have to withdraw it within the same week (link). WPF requires WGA validation.

Running out of hard drive space? Here are some remedies.

2006-12-17T18:30:00.000-05:00

When you bought your computer, you probably thought you would never use up all of your hard drive space. However, the impossible has happen and you need more space. You could always buy a larger hard drive but you don’t have to spend money. There are a number of things you can do to recover space on your current hard drive.

The most obvious solution is to delete useless and obsolete files.
Windows XP comes with a disk cleanup utility, appropriately called “Disk Cleanup.” To access it, go to Start Menu > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Cleanup. A new window will appear, be sure to check: Download Program Files, Temporary Internet Files, Offline Webpages, Microsoft Error Reporting Temporary Files, Recycle Bin and Temporary Files. You can elect to include Compress Files. This last option does not delete files; instead, it compresses old files. You can see the list of files which will be deleted by clicking [View Files].

Defrag the Hard Drive
After cleaning the hard drive, you should also defrag your hard drive. Oftentimes, files are saved on different sectors on a hard drive. You can consolidate the files and decrease the gaps between them by using Windows XP’s Disk Defragmenter. To access it, go to Start Menu > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter. A new window will appear. Click [Analyze] to see if your hard drive needs to be defragmented. If so, click [Defragment] to begin the process. The process can take minutes and even hours depending on the degree of fragmentation on the disk.

Decrease the size of System Restore
Windows XP comes with a backup utility, System Restore. System Restore creates backups of the registry. It comes in handy when your system crashes. System Restore can roll your computer back to a healthy state. By default, System Restore can commandeer up to 12% of your hard drive space. Most users don’t need such a tremendous amount of space. You can manually adjust the amount of space allocated to System Restore. Right click the “My Computer” icon and select Properties > “System Restore” tab > under Disk space usage, slide the bar back to a more reasonable 3% > [Apply] > [O.K.].

Decrease the Size of the Recycle Bin
System Restore is not the only utility which hogs up hard drive space. The Recycle Bin also takes up space. You can adjust the size of the Recycle Bin, right click the Recycle Bin icon on the desktop and scroll down to Properties. A new window will appear. On the “Global” tab, slide the bar back from 10% to a more reasonable 3%.

Decrease the Size of Internet Explorer's Cache
Besides deleting temporary Internet files, you can also decrease the size of Internet Explorer (IE) disk cache. The default setting is 1024 MB (1.0 GB). Start IE and, from the menu bar, go to Tools > Internet Options > “General” tab > [Settings] > under disk space, enter a value of 50 – 150 MB.

There are several free third party utilities which can even recover more hard drive space.
My favorite disk cleaner is CCleaner (a.k.a. Crap Cleaner). CCleaner can permanently delete a long list of files, such as: temporary Internet files, temporary files, temporary download files, cookies, Windows log files and, the ever difficult to delete, index.dat files. CCleaner can also delete obsolete files generated from nonWindows software applications, such as: Firefox, Opera, Spybot Search & Destroy, Lavasoft’s Ad Aware, WinZip, WinRAR, Nero, Kazaa and Macromedia Flash Player to name a few. CCleaner can delete files with multiple passes, permanently deleting the files – not even a forensic team would be able to recover them. There are 2 other programs that deserve a honorable mention, EasyCleaner and IE Privacy Keeper.

Oddly, Windows XP Disk Defragmenter does not defrag either the paging file or the registry. There are 2 ways to defrag the paging file. The easiest way is to use Sysinternal’s Page File Defrag. By the way, Microsoft bought out Sysinternet a few months ago. The utility is quite easy to use and there is no installation required. Start Page File Defrag and select to defrag at the next reboot. You can defrag the paging file manually. I listed the instructions to defrag manually on a previous post.

If you want to defrag the registry, the twin software programs ERUNT and NTREGOT are the best. ERUNT creates backups of the registry much like Windows System Restore while NTREGOT defrags the registry. ERUNT has a distinctive advantage over Windows System Restore since ERUNT allows you to manually delete any registry backup.

Microsoft speeds up phishing shield for IE 7

2006-12-16T13:14:00.000-05:00

Microsoft speeds up phishing shield for IE 7

As many of you know, the new Internet Explorer 7 sports a new anti phishing feature. Unfortunately, with the feature turned on, there is a significant delay in loading a webpage. This is in large part due to frames in the webpage. This past Tuesday, Microsoft quietly released a patch to correct this flaw. The patch was not part of the 7 security patches released on Patch Tuesday. Instead, you need to manually download and install the patch. To download the patch, users will need to go through WGA validation process. Microsoft has set up a bulletin for the patch (link)

How to login to an expired Windows

2006-12-15T17:05:00.000-05:00

How to login to an expired Windows

Once a Windows operating system has been installed on a computer, a user has 30 days to activate Windows before it is disable. Users will not be able to log on or connect to the Internet. Here is a hack on how to access Windows after the 30 day grace period has expired. However, this hack only provides limited access to Windows and is not a substitute for activating Windows. The hack does allow users to access their files and save them on to removable media.

Convert Youtube Video Files to Avi

2006-12-14T17:57:00.000-05:00

Convert Youtube Video File to AVI

Youtube is a great social network site where anyone can upload their video clips. In addition, anyone can download its large collection of video clips. Unfortunately, Youtube uses the .flv file type (i.e. a flash video) which most media players do not support. Thankfully, you can use the free Riva FLV Encoder 2 to convert .flv files to .avi files. You can then burn the .avi files on to a DVD blank to watch. Riva can convert .flv files to other file type, such as quicktime, wmv and mpeg. Windows Media Player can play .avi, .wmv and .mpeg file types. To play .qt files you need to use the QuickTime media player. The direct download link for Riva FLV Encoder 2.

Controversial Christian Game Under Fire

2006-12-13T14:31:00.000-05:00

Controversial Christian Game Under Fire

As a rule, I try my best to post interesting and news worthy material - so you won't find a post about a cow with 3 eyes here. However, I came across a bizarre news clip. Game software maker, Left Behind Games, is scheduled to release Left Behind: Eternal Force. The game is T-rated (i.e. for teenagers) and is loosely based on the popular Left Behind book series. In the game, Christians are charged with the duty to either convert or kill any non-believers. I doubt this is what Jesus had in mind when he ordered his disciples to convert pagans (i.e. The Great Commission, NIV Matthew 28:16-20). Despite protests from both political and religious groups, retailers will not remove them from their shelves, including: Walmart. Circuit City, Target and Best Buy.

Details on Today's Microsoft Patches

2006-12-12T21:49:00.000-05:00

PC World - Details on Today's Microsoft Patches

Today, Microsoft released 7 patches for this month's Patch Tuesday. The patches addresses security flaws in Windows Media Player, Internet Explorer and Visual Studios. Last week, Microsoft announced it would be issuing 6 patches but decided to include an extra patch to address a security flaw in Windows Media Format. Its seems the security flaw was already being exploited. None of the patches addressed the 2 newest zero day security flaws in Microsoft Word. However, Microsoft is working on a patch but has yet to set a date for its release. In addition, Microsoft released an updated Malicious Software Removal Tool.

Scope of 2nd Amendment's Questioned

2006-12-09T09:52:00.000-05:00

Scope of 2nd Amendment's Questioned written by Matt Appuzo, the Associated Press. Thursday, December 7, 2006; 8:49 PM

There is a trial in the District of Columbia which has the potential to decide the interpretation of the 2nd Amendment of the U.S. Consitution, the right to bear arms. Actually, the 2nd Amendment states people have the right to keep and bear arms to maintain a well regulated militia and therein lies the rogue. Does the amendment give the right for individuals to keep and bear arms or does the amendment only apply for a regulated militia to keep and bear arms. Since the Colonial age, there has been no need for a militia; the Arm Services protects the nation. The attorneys from DC want to ban guns in the district; however, pro gun organization claims that the ban violates the Consitution. In years past, the government has tip toe around the topic and avoided the issue; however, that time has past. The U.S. Supreme Court might very well hear this case and, if so, could finally put to rest the question of how to interpret the 2nd Amendment.

Sony's Negative Image is Jeopardizing HD-DVD Future

2006-12-07T17:19:00.000-05:00

Blu-ray drowning in negative buzz: report

Adding Sony's misery, many electronic users aren't fond of Blu-ray. Interestingly, their dislike has nothing to do with Blu-ray itself; instead, people don't like Blu-ray because it is being developed by Sony. Users are feed up with Sony's questionable practices and arrogance of all things. I can empathize with them. One does not need to examine closely to notice Sony is making mistakes after mistakes. First, Sony debacle of including a rootkit in their CD's to deter piracy. Next, Sony's laptop batteries catch fire resulting in a massive recall. This is just embrassing. I almost feel sorry for them...almost. Despite Sony's track record, Blu-ray is a good product. Blu-ray disks can record significantly more than HD-DVD disks, 25MB versus 15MB on single layered disks. However, HD-DVD drives are significantly cheaper than Blu-ray drives. HD-DVD disks have the same dimensions as existing DVD disks, which saves cost. There is no clear winner yet in this newest media format war.

6 Patches To Be Released Next Tuesday

2006-12-07T17:16:00.000-05:00

6 Patches To Be Released Next Tuesday

Microsoft is scheduled to release 6 patches for next week's Patch Tuesday. Of the 6 patches, 2 are rated as critical. Missing is a patch for the zero day exploit recently discovered in multiple versions of Microsoft Word. Microsoft is working hard on a patch for the vulnerability but feels it would premature to release one now. In addition to the patches, Microsoft also plans to include an updated Malicious Software Removal Tool.

faxZERO

2006-12-05T20:59:00.000-05:00

faxZERO send a fax for free

An almost completely free online fax service. Users can send up to 2 faxes/day and each fax can have up to 3 pages. Documents can be in either .pdf or .doc files. FaxZero will include an ad on the cover sheet but not on any of the other fax pages. The cover sheet does not count towards the 3 page limit.

Blockbuster Giving Netflix Users Free Rentals

2006-12-05T13:59:00.000-05:00

Blockbuster Giving Netflix Users Free Rentals

Good news for Netflix users, Blockbuster will provide free DVD movie rentals for all Netflix customers who already have an existing Blockbuster membership. Netflix customers will need to go to their local Blockbuster store to rent the movies. In addition, Netflix customers will have to present their Netflix tear off address envelopes as proof of their membership and their Blockbuster membership card as well. The offer is good until December 21st, 2006.

What is my Computers Maximum CPU Temperature?

2006-12-04T17:28:00.000-05:00

What is my Computer's Maximum CPU Temperature?

Overclocking is a fairly easy and free way of boosting your computer's performance but there are consequences. For example, when you run a CPU at a higher clock speeds, you will most likely need to increase the voltage to support the higher clock speed. The CPU's temperature rises with an increase in voltage. While CPU's typically have their own fans, there are limits on how much they can cool the CPU. This article is a great reference which lists the maximum temperature a CPU can operate safely at. Of course, different CPU's have different tolerances.

10 Minute Disposable E-Mail

2006-12-03T19:45:00.000-05:00

10 Minute Mail

There are many instances in which a temporary (a.k.a disposable) e-mail address would be useful. For instance, a number of software vendors offer "free" software only if you register with them using a valid e-mail address. That free software is going to cost you a flood of spam. Thankfully, there is an easy solution. A number of disposable e-mail services have popped up in the last few years. My favorite is jetable disposable e-mail service. 10 Minute Mail is a new entrant. The service is unique in many ways. First, as the name suggests, the disposable e-mail addresses expire after 10 minutes. However, at any time, you can extend the life of the e-mail address in 10 minute increments. In addition, unlike jetable e-mail service, 10 Minute Mail does not forward your mail to your real e-mail address. Instead, you just enter the disposable e-mail address on to your address bar and go to the website to retrieve your messages. This method has its pro's and con's. It is good since you don't need to provide your real e-mail address to 10 Minute Mail. However, it is bad because the messages are out in the open and any surfing to the generated web address and read your mail. But, I guess since you will most likely be using it to avoid spam, this shouldn't be too bad. For a list of other available disposable e-mail services, take a look at ghacks.net list.