tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44816030656593316432024-03-05T00:55:40.261-08:00FaveSoft -- My favorite FREE softwareA <b>blog</b> wherein I discuss <b>free software</b> for <b>Windows</b> and related (and sometimes unrelated) topics as they come up.Michael Rudashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07992421513879342637noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481603065659331643.post-50596211534621195762019-12-09T06:39:00.002-08:002019-12-09T10:04:07.823-08:00<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<b><i style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Tool Discs and USB Sticks</span></i></b> </h2>
</blockquote>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Here is the article for my <b><a href="http://www.semco.org/">SEMCO</a></b> presentation given on <b>8 December 2019</b>. The </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">links associated with the </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">presentation can be found </span><a href="https://www.protopage.com/mprudas#Second/Presentations" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><b>here</b></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The links ending in <b>DL</b> are for downloads. The rest are source articles and notes. For usage details, all of these utility suites have tutorials as text and/or<b> YouTube</b> videos—do a search on the name or dig into the site from where you downloaded it.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><i><a href="http://rufus.ie/">Rufus</a></i></b> is a tool used to create a bootable USB drive from a <b>.iso</b> file. Not only is USB slightly faster, but many lapstops (and some PCs) no longer sport optical drives.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.ingburn.com/"><i><b>IngBurn</b></i></a> is a CD/DVD burning utility. It's free and quite useful.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The <b><a href="https://www.howtogeek.com/427223/how-to-download-a-windows-10-iso-without-the-media-creation-tool">Windows ISO trick</a></b> is instructions on how to directly download the <b>Microsoft Windows</b> installation ISO file from Windows without the <b><i>Media Creation Tool</i></b>.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">All discs are <b>free</b>, except for <b><i>Parted Magic</i></b>. The software it <i>contains</i> is free, but he puts a lot of work into it—and it is pretty much the gold standard for the genre. I pay for a yearly subscription.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"></span></span><br />
<div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I am <i>not</i> covering forensic or penetration discs here, but I will mention two of them: <b><i>CAINE</i></b> and <b><i>Kali Linux</i></b>. See <b><a href="http://distrowatch.com/">DistroWatch</a></b> for more info on those.</span></span></div>
Michael Rudashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07992421513879342637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481603065659331643.post-68200499321464701212011-03-07T14:33:00.000-08:002011-03-09T05:18:19.057-08:00Gain ultimate control over Win7 & WinVista<span style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >Here’s a neat (and useful) <span style="font-weight: bold;">Windows 7-and-Vista</span> trick. It enables <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10426627-56.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">GodMode</span></a>, which provides a single place to access all Windows settings without needing to browse options and folders in the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Control Panel</span>.<br /><br />To use it:<br /></span><ol style="font-family: georgia;"><li><span style=";font-size:130%;" >Create a new folder.</span></li><li><span style="font-size:130%;">Rename the folder to<br /></span></li></ol><span style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" > <span style="font-style: italic;">GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}</span><br /><br />(note that you can change the “GodMode” text, but the following period and code number are essential).<br />The folder icon will change — double click it to show the GodMode window.<br /><br />Alternate method (the first method sometimes crashes <span style="font-weight: bold;">WinVista</span> 64-bit):<br /><br />Create a shortcut with the following path and set desired name and icon.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">explorer.exe shell:::{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}</span></span>Michael Rudashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07992421513879342637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481603065659331643.post-36383973927713426892011-01-13T19:44:00.000-08:002011-02-01T21:37:48.451-08:00Two free Windows malware tools updated<span style="font-size: 130%; " >As I have pointed out on more than one occasion, <span style="font-weight: bold; ">Microsoft Windows</span> is under continuous and concerted attack, often successful--<span style="font-style: italic; ">over half</span> of all PCs running Windows are infected with malware. We need tools that help keep us safe as we use Windows; it's even better when these tools are both excellent and <span style="font-style: italic; ">free</span>. Two good tools have been updated to be even better (and the <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://windowssecrets.com/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Windows Secrets Newsletter</span></a> is an excellent resource):<br /><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://windowssecrets.com/comp/110113/#story1"><span style="font-style: italic;">Two great security tools get free updates</span><br /></a><br />While I don't use <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Microsoft Security Essentials</span></a> myself, it IS a very functional anti-malware package (better than most commercial packages), and useful--but I make sure to install <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/personal"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Secunia PSI</span></a> on <span style="font-style: italic; ">every</span> Windows PC I touch; the new version has useful added functions.</span><div><span style="font-size: 130%; " ><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: 130%; " >I also have a <a href="http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/opcc/links/01___Software_related_information_001198934133/Windows_related_link_001119378867/Malware_Tools_001064231677/Tools_for_management_001068751304"><b>Links page</b></a> with more security-related software listed.</span></div>Michael Rudashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07992421513879342637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481603065659331643.post-35560431337717932932010-09-26T22:55:00.000-07:002010-10-01T21:16:12.534-07:00Dealing with Internet Explorer issues<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span">(This item was originally written as a response to a request for help from a friend whose Internet Explorer was intermittently locking up.)</span></span><div style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></div><div style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">You can kill an unresponsive </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">Internet Explorer</span></span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> (or any program) without having to reboot or shut down the PC. Press and hold the </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">[Ctrl]</span></span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">+</span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">[Shift]</span></span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> key combination, then press the </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">[Esc]</span></span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> key. This brings up the </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">Task Manager</span></span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> window. If the </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">Process</span></span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> tab is not open by default, click on it. This will bring up a list of running processes. Go down the list and find </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">iexplore</span></span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">--click on it to highlight it, then click on the </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">End process</span></span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> button at the bottom of the window to kill it. You may have to do this more than once sometimes if there's more than one IE tab or window open.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Someone once said, "The best use for Internet Explorer is to use it to download a better browser." This is true--I recommend either </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">Mozilla Firefox</span></span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> or </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">Google Chrome</span></span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> as an alternative--but there are also things you should do to fix the problem with IE, as well. Once you install Firefox, you should install the </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">NoScript</span></span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> add-on. There's a </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">lot</span></span></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> of malicious scripts out there--it allows you to run scripts on a site-by-site basis, a </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">very</span></span></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> good idea.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><img src="http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Bold" class="gl_bold" border="0" /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Make </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">sure</span></span></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> that you have the latest version of IE supported by your version of </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">Windows</span></span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">--for </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">WinXP</span></span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">, </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">WinVista</span></span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">,</span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"> or Win7</span></span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> this is </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">Internet Explorer 8</span></span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">. You might also install </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">Maxthon</span></span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> for better security and other features--but </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">please</span></span></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> avoid IE in general.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">You probably need to update your </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">Java</span></span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> and </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">Flash</span></span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">, too. Download links for everything I have mentioned here are on my </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><b><a href="http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/opcc/links/01___Software_related_information_001198934133/Windows_related_link_001119378867/Software____Links_an_001081730158/Internet_related_001059925508"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">Internet related Links</span></span></a></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"> page.</span></span></span></div></div>Michael Rudashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07992421513879342637noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481603065659331643.post-71286143417308679892010-03-14T23:28:00.000-07:002010-10-01T20:23:55.179-07:00The Open Disc--A Compilation of Free Software for Windows<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >I'm pretty used to being able to find the free software I'm looking for, as well as new software to play with. I am quite familiar with using <span style="font-weight: bold;">Google</span> and other search engines for this purpose--and I know how to find general sources for free software (and I will cover the best of those sources in a future article). Because I <span style="font-style: italic;">am</span> <span>so</span> familiar with the software and my research techniques, I sometimes lose sight of the fact that the average user may not know where to <span style="font-style: italic;">start</span>, let alone where to <span style="font-style: italic;">go</span>, to find useful free software.<br /><br />It turns out that there is a partial solution to this problem that's a <span style="font-weight: bold;">very</span> good place to start. There is a downloadable disk image available that contains a great deal of up-to-date free software in a single file, an image file that can be used to create a DVD: <a href="http://www.theopendisc.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Open Disc</span></a>. As long as you have a broadband connection and a DVD "burner" you can create a DVD from the downloaded <span style="font-weight: bold;">ISO</span> image that will contain dozens of useful free programs, each of them installable from a menu. The software categories comprise:<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Design | Educational | Games | Internet | Multimedia | Productivity | Utilities</span><br />Some of the programs on the disc include an office suite, a desktop publishing program, an Internet browser, a mail reader, and <span style="font-style: italic;">much</span> more.<br /><br />But what if you don't <span style="font-style: italic;">have</span> a DVD writer? You can still download the file and copy the software within the image to your hard drive (or a 2GB+ flash drive) using the free <a href="http://favesoft.blogspot.com/2008/09/more-on-7-zip.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">7-Zip</span></a> in <span style="font-weight: bold;">dual-pane mode</span> and run the menu from that drive instead of a DVD (ironically, 7-Zip is one of the programs included on the DVD). In fact, I initially did this on my own drive instead of burning a disc.<br /><br />I do have my own disc of free software that I have compiled to use or give away, but The Open Disc is better organized and menu-driven, so it's much more appropriate for the average user. It's quite a resource! I am permanently placing the download link in the right-hand column of this blog sometime before I post the next entry here.</span>Michael Rudashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07992421513879342637noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481603065659331643.post-8624794381729335842010-02-15T15:32:00.001-08:002011-06-13T06:12:36.275-07:00OpenOffice.org for Windows & MS Office users<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" > <span style="font-style: italic;">Note</span>: I now recommend the <a href="http://www.libreoffice.org"><span style="font-weight: bold;">LibreOffice</span></a> (LO) suite over <span style="font-weight: bold;">OpenOffice.org</span> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >(OO.o) </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >due to improved performance and licensing issues. LO is a fork of </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >OO.o</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" > and is on a faster development track.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Microsoft Office</span>, LibreOffice, and <span>OpenOffice.org</span> are roughly equivalent-- like MS Office, OpenOffice.org is a suite of applications. The main parts of each suite are similar: a word processor (MS <span style="font-weight: bold;">Word</span> vs. OpenOffice.org <span style="font-weight: bold;">Writer</span>), a spreadsheet (MS <span style="font-weight: bold;">Excel</span> vs. OpenOffice.org <span style="font-weight: bold;">Calc</span>), and presentation software (MS <span style="font-weight: bold;">PowerPoint</span> vs. OpenOffice.org <span style="font-weight: bold;">Impress</span>). The difference? OpenOffice.org is <span style="font-style: italic;">free of cost</span> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source_software" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">open source</span> software</a>-- MS Office is <span style="font-weight: bold;">neither</span> free nor open. </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >OpenOffice.org is also <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-platform" target="_blank">cross-platform</a>--versions are available for <span style="font-weight: bold;">Windows</span>, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Linux</span>, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Mac OSX</span>, and others.</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >One has to wonder why school systems (especially in low-income areas) continue to teach Microsoft Word or Microsoft Office. Many students' families may have problems being able to afford MS Office packages costing between $100 and $350 (and more). For these users (and most others) a free equivalent like OpenOffice.org begins to look pretty good.<br /><br />To a considerable extent, once you have learned any word processor, that knowledge is useful for any similar program. In fact, most Windows-using beginners would be well-served by starting with the <span style="font-weight: bold;">WordPad</span> application included with Windows and working up from there-- especially when differences between the different versions of MS Office are taken into account.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;">Read the full article <a href="http://users.ameritech.net/mpr_support/OOo_for_Windows_users.html">here</a> (My <a href="http://learnpc.vze.com/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Articles</span></a> page).<br />Go to my relevant <a href="http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/opcc/links/01___Software_related_information_001198934133/Windows_related_link_001119378867/Software____Links_an_001081730158/Best_of_breed_Free_s_001059927670/Office___Web_Software_001204669046">download links page</a>.</span>Michael Rudashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07992421513879342637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481603065659331643.post-11077266943644217152009-05-23T09:26:00.000-07:002013-04-24T20:58:10.636-07:00"Cleanup on Drive C, Track 56"<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">(<span style="font-style: italic;">Revised</span> 23-April-2013)<br />One of the main problems with </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-weight: bold;">Microsoft Windows</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> (besides the issue of </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malware" style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">malware</a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> in general) is the accumulation of detritus of several types. This leads to a typical Windows installation slowing down over time, as well as potential security threats. Microsoft supplies a </span><a href="http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310312" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Disk Cleanup</a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> utility as part of Windows—but that doesn't solve the entire problem.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">The </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Registry" style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-weight: bold;">Windows Registry</a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> is a well-known single-point-of-failure issue for all versions of Windows. Not only is this group of files an index to the entire Windows installation; it also stores settings, serial numbers, program keys, and individual program installation information. A cluttered, fragmented, and disorganized Registry can lead to slowdowns and weird errors. For several years, a number of companies have provided "free" Registry cleaners, but until now most of them would report, say, 800 errors--then only fix a dozen or so unless you pay for the software.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">This has changed in recent times. There are now a number of free software suites that will do the job of the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Disk Cleanup</span> utility, do it better and also provide a useful Registry clean-and-repair and (in some cases) a basic malware scan. This article will briefly discuss three of these suites, along with an easy-to-use Registry-backup tool. The three suites discussed here use somewhat different techniques for checking and cleaning the Windows Registry—so running each of them sequentially works well. For safety's sake, we'll start with the Registry-backup tool.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">There are those that say that Registry clean-up makes no difference in performance. I <i>know</i> otherwise—here's an example: I had a Windows XP PC that took ten minutes to boot up, fifteen minutes to shut down, and nearly half an hour to load the "installed programs" list. After performing the following procedure, all was well.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">I want to stress this <span style="font-weight: bold;">important</span> tip: before you make <span style="font-style: italic;">any</span> changes to the Windows Registry, be it by manually editing it with </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-weight: bold;">RegEdit </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">or by cleaning it with any tool</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">, a bit of preparation is in order. I back up the Registry with a free tool called </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-weight: bold;">ERUNT</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> (</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-style: italic;">The Emergency Recovery Utility NT</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">), which makes backing up and restoring the Windows Registry files extremely easy. The ERUNT package also includes </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-weight: bold;">NTRegOpt</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> (</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-style: italic;">The NT Registry Optimizer</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">) a Registry optimizer which I will discuss last.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Note</span>: ERUNT works just fine under <span style="font-weight: bold;">Windows Vista</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Windows 7</span>. Just </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">right-click the program icon and select </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Run as Administrator</span>. You can make this change permanent by right-clicking on the</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> program icon and </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">selecting the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Compatibility</span> tab, then checking the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Run as Administrator</span> box.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">I now usually start with the </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><b>Comodo PC TuneUp</b>. I use it primarily for its Registry-cleaner mode, though the other included tools are useful too.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Next is the </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><b>Glary Utilities</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> This suite seems (to me) to be the safest for the average end user, especially in the default </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-style: italic;">1-Click Maintenance</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> mode—it's quick, effective, and seems to </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-weight: bold;">not</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> remove stuff that the user actually wants to keep.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Last on this short list is<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-weight: bold;">CCleaner</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">. </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> If you are using more than one package, I would skip the </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-style: italic;">Cleaner</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> function and go straight for the </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-style: italic;">Registry Integrity</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> part. If you <i>do</i> use the Cleaner, carefully look over the </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-style: italic;">Windows</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> and </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-style: italic;">Applications</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> tabs to ensure that you save (for example) your cookies, history, or anything else that you don't want to delete by checking or unchecking the appropriate boxes as needed.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-style: italic;">Note</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">: Users of any of these utilities</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> will benefit from running their Registry cleaners multiple times. This is because certain Registry errors can be masked by other errors.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">In summary, all</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> users will benefit from using all three to clean the Registry, since each will find issues that the others miss.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">To wrap things up after cleanup, I reboot the affected system. I then run ERUNT again to get a snapshot of the newly-cleaned-up Windows Registry. I recommend adding the letter </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-weight: bold;">"a"</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> to the end of the directory name to prevent overwriting the earlier backup and to distinguish the first version from the newer version. Now it's time to run the second utility in the ERUNT package, NTRegOpt. After optimization, reboot again then use ERUNT to create a third backup of the Registry with the letter "<span style="font-weight: bold;">b</span>"</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> at the end of the dir-name (you can delete the first two backups later, if you wish).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">The overall process takes longer to describe than it does to implement, it sure beats repeated reinstallation of Windows</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">—a</span><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">nd it's just as effective.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Links</span>:</span><br /></span><br />
<ul style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt">ERUNT/NTRegOpt</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=5870">Glary Utilities</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/">CCleaner</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.comodo.com/home/support-maintenance/system-utilities.php">Comodo PC TuneUp</a></span></li>
</ul>
Michael Rudashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07992421513879342637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481603065659331643.post-62256329443054521612008-10-22T22:28:00.000-07:002013-04-24T20:59:29.941-07:00Optical Drives, explained<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Here is one of those hardware posts I warned you about -- but there's method to my madness (or is it madness to my method?). I bring up this subject because most commercial software comes on <span style="font-weight: bold;">CD-ROM</span> or <span style="font-weight: bold;">DVD-ROM</span> discs -- and I often distribute free-software compilations on CDs that I write myself (</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">I write </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">the discs, not the software). <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Linux_Live_Distros">Live-Linux</a> CDs and DVDs are another related item.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">In June of 1985 I was at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_Electronics_Show">Consumer Electronics Show</a> in Chicago. Atari introduced its new <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_ST">Atari ST</a> series -- but the item that most interested me was the <a href="http://www.geocities.com/~irata/ces1.html">CD-ROM drive</a> add-on that was being shown with it. The only demonstration CD they had at that time was the first edition of <span style="font-style: italic;">Grolier's Encyclopedia</span>. When I discovered that a CD-ROM disc could hold <span style="font-weight: bold;">640 megabytes</span> (MB) of data, I was amazed (then-current small business/consumer-grade hard drives at the time maxed out at about <span style="font-weight: bold;">40 MB</span>). I knew that big changes were coming at last (I had discussed the possibilities of CD and <span style="font-weight: bold;">LaserDisc</span> data storage with an engineer about 6 years earlier).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">All the drives and discs I will be talking about share the same <span style="font-weight: bold;">form factors</span> (standardized size and shape) and are backward-compatible with earlier types; this means that a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray">Blu-Ray</a> burner will read (and write) CDs and DVDs as well. With the right software, media discs (audio and movies) can be played on the attached PC. There are different drive form factors for <span style="font-weight: bold;">desktop</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">laptop</span> PCs; within each class the drives are usually interchangeable. Due to physical (size) limitations, laptop drives read and write discs at a somewhat slower rate than desktop drives.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> For this reason, and to reduce wear-and-tear on the internal drive, I often use an external USB-connected drive with a laptop.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Each generation of discs and drives has held more data than the previous </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">generation</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">. <span style="font-weight: bold;">CD</span> capacity is <span style="font-weight: bold;">640 MB</span> to <span style="font-weight: bold;">700 MB</span> (depending on discs). <span style="font-weight: bold;">DVD</span> capacity is <span style="font-weight: bold;">4.7 gigabytes</span> (GB) for a single-layer disc, <span style="font-weight: bold;">8.5 GB</span> for a dual-layer disc. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Blu-ray</span> discs hold <span style="font-weight: bold;">25 GB</span> on a single-layer disc, <span style="font-weight: bold;">50 GB</span> on a dual-layer disc. There are indications that a next-generation Blu-ray disc may hold as much as <span style="font-weight: bold;">200 GB</span> on a single CD-sized platter.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Typical 50-100 quantity prices for writable media range from about <span style="font-weight: bold;">15 cents</span> for a blank CD-R, to <span style="font-weight: bold;">25-50 cents</span> for a single-layer blank DVD, <span style="font-weight: bold;">$1.50-$2</span> for a dual-layer blank DVD, up to <span style="font-weight: bold;">$8-$15</span> for a single-layer Blu-Ray <span style="font-weight: bold;">BD-R</span> disc, and <span style="font-weight: bold;">$25-$30</span> for a dual-layer BD-R disc (1-25 quantity). I expect the BD-R media prices will come down over time when the volume ramps up -- when I first got my CD burner, 4x blanks were about <span style="font-weight: bold;">$1.50 each</span>.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> There may be more about the optical media itself in a future installment.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">The first iteration was the <span style="font-weight: bold;">CD-ROM drive</span>. Starting out at a read-rate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">1x</span> (the same speed as an audio CD, about <span style="font-weight: bold;">150 kilobits-per-second</span>), speeds soon ramped up. Microsoft's <span style="font-weight: bold;">MS-DOS</span> soon had an add-on that allowed DOS to read the CD file system, as did most other computer operating systems at the time. Current desktop optical ROM drives read (transfer data from) CDs at a 48x-52x rate -- but very few (if any) CD-ROM-only drives are currently being manufactured.<span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Compatibility</span>: <span style="font-weight: bold;">CDs</span> (older drives -- those manufactured prior to 1998 -- will probably not be able to read CD-R or CD-RW discs).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Next was the <span style="font-weight: bold;">DVD-ROM</span> drive, introduced in 1997. Starting out at a read-rate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">1x</span> (the same speed as a DVD movie, which is about 4x faster than a 1x audio CD) it, too, quickly ramped up in speed. Current optical ROM drives read DVDs at a 16x-20x rate.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Compatibility</span>: <span style="font-weight: bold;">CDs</span> & <span style="font-weight: bold;">DVDs </span>(older drives manufactured prior to 1998 may not be able to read writable media: CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R/RW, or DVD+R/RW discs). A new DVD-ROM drive will set you back about $20-25.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">At about the same time as the DVD-ROM was introduced came the <span style="font-weight: bold;">CD "burner"</span> (writer) drive. As CD write speeds ramped up above about 8X, a problem became evident -- the computer could not always transfer data to the drive consistently and the data interruption (known as <span style="font-weight: bold;">buffer underrun</span>) led to write failures. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sanyo</span> developed what is now referred to as <span style="font-weight: bold;">buffer underrun protection</span> (sometimes called <a href="http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci518303,00.html">BURN-proof</a>) -- all current writable drives (and the software for them) keep track of where they are on the disc during the write process and can pick up where they left off if the buffer (internal temporary storage memory) empties during a write cycle. Current optical ROM drives write (transfer data to) CDs at up to a 48x-52x rate.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Compatibility</span>: <span style="font-weight: bold;">read/write all CDs</span>. A new CD-writer drive will cost about <span style="font-weight: bold;">$20</span> -- I paid nearly <span style="font-weight: bold;">$300</span> for my first 4x CD writer in 1999. <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Note:</span> all older drives will require a</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firmware">firmware</a> update </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">to write some current discs.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">It was not long before a DVD-ROM drive was combined with a CD writer to make what is now called a <span style="font-weight: bold;">combo</span> drive, with all the features of both. These have mostly been superseded by full-featured DVD writers.<span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Compatibility</span>: <span style="font-weight: bold;">read/write all CDs and read all DVDs</span>. <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Note:</span> all older drives will require a firmware update to write some current discs.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Next came the <span style="font-weight: bold;">DVD burner</span>. First-generation drives wrote <span style="font-weight: bold;">DVD+R/RW</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">CD-R/RW</span> only; <span style="font-weight: bold;">DVD-R/RW</span> drives and discs soon followed from a different industry consortium and could burn CDs as well. In general, the <span style="font-weight: bold;">+</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">-</span> drives could read (but not write) each others' discs. Current DVD writers are +/- write-compatible, but check the front-panel markings on a particular drive to ensure it will write the discs you feed it. Current desktop DVD-writer drives write single-layer discs at 16x-20x; Current laptop DVD-writer drives write single-layer discs at 6x-8x. Dual-layer discs are written at 4-8x depending on the type of drive and the media used.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Compatibility</span>: <span style="font-weight: bold;">read/write all CDs and read all DVDs</span>. DVD write-compatibility varies with the drive; newer drives (since about 2004) write all types. <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Note:</span> all older drives will require a firmware update to write some current discs.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">The newest optical-disc formats are <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hd-dvd">HD-DVD</a> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Blu-ray</span>, though the HD-DVD format has already fallen by the wayside (much to the chagrin of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Microsoft</span>). There are Blu-ray combo drives that add Blu-ray ROM and movie-reading capabilities to a DVD-burner drive.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">The pinnacle of the optical-drive heap is the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Blu-ray writer</span> drive. Current Blu-ray writers can write <span style="font-weight: bold;">BD-R</span> media at up to 8x, which is a whopping 288 megabits (Mb) per second -- a nearly 2000 times faster data-transfer rate than a 1x CD at 150 kilobits (kb) per second.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Compatibility</span>:<span style="font-weight: bold;"> read/write all CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray media.</span></span></span>Michael Rudashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07992421513879342637noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481603065659331643.post-65028911668659589322008-10-12T23:39:00.000-07:002008-10-22T07:35:05.177-07:00OpenOffice.org v3.0 is out!<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">One of my </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >favorite</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> free application suites now has a new version available -- </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >OpenOffice.org</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> (OOo) </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >version 3.0.0</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> </span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">-- here's a good direct link:</span><br /><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://openoffice.mirrors.tds.net/pub/openoffice/stable/3.0.0">http://openoffice.mirrors.tds.net/pub/openoffice/stable/3.0.0</a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">If you want more information or are new to OOo, you can go to the </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.openoffice.org/">main site</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> and get the download link from there. You can also find </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >FAQs</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> (frequently asked questions) and </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >tutorial links</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> there as well. v3.0.0 is a substantial update from </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >v2.4.1</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> and a </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >better-than-ever</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> <a href="http://why.openoffice.org">replacement</a> for the bloated, too-costly </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Microsoft Office</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> series.<br /><br />If all you want is a decent free word processor, try <a href="http://www.AbiSource.com"><span style="font-weight: bold;">AbiWord</span></a> and its related tools and plug-ins. I actually run <span style="font-style: italic;">both</span> OOo and AbiWord as a cross-check for text-formatting problems.<br /></span>Michael Rudashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07992421513879342637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481603065659331643.post-67854508586389406542008-10-12T23:24:00.000-07:002008-10-15T18:14:29.277-07:00Clickjacking -- and a fix<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">There has been a <span style="font-style: italic;">lot</span> of talk this week about a newly discovered vulnerability in <span style="font-style: italic;">all</span> modern browsers running under <span style="font-style: italic;">any</span> operating system, including all versions of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Microsoft Windows</span>, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Linux</span>, <span style="font-weight: bold;">BSD</span>, <span>and </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mac OS X</span>. Called <span style="font-weight: bold;">clickjacking</span>, it's a means of hijacking (redirecting) clicks on links within browsers:</span><br /><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9115818&source=NLT_SEC&nlid=38"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Computerworld</span> article</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> or <a href="http://tinyurl.com/3rmfac">http://tinyurl.com/3rmfac</a></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Fortunately, a useful fix <span style="font-style: italic;">is</span> available. I have recommended the use of the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Mozilla Firefox</span> browser for quite a while. It runs on Windows, OS X, BSD, and Linux. The important information here is that Firefox supports <span style="font-weight: bold;">add-ons</span> -- plug-ins that add useful features. That's where the solution comes from; it's yet another reason to (mostly) abandon Microsoft's <span style="font-weight: bold;">Internet Explorer</span> under Windows. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I am a long-time user of the <span style="font-weight: bold;">NoScript</span> add-on for Firefox, which blocks scripts (which are usually <span style="font-weight: bold;">JavaScript</span>-based) from running in the browser -- unless you allow it on a <span style="font-style: italic;">per-site</span> basis (easily managed). It has just been updated to add useful protection against this very vulnerability.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Managing add-ons in Firefox is pretty easy. Go to the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Tools</span> menu in the menu-bar top-of-page, select <span style="font-weight: bold;">Add-ons</span>. When the dialog window opens, enter <span style="font-weight: bold;">noscript</span> in the search box near the top of the window and install the add-on from there. There may be other useful add-ons of interest to users; see the </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox">Firefox add-ons</a> page <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">for more information, including the ability to browse add-ons by category.</span>Michael Rudashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07992421513879342637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481603065659331643.post-34809241102207708362008-10-01T18:07:00.000-07:002008-12-07T16:33:49.519-08:00Secure your Windows PC -- for free (Part 1)<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">One of the ironies of modern computing is the fact that users pay for </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Microsoft Windows</span> either directly or <a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/columns/the_microsoft_tax_revisited">indirectly</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">, but due to the security holes in Windows most users usually pay </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >again</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> for protection -- most of which should never have been needed in the first place. For example, there are any number of companies lining up to sell you anti-virus, anti-spyware, and firewall software. Even Microsoft itself will sell you a $50-a-year subscription-based product (</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Microsoft One Care</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">) to fix problems that should never have existed in the first place. This sort of double-dipping certainly doesn't seem fair. Frankly, this is one of several reasons that I mostly use </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.google.com/search?q=define%3ALinux"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Linux</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> -- while I run it I have no problems with viruses or other malware.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Fortunately, there is free software available that can effectively improve your Windows security just as well as any paid software or service. The trade-off? It takes a little bit more effort to gather it all together and maintain it -- but the knowledge is useful and it </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >does</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> pay off. It's also true that users must be careful, as some anti-</span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.google.com/search?q=define%3Amalware">malware</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> software is more resource-intensive than others, sucking up CPU cycles like a </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Dyson</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> at full speed. Combining two such programs can bring even a multi-core system to its metaphorical knees. When this is the case, I will mention it.</span> Also, be aware that <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">there are malicious software programs out there disguised as useful utilities (see <a href="http://www.spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm">here</a> and <a href="http://www.spywareguide.com/">here</a> for lists and information on some of them).</span><br /><br /><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Anti-Virus</span></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">There are several decent free anti-virus utilities available. Most are effective -- some even more so than the market leaders (though, to be fair and honest, I hear good things about </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Symantec</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">'s soon-to-be-released<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">commercial</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" > Norton 2009</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> suite). There are four that I use on a regular basis, depending upon the version of Windows, the nature of the problem, and the speed of the PC. They are roughly equally effective, though the functional mechanisms do differ. Also be aware that the first three free versions listed are for <span style="font-style: italic;">private home use on one PC only</span> -- institutional and commercial use are not allowed -- though the </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >AVG</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> software (for example) has a fully-functional 30-day trial version available to all. </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Comodo</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">'s package does not have the limitations listed, one of the reasons that I recommend it highly.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">One of the better on-line comparisons of the first three free anti-virus utilities discussed here is available </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://antivirus.about.com/od/antivirussoftwarereviews/a/freeav.htm">here</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">, though it's a bit out-of-date. Rather than go into too much detail in this post, it's a good article to check out as a start. Also realize that most of the packages mentioned here have commercial versions available that are more feature-complete. Buy them or donate if you can afford it; the free versions have to be supported </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >somehow</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">. </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >ClamAV</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">, The last package listed here, has a whole different approach that can be useful, since there's a version that runs under Linux and <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=define%3ABSD"><span style="font-weight: bold;">BSD</span></a>.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://free.avg.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">AVG Free Anti-Virus</span></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The newest version of <span style="font-weight: bold;">AVG Free Anti-Virus</span> is probably more accurately described as a suite. It includes not only anti-virus software, but also a </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >link-scanner</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> and </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >anti-spyware capabilities</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">. It's what I usually install; the reasons I might install one of the others include being second-machine-on-a-network (the Free-AVG license is limited to one machine per network) and older/slower PCs (it's more of a resource hog than the older versions of AVG were). There is also a </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://free.avg.com/download?prd=afl">version available</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> that runs under Linux; see the ClamAV section to see why this is useful.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.avira.com/en/download"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Avira AntiVir Personal</span></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">This package is nominally the best-performing of the programs listed here (usually) -- but real-world performance has them more evenly matched. One minor gripe is the advertising nag-screen pop-up that is displayed at boot-up, though this is a reasonable attempt to sell the retail product.</span><br /><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">avast! antivirus Home Edition</span></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Despite having a somewhat-clunkier user interface than the others (in my opinion), this is still a useful and effective package.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/download_firewall.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Comodo Internet Security</span></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Note: <span style="font-weight: bold;">Comodo AntiVirus</span> is now part of the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Comodo Internet Security suite</span> with the firewall integrated. I use this on one of my slower PCs because it rarely sucks up too much in the way of resources -- and I now recommend it over <span style="font-weight: bold;">AVG</span> </span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> for general use</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">.</span> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">It seems to be quite effective, with an added bonus: commercial and multi-PC use is OK.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.clamav.net/"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">ClamAV</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">/</span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.clamwin.com/content/view/18/46"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">ClamWin</span></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">This is the outsider of the bunch, because the philosophy behind it is drastically different from that of the others. It's </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" ><a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=define%3AGPL">GPL</a> open-source software</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> that was originally designed to work on </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" ><a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=define%3AUnix">Unix</a> </span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">and Linux mail servers and gateways to protect downstream Windows-based clients; there's now a version for Windows as well. While they are not kept as up-to-date as some of the other utilities listed here, they are useful tools nonetheless.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Why is a Windows-virus utility that runs on Linux/Unix/BSD useful? For the simple reason that it allows a technician or user to work on Windows from the "outside." Running a virus checker from within Windows is very much like working on an automobile engine while it's running -- there are times it's just easier to work on it when it's turned off. This is made possible by the use of a free "live" Linux CD or DVD such as </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.knoppix.net/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Knoppix</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">, </span><a style="font-weight: bold; font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.sysresccd.org/Main_Page">System Rescue CD</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">, or </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://trinityhome.org/trk"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Trinity Rescue Kit</span></a> (among others). In an extreme case I may hook the infected Windows-installation hard drive to my own PC running Linux via an external USB adapter.<br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Since the Clam anti-virus software is an </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >on-demand scanner</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">, it can usually be run under Windows even when other anti-virus software is running in the background.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Part 2</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:trebuchet ms;" > of this series will cover anti-spyware and related software.</span>Michael Rudashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07992421513879342637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481603065659331643.post-67057074944448658242008-09-25T09:30:00.000-07:002012-12-01T21:40:13.179-08:00Monsters of Media (Playing)<big><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><i>Revised 11-November-2012. The Links page is now listed at the end of the article.</i><b><br />
<br />
Microsoft
Windows Media Player</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">
(WiMP) is the default media player for </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><b>Windows—</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">but
besides being bloated and somewhat of a privacy hazard (</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><b>xp-antispy</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">
can help with that), its capabilities are mostly limited to the
playback of proprietary Microsoft formats and such common media
formats as </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><b>MPG</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">
video and </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><b>MP3</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">
audio files. If users want to play </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><b>Real</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">
media or </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><b>Apple
Quicktime</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">
formats, additional software and/or </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><b>codecs</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">
must be installed. Also, as of </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><b>Windows
8</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">,
</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><b>DVD</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">
and </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><b>Blu-ray</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">
playback are not supported within WiMP by default. The fact is that
the free </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><b>Quicktime</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">
package from </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><b>Apple</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">
is crippleware; in order to get the fully-functional </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><b>Quicktime
Pro</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">,
you must pay extra. Similarly, the free </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><b>RealPlayer</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">
package contains bloatware and is, potentially, adware. What's a user
to do?</span>
</big><div class="western">
<big><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">No
one add-on media player package does it all (though </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><b>VLC</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">
comes close), but the following three media player utilities in
combination cover the gamut of available file formats pretty well;
all three are free to download. They complement each other; if a file
does not play well in one player, one of the others can usually
handle it.</span></big></div>
<big>
</big><div class="western">
<big><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">By
the way, both the </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><b>K-Lite</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">
codecs and VLC can both directly play back the </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><b>FLV</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><b>Flash</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">
video format used by </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><i>Google
Video</i></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">,
</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><i>YouTube</i></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">,
and others. These videos can usually be saved locally via the </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><b>Video
Downloader</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">
plug-in for </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><b>Firefox</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">,
which can be installed via the </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><i>Tools
—>Add-ons</i></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">
menu.</span><br />
</big></div>
<div class="western">
<big><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><br /></span></big></div>
<big>
</big><div class="western">
<big><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><i><b>VLC Media
Player</b></i><br />
It's
the very first alternative media player I install under Windows—if
I only install one, VLC is it. Recently updated to the </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><b>v2.0</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">
series, it handles a variety of formats and is useful for files that
may not play properly in the other two players mentioned here—it's
also possible that VLC itself may be more to a particular user's
taste than </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><b>Winamp</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">.
It also differs from Winamp in that it is true </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><b>GPL</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">
open source. VLC plays DVDs just fine, though Blu-ray playback is
still considered experimental. VLC is also cross-platform software;
versions are available that run under </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><b>Linux</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">
and </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><b>Mac
OS X</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">
as well. For VLC, I do a </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><i>Full</i></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">
install, selected from the drop-down menu during installation. When
a user installs Winamp in this context, it will be set up to “steal
back” most audio formats (except </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><b>MP4</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">).</span><br />
</big></div>
<div class="western">
<big><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><br /></span></big></div>
<big>
</big><div class="western">
<big><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><i><b>Winamp</b></i><br />
<b>Winamp</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">
is freeware, though not open source (a paid </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><b>Pro</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">
version is available). It's very good for playing a wide range of
audio media formats (though not the best player for video formats).
It's especially useful for playing Internet music streams like those
listed on </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><b>SHOUTcast</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">
and </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><b>Icecast</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">—and
the available </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><b>StreamRipper</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">
plug-in is useful (more on this later), but because we are installing
it alongside others, there is a caveat that should be pointed out.</span></big></div>
<div class="western">
<big><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><br /></span></big></div>
<big>
</big><div class="western">
<big><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">It
concerns the installation process: one of the initial check-boxes is
for a function called </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><i>Winamp
Agent</i></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">;
you may want to un-check this box, or else Winamp will hijack all the
formats it sees as its default (this may actually be useful if you
edit the default-formats list). You can, if you wish, choose to
uncheck the boxes for </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><i>Winamp
Remote</i></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">,
the </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><b>eMusic</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">
free downloads, browser toolbar, etc. As
part of the installation process, the user is able to select the
formats that Winamp will play by default; I </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><b>highly</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">
recommend un-checking the </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><i>Video</i></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">
check box entirely, then opening the </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><i>Audio</i></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">
menu and un-checking the </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><i>MP4</i></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">
check-box. Once Winamp is installed, go ahead and install
StreamRipper, if you wish. It works well as a plug-in to Winamp and
can also be used from the command line.</span></big></div>
<div class="western">
<big><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><br /></span></big></div>
<big>
</big><div class="western">
<big><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">Winamp
was one of the first programs to be skinnable—that is, able to have
its window decorations be user-changeable—so go ahead and download
a few skins that you might like. The included visualizations are also
pretty cool.</span><br />
</big></div>
<div class="western">
<big><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><br /></span></big></div>
<big>
</big><div class="western">
<big><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><i><b>K-Lite Mega
Codec Pack</b></i><br />
I
have found the freeware </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><b>K-Lite
Mega Codec Pack</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">
to be a useful complement to VLC. It has a number of codecs and some
are better-suited to certain formats than Winamp (the </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><b>iPod</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">-compatible
</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><b>MP4/M4V</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">
format for example) and for the occasional file that is incompatible
with VLC (it's rare). An excellent streamlined basic player is
included along with the codecs called </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><b>Media
Player Classic</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">
(MPC) which strongly resembles WiMP V6. The newly-installed codecs
can also be used with the current version of WiMP. It can replace the
functionality of RealPlayer and most functions of the QuickTime Pro
player, too.</span></big></div>
<div class="western">
<big><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><br /></span></big></div>
<big>
</big><div class="western">
<big><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">Once
all three programs are installed you can fine-tune the file
associations by right-clicking the mouse on a particular media file,
then selecting </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><i>Open
With</i></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;">,
then selecting which media player to use from the displayed list. If
you want to make the file-to-player association permanent, the
check-box at the bottom of the window allows this.</span></big></div>
<div class="western">
<big><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><br /></span></big></div>
<big>
</big><div class="western">
<big><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><i><b>StreamRipper</b></i><br />
This
free utility allows you to download an entire station of music. Many
of these MP3 radio stations only play certain genres, so you can now
download an entire collection of goa/trance music, an entire
collection of jazz, punk rock, whatever you want. Also works with OGG
streams. If the tracks contain individual ID information, they will
be saved as individual files by default. As mentioned earlier, the
Windows version includes a Winamp plug-in, which is very convenient;
the program can also be invoked from a command line. There are
versions available that run under Linux and Mac OS X as well.</span></big></div>
<div class="western">
<big><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><br /></span></big></div>
<big>
</big><div class="western">
<big><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><i><b>Links page
to software mentioned and definitions of terms used in this article: </b></i></span><b><a href="http://goo.gl/y4X5R"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">http://goo.gl/y4X5R</span></span></a></b></big></div>
<big></big>Michael Rudashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07992421513879342637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481603065659331643.post-63678152364872948412008-09-11T17:22:00.000-07:002011-02-23T06:26:40.470-08:00More on 7-Zip<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEIWdlmGMC57s5j5aF70vxU4j2YzIO_yt9DkkbRTZV9eblmXCO-5R5Im7zRiq12YNW5f7frUbxrs63Ly5F7xclSXjqZVnI64G-IszZqnlAZEfvNya4vK3fdYfvCa12RF6oIZhAJZr8ZijC/s1600-h/7zip-1.png"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEIWdlmGMC57s5j5aF70vxU4j2YzIO_yt9DkkbRTZV9eblmXCO-5R5Im7zRiq12YNW5f7frUbxrs63Ly5F7xclSXjqZVnI64G-IszZqnlAZEfvNya4vK3fdYfvCa12RF6oIZhAJZr8ZijC/s1600-h/7zip-1.png"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEIWdlmGMC57s5j5aF70vxU4j2YzIO_yt9DkkbRTZV9eblmXCO-5R5Im7zRiq12YNW5f7frUbxrs63Ly5F7xclSXjqZVnI64G-IszZqnlAZEfvNya4vK3fdYfvCa12RF6oIZhAJZr8ZijC/s320/7zip-1.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278942604298628978" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 219px;" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;">Microsoft Windows XP</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> and later versions include built-in ZIP-file handling. Despite this, many users have </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;">WinZip</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> i</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">n</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">stalled on their systems. This is a call to remove WinZip from your system if you have it, even if you have paid for it (many people don't). Technically, it's a timed-trial evaluation version unless you pay for it. Also, earlier versions are a security risk and should be removed for that reason alone.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The free </span><a href="http://www.7-zip.org/"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;">7-Zip</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> utility handles nearly all common Windows and </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;">Linux</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;">/Unix/</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;">BSD</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> compressed-file formats (tho</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">ugh some are extract-only). It includes a bare-bones-but-useful file manager -- one of the reasons it's the very first thing I install on every Windows-based PC that I touch. I usually then install </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:trebuchet ms;">another</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> dual-pane file manager for more general use (more on these later), but I find myself using 7-Zip on a regular basis.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The built-in 7-Zip file manager bypasses </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;">Windows Explorer</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">. While this means that some of the functions normally provided b</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">y Explorer are not available within 7-Zip, this can often be <span style="font-style: italic;">very</span> useful to power users, since Explorer sometimes hides or obscures details about the file system (a good example: try to view the contents of your </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;">Temporary Internet Files</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> folder with Explorer or an Explorer-based file manager sometime). This also means that 7-Zip even works in Safe Mode command-line mode, very handy if Explorer won't start for some reason. Also note that 7-Zip's file-copy mode is sometimes faster than Windows' own, as well. The function key </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;">[F9]</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> toggles the single-pane/dual-pane file-view modes. I usually use the dual-pane view, as shown in the image at the top of this post.</span><div><span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">After installation, go to the </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:trebuchet ms;">Tools-->Options</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> menu, click on the </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;">Select All</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> button, then deselect (uncheck) the box next to </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;">.ISO</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> -- click the</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;"> OK</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> button and you are good-to-go (it can look inside .iso files, which is a useful feature. For a number of reasons, you don't want it to be the default tool for them).</span></div>Michael Rudashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07992421513879342637noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481603065659331643.post-59605600607762686702008-09-09T10:24:00.000-07:002008-12-11T08:21:14.711-08:00Windows Vista is an Internet dropout<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">While this post is a bit outside my "normal" range for this blog, I have posted it because someone might find it in a search and it might save them the hours of searching that finally turned up this information: </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:trebuchet ms;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Microsoft Windows Vista</span> is an Internet dropout</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">A friend called me with a problem. Her new </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Sony VAIO</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> laptop with </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> would randomly disconnect from the Internet for no obvious reason. The cause turned out to be a simple (and stupid) problem.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Microsoft added networking support to Windows in <span style="font-weight: bold;">version </span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >3.11</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> -- a cobbled-up networking stack lifted (quite legally) from </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >BSD</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> code; the BSD license allows the free use of code if attribution is given. Essentially the same code was carried forward right up to </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >WinXP</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">, but the code was so old and crufty that the BSD distributions no longer used it; hence one of the major changes in </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >WinVista</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> vis-a-vis WinXP is in the networking stack. While some of these changes were much-needed, some just seem arbitrary and counter-productive. One of these changes was the source of her problem.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">As far as I can figure, WinVista sends one of its new-fangled packets or messages to an older router or modem, the device says, "Huh?" and WinVista chokes. After hours of research — and booting from a live-booting </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knoppix"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Knoppix DVD</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> so I could access the Internet to do it — I had </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >WOW</span> (the cable provider) <span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >remotely update the firmware in the cable modem</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> and all was well. The same issue may crop up in older </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >routers</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> as well. I realize that many users don't even know what </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firmware"><span style="font-weight: bold;">firmware</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> is or are unable to figure out what firmware version a particular device has, let alone be able to update it -- but this knowledge has just been made more important than ever.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I found this tool from Microsoft, but I don't know if it is useful in this context:</span><br /><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.blogger.com/Internet%20Connectivity%20Evaluation%20Tool"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Internet Connectivity Evaluation Tool</span></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">[This utility] <span style="font-style: italic;">checks your Internet router to see if it supports certain technologies. You can use this tool on a PC running either the Windows Vista or Windows XP operating system. If you're planning to run Windows Vista, this tool can verify whether your existing Internet router supports advanced features, such as improved download speeds and face-to-face collaboration using </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Windows Meeting Space</span><span style="font-style: italic;">.<br /></span></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Another related link of interest: <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://windowssecrets.com/2008/12/11/02-Microsoft-DHCP-bugs-make-Windows-lose-networking">Microsoft DHCP bugs make Windows lose networking</a>.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Numerous perplexed Windows users have discovered that attempting to connect their PCs (especially Vista) to their existing networks or Wi-Fi hotspots results in flaky or nonexistent connections.</span></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><br />The solution was not obvious; it took a lot of searching and between-the-lines reading to find this information, but it was worth it -- and I'm glad to share.</span><br /><br />A short time later,<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> I ran into a similar problem on a <span style="font-weight: bold;">Dell</span> laptop running WinXP. A friend stated that she started having DSL connection problems about 2 weeks earlier; this was confirmed when I couldn't even ping the modem within about 5 minutes after a reboot. I updated her from </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Service Pack 2</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> to </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Service Pack 3</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> and updated the Ethernet card drivers to the latest version -- no joy. There were no problems with a Linux-DVD boot. Remembering my earlier WinVista firmware issues, I then found, downloaded, and installed a firmware update to her <span style="font-weight: bold;">SpeedStream 5100 DSL modem</span> from </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Siemens</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">; fortunately, the update process was OS-agnostic since it ran from the modem itself, simply looking for the firmware image file on the system. After a reboot her connection was restored under Windows.</span>Michael Rudashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07992421513879342637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481603065659331643.post-27339088192285037042008-07-28T11:52:00.000-07:002010-03-03T21:53:59.970-08:00First install<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">There are a few free programs that I install on any </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >MS Windows</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> PC that I touch. The list that follows will include download links and a brief description. More details will follow in my individual posts for each program.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" href="http://www.7-zip.org/">7-Zip</a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The <span style="font-style: italic;">very first</span> program I install on every system I touch. It's an excellent multi-format compressed-file handler with a built-in </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_manager"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >file manager</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> that has both single-pane and dual-pane view modes. This makes it </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >much</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> easier to copy or move files or install new programs. There are more fully-functional file managers, but <span style="font-weight: bold;">7-Zip</span> does things that the others c<span style="font-size:100%;">a</span>nnot.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> <span style="font-size:100%;">My later article discussing 7-Zip is </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://favesoft.blogspot.com/2008/09/more-on-7-zip.html">here</a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">.</span></span><br /></span><br /><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" href="http://www.getfirefox.com/">Mozilla Firefox</a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span>The <span style="font-style: italic;">Windows</span>-integrated </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Internet Explorer</span> (IE) web browser is an <a href="http://secunia.com/advisories/product/12366">insecure mess</a>. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Firefox</span> beats it on speed, security, and extensibility via <a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox"><span style="font-weight: bold;">add-ons</span></a>; it's also much more standards-compliant than IE.</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> There are occasional sites that still need IE, but those numbers are shrinking.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" href="http://www.irfanview.com/">IrfanView</a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Another must-have. It's a flexible graphics-file viewer that can handle a broad variety of filetypes, especially if you <span style="font-weight: bold;">add the plug-ins</span> available as a separate download from the same sources. It also includes simple-but-useful graphics-file editing tools.</span><br /><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" href="http://www.winamp.com/"><br />WinAmp</a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I like music. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Windows</span> can multi-task. If I'm on broadband, I like to go to <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.shoutcast.com/">SHOUTcast</a> or <a href="http://dir.xiph.org/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Icecast</span></a> and "tune in" a music stream while I work. <span style="font-weight: bold;">WinAmp</span> is an excellent player for streaming music and video, though I prefer <a href="http://www.VideoLAN.org"><span style="font-weight: bold;">VLC</span></a> for video. Grab a few <a href="http://www.winamp.com/skins"><span style="font-weight: bold;">skins</span></a> to vary the way it looks.</span> <span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> <span style="font-size:100%;">My later article discussing WinAmp is </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://favesoft.blogspot.com/2008/09/monsters-of-media-playing.html">here</a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">.</span></span><br /></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">That's it for this installment. There's more to come!</span>Michael Rudashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07992421513879342637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481603065659331643.post-19463640689425675492008-07-27T05:24:00.000-07:002008-07-28T21:59:23.358-07:00Ya gotta start somewhere!<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >I am starting this blog in support of my work with computer clubs, as well as a general desire to share the information I have gleaned over the last thirty years or so. The main thrust of this blog is the content covering </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/opcc/links/01___Software_related_information_001198934133/Windows_related_link_001119378867/Software____Links_an_001081730158/Best_of_breed_Free_s_001059927670">free software</a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-family:trebuchet ms;" > under the </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/opcc/links/01___Software_related_information_001198934133/Windows_related_link_001119378867"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Microsoft Windows</span></a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-family:trebuchet ms;" > operating systems, but I will include the occasional rant, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_Plague">hardware heads-up</a>, and </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/opcc/links/01___Software_related_information_001198934133/Other_operating_syst_001068158069"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Linux</span></a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-family:trebuchet ms;" > reference. Much of the software I will be discussing is cross-platform, with versions available for both Windows and Linux -- and, often, other operating systems as well. I will point this out where it's appropriate.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >I will start with the software that I consider essential, including my reasons for doing so. My next post will be a list of the first batch of programs, followed by a post on each program. I will do my best to provide links to download sources, detailed descriptions, and tutorials.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Later, I will discuss how to combine the use of certain software packages for specific tasks.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >I have a number of web pages open to all, including my <i>Yahoo! Groups</i> <b>Links</b> pages and my <i>Protopage</i> links pages; I will make those available in the sidebar.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Watch this space!</span>Michael Rudashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07992421513879342637noreply@blogger.com0