Firefox Profiles

I occasionally like to clean my Firefox profile. I test quite a few extensions, and play around a bit, so every once in a while, I just want to clean up. This method has worked rather well for me over the years. Essentially I imported my Netscape 4 profile into Netscape 7, then Mozilla App Suite, then split into Firefox and Thunderbird, so essentially I have data in there that’s several years old. I thought I’d share what I do, and why I do it, in hopes that perhaps someone else would benefit.These directions were drafted with Firefox 1.5 as a reference point, for older or newer releases the directions may not work (for example if you use a Firefox build with “Places”).

A word of advice:
For the record, this is at your own risk, back up before you touch anything. Backup by copying The Firefox directory as mentioned in respective location below (a directory above Profiles). You’ve been warned.
Directions
You may want to start out by going to the Bookmarks menu and selecting “Manage Bookmarks”. Then cleaning out and organizing your bookmarks, if you want to keep them in your new profile. It’s a good habit to get into.
The first real step I do is visit my profiles directory:
C:\\Documents and Settings\\[Windows Username]\\Application Data\\Mozilla\\Firefox\\Profiles\\
Your profile will be a directory with a salted name. Something like xxxxxxxx.default. Those x’s are random characters.
Because I only have 1 real profile (and one for dev purposes of which I choose to preserve nothing), I like to rename mine to something else. As far as I’m concerned this one is dead to me. I’m going to also get rid of the profiles.cfg and pluginreg.dat files in the Firefox Folder (up above profiles), then run Firefox and create a new profile on prompt. If you have multiple profiles you wish to leave untouched you would be better off using firefox.exe -profilemanager in the command prompt and simply creating a new profile.
Ok, so now we have this really clean new profile, and that old crusty one with lots of junk. Well, I want some of my stuff in my new clean profile, but only certain things. So here’s a breakdown of what I do, pick and choose as you want. Obviously the less you bring over, the better.
Only perform the following when Firefox is not running.
Bookmarks
Simply copy the bookmarks.html file from the old profile into the new profile.
Cookies (stay logged in with all your sites)
I like to carry these over, since I like being logged into certain sites (forums and such). Just copy the cookies.txt file from the old profile into the new profile. If you open the file up in a text editor you can delete a line or two (get rid of those old cookies, or just to satisfy that tin-foil-hat feeling). Just be careful if you do.
Password
I also like to keep my stored passwords (nothing important, just those news sites, and other silliness that I don’t feel like entering each and every time). Password Manager is great for that. The files you want to copy over are: cert8.db, secmod.db, key3.db, signons.txt.
Extensions
My recommendation on Extensions is to visit addons.mozilla.org (Google for the ones you can’t find) and re-download. The reason I prefer to do that rather than move them over, is because some just seem to stubborn to use the update service, and that leaves me with some old extensions. Also, in this process I typically realize there are one or two that sounded like great ideas, but I just never really used them. Less extensions means less chances for a memory leak. That’s always a good thing.
Search
Just copy the search.rdf file and searchplugins directory over.
Final Notes
This process typically takes me about 5-10 minutes (mainly depending on if I cleanup my bookmarks and cookies). Overall not bad. Gets rid of the crud that tends to accumulate over time, and keeps things pretty lean. This is also pretty useful if you encounter some profile corruption or other ugliness, especially if your one of us trusting soles who occasionally run nightlies from the trunk.
If you do it all correctly, you get a nice clean profile, but still keep your important data. Cache and autocomplete list will rebuild pretty quickly as you use the profile. I’ve found this technique is great for reviving that profile that’s just littered with garbage from various things I’ve done, and extensions I’ve tried.
Hopefully this helps someone.

7 Methods to Traffic

Getting repeated traffic is very crucial when it comes to an online business, whether it’s a monetized blog, an e-commerce site or anything that generates income for you. At some point, generating initial traffic can become an easier task compared to maintaining the tempo of the traffic and keeping them going back to your site the next time.

To help you, here are 7 methods to help bring repeat traffic:

be constant on your post and try to follow a schedule. This usually alarms visitors that liked your recent articles about the time for the post. Not only does this help your blog grow, it also shows how diligent you are in updating the blog.

Make things simple for your visitors by adding a link to your primary page with a “Book Mark” or “Add this site to your Favorites” script.

To attract customers and make them repeated ones, use the “Recommend this post or blog to a Friend” function to make that easier. Remember, this link does not only function to send mail to the new users but most of the times have option to send a copy to the send himself. But in doing so make sure to have your blog updated as well, a list would be very useful for organization purposes.

By properly branding your site or blog, you can easily make people remember your site with less effort. Each time a reader thinks about your blog, all they simply need to do is to remember a photo, a figure, logo or simply a color. This will create a presence and feel for your customers and visitors that they are at your site.

The sending of unsolicited emails to your mail subscribers if the list is maintained separately. This should be the least expected thing for your readers to think of. It’s advisable that you give them options to opt out from mailing list for every mail you send to each of them. Always make an assurance that you honor their request/s and take them off your mailing list/s. constan

flooding of your reader’s mails will only result to the damage of your site and reputation, avoid this as much as possible.

Try to optimize your blog post pages to the fullest, so that search engines in such a way that the subject or topic of your blog post/s, if searched on your blog should be appearing in the first two pages of search engine/s. always remember the contents quality and the keywords that match right into it, since these play a huge role in contributing to your site’s success.

Always observe proper logic, spelling and grammar when it comes to your content. The more your content is clear and understandable, the more it your readers would enjoy your content, as much as possible make it brief and straight to the point but also useful to the readers. Try to use spell check tools just make sure that your post is completely spelling mistake free.

Microsoft Word Sucks

Microsoft Word Sucks

For reasons which are completely beyond my control, I've spent half a week writing a document in Word 2003.

I have never in my life seen, heard of, or even imagined a more malodorous piece of steaming shit than this little slice of Microsoft. Words fail me, and all that follows is the faintest Platonist shadow-on- a-wall of what is, in my heart, the Ideal Peeve, perfect in its sincerity, bottomless in its depth, and unassailable in its accuracy.

This bloated, pestilent gigabyte-swamping piece of ordure takes up enough computational resources to accurately model the world's weather for the next billion years, and what do you get for it? Something that will format and display text? Don't make me fucking laugh. What you do get is a profusion of bells and whistles thrown in a careless heap, each bauble lovingly designed to make the straight path crooked, the intuitive arcane, the simple impossible.

Take the ``Help'' for example. It's not just help, it's a new friend!

I don't want a new friend, you shit-slurping choad-munching bunch of retards; I've all too many as it is. What I want is something simple where I can find a technical detail with a minimum of fuss and interruption. I don't want animation. I don't want natural-language interpretation. I don't want to be led by the fucking nose. Give me a fucking index and get the hell out of my damn face. If I dismiss a window, I want it gone. I don't want it to wave goodbye, or hesitate, or sneeze. I want it gone.

The document I was working on was very simple. No images, no tables, no nothing. One font, one style, that's it. It would be perfectly simple in other system, even earlier versions of Word, but, oh no, not in this latest magnum opus of the word processing world.

This helpless, hapless, hopeless, buggy piece of offal insisted on changing my fonts every couple of minutes for no reason. Random chunks of text, at random times. And bullet points, don't talk to me about fucking bullet points. It's a little known fact that in the bullet-point mode of Word 2003 every single button on every single toolbar is the ``Fuck Me Over Now'' button. I've got bullet points going left, I've got 'em going right, and down and up, I've got 'em changing indentation, and style, you name it.

You'd think in 20 or so megabytes of RAM there'd be room for one scenario in which it doesn't actively do anything wrong, but for that you'll have to wait for Word 2023, which will have a user interface like a retarded version of ``I have no mouth, and I must scream.''

And don't try telling me that one need only configure the options to avoid these problems; I'm not a fucking moron. I quickly configured the preferences so as to minimize all this bullshit, at which point Word promptly changed them back. Lather, rinse, repeat. If you don't want fast saves, then fuck off, you're gunna have 'em. Don't want your grammar constantly corrected by some shitty little subprogram that doesn't know the first goddamn thing about grammar? Tough shit. Empty your wallet and move off to the side.

How did this come about? It can't be incompetence, at least not the usual mundane sort one is constantly immersed in simply by having to share a planet with a bunch of fucking primates. This is either some transcendent type of incompetence, or active malevolence.

My money's on malevolence. This software was obviously created by a company who's motto is ``We're Microsoft, and you, the customer, aren't worth fuck to us.'' It matters not one iota what their official motto is, watch the hands, not the mouth. Well, Microsoft, your time will come. It may not be Linux that does you in, it may not be the DoJ, it may not be this decade, but you're going to go the way of the dodo, and I for one will cavort naked on your grave, pissing effusively on your memory, and screaming, ``Animate this, you bastards!'' to the sky.

But in the here-and-now, I shall finish this document with the quiet dignity with which I have always comported myself, and then I shall un-install Word, and swear a terrible oath that I would rather daub dung on paper with a stick than write a document using a Microsoft product.

I have been using word processing programs for 11 years, mostly with WordPerfect. Recently at work, they are trying to convert us to Word. Why does this program have to be so complicated and hard to figure out? I've NEVER used a program of ANY type that is so difficult to use!

Half the time I can't find what I'm looking for, and even the Help feature is no help. Why do I have to change the margins under the Print command? Why are Tab and Indent the same key? Why can't I get the page numbering to start on a certain page even though that's what I told it? Why can't I make more than one label at a time with different names on them? Why can't I just print an envelope without having to print a page along with it? Why can't I just Center one line without having to change the Justification on the whole document? Why can't I see the codes such as Line Spacing and Font? Why is it so hard to edit Headers? Why can't I Center and Right Justify on the same line? How do you put in a Hard Page Break?

In my opinion, this program needs a LOT of help before it can be rated up there with WordPerfect, which is so easy to use and find what you're looking for. A person who has been using word processors and other software shouldn't have to struggle with this program.

UPDATE: As of 2011, I still hate this program, and it is still difficult to use!


Well wasn't that interesting!

"Firefox just got better"

May 4, 2010 -Roderick Brentnall
________________________________________
A while back, a major feature was added to the pre-release versions of Firefox 3.1, called Private Browsing. I've been working for quite some time on this, so I thought it may be a good time to write about what this feature is and how to use it.
As you may know, while you browse the web, your browser usually records a lot of data which will later be used to improve your browsing experience. For example, it records a history of all the web pages you have visited, so that later if you need help remembering a site you visited a while back, it can assist you in finding that site. Now, that is great, but there is a downside: those data can be used to trace your online activities. For example, if your coworker sits at your computer, she can view all of your browsing history, which may not be what you want. This feature comes in real handy for online banking too.
Now,don't you feel just a little better already?
Suppose you're doing something online, and you don't want your coworkers to know about it. An example scenario would be looking for a new employer while at work! One option would be to do your work, and then clear the data that Firefox has stored for you, such as history, cookies, cache, .... But the problem is that this action will also remove the parts of your online activities data which you don't want to hide, so the history that Firefox records can no longer be used to find a web site you had visited a month before. Private Browsing will help you here.
Private Browsing aims to help you make sure that your web browsing activities don't leave any trace on your own computer. It is very important to note that Private Browsing is not a tool to keep you anonymous from websites or your ISP, or for example protect you from all kinds of spyware applications which use sophisticated techniques to intercept your online traffic. Private Browsing is only about making sure that Firefox doesn't store any data which can be used to trace your online activities, no more, no less.
So how does one actually use this feature? It couldn't be simpler! To start, just select Private Browsing from the Tools menu.














You will see a dialog box which asks you whether you want to save and close all of your current windows and tabs, and start the Private Browsing mode. Click Start Private Browsing to start your private session.

After you do this, your non-private browsing session is closed and a new private session is opened,
showing you the screen below. (Before you mention, the ugly icon you see there is something
I created as a placeholder! This icon will be replaced in the final release of Firefox 3.1.)













As you see, not much is different in the Firefox window inside the Private Browsing mode, except for the (Private Browsing) text added to the title bar at the top of the window. That is intentional: after all, if you're doing something online that you don't want your coworkers to know about, you don't want to raise their attention with a big sign saying PRIVATE as they pass by and glance over your shoulder.
At this stage, you can start browsing web sites, without ever having to worry that Firefox might store something on your computer which can be used to tell which pages you have visited. Once you're done, just uncheck the same menu item in the Tools menu to close your private session.This action discards all of the data from your private session, and will restore your non-private browsing session, just like it was before entering the Private Browsing mode.

Now, as I mentioned at the top of this post, this feature is available in pre-release versions of Firefox 3.1 (what we geeks call nightly builds). This feature will be included in Firefox 3.1 Beta 2 which will be released soon, so if you want to try it, you can give it a shot then. And of course, it will appear in the final release of Firefox 3.1, so if you're not the type who test beta software, you can wait until Firefox 3.1 is released.

Update: As many people seem interested in knowing this, there is a way to make Firefox always start in Private Browsing mode. Go to the about:config page, click I'll be careful, I promise, type browser.privatebrowsing.autostart in the Filter text box, double click the entry to make its value true. After doing this, the next time you start Firefox, it will start in private browsing mode automatically. To turn this off, use the same steps to change the value of this preference to false. There is a plan to provide an easier method to set this option in the final release of Firefox 3.1.You gotta Love Firefox! See ya Now!

How to use Remote Assistance

Windows XP allows to send a request for assistance to another Windows XP system .
The system asking for help/ support ("Assistance") is called the "Novice", the system
giving help / support is called the "Expert" :

Such a connection to give assistance is possible via any connection, which supports TCP/IP :
- local area network (LAN )
- Wide area network (WAN)
- dial-in via Modem
- via the Internet
Notes:
- to be able to use "Remote Assistance", both the system of the Novice and Expert must have
Windows XP installed (if one of these systems is not running Windowsx XP, use NetMeeting ) !
- when connecting via a firewall , it is required to have an open TCP/IP port 3389.
Once the "Expert" has accepted the invitation and connects to the "Novice" system, he can see
on his screen the desktop of the "Novice", he is also (if allowed by the "Novice") take control
and use the mouse and keyboard on his "Expert" system to control the "Novice" system :

This is similar to the "Remote Desktop", only available in Windows XP Professional, but
while "Remote Desktop" allows to connect to a host-computer without any user action on the
host system, Remote Assistance requires a user to be present to accept an incoming connection.

---

Check the setup of Remote Assistance :

In the Control-Panel, select the
System icon:

(or right-click "My Computer" on the desktop
and select Properties)
Select the tab : Remote
By default, Remote Assistance is
activated. Please check the
"Advanced ..." settings
Note :
The other option on on this tab ,
Remote Desktop , is NOT available
for Windows XP Home Edition, it is
only available for Windows XP
Professional.

Define, whether you allow the "Expert" only
to view your activities or whether the "Expert"
can also take control, i.e. use his mouse and
keyboard to operate your system.
Define the maximum amount of time, an
invitation can remain open

---

Send an invitation for Remote Assistance

To send out a request for help / support,
to send an "Invitation for Remote Assistance",
select from the Windows Start-menu :
"Programs" / "Remote Assistance",
This starts up the Windows XP
"Help and Support Center" /
Remote Assistance page.
You can review the status of current
invitations , to send out a new invitation,
select "Invite someone to help you"

Remote Assistance : Pick how you want to contact your assistant :

There are 3 methods to send out an invitation :
- via Microsoft Windows Messenger ( but it is NOT a MUST to use it ! )
- via e-mail using Microsoft Outlook Express
- via "Save invitation as a file" (allowing other e-mail programs or even floppy disk transfer)
In this example, I "Save the invitation as a File" (using Messenger or Outlook Express is similar) :

Enter your name
define how long this invitation stays open
then "Continue"

For security, it is highly recommended
to define a password, which must be
used by the "Expert" recipient to
connect to your "Novice" system.
It is your job to advise the "Expert"
of the password, either by e-mail or
a phone call.
When selecting "Save Invitation", you will
be asked to define the location to save
the file (for example: to "My Documents" )

Remote Assistance give you some last
instruction.

You need now to get the invitation file
(default name : RAInvitation ) to
your "Expert", also advising hum/her
about the password !

Important note :
While waiting for the"expert" to connect, make sure that your TCP/IP address does NOT change !
That is especially important for Internet connections : do NOT terminate your modem , DSL or
ADSL connection (to connect later at a time agreed with your export again), because when
reconnecting you will get most probably a new / different IP-address and then your "invitation" is
invalid, because the IP-address does not match anymore !

---

Connecting from the Expert System to give Assistance :
Once the "expert" has received the Invitation on his/her Windows XP system, double-click on the
Invitation file , which opens the "Remote Assistance" Window :

If a password was defined, then enter it now. Continue with YES.
Your system is then connecting to the "Novice" system :

Once an "Expert" connects to a "Novice" system, a confirmation message will be displayed :

You must click on "Yes" to allow the "expert" to continue and to view your system.
You will then the "Novice" windows of "Remote Assistance" :

You can chat via keyboard (type under "Message Entry" ) or via "Start Talking",
of both the system of the "Novice" and the "Expert" are equipped with a sound-card
with speakers and microphone.

The "Expert" has a different Window for "Remote Assistance" :

On the left, the section for chat messages, send / received via keyboard.
On the right, the desktop of the "Novice" system.
On top, the tools for the "Expert" .
At this time, the "Novice" is operating the system, the "Expert" is just watching, while
they exchange information via :
- keyboard chat, displayed as messages
- voice communication via the network using microphone and speakers
- phone call using a separate line

if allowed in the settings of the invitation, the "expert" can take control
of the system of the "Novice" by selecting in the toolbar "Take Control".

When the "expert" like to take
control, a message will pop-up
on the screen of the "Novice"
informing about this request .
If you agree to this request,
accept it by clicking on "Yes".

Once the "Novice" accepted the
request,a message will pop-up on
the "Expert" system to advise
about having control and to press
"ESC" or any key sequence or
combination including the ESC-key
to return control to the "Novice".

The section "Chat History" of the
"Remote Assistance" will show,
that control has been taken by the
Expert.
The Expert uses now the mouse
and/or keyboard of the "Expert"
system to operate the "Novice"
system to identify the problem,
checking for example:
- Control-Panel
- Device-Manager
- Event Log

To terminate a "Remote Assistance" connection, both the "Expert" and the "Novice" can select
in their control-section to "Disconnect".
The "Expert" will be informed about a "Disconnection" from the system of the "Novice":

Vista Sucks………….End of Story!

A week ago, I’ve upgraded from Windows XP SP3 to Vista x64 SP1. I already had been using Vista in early 2007 on a friens computer, but downgraded again due to its poor performance, bad driver support and many small annoyances. One thing that drove me nuts in 2007 already, is the new desktop search. While performance, driver support and so on have become much better since then, I still don’t like the new desktop search. Let me show you why.

Yesterday I wanted to search all files within
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\VC\atlmfc\src\mfc for the string IOleInPlaceActiveObject. This folder and its sub-directories contain a total of 476 files. I browsed to this folder and the first problem arose: How do I search for file contents? There’s just this search box in the top-right corner. What do I enter there? The filename patterns I want to search for? The content I want to search for? Both? If both: in which syntax do I enter it? I decided to just enter IOleInPlaceActiveObject into this box and hit Enter.

The search was finished immediately, but didn’t find anything which I knew was wrong. But now Explorer displayed a link Search File Contents which I clicked. The search started again. I waited one minute. Still no file was found and the search was still running. I waited two minutes – no found file, search still running. Finally, after four minutes, the search was complete and now six hits were displayed. I couldn’t believe that searching 476 files for a specific string would take 4 minutes, so I started xplorer² and told it to search the directory again for the same string. It took less than 1 second and 19 files were found. This started to become interesting…

The first question that came to my mind was why Explorer finds 6 files and xplorer² 19 files. The answer is that xplorer² really searches all files while Explorer skips binary files. Okay, so Explorer tries to be smart and for most users skipping binary files indeed is a good idea. But not for me. Sometimes I want to search binaries for a specific content. How do I tell Explorer to not skip them then?

The second question was why does Explorer need about 240x the time that xplorer² needs although it doesn’t even search within binary files?? Yes, the directory is not part of my search index. But xplorer² doesn’t use any index either! What the hell is Explorer doing that it is so much slower???

So if you don’t want to miss any file no matter which directory on your hard disk you search, you’ll have to tweak the indexing service to include all directories and any file type or you’ll have died before the end of the search. But can the indexing service be tweaked to include binary files? I’m not sure and I won’t try it because indexing my whole hard disk would probably take a day or two and keeping this index current would probably put some nice extra load to my hard disk.

I also don’t understand why found files are not displayed before the end of the search. Imagine a search that will result in hundreds of hits, but take half an hour to complete. You have to wait 30 minutes, in which you already could work with the first hits, and then you get hundreds of hits at once. Yeah! Great!

For me the Vista desktop search is just crap. Its usability is poor, it is extremely slow as soon as the index can’t be used and it swallows hits. The search of Windows XP wasn’t that much better, but on XP you could activate the legacy search that was the default up to Windows 2000 and I always used this one.

So whenever I have to search something on my hard disk, I’ll start xplorer² and search it there. Let’s see what annoying things Windows 7 will introduce…

The Snipping Tool in Windows Vista

Before you start, you have to change some of your settings. Luckily, it's very easy to do, so let's get right to it! To begin, go to Start, Control Panel and click on the Programs link. Then under the Programs and Features section, click on the option that says "Turn Windows features on or off." Once you do that, a new window will appear with a list of all the features Vista has to offer. You'll see all kinds of things and some of them will be checked, while others are left alone.
Go ahead and scroll down until you find the Tablet PC Optional Components feature. Make sure that box is checked and then click OK. In order to be able to use the Snipping Tool, you must have that feature enabled. Otherwise, you won't be able to find it on your computer.
As you all probably know, the older versions of Windows mainly made use of the Printscreen button (PrtScr) on the keyboard to make screenshots. So, whenever you wanted to make a screenshot for yourself, you had to hit that button and then go into a photo editing program and crop it, sharpen it, etc. until it finally looked the way you wanted it to. Well, in Windows Vista, you can actually bypass a lot of that work.
Today, I'm introducing the Windows Vista Snipping Tool to you. This tool is so cool, I just know all of you are going to fall in love with it by the time you're done reading this tip. And I promise that if you have Vista on your computer right now, you're going to want to try it out ASAP! First of all, to open the Snipping Tool, go to Start, Accessories, Snipping Tool. (You can also access it by typing the word "snip" into the search box under the Start menu).

When it opens, you'll see a box with three commands in it. Those are: New, Cancel and Options. The New button is what you can use to decide what part of the screen you want to capture, the Cancel button can be used to cancel any action after you've already started a screen capture and the Options button is there to help you choose which way you want your Snipping Tool to work. The box with all of these choices will come up every time you want to do a screenshot.


When you're ready to take your screenshot, get the Snipping Tool open and click on the New button. From there, you can choose which type of shot you'd like to do. The choices are: Free-form snip, rectangular snip, window snip or full-screen snip. When you've decided which one you want to do, focus in on what you want to capture. You may have a photo you want to make a screenshot for or you might have part of a Web site that you'd like to send to a friend. Either way, make sure it's up on your screen so you can start to "snip" it.
To snip what you want, just drag your mouse until you've captured what you want. Once you've got it snipped, you can choose from different customizing options to add certain things to your image. For example, you can use a highlighter to highlight certain things in whatever color you'd like to use. You can use the pen tool to write in some colorful text and if you make a mistake, the eraser tool is always there to bring you back so you can start over. Now, if none of those tickle your fancy, you can click the Options choice to change your image around even more. This is what the Options window looks like:

 Now, when you're done with your screenshot, you can either save it or you can even send it to someone in an e-mail. To save it, go to File, Save and just save it to a folder on your computer. I always like to save mine to My Desktop and after saving decide where I want to move it, but it's up to you. If you'd like to send your screenshot in an e-mail, go to File, Send To and you can choose to send it in the body of an e-mail providing you have Windows Mail set up for this task or you can send it as an attachment. Then just type in your recipient's e-mail address and they'll be able to see all the snipping work you did!
I know this new tool might still be a little confusing to you, but you can't really get a good feel for it until you've tried it yourself. So, my recommendation is to go and experiment with it as much as possible. Once you do that, I think you'll find that there's so much you can do with the Snipping Tool and you'll be using it all the time. It really is a cool addition to Windows Vista and it's much easier than using the Printscreen button. With it, you're able to go past all the steps of editing and do it all in one quick swoop. Give it a try today!

Firefox or Internet Explorer:Safe and not so safe

Since information security is my hobby/job/obsession, this particular topic is near and dear to my heart. Just about everyone reading this has seen computers that have been beaten down with spyware - the evil junk that hijacks IE and renders a system virtually useless. How many times have you been called to a family member’s house to clean up their system? Or had to call your techie friend to come clean yours? It’s often quite awkward - the system slows to a crawl and every other mouse click conjures up some species of perverse, obscene image. What most people don’t realize, however, is that there is a very simple and powerful way to defend your system (and/or the systems of your loved ones) in one fell swoop.Don’t use Internet Explorer.What makes other browsers better than IE at protecting vs. spyware and other attacks? Well, it’s simple really - most other browsers don’t make it so easy to install malicious software on your system without you knowing about it. IE makes it relatively trivial through two features called ActiveX and Active Scripting. These technologies were designed specifically for the purpose of giving Web sites more control over a user’s computer. Unfortunately, as we have seen with exploit after exploit - that’s not always a good thing.

In addition to the spyware issues, IE in general has had a terrible track record when it comes to all types of serious security issues. For years now, it’s seemed like every time you turn around there is a new way to have your computer taken over via Internet Explorer. Put “internet explorer” and “allow an attacker to execute commands” (with the quotes) into Google and you’ll see what I mean.

In IE’s defense, many anti-Microsoft types will claim that it’s not possible to lock down IE at all. This is not true. It is possible - but if and only if you have a fair amount of technical know-how on the subject, and the time to do it. My personal view, however, is that tools such as Internet browsers should not require expertise and configuration time to be able to use them safely.

Standards

This is likely to get me in some hot water with my fellow security enthusiasts, but I find this issue to be of even more concern than that of IE’s security. The Internet works for one simple reason - everything at its core has been built on agreements that bind it together. Whether a computer is connected from California or Newfoundland, it’s going to speak the same language and obey the same rules - the rules defined by standards. If this weren’t the case there would be no Internet at all. These agreements are forged by a body of people whose goal is nothing short of designing a better and more efficient Internet for everyone. Microsoft, for some odd reason, seems bent on breaking stride with these agreed-upon standards. Case in point: the next time you’re in a bookstore, head over to the technology section and pick up a book on XHTML or CSS. These are two major Web standards that deal with how Web pages are displayed to users, and within any book on the subjects you will find one common theme:

The absolute worst browser when it comes to supporting the standards is Internet Explorer.

Page after page in these books will reveal features supported in other browsers, but not in IE. Ask yourself why a company would choose not to support standards that benefit everyone? The way I see it, it’s for precisely one of two reasons - either they are unable to, or they don’t want to. Given the fact that they are a multi-billion dollar company (one of the richest on the planet), I can’t help but lean toward the second option. Without going into too much detail, they have their own plans, and those plans involve implementing their own standard and forcing it upon the world. Call me a geek/hippie, but the idea of a multi-billion dollar corporation snubbing its nose at agreed-upon standards is nothing short of infuriating.

Options

Lucky for us, we have alternatives. The good news is that the alternative browsers are actually as good or better than IE. There are many out there, but in my opinion the Mozilla products are the best. I personally prefer and recommend Mozilla Firefox. Not only does it keep your browsing sessions a lot more secure and spyware-free, but it also supports the standards religiously and has a wide range of powerful features. Arguably the biggest benefit to using a Mozilla-based product is something called tabbed browsing. What this allows you to do is have multiple pages open within a single browser window. Rather than going from window to window in the taskbar, you can simply switch between clearly visible tabs, all within the same view. You can even do this and many other commands via the keyboard if you are into that sort of thing.

Using Firefox will not require any major shift in your daily browsing habits. It’ll import your favorites automatically, and you can benefit from the improved security starting the first time you open it. With the popup blocking enabled, you can breath quite a bit easier when browsing to unknown sites. Attempts to install garbage on your system that could have easily succeeded if you were using IE will simply be ignored by Firefox. Plus, the whole time you’re browsing you’ll know that you are doing your part to keep the soul of the Internet alive by choosing to use a browser whose developers actually care about standards.

Of course, I still use IE. (pause for effect) …it’s how I get my Windows security updates. : Seriously though - Windows Update is a must, and it only works in IE, so that in itself is a good reason to fire up IE once in a while. Aside from Windows Update though, there is still the occasional site that I go to that doesn’t look right in any other browser. Those sites, by the way, are all the more reason to not use IE. They weren’t written according to the standards, and they look bad in any browser other than IE as a result of that fact. Using IE all the time just because the occasional site is designed so poorly as to look like crap in other browsers is utterly bad form. I implore you not to give into this temptation.

Wrapping It Up

So, in closing, I leave you with two thoughts:

1. Due to the combination of ActiveX, scripting, and its integration with the Windows operating system, Internet Explorer is more vulnerable to attack than many other browsers.
2. The designers of Internet Explorer have purposely turned their back on the standards designed to benefit the Internet as a whole. They have done this for years, continue to do it today, and appear to have nothing but their own interests at heart.

I ask that you consider these points and pull down a copy of Firefox, Opera, or another alternative browser. Run it for a week and see how it feels. As mentioned above, I personally recommend Firefox due to its excellent development team and large user base. Once you have had some time to get to know your new onramp to the Web, I think you’ll find that you’ll wish you had switched sooner. No longer will you have to worry about garbage clogging up your system because of your browser, or having to make a mad rush for a patch every time an IE vulnerability is released.

Finally, and most importantly - spread the word. It’s time now for us to put alternative browsers on the map and let it be known that we are aware of our choices. We need not settle for what we are being fed when there are better, more secure alternatives out there.

Windows Key - WorldStart Computer Tips and Computer Help

Q:
I just noticed a key on my keyboard that I've never really used before because I have no idea what it's for. It's in between the left Ctrl and Alt and has a "flying window" on it. Can you help?

A:
Ahh, the Windows key. I remember the first time I noticed her... She sat lifeless until someone explained to me the power she possessed. And now I will pass the knowledge on to you so that together we can rule the univ..., well, our computers...

The Windows key can be used in conjunction with other keys to act as a keyboard shortcut for faster access to menu commands. Now, while the Alt key tends to open program menus (ex: Alt+F opens the File menu and Alt+E opens the Edit menu) and the Ctrl key performs actual operations (ex: Ctrl+C will copy and Ctrl+V will paste), the Windows key will open various Windows tools...

Windows key + R will open the Start menu's Run box
Windows key + F will open the Start menu's Find window
Windows key + E will quickly launch Explorer
Windows key + Pause/Break will open the System Properties window
Windows key + M will Minimize all windows
Windows key + Shift + M will undo Minimize all windows
Windows key + D will switch between minimizing all open programs and showing them all
Windows key + Tab will cycle through items on the taskbar
Windows key by itself will open the Start menu

You can also open programs or folders on your desktop by pressing the Windows key + the first letter of the program/folder/shortcut + Enter . Sounds kinda tedious, but if you're in a bind with your mouse, it can come in quite handy.

antivirus downloads

  by R.F.Brentnall

              

A new virus strain pretends to remove malware but actually does just the opposite: it infects your system.
Fortunately, you can use a few simple steps to tell the difference between these rogue antivirus programs and legitimate security software.

Antivirus apps may be malware in disguise

A dangerous new virus is making the rounds in the guise of a legitimate antivirus program. Going by such names as "Antivirus XP 2008" and "XP Antivirus 2009," this malware, as described in a recent Computer Associates advisory, succeeds by looking like a legitimate Windows program.
The Internet security blog Donna's SecurityFlash reports that rogue antivirus programs such as these are being promoted through spam messages that link to an automatic download of a virus installer.
With such aggressive methods afoot to fool security-minded users, how do you know when an antivirus product is legitimate? Use the following guidelines to ensure that the security products you download are legitimate.

Choose your security vendor deliberately

Be careful how you select a security vendor. Just because you see an ad for a vendor or product on a highly reputable site doesn't mean the advertiser is reliable.
Conversely, an ad for a reputable product or service on an unfamiliar site doesn't mean that you can trust the site. Advertisements are often distributed by third parties beyond the editorial control of the hosting site. That's why you may find ads for untrustworthy products on legitimate sites, and ads for legit products on bogus sites.
Services such as the free McAfee Site Advisor and the Web of Trust add-on for the Firefox browser evaluate beforehand the safety of the site you're about to visit. (Windows Secrets contributing editor Becky Waring reviewed Web of Trust in her July 17 column.)
Because the ratings generated by these tools may be based on out-of-date reports, they aren't perfect. But they serve as a useful line of defense.
Another way to evaluate sites before you visit them is with the free LinkScanner Lite application. Rather than rely on second-hand reports, LinkScanner analyzes the code of a given site to check for stealth downloads and other malicious behavior.
The free version of the program requires that you right-click a link manually to get a risk analysis before you surf to the site. If you want your Google and Yahoo search results to be scanned automatically (in addition to other added features), buy LinkScanner Pro for $20.
Published reviews praise LinkScanner for detecting hacked sites, although the program fares less well when rated for detecting phishing sites. CNET's review gave LinkScanner an overall rating of 7.5 out of 10. PC Magazine's evaluation was similar, awarding the program 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Finally, never visit a shopping site by clicking a link in a spam message. Even if the message claims to be pitching a reputable product, such as one from Symantec or ZoneAlarm, the link may actually take you to a counterfeit site.

Color-coding the good guys and bad guys

One site that has been tracking rogue anti-malware products since 2004 is Spyware Warrior. If you're considering a product whose validity is not certain, your first screening step should be to search Spyware Warrior's blacklist. Although Spyware Warrior focuses on identifying fake antispyware apps, the service's blacklist of suspicious sites and products also includes a lot of rogue antivirus applications.
Additionally, consult a whitelist of products that have been certified by a reliable independent organization. One such organization is ICSA Labs (formerly the International Computer Security Association), an independent research and certification division of Verizon Business. On its site, ICSA maintains a list of antivirus products it has certified according to its criteria.
Once you've validated a product to your satisfaction via these resources, you're probably safe downloading it directly from the vendor. But to be extra cautious, consider going to a reputable download source that scans every item before placing it in its library. Such sites include CNET's Download.com, the Downloads page of PCWorld.com, ZDNet's Downloads page, and Tucows.com's security section.
These days, every PC user needs security software to protect against online threats. But when the security software itself becomes a threat, the solution becomes a problem.
Fortunately, with a little care, you can dramatically reduce your risk when shopping for safe and effective security products.

R.F. Brentnall  is columnist of the Windows Secrets Newsletter. He has been contributing since 1999 and currently writes for the Here's How section of that magazine.

Repair Outlook Express

I received an e-mail the other day from my friend Katie asking for help with an Outlook Express problem. In her own field Katie is known as an intelligent and articulate, one might even say verbose, woman. But when it comes to anything computer-related, she shows a very different face. Her description of the problem consisted of just two lines: “My Outlook Express is acting funny. What should I do?” I resisted the temptation to reply with a witty remark about booking Outlook Express into the local Comedy Club.There's a thought! Maybe we could get Bill Gates to introduce it. I also resisted the temptation to ask her for more details. That could easily have evolved into an e-mail exchange the length of a Newfoundland Soup Supper. Instead I sent her what I present to you here: a basic repair kit for Outlook Express. These steps repair the most likely causes of “funny” behavior in Outlook Express with a minimum of time, sweat, and tears.

Restart the computer

This simple step can resolve any number of problems resulting from improperly closed files, memory corruption, and damage to system files.
Close other programs
You will need both Outlook Express and Internet Explorer open. Save your work in any other programs and close them. This allows your repair steps to do their job without other programs making demands on your computer at the same time.

Delete the Temporary Internet Files

1.In Internet Explorer, click Internet Options on the Tools menu.
2.In the Temporary Internet files panel, click Delete files.
3.In the pop-up alert window, select the Remove all offline files check box, and then click OK.
If you do not select the check box, the temporary files used by Outlook Express will not be removed.

Remove all offline files to delete Outlook Express temporary files.

This step often comes as a surprise. Each time you display a message, either in a message window or in the Preview pane, Outlook Express creates a temporary file to help it display the contents of the message. Each of those temporary files is stored in the Temporary Internet Files folder that is used by Internet Explorer. Sometimes one or more files in this folder are damaged, and that can cause Outlook Express to exhibit strange symptoms when displaying messages. All the files in Temporary Internet files truly are temporary, so there is no danger in deleting them. Doing so will not delete the actual messages in Outlook Express.

Compact all folders

•In Outlook Express, click Work Offline on the File menu so that no new messages will be arriving.
•In the Folder List, click on Outlook Express so that no e-mail or news folder is open.
•Close the Folder List by clicking the X in the upper right-hand corner of the list panel. Alternatively
   you can click Layout on the View menu, and then clear the Folder List check box.
•On the File menu, point to Folder, and then click Compact All Folders. Do not use your computer until the process is complete, which might take several minutes.If an error occurs, close Outlook Express, re-open it, and begin the process again from the top. If the same error occurs again, close Outlook Express, restart your computer (or log off and then log on again), open Outlook Express and then begin the whole process again.

Let the compaction process finish before you try to use your computer.

Many bizarre behaviors in Outlook Express are caused by small errors in the file “Folders.dbx.” This file is the master index of the message store folder and damaged entries there can create all sorts of fun, such as the wrong message or folder being displayed. When you compact all folders you are also updating this master index. If you don’t compact all folders from time to time, you are more likely to see distinctly unfunny behavior.

Reregister Outlook Express

Damaged or missing entries in the Windows registry can prevent Outlook Express from being recognized as the default e-mail client. That it turn can cause odd behavior when replying to a newsgroup message or clicking an e-mail link on a Web page. A simple procedure causes Outlook Express to rewrite its main registry keys and so corrects such issues.

1.Click Start, and then click Run.
2.In the Open box, type msimn /reg, and then click OK.
   (Note that you will not see anything happen.)
3.In Internet Explorer click Options on the Tools menu.
4.Click the Programs tab and select Outlook Express as the default e-mail client and as the default news client. You can change those later if you wish.

Reregister libraries

Dynamic Link Libraries (DLLs) are files that contain functions that may be shared by other programs, such as recognizing hyperlinks, displaying rich content, and so forth. These specific DLLs are used by Outlook Express, and can cause glitches in the visual display if they are damaged. Reregistering a DLL using regsvr32 is similar to reinstalling those functions and thus makes sure they are installed and working correctly.

1.Click Start, and then click Run.
2.In the Open box, type regsvr32 urlmon.dll, and then click OK.
3.Repeat step 1 for each of the following commands:
           regsvr32 mshtml.dll
           regsvr32 shdocvw.dll
           regsvr32 browseui.dll
           regsvr32 msjava.dll

Create a new identity

This will create a new message store folder as well as all new registry keys. This should not be necessary unless our previous efforts have failed to correct the problems.

1.Export your e-mail and news accounts in Outlook Express so that you can import them into a new Identity.

    1.Click Accounts on the Outlook Express Tools menu.
    2.Click the Mail tab and select the default account.
    3.Click the Export button and select a location for the exported file.
        Make sure the extension remains   “iaf” (for Internet account file).
    4.Repeat steps 1-2 and 1-3 for all accounts.
    5.After all mail and news accounts have been exported, click Close.

2.On the File menu, click Identities, and then click Add New Identity.
3.Type a name for the new Identity, and then click OK.A new Identity allows you to start Outlook Express with all default settings, a useful way to work around registry or file damage.

4.Click Yes to switch to the new Identity.
5.Click Cancel to close the New Account wizard. If you are prompted to import settings or messages, select “Do not import at this time” or Cancel.
6.Click Accounts on the Tools menu.
7.Click the Import button and select the first *.iaf file from step 1. Repeat until all accounts have been imported.
8.Import the mail messages from your old Identity.

•On the File menu, click Import, and then click Messages.
•Select Microsoft Outlook Express 6 from the list of programs, and then click Next.
•Select the name of the Identity to import, and then click OK.

Disable AutoRun on Windows!

Disable AutoRun on Windows!

posted May 3 2008 at 7:00AM

Last week we went off to buy a CD—something we, like a lot of people, do on a regular basis. We wanted to check out "Contraband" by Velvet Revolver, the group formed by ex-members of Guns N' Roses, and the lead singer of Stone Temple Pilots. We figured with that much drugs in those boys, there's bound to be a good tune or two in there.

As with all our CDs, we unwrapped 8 layers of plastic on the way to the van and popped it in the CD player for the ride home, so far, so good—not a bad CD at all. After arriving home, we put the CD in our Xbox (as we always do with our CDs) to copy the songs over to the hard drive for use with games or as a jukebox.

Next up, inserted the disc in to our Mic (short for microsoft), started iTunes and then iTunes put the newly created MP3s on our iPod. Also, the Linux box in our kitchen (Xandros) was able to read and make MP3s just fine too.

Lastly, we popped the CD in our PC (Win XP) and also ran iTunes to add the songs to our library.

Was this all a dream? Did it really happen? It did. But it shouldn't have if it were up to the people who made that CD.

After looking around on the web it seems the folks from RCA Records actually don't want anyone to make MP3s of the songs on that disc, they don't want you to listen to the music you just purchased on your iPod or even your Xbox.

The disc has "Copy Protection" from SunnComm called MediaMax, which on some Windows systems will force the user to install software in order to listen to their music, and restrict what they do with the audio (for example you cannot make MP3s). If SunnComm sounds familiar, they should.  These are the folks who were going to sue a Princeton student for 10 million dollars for writing a paper that showed by pressing the shift key while inserting the CD (and of course, pressing the shift key still worked on this CD, according to all reports you can bypass their copy protection.

Sadly, the way RCA and SunnComm want you to listen to music is pretty complicated. You'd need to insert the CD on your PC, wait up to one minute for it to load, click an end user agreement, then only "listen" to the music.  Oh, wait there's more.  It installs software which blocks making MP3s and it requires a web connection to exchange "data" and keys. On the disc there were music files in WMA format, but they don't seem to play on any device we have which plays WMAs—the site says they play only on "approved" devices.  Yikes!

Well, for us, it wasn't an issue.  Why? Well, we have always disabled "Auto-Run" on our Windows based system, since, like, Windows 95. The "feature" will, by default, automatically look for a file called Autorun.inf on any CD you pop in to your system—if it finds it, it will execute whatever programs it is instructed.  This is a big security issue, as there are a lot of spywares and viruses distributed on CDs—so much so, in fact, Microsoft is disabling it in their next security-focused Windows XP Service Pack.  SunnComn and everyone else who is trying to "copy protect" music CDs have really only one option, and this is it: using the autorun file on their music CDs to install their proprietary DRM software.  But many people are becoming more vigilant about securing their systems.

Disabling Auto-Run is something we think everyone should do, not only for security from viruses and spyware, but so you'll never need to deal being unable able to listen to your music on your devices. Here's how to do it in Windows XP.

In Windows Click Start, then Click Run

Type regedit
Click OK

Click >
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE>
SYSTEM>
CurrentControlSet>
Services>
Cdrom>

Double click "Autorun" the value is set to 1 by default, change it to zero.

Click OK
Now restart, that's it!

See ya now!

Happy Computers

TIPS FOR A SMOOTH RUNNING SYSTEM
================================

The more of these suggestions you follow, the fewer problems you should have. Follow them all, and you've probably eliminated at least 95% of all potential problem sources.

Things you should NOT do
--------------------------------
1: Use Internet Explorer
2: Use any browser based on Internet Explorer
3: Use Outlook or Outlook Express with the preview pane open

This screen shot shows the Outlook Express window as it's usually set up. The selected message is already visible in the preview pane before the message is "opened". If malicious code was integrated with the message, the damage would have already been done.Open Outlook express click on view and click on Layout.

Uncheck  “Show preview Pane”

4: Open email attachments you haven't manually scanned with your virus scanner
5: Open email attachments you were not expecting, no matter who they appear to be from
6: Respond to spam messages, including using unsubscribe links
7: Visit questionable websites (e.g. porn, warez, hacking)
8: Poke unnecessary holes in your firewall by clicking "Allow" every time some program requests access to the Internet
9: Click directly on links in email messages
10: Use file sharing or P2P programs
11: Use pirated programs

Things you SHOULD do
-----------------------------
1: Use a non-IE or IE based browser
2: Always have an up to date virus scanner running
3: Always have a firewall running
4: Install all the latest security updates (the exception to the no-IE rule)
5: Delete all unsolicited emails containing attachments without reading
6: Manually scan all email attachments with your virus scanner, regardless of whether it's supposed to be done automatically
7: Copy and paste URLs from email messages into your web browser
8: Inspect links copied and pasted into your web browser to ensure they don't seem to contain a second/different address

 

Welcome to the world that Microsoft runs

From Freshwater Bay

Viruses are bad enough. You'd think the experts who advise the rest of us on how to deal with them would at least get their facts straight. 
Take the current Nimda virus, for example. (PLEASE take the Nimda virus, as Henny Youngman would say.) Most of the so-called "expert" warnings about Nimda missed the point completely. They failed to note that you don't need to open any attachments to fall victim to the Nimda Virus. It can infect your PC automatically. You don't have to do anything except get your mail. I'll bet this is news to you. You didn't know this, right? 
That's what I'm talking about. Most of the stuff we learn about viruses is full of Newfie poop. We never seem to learn what's really going on until it's too late. Here's the ugly truth about Nimda. It's a script virus. Windows loves scripts. Windows loves scripts so much it practically invites scripts to run -- without so much as asking your permission. So when a script comes sailing into your Windows PC, Windows looks at all the instructions in the script and follows them to the letter. Follows them out the window, in fact. Follows them so blindly that if the instructions say, "Wipe out all the files in this sucker's C: drive," Windows obediently does exactly what it's told. You didn't know this, right? You thought Nimda was just another attachment-type virus that wasn't dangerous at all if you left attachments alone. 
Welcome to the world that Microsoft runs. Script viruses take advantage of one of the dumbest of all dumb things. Microsoft, the Windows monopoly company, did the first dumb thing by leaving out any protection against bad scripts in Windows. Good scripts or bad, nice ones or mean ones, they are all treated the same way. Nobody else who makes a consumer product would make this kind of mistake. GM and Toyota and all the other car manufacturers know that air can be dusty, so all car engines come with air cleaners. Vacuum cleaners have dust bags. TVs have filters that block signals that come from your neighbor's shop vac. But Windows does not care if scripts are good or bad. It just runs whatever comes its way. Windows runs scripts without a moment's thought -- without asking you if it's OK that some brat in Bratislava wants to wipe out 17 files or read your private documents. That's the first dumb thing. It's a bad enough booboo to get all of Microsoft's software engineers a two-hour interview on the way to  Pearly Gates...No dammed relation of Satanic Billy (I'd let them in, but I'm soft-hearted. That Gabriel fellow is one tough cookie, however.) But this flaw is just the beginning. The second dumb thing is almost impossible to believe. In fact, I've sometimes been asked whether I'm kidding when I describe this immense mistake to user groups. But what I am about to tell you is true. It probably could not occur in an open, competitive software environment. It almost surely is a product of Microsoft monopoly mentality -- the idea that anything goes, that any kind of sloppiness is OK, since everybody is going to continue to buy your products anyway. This is the monopoly that is inflicted on millions of consumers by a company run by two billionaires and staffed by hundreds of millionaires. (Bill Gates and his childhood friend Steve Ballmer run the company, and both are super-billionaires. And Microsoft, believe it or not, has 200 or more millionaires on its staff. It rewards loyalty. When you work for The Beast, as Microsoft is called in England, you get rich if you stay loyal.) All these rich folk seem to be looking the wrong way. The flaw in Windows is so bad that they could all be excused from jury duty forever if they told a judge how important it is to fix the security holes in Windows. It's so bad that every millionaire at Microsoft should be running from house to house in communities all over the nation warning citizens about the danger.
   But in fact Microsoft doesn't care.
Here's the flaw.

You tell me whether this sort of bungling is excusable in an era when every possible safeguard needs to be taken to preserve our physical and electronic security: The monopoly e-mail program, Outlook Express, has an open-door policy for viruses and all other rogue programs that slip into your e-mail. This total lapse in security occurs no matter how careful you are about opening attachments. In fact, Outlook Express does not even tell you that it's going to allow viruses to sneak in. It simply does it. Please stay with me. Just about every Windows user who reads this is a user of Outlook Express -- it's the e-mail software that's forced on millions of Internet users by Internet providers who lack the guts to challenge Microsoft's monopoly -- and that means just about everyone who uses Windows needs to pay very close attention.
   In Outlook Express, messages can be opened the standard way -- by double clicking on each message entry -- or they can be viewed or "previewed" in a separate area of the Outlook Express window. This is called the preview pane. This happens by default. If you simply use your e-mail program the way it was designed -- and why wouldn't you? -- your messages will be "previewed" automatically. You won't have to open them (double click on them) to read them or reply to them. When Outlook Express "previews" a message, it doesn't use any tricks. It opens the message. Read the last two sentences back to make sure you are still with me. There are no special tricks or techniques. You never have to open a message in Outlook Express to read it. Outlook Express does that for you. It does it automatically. It opens the message for you. Surely by now you are wondering about the words "open the message." Isn't that dangerous? If you receive a message that contains a script virus -- a virus that's part of the message, not part of any attachment -- isn't it foolish to open that message automatically? Of course it is. And that's just what the monopoly e-mail program does. It opens all messages automatically. If you use Outlook Express the way it comes from Microsoft (or the way it comes from your no-guts Internet provider), it previews -- it opens -- all messages for you. You don't need to open them. Outlook Express lets those viruses loose for you.
   With me so far?
   There's more. Hold onto your keyboard. You ain't heard nuthin' yet. Let's say you're a bright Windows user and you know how dangerous Outlook Express can be. Let's say you never use the preview pane. Let's pretend you've turned it off.
   Do I have a surprise for you! Listen up.
   Even with its automatic preview turned off, Outlook Express wants you to feel its pain. Outlook Express wants you to know what viruses are like. It wants you to know the difference between your five-year-old Chevy and the BMWs in the parking lots where 200 millionaires work. Even with the automatic preview turned off, even if you never view messages in the preview pane, Outlook Express automatically opens the first message that arrives in an empty Inbox. 
Listen to this again: Outlook Express automatically opens the first message that arrives in an empty Inbox. 
If that brat in Botwood creates a script virus that wipes out your files and your weak-brained sister-in-law passes it on to you right after you've cleaned out your Inbox, guess what? You can say goodbye to your files. It does not matter how carefully you've set up Outlook Express. Don't even think about how dutifully you've made sure that you don't open messages that seem suspicious. Outlook Express will handle that for you. Have the millions of Windows users who like the look and feel of Outlook Express lost their minds? Or are they simply complacent?
   What about the millions of others who have never realized that Outlook Express is just one of many possible e-mail programs? Are they like the hapless hunters and mountaineers who shouldered blunderbusses? I don't have answers. I have suggestions.

First, stop believing in faeries (Can't believe I said that! We're good people). The world is a tough place. As long as you accept the way Outlook Express works, you can be sure that someone is writing a virus with your name on it.
Second, protect yourself against scripts that are intended to do you harm. Get Script Sentry. It's free and easy to use. Find it by searching for it on Google. (If you don't know about Google, you also need to push that rock out of the way. You've been sleeping under it for too long.)
Third, get a good antivirus program and use it.
Fourth, update your antivirus program every two or three days. Usually, you can do this in a minute or less.
Fifth, don't use the preview pane in Outlook Express unless you have Script Sentry installed. (Note well: If you follow suggestion No. 2, you won't have to worry about using the preview pane. What are you waiting for?)
Sixth, consider switching to a safer e-mail program. There are many. An excellent modern e-mail program for Windows that emphasizes safety is a program with the unusual name of "The Bat!" from RIT Labs. (Google will help you find it.)
Seventh, stop treating e-mail as if it comes from God. Delete all mail that you have any doubts about. Delete all mail that's not from someone you know. Delete all mail that has attachments. (Try it. After a week or so, someone who was actually sending you something important will ask why you didn't respond. You can then write back and explain that your mail program deletes all attachments -- yes, blame it on the software -- and you can then tell the people who send you attachments that they need to send plain messages instead. After all, if they are trying to tell you something, what's wrong with typing a message?)
Eighth, stop treating Windows as if it came from the 12 disciples. Windows is a badly designed monopoly operating system. The way you free yourself from Windows is simple: You stop using it. You get a Mac. (Don't give me all that sobbing and wailing about not being able to run your favorite programs on a Mac. That's just ignorant babble. You can get Microsoft Word and the other parts of Microsoft Office for the Mac. You can get Outlook Express -- a SAFE version of Outlook Express. You have Internet Explorer for the Mac. You have Adobe Photoshop and other Adobe image editing programs. You even have ACDSee, the best image viewing program for Windows, for the Mac. The list goes on and on. You have a choice of hundreds of thousands of commercial programs and shareware-and-freeware programs for the Mac.)
Ninth, don't let Windows hide the true nature of files. By default, Windows refuses to show you the "extension" on the end of a filename. That lets viruses romp around your computer system by hiding their actual purpose. Call the store that sold you the PC and tell them to help you change Windows so it displays all filename extensions. Don't let them off the hook. If your Ford dealer sold you a car without headlights, you'd be banging down his door. The same goes for this inexcusable lapse in Windows. Tell the store (or call the manufacturer) and demand to be shown how to change this setting. Threaten to sue if you have to. (No, I'm not being cute. The first time a virus slips in under this cover and sends out salacious or threatening e-mail under your name, you will be ready to sue in earnest. Get this fix done NOW.)
Tenth, pay attention to the way your Windows PC is used, whether by you or by others in your family. Don't download every file that comes your way on the Web. Choose downloads carefully. Don't accept files sent your way by an instant message program. Don't trust your sister-in-law or your husband's best friend or your Aunt Suse when they send you mail. They don't know anything about safe e-mail. Don't let your friend Jennifer send you a zillion attached messages every three days. Tell her to stop, and block her mail if she doesn't. (All good mail programs let you block mail from specified senders.)
   Do these things now. Do them as if your safety depends on it............. Because it does.

Be Kind to yourself and Your computer.

Roderick B

Firefox, The Little Memory Hog

Published on Friday Oct 26, 2007

Firefox, The Little Memory Hog lived happily together with his family, the Mozillas, in a land far far away. Firefox had now turned 2.0.0.1 and it was time to attend kindergarten.On the way there he walked past his favorite tree, Internet Explorer.IE was a son of a beech, and he tried to make a lot of friends. Unfortunately, the problem was that IE spoke a language of its own, unlike what all others spoke, so no one understood him. For instance, when IE tried to wave, everyone else perceived it as him giving them the finger.So, suffice to say, IE didn’t get many friends because of its lack of wanting to change and try to adapt to others. Long ago, IE had a Scottish cousin from the MacIntosh clan, who was much better at adapting, but they had a falling out, so now, no more Macs at the IE family reunions.In the kindergarten class, Firefox had two friends: Opera and Safari. Opera wasn’t the cutest kid on the block, but he was as fast as lightning as soon as he got any task to do. However, as opposed to IE, Opera wanted to be friends with everybody, so he pretended to understand all kind of languages and properties. This sometimes failed, though, because pretending to be a local doesn’t always work unless you behave exactly as the locals under all circumstances.Safari, in turn, was oh-so-dashing and everyone thought she was very beautiful. But, like with many beautiful things in the world, beauty isn’t everything. Most of the time, Safari got along with the other kids, but, at occasions, Safari acted completely perplexed when it came to some interaction with the others. This led to some misunderstanding and harsh words, but in the long run, her beauty and fantastic ability to look good in all the garment from the world-wide brand CSS made people forgive her.One day, the teachers at the kindergarten realized that Firefox was eating a lot of memory, much more than it should. They naturally got worried by this, and scheduled a meeting with Mr. and Mrs. Mozilla to talk about this. However, their response was just that “It’s not a bug, it’s a feature”. Somewhat worried about this attitude, the teachers could do nothing else but accept it. After all, Firefox was the brightest kid in class with a bright and promising future, so they felt that there was no need to try and quench Firefox lust for life at his early age.And that, my friends, is how life passes by in a land known to us mere mortals as Browsers.