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The LangaList
28-Mar-99
A Free Email Newsletter from Fred Langa About BrowserTune,
HotSpots, Columns, Tips & Tricks, and Other Activities
In This Issue:
BrowserTune b1.2 (NEW
VERSION!)
Nasty New "Melissa"
Virus
AOL + IE = Trouble
Turning the Tables
A Recommendation?
Bruises on Apple?
IE Clipboard Insecurity?
Bug in Personal Web Server
The Scoop in Win98/Release 2
Just For Grins
More!
New! BrowserTune 2000 Version b1.2
If you've ever run BT2K, check your email report: If you ran a version earlier than b1.2 (or if you haven't run it at all), you're missing a lot!
The new version (posted 28-Mar-99)
- corrects a web-script timing bug that generated script errors on some systems
- changes the script comparisons to accommodate the differences between IE5 beta and shipping versions
- adds a basic help system
- further refines the throughput timing tests
- adjusts the latency tests
- adds an internal, behind-the-scenes "reality check" feature to the timing tests
- dramatically increases the total amount of information that BT2K can track
- adds a simple recommendation form
- incorporates all the previous enhancements, including: better browser type detection, dozens of cosmetic improvements, support for a larger number of modem types, streamlined JavaScripts, substantially improved error-handling
- and much more!
What's more, BT2K now not only averages and analyzes the results of four separate latency ("lag") timing tests and two throughput timing tests, but also looks for tell-tale indicators of heavy ISP traffic or other forms of Internet congestion. If BT2K detects these signals, it alerts you to the fact that you should re-run the tests later, when conditions may be better.
With additions like this, BT2K's accuracy is quite good: the tests are repeatable and predictive (two hallmarks of good benchmarks). For example, if you run the test over and over (as I have done---hundreds of times), your results will fall within a narrow range. And the parts of the test that predict results (such as the portions that tell you what your scripting scores would have been if you'd used another browser) prove quite accurate if and when you do run the tests with that different browser.
BT2K is still in demo form, but it's rapidly moving towards a full beta. Give the new version a test drive. I think you'll agree it's shaping up quite well!
It's waiting for you at http://www.langa.com/bt2kdemo/ .
"Melissa" Macro Virus
This is a nasty macro virus that rides along in a Word document attached to email. When you open the document, the virus grabs 50 names from an Outlook or Outlook Express email address book, replicates itself, and sends off the new messages.
It's more of an annoyance than anything else; it does no direct harm, but can clog email servers that suddenly have to handle large numbers of replicating messages.
The emails originally making the rounds with this virus carried the subject line "Important Message From..." and the body of the mail, said "Here is that document you asked for ... don't show it to anyone else ;-)."
If you get such an email, just delete it, and you'll have no problem. Obviously, it's also not a problem if you don't use Word, or one of the Outlook variants.
All the major anti-virus vendors also are offering patches. So is Microsoft: http://www.microsoft.com/security/bulletins/ms99-002.asp
Special thanks to long-time reader Lanny Marcus (LANNY@IEEE.ORG) who really went out of his way to make sure we all got the news on this one. Thanks, Lanny!
AOL's Version of Internet Explorer
The AOL versions of IE---and any versions of IE installed over AOL versions---seem unusually prone to trouble: It's really tough trying to figure out exactly where the problem lies because the AOL versions of IE have been altered by AOL; the AOL setup installs a custom and private set of networking clients and protocols on your PC; and uses this private networking plumbing to connect to the Internet via AOL's own private network. There's a boatload of proprietary stuff going on there, and the net result (pardon the expression) seems to be increased instability. In the BT2K tests, AOL browsers have more trouble than any other brand.
And curiously, while (say) an AOL copy of IE4 may have trouble, a clean install of unmodified IE4 runs the tests flawlessly.
It's not just AOL--- other add-ons that modify the browser, such as Go!Zilla, can also cause trouble. But AOL's seem to be the worst.
Alas, AOL now owns Netscape, so chances aren't good that AOL will devote lots of energy into making their version of IE work better! Eventually, my guess is that AOL customers will be force-fed a version of Communicator 5, just as they previously were force-fed IE4.
If your AOL- or otherwise-modified copy of IE is having trouble, the simplest remedy is to uninstall and then reinstall a fresh, full copy of IE, preferably one supplied directly by Microsoft rather than by AOL or another third party. That's the safest, best, and surest fix--- although it's a pain.
If that doesn't work, or if you're more daring, you can try this fix suggested in the Microsoft KnowledgeBase:
1.Click Start, and then click Run.
2.In the Open box, type the following line:
regsvr32 actxprxy.dll
3.Click OK, and then click OK again when you receive the following message:
DllRegisterServer in actxprxy.dll succeeded.
4.Click Start, and then click Run.
5.In the Open box, type the following line:
regsvr32 shdocvw.dll
6.Click OK, and then click OK again when you receive the following message:
DllRegisterServer in shdocvw.dll succeeded.
The above fixes a number of problems, and may or may not correct whatever's wrong with your copy. And as far as I know, it can't hurt.
If you still have trouble, try the help pages at BrowserTune; they contain a ton more information on correcting even worst-case browser problems.
A Recommendation?
I haven't asked in a while---but it's time! 8-) Could you please recommend this newsletter to at least one other person?
It takes literally just a minute to use easy form at http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm#2: You just fill in your name and your friend's name, and the web page will automatically generate an email message containing the current issue. That's all there is to it---the script even composes a short note to your friend explaining what the LangaList is, and that you thought they might find it useful.
I'm dead-set against spam, so I won't sign up your friends unless they explicitly request a subscription. The form is 100% safe to use; neither you nor your friends will get any unsolicited email from me, ever.
There's always room for more readers! If you could take just literally one minute and recommend the LangaList to just one friend, I'd really appreciate it.
Thanks!
Turning the Tables
If there were an SPCPC---a Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to PCs---I'd be on their black list.
I pound on my systems. I regularly try out beta software and a whole range of competing (and often incompatible) operating systems. I try new hardware. I format, reformat and re-reformat on a regular basis.
And even when my systems get old, I don't give them a break: I keep the aging systems around and on the LAN so I can see how newer hardware and software behaves on the older gear. I also use the older systems as live spares, and as a supply of parts for cannibalization. Normally, when I buy a new PC, I just add it to the top of my local PC food chain, and push all the others down a notch.
In the close to 20 years I've had PCs of one sort or another, I think I've actually only ditched three or four of them, usually when they're just so old or have had so many parts swapped out they become useless.
Alas, it's time to retire another one.
I'll give you all the gory details online, but the upshot is: I'm now looking for a mainstream, workhorse system I'll use as my principal PC: It'll probably run Win98 for now, but will move to NT/Win2K in the future. I need a load of RAM, a great monitor, and a very large hard drive. The system should be highly expandable, with a large number of open slots and bays (I'll be adding CDRW, etc.) and as many standard functions as possible (serial, parallel, etc) built into the motherboard. I'd also like it to be quiet--- I'm really tired of noisy fans.
My main uses are writing (i.e. word processing), online research and web-site management (via ISDN now, with DSL or cable as soon as possible), some light software development and programming, image editing, digital video capture and editing, CDR burning, and (ahem) the odd twitch game or two. (After hours, of course!)
As always, the WinMag "Recommended List" will be my primary reference. But with all the brainpower out there (I'm always impressed at how savvy you folks are!) I thought it might be interesting to turn the tables and ask you for advice on what PC I should buy. Intel or AMD? Brand-name, or do-it-yourself? Etc.
If you were in my office chair, what would you get? Join in! Our online discussion will run all week: Starting Monday March 29 around mid-day (EST, UT-5) drop by the WINDOWS Magazine "Dialog Box" online discussion area (accessible via the front page at http://content.techweb.com/winmag/) and join in!
Bruises On Apple?
There's an old saying, "I've been down so long, the bottom looks like up." And that explains some of the exceptionally gentle treatment Apple has gotten of late. No one likes to kick an underdog; and Apple was down so far for so long, any improvement at all looks almost miraculous.
And Apple has done some things very well: It's hyped and advertised the iMac to death, and as a result managed to move a boatload of the curvy little boxes. (Long-time readers know how I feel about the deceptive and elitist advertising tactics Apple used to achieve this goal---you can find past columns in the archives. But there's no denying that Apple's iMac tactics were hugely successful.)
Steve Jobs, with an undeniable sense of style and showmanship, has breathed new energy into Apple, and may succeed in his in-progress work of bringing Apple back from the brink of extinction to a secure market niche. I hope he does.
But all is not rosy. If you peruse the byways of Usenet, you can find significant numbers of G3 users who are less than thrilled with their new systems. One frequent complaint is that there are far too many "out-of-memory" errors even on RAM-rich systems. Of course, the Mac's memory management/memory protection scheme is legendarily outdated---the Mac has probably the very worst memory management among all the currently-shipping major OSes. (And let's not even discuss the Mac's lack of preemptive multitasking…)
OS X is supposed to remedy many of the problems with the current MacOS, but OS X is still some ways out.
Steve Jobs himself got bitten by a nasty confluence of G3/MacOS/OS X problems during a live demo at the recent MacWorld Tokyo. As you may have heard, during a live keynote demo by Jobs, several G3 machines suffered the all-too-common out-of-memory problem, forcing Jobs to reboot while the audience waited.
That's bad enough, but it got worse. The climax of Job's 75 minute presentation was a demo of OS X Server; using normal, off-the-shelf G3 hardware, Jobs was simultaneously going to stream video to 49 iMacs, plus show streaming video on the G3 server: 50 video streams at once. Cool!
Except it didn't work. At all.
The iMac monitors flashed on and off at random, the sound system played erratic and disconnected audio snippets in bursty, start-and-stop fashion, and eventually the whole thing just bombed. "What is going on here? I have no idea," quoth Steve as the audience laughed.
Back here in the USA, there were other problems, including a major snub of the Open Source community Apple desperately needs to work with.
I have to wonder. Style and showmanship can carry Apple for a while, and to his credit, Jobs has given Apple a fabulous opportunity to gain real momentum. But is Apple frittering its chance away?
What's your take? Is Apple firmly on the road to recovery, or still shaky enough to be at risk from ongoing problems like these? Can Apple go against its own hardware and software licensing history and actually find a way to work with the Open Source community? How long can hype and showmanship sustain the company? Will OS X deliver enough "meat" to carry Apple beyond the current interim stage? Join in a week-long discussion starting Wednesday (31-Mar-99) midday (EST; UT-5) at http://www.informationweek.com/langaletter!
IE Clipboard Insecurity
Various Usenet areas and websites carried news of a potential security hole within IE4 and 5. One of the better reports was at http://www.sysopt.com/ie5flaw.html; it says (in part):
"...IE5 has a security flaw that allows web servers to log the contents of your Windows clipboard cache to their server, without your knowledge or consent. Whenever you copy text, using the "edit -> copy" feature of just about every windows application, or hit "CTRL-C" to copy text, that text gets placed into the windows clipboard. You can then paste that text to Windows notepad, an email message, or wherever you feel like it. However, thanks to Microsoft IE5's default security setting, any web site using a snippet of Java/Active X code can read any and all of the text you have on your Windows clipboard."
Actually, their report focuses on IE5, but the problem exists in IE4 as well if you download and install a DHTML ActiveX control that ships as part of IE5. Once it's installed, the control can be exploited by malicious web site owners to read any information you've copied to your clipboard.
I don't regard this as a major security problem because you have to put something into your clipboard before anyone can get at it. Plus, it's not a bug because the "allow paste operations via script" option is there by design. Last, it's user-controllable via the toggles at Tools/Internet Options/Security/Custom.
But I thought you should know.
MS Personal Web Server Vulnerability
Here's a genuine bug: It affects:
- Microsoft Personal Web Server 4.0 (available as part of Windows 98 and the Windows NT Option Pack) when installed on Windows 95 or 98
- FrontPage Personal Web Server (shipped as part of Microsoft FrontPage 1.1, FrontPage 97, and FrontPage 98)
Microsoft says this bug "could allow files on the server to be read by an unauthorized user who knew the name of the file and requested it via a specific non-standard URL."
The fixes are simple, but depend on exactly which version of the web server you're running. For the specific fixes, see:
FrontPage 98 Personal Web Server: http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q216/4/53.asp
FrontPage 97 Personal Web Server: http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q217/7/65.asp .
Personal Web Server: http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q217/7/63.asp
The Scoop On Win98/Release 2
Windows Magazine has a full story on exactly what's in---and what's not in---the latest beta of the Win98 update that's scheduled to ship in several months.
Check it out here: http://content.techweb.com/winmag//specialreports/win99/osr2/default.htm
Just For Grins: Country Living
Living in New Hampshire, I especially enjoyed this one, forwarded to me from kcrist@gate.net:
Sam has been in the computer business for 25 years and is finally sick of the stress. He quits his job and buys 50 acres of land in Vermont as far from humanity as possible. Sam sees the postman once a week and gets groceries once a month. Otherwise it's total peace and quiet.
After six months or so of almost total isolation, he's finishing dinner when someone knocks on his door. He opens it and there is a big, bearded Vermonter standing there.
"Name's Enoch... Your neighbor from four miles over the ridge... Having a party Saturday... Thought you'd like to come."
"Great," says Sam, "after six months of this I'm ready to meet some local folks. Thank you."
As Enoch is leaving he stops, "Gotta warn you there's gonna be some drinkin'."
"Not a problem... After 25 years in the computer business, I can drink with the best of 'em."
Again, as he starts to leave Enoch stops. "More 'n' likely gonna be some fightin' too."
"Damn", Sam thinks... "Tough crowd." "Well, I get along with people. I'll be there. Thanks again."
Once again Enoch turns from the door. "I've seen some wild sex at these parties, too."
"Now that's not a problem" says Sam, "Remember I've been alone for six months! I'll definitely be there... By the way, what should I wear?"
Enoch stops in the door again and says, "Whatever you want, just gonna be the two of us."
See you next issue!
Best,
Fred
(fred@langa.com)
(P.S. Please email the LangaList to a friend! Use this super-fast form!)
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