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The LangaList
2000-04-03
(2000-April-03)

A Free Email Newsletter from Fred Langa
That Helps You Get More From Your Hardware, 
Software, and Time Online

1) "Affective Computing"

There's a joke making the rounds about a guy who wanted to be a great writer. He wanted to strongly influence millions of readers, to stir their most powerful emotions, to move them to tears, to laughter, even to rage.

So, he got a job writing error messages at Microsoft.

OK, that's a cheap shot. But there is an underlying truth--- and it has nothing to do with Microsoft. Rather, it has to do with being human.

Who among us hasn't felt frustration when dealing with our computers? Who hasn't sometimes smiled or laughed aloud at something seen on-screen? Who hasn't felt a rush of pleasure when some difficult computer task came out well--- or felt something akin to rage when a balky computer stood as an obstacle to getting our work done?

Computers are dumb machines, and yet they can elicit very strong affect---emotional response---in us. The intersection between the cold logic of computers and the blood-warm emotion of humans has long been a source of exploration in art and popular culture: Just think of Mr. Spock (and all the Vulcans of Star Trek), the android Data, SkyNet and the Terminators, HAL9000, The Forbin Project/Colossus…. The list is a long and venerable one, and each instance has explored some facet of the interaction between emotional, sometimes-irrational humans and the icy realms of pure logic.

But the same interaction also is being explored for-real in universities and R&D labs around the world. The early results are a bit startling, and are closer to appearing in products than you might think.

Although the implementation is hard, the basic idea is simple: Give computers some way to gauge what affect they're creating in their users, and let the computers adjust their responses appropriately.

For example, IBM's "BlueEyes" project has developed a prototype "Emotion Mouse" that uses infrared, temperature and galvanic skin response sensors to measure your heart rate, skin temperature and hand sweatiness. Software correlates those factors to previous measurements to gauge your emotional state moment to moment as you use the mouse.

(My guess is that someone wanted to call it the "mood mouse," but the gray suits at IBM nixed the idea. <g>)

But the "mood mouse" is one small example, and my column at Byte.Com this week explores for-real applications of what sounds like science fiction: Computers that can gauge and react to human emotions, and soon, may even mimic them.

Come check it out at http://www.byte.com starting Monday April 3!

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2) "Hackerwacker" and "Hackerwhacker"

I've recently found two sites that are quite different, although their names are almost identical:

Let me tell you about the less-good one first: http://www.hackerwacker.com/hackerwacker/ offers some freeware and low cost software: "Freewack" lets you see who's using your PC--- and exactly what they're doing. It doesn't protect you from external hackers, but rather from inappropriate or unwanted use of your PC by people with physical access to it. A more powerful version costs $30 and is called "Hackerwacker 2000."

I'm ambivalent about this kind of software because it's basically super-snoopware: You can install this on a PC, run it in "stealth mode" and later see every URL visited by someone using your PC; you can view every keystroke they made, review every window they opened, and even see static screen captures of everything they saw.

The instructions talk about parental monitoring of children's computer activities; I think this is heavy handed, but I can at least see it. But the instructions also talk about employers monitoring workers' activities; that started to make my hair stand up. And the one that really tripped my breakers was when they talked about "spousal monitoring." Man, if you need to snoop like that on your spouse....

But it's worth mentioning the questionable site above if only because it might be confused with an unrelated but almost identically-named http://www.hackerwhacker.com --- the change from "wack" to "whack" not only corrects bad spelling, but leads you to a far more above-board and useful site: This site offers an extremely detailed security scan that can take anywhere from a couple minutes to a couple *days.* (Be sure to read the instructions and cautions!) Coupled with the other security-scan sites I've mentioned in the past  ( http://grc.com/intro.htm,
http://www.dslreports.com/r3/dsl/secureme and
http://www.antionline.com/) in aggregate you have all the free tools you need to detect and identify all the most common types of open-access security problems your PC might have.

One minor drawback to http://www.hackerwhacker.com is that you must provide an email address before the scan will work. But there's a way to spam-proof your email, and I'll cover that in the next item.

(BTW: Thanks to reader Glenn Charles for telling me about the *good* hackerwhacker site!)

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3) Trackable Email Addresses

Reader Keith asked:

I seem to be getting a lot of unsolicited email since I loaded [name of software] on my machine. I rarely received any unusual mailings but now I am getting 15 to 20 a day.

Most of them are from get rich quick schemes. Any comments from anyone else in the pool?

Here's what I do---it's a trick you can use one of two ways. The easiest way works if you have a web site that supports the routing of bad mail addresses. For example, any email sent to a nonexistent mailbox at "langa.com" gets routed to me, because I'm the webmaster. I take advantage of this behavior this way: When I log in on a web site or register software, I'll use a fake "langa.com" name. For example, if I sign up at the XYZ Software site, I might register as fred_xyz@langa.com. There's no real "fred_XYZ" mailbox, but all mail sent to "fred_XYZ" gets routed to me anyway, so I still see all the mail. But If I start getting spam addressed to "fred_XYZ," then I know that the XYZ company sold or traded my name to a spammer: In other words, I know the source of the spam, and can take action. I also can then adjust my email client to simply throw out all mail addressed to "fred_xyz," and voila--- no spam.

The other way is less convenient, but doesn't require that you have your own web site: Just set up one (or many) alternate mailboxes on any of the free email services (Yahoo, HotMail, etc.) and use those addresses for registration purposes. In similar fashion to my method, legitimate mail still will go to those mailboxes, and you can either read the mail there or have it auto-forward to your real email address. But if you start getting spam, you'll be able to know which site or company sold or traded your email address, and you can shut down or abandon the mail box. Once again--- no spam.

There are other variants on these ideas. Just be a little creative, and you can probably figure out a way to redirect spam to sacrificial email addresses, and thus spare your real mailbox from unwanted mailings. Try it out!

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4) Wow! The First "Shares" Worm/Virus

Talk about lucky timing! If you've followed the four-part security series that ran on the WinMag site ( see http://content.techweb.com/winmag//columns/explorer/2000/04.htm, http://content.techweb.com/winmag//columns/explorer/2000/05.htm, http://content.techweb.com/winmag//columns/explorer/2000/06.htm, http://content.techweb.com/winmag//columns/explorer/2000/07.htm)
you can rest easy: You are 100% safe from this particular worm/virus, and from all the inevitable follow-on hacks that will show up in the future.

This worm (called W95/Firkin.worm, 911 Share Virus, Bat/911, Bat/Chode.worm) sniffs the internet for PCs with unprotected "shares". If it finds one, it loads itself onto the target hard drive. (Note that the victim doesn't even know this is happening, and does NOT have to download something, open an email or do anything at all---except have an unprotected PC!) The next time the PC starts, the Worm does its thing: It first tries to replicate itself by looking for other PCs to infect. Then, if it finds a modem, it places a call to "911" emergency services. It doesn't say anything--- it just places the call--- but a call with no voice response usually prompts the 911 operators to respond by sending the police to the calling address to investigate. After the bogus 911 call is made, the worm then tries to erase any hard drives labeled C: through H:. Nasty! (More info? See http://vil.nai.com/vil/wm98557.asp or http://grc.com/su-911.htm or http://www.nipc.gov/.)

But if you've taken the security-enhancing steps I've outlined in the four-part series mentioned above, DON'T WORRY! This kind of worm CAN'T harm you. The simple, free steps I told you about COMPLETELY PROTECT YOU from this kind of problem.

On the other hand, if you blew off that security series because you thought it couldn't happen to you--- well, maybe you want to think again. <g> Check out the articles, and make yourself safe, today!

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5) The Evil "Hosts" File Problem

Reader Michael Slaten had a problem that looked like a bad URL:

Fred, for several months I have been trying to read the Winmag columns that you referred to, but I was not able to connect to the url. Today, I discovered that while I cannot connect to www.winmag.com, I can connect to http://winmag.com. Surely I cannot be the only person who has had this problem.

And you're not, Michael. Other readers have reported similar problems with other sites, and even with www.langa.com.

WinMag's Scott Finnie and Jason Levine suggested an answer: Some internet speed-up software is abusing the "hosts" file in the Windows directory:

The Hosts file is mainly meant to be used on a LAN; it tells your PC the fixed numeric address of the internal server you need to connect to. But some less-than-stellar internet speedup software tries to shave a few fractions of a second off your Internet connections by placing the numeric IP of external web sites in the Hosts file so your browser won't have to look up the name and address externally. This works---as long as the site's numeric IP address never changes.

But IP addresses *do* change--- and they're supposed to be able to. The Web operates via "dynamic" naming; treating web addresses as static defeats an important part of the Web's ability to reconfigure itself.

For example, the WinMag site's numeric address changed a few months ago; Langa.Com's address changed a few weeks ago; BrowserTune.Com and HotSpots changed even more recently. People with out-of-date addresses hardwired into their Hosts file can no longer connect to any site whose address has changed--- the Hosts entry is permanently pointing them to a dead location! The only way they can connect is by using a nonstandard form of the address that forces their browser to perform a normal name lookup; done that way, they connect just fine.

If you have trouble connecting to a site you know should be there, use NotePad to examine the contents of your Hosts file in the Windows directory. If you're on a LAN, your system administrator can tell you if you really need entries in the Hosts file, and what they should be; delete any others.

And if you're not on a LAN, chances are you don't need the Hosts file at all. Rename it HOSTSBAK or something similar, reboot, and see what happens. Chances are, the only thing that will change is that you may be able to connect to sites that were giving you trouble. But, if it turns out you do need the Hosts file, just rename it back to Hosts.

(By the way, HOSTS.SAM is a fake sample HOSTS file placed in the Windows directory by default. It's not involved in any of the foregoing; you can ignore it.)

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6) Langa.Com Site Updates

I've made changes to the Privacy page at http://www.langa.com/privacy.htm to explain exactly what Langa.Com does---and does not do!--- with any information you may provide (such as your name and address); and to the "Load the Code" pages. I invite your perusal, and your comments!

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7) Win $10,000! (Really!)

The Recommend-it site used to give away Palm III organizers as an incentive to use their service; but now they've upped the ante--- way, way up!

If you think the LangaList is a worthwhile read, just use the following link to recommend the LangaList to a friend. Your friend just may find a new source of useful information; I just may gain a new subscriber; and you just may win $10,000 or other prizes from the folks at "Recommend-It:"

http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm#1

Or, win a copy of "Poor Richard's E-Mail Publishing: Creating Newsletters, Bulletins, Discussion Groups and Other Powerful Communications Tools." This book has been described as "An excellent, straightforward manual on email publishing, banner ads, driving traffic and especially ethics." (Full details also available via this link):

http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm#2 

Either way, thank you, and good luck!

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8) New Version Of ZoneAlarm Due Out This Week

Over a million people have downloaded ZoneAlarm 2.0 already; this week, ZA 2.1 will debut. I've been using a beta for a week or so. It appears stable and in good shape. The main difference between it and the earlier version is that it supports "logging;" that is, it can create a text file that shows you what connections have been blocked, even if you elect *not* to have the notification window pop up. This way, you can work without interruption, but still know exactly what's going on.

The new version will probably be ready for download Tuesday April 4, and it will still be free. Check it out!

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9) Just For Grins

Larry Grannis offers this Q&A about engineers:

Q: When does a person decide to become an engineer?
A: When he realizes he doesn't have the charisma to be an undertaker.

Q: What do engineers use for birth control?
A: Their personalities.

Q: How can you tell an extroverted engineer?
A: When he talks to you, he looks at your shoes instead of his own.

Q: Why did the engineers cross the road?
A: Because they looked in the file and that's what they did last year.

Q: How do you drive an engineer completely insane?
A: Tie him to a chair, stand in front of him, and fold up a road map the wrong way.

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See you next issue!

Best,

Fred

(fred@langa.com)

(Please recommend the LangaList to a friend! (And maybe win $10,000!I)

An easier-to read formatted HTML version is available in the "what's new" section of http://www.langa.com.  (The HTML version of each issue normally is available by 9AM EST [GMT-5] of the issue date.) All past LangaList issues are also available via the same link.

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