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Please note: Older issues may contain information that is now out of date. How To Subscribe
and Unsubscribe is at the end of this note. Mailing List Trouble? See http://www.langa.com/help.txt Please recommend the LangaList to a friend! (And maybe win $10,000 !) An easier-to
read formatted HTML version of this newsletter is available on line at The LangaList 2000-11-06 A Free Email
Newsletter from Fred
Langa --- ( Your Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList Free! ) ---
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There's a variety of sites and
services--- some free, some not--- that purport to keep your PC's hardware and
software completely up to date with all necessary new updates, patches, drivers
and bug-fixes. Most of these services are
conceptually similar to Microsoft's free "Windows Update" service for
Win9x and Win2K. As you probably know, Windows Update combines a special
Microsoft web site and a downloadable applet that, together, sniff your OS and
browser components to see what versions you're running. If a
newer/better/bug-fixed version is available, the Update site offers you the
download, along with other miscellaneous downloads you may optionally select.
(You can run Windows Update manually by selecting "Windows Update"
from the Start menu, or by running Wupdmgr.exe (usually found in the \Windows
directory), or by clicking to http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/
) Windows Update also offers a
separate but related "Critical Update Notification" service that can
automate the process. If you choose to download and install this applet, it runs
as a background task, and automatically "phones home" periodically to
see if there are new updates you need. WindowsME is a little different in
that it bundles a self-update capability right into the OS as a Control Panel
item called "Automatic Updates." (But under the covers, it's
essentially a repackaged version of the Critical Update Notification applet
mentioned above.) Although it's installed as part of the OS, it is controllable:
You can configure it to download and install updates automatically; to let you
know when new updates are available but not to install them without your
approval; or to do nothing at all. I usually prefer to trigger my
updates manually. In this week's "Explorer" column on WinMag.Com, I'll
tell you the three update sites I keep coming back to again and again; and also
tell you about two automated services of special note. One, called BigFix, aims high: It's
a free, very comprehensive third-party patch-and-tune-and-update service for
Windows machines. Unlike Microsoft's Update site, BigFix "knows" about
some of your non-Microsoft application software and can assist in keeping those
apps up to date, too. It also watches for common problems in system tuning and
security, and can provide automatic, one-click fixes for these problems. It's a
very promising concept--- but with problems. The other is nowhere nearly as
comprehensive but has the slickest update notifications I've ever experienced
for the limited types of files it tracks. There are other update services,
too; and we can talk about them in the discussion area attached to the column. If you've had experiences (good or
bad) with any update services, please join the discussion and let us know how
you fared. Maybe the ideal update service is out there. Or if not, maybe we can
pool our knowledge and at least come close! Join in the discussion http://content.techweb.com/winmag//columns/explorer/2000/23.htm
! Click to
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A recent change there has made it
much, much easier to access archived columns: All WinMag columns, including mine,
and now available via http://content.techweb.com/winmag//columns/
, and each column has a single, simple URL that gives you instant access to all
previous columns without having to use pull-downs or scroll boxes or anything
funky. For example, check out http://content.techweb.com/winmag//columns/explorer/backissu.htm
and you'll see all the columns I've done for WinMag for the last three years. As
many of the topics there were suggested by your fellow readers, odds are there
are at least a few items in there that might be useful. <g> I sure hope
so, anyway! Click to
email this item to a friend Reader "Danny" asked: Hi Fred: I'll just steal
the line they use to cut all the compliments short on Rush's show and say
"Dittos" to you for your fine and much appreciated newsletter. Quickly to my question. I
am looking for the list of extra file extensions I should add to my virus
scanner. I know you posted or directed us to a list of a lot of them (including
the famous shs extension). Do you know where I can find this list again. I've
been searching your site, but can't seem to find the actual list. Actually, using the site search at
Langa.Com and looking for "shs" turns up several hits (see http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-q=shs&sp-a=0008002a-sp00000000
) including this from an archived LangaList issue: (To avoid triggering email
filters, I'll replace the letter "e" with an asterisk in
sensitive spots in the following item:) By now you've heard
of the "IRC/Stag*s.worm." It's a script that spreads via Pirch,
Outlook, and mIRC, and also spreads to available mapped drives. It arrives as a
message describing "Th* mal* and f*mal* stag*s of lif*" and
comes with an attachment called LIF*_STAG*S.TXT.SHS . (Depending on how you've
set up your system, the SHS file extension may or may not be visible.) "SHS" is a
"scrap" file; it's one of many formats that can carry virii. (See http://www.informationweek.com/langaletter/102099langa.htm
) Windows normally hides the SHS
extension (you have to select file/properties to see it); many users have never
even heard of it. Thus, even though SHS files can contain *directly executable
content*, users might well click on an SHS file (disguised or not) without a
second thought. And it's not just SHS files. These
"Trojan-horse infectors" can reside in a wide variety of files with
little-known, or seemingly-benign file extensions. For example, if you follow
antivirus activity, you may recall that a few months back some malicious souls
started circulating the Melissa virus in RTF rather than the more common DOC
files. Some enterprises and users who had religiously updated their virus
definitions to include the Melissa signature got infected anyway because their
antivirus apps, by default, didn't scan RTF files. That article referenced above ( http://www.informationweek.com/langaletter/102099langa.htm
) lists many types of file extensions that your virus-scanner *should* be on the
lookout for. (And most do, now.) What's more, most email clients can now be
manually or automatically configured to ignore or quarantine all or most of
these dangerous file types. But it never hurts to double-check.
Sometimes, using a belt-and-suspenders/belt-and-brace combination isn't foolish,
but makes good sense! Click to
email this item to a friend Our discussions of all the various
speed-testing sites led several readers to ask about the differences in the ways
the test sites report speed. For example, some test sites are lax about keeping
their bps and Bps straight--- the former is bits per second, the latter, Bytes
per second (a byte is 8 bits). This can lead to all kinds of confusion. This is all explained in
BrowserTune: BT2K reports its speeds in
BITS per second; this is the correct method used for reporting online speed.
(For example, a 56K modem gets its name because it can operate at maximum speed
of 56K BITS per second.) However, many browsers and speed-measuring software
improperly report speeds in BYTES per second. There are 8 BITS in a BYTE; so a
56K modem can operate at a maximum of 7K BYTES per second. Normally, BITS are
represented by a small "b" and BYTES are represented by a capital
"B." Thus, 7KB and 56Kb are the same speed. Alas, many people
disregard these conventions, and mix BITS and BYTES with abandon---creating far
more confusion than there needs to be. There are other areas of confusion,
too. For example, each byte a modem sends also is accompanied by some necessary
"baggage" called start, stop and parity bits; sending one byte can
take 11 bits, not just the 8 you'd expect. But BrowserTune accounts for that,
too, as is explained here: http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2000/jan-10-00.htm#4
. In any case, it takes less than 5
minutes to do a basic health-and-speed test of your browser and system at http://www.browsertune.com/bt2kfast/
. Check it out! Click to
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Have you tried either the new AOL6
or the new MSN Explorer? I asked for feedback a short while ago (see http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2000/2000-11-02.htm#3
) and I've gotten over 200 detailed replies so far. (Thanks!) But it's not too late to add your
voice to the mix: if you've tried either, please let me know your experience---
good or bad! Please write to AOL@Langa.Com or
MSN@langa.Com and share your experiences!
I'll gather all the results, and present them in a future issue. Thanks! Click to
email this item to a friend Dave Sellars wrote: Fred: I'm running Windows
SE and have been having problems with blue screens, etc. that seem to occur
several days in a row and then disappear for a week or two at a time. However, I
continue to look for problem areas and I've discovered something going on that I
haven't noticed in the future. Each time I boot up, windows adds two ".tmp"
to the main windows directory. These files are "0" bytes in length,
but never get removed. After 10-12 of these files have accumulated in the
directory over the course of a week, I delete them and the system seems to
become less problem prone. Here's a copy of the names, etc. of the two files as
they appear following this evening's boot up. fffe7073_{C4536D20-B024-11D4-8D6C-00010261DD50}.tmp What are these files,
should they be deleted upon every shutdown, should they be going to the
Windows/temp directory rather that the windows directory, etc. Does this
indicate a system problem and, if so, what should I do to fix it. They're created (and not deleted) by
MS Office; it's a minor bug. They shouldn't be causing crashes or other
instabilities, though. The CleanAll batch files
automatically delete those files (see http://www.langa.com/cleanall_bat.htm
), or you can add this line to your Autoexec.bat file to delete the files
automatically at each reboot: del c:\windows\ff*.tmp Something else is likely to be the
source of your crashes. You might want to look at the series of articles on
Resource Leaks ( http://content.techweb.com/winmag//columns/explorer/2000/14.htm
) for one possible cure. Click to
email this item to a friend William Queflander (from New
Jersey), Ian Jourdain (from New Zealand) and Goef Male (from Ontario, Canada)
claimed their free copies of "Poor Richard's E-Mail Publishing: Creating
Newsletters, Bulletins, Discussion Groups and Other Powerful Communications
Tools." It normally retails for $30. They won their books by using the
"Recommend" link at http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm#2 If you use that 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 a book!
(Full details also available via that link.) The more times you make a
recommendation, the greater your chances are of winning! http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm#1 Either way, thank you, and good
luck! Click to
email this item to a friend If you're running any version of
Win2K--- Server, Professional, Advanced Server, Datacenter Server--- you should
be aware of a problem with an unchecked buffer in the Win2K implementation of
ActiveX that "could allow enable a malicious user to potentially run code
on another user's machine." FAQ: Patch: Click to
email this item to a friend Do you have a home page
or website? (It doesn't matter what size.) Please click over to http://www.langa.com/code.htm
, and maybe you can join the hundreds and hundreds of LangaList readers who have
"Loaded the Code!" (If you've already "Loaded The Code" and
are wondering if your site will appear here or on the Langa.Com web site, please
see http://www.langa.com/link.txt
) View A
Randomly-Chosen Reader Site From Among the Hundreds Listed Manually
Browse All 500 Posted-to-Date Sites Starting At Greater Thumb
Online Computer Store The Scottish
Baptist College Wild Things of
Australia WebHost
Magazine Shecky's
Illusion Archive (some content may not be suited for kids) 24/7 Mall KeshaTCC
(Arizona) Selyod's Web ESA
Motherboards Let's Munch Click
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LangaList grows by almost 10% per month! <a
href="http://www.langa.com/ratecard.htm">AOL
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Although last month's unseasonably
cold weather here was a fluke (see http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2000/2000-10-16.htm#10
) it's now getting cold in the normal, seasonable way. <g> I live just a few miles from the New
Hampshire's southern border with Maine; here's a "Maine Temperature
Conversion Chart" which relates temperatures in Fahrenheit to various human
behaviors... 60 above: New Yorkers try
to turn on the heat. People in Maine plant gardens. 50 above: Californians
shiver uncontrollably. People in Maine sunbathe. 40 above: Italian &
English cars won't start. People in Maine drive with the windows down. 32 above: Distilled water
freezes. Moosehead Lake's water gets thicker. 20 above: Floridians don
coats, thermal underwear, gloves and woolly hats. People in Maine throw on a
flannel shirt 15 above: New York
landlords finally turn up the heat. People in Maine have the last cook-out
before it gets cold. 0: People in Miami all
die... Mainers close the windows. 10 below: Californians fly
away to Mexico. People in Maine get out their winter coats. 25 below: Hollywood
disintegrates. The Girl Scouts in Maine are selling cookies door to door. 40 below: Washington D.C.
runs out of hot air. People in Maine let the dog sleep indoors. 100 below: Santa Claus
abandons the North Pole. Maine-iacs get frustrated because they can't start the
kah. 460 below: ALL atomic
motion stops (absolute zero on the Kelvin scale). People in Maine start
saying...."Cold 'nuff for ya?" (answer: "ayuh") 500 below: Hell freezes
over. New England Patriots win the Super Bowl. Click to
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For Electronics,
Software All at
great prices? Click
here: <a
href="http://www.langa.com/amazon.htm">AOL
Users Click Here</a> --------------(
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the advertisers: Langa Consulting LLC will never knowingly accept
advertising for a fraudulent product, company or service. However, Langa Consulting LLC makes no implied or explicit warranty, recommendation or endorsement
of or for the products, companies or services mentioned in the ads. Disclaimer:
(Please see full disclaimer here: http://www.langa.com/legal.htm.)
Abbreviated version: The tips and other information given in the newsletter are
researched and are believed to be accurate, but we cannot and do not guarantee
that all the information here will work on all systems, for all users, all the
time. All information herein is offered as-is and without warranty of any kind.
Neither Langa Consulting LLC, nor its employees nor contributors are responsible for
any loss, injury, or damage, direct or consequential, resulting from application
of any information presented here. This newsletter is a free
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