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The LangaList
Standard Edition
2001-07-23
A Free Email Newsletter from
Fred Langa
That Helps You Get More From Your Hardware,
Software, and Time Online
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0) NEWS FLASH!
An unusually aggressive,
clever, and destructive worm is spreading by email with unprecedented speed;
I've already had it unintentionally sent to me by *hundreds* of readers, most of
whom have no idea their PC is spewing out copies of the worm.
Please see this page (
http://www.langa.com/flash.htm ) for information.
Click to email this item to a friend
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1) Is Your Data Disappearing?
Did you know that floppies and backup tapes can go bad in as little as a year
or two?
In the early days of PCs, there were no real alternatives: The only backup
option was floppy disks, and using them was a time-consuming and clumsy affair.
Even with skillful use of a specialized program such as "FastBack," the best you
could hope for was a backup speed of about a megabyte a minute. Once hard drive
sizes exceeded what you could reasonably back up in about the space of a coffee
break--- 20 MB or so--- floppies ceased to be a practical backup medium, and
tape drives became de rigueur.
Tape backups are still in wide use today, and they're OK--- not "great," but
just "OK." High-capacity tape systems--- especially centralized, server-based
"juke box" arrays that can back up arbitrarily large quantities of data--- are
quite expensive. Lower-end systems can be slow and noisy and, with limited
capacity, require a human operator to serially load new tapes as needed. Plus,
all tape-based systems require special hardware (the tape drive), which limits
backup/restore operations only to the PC(s) on which a tape drive is installed
or is accessible.
Worse, blank tapes are relatively expensive, so long-term storage of large
amounts of data becomes a very pricey prospect. To avoid huge investments in a
static tape library, many enterprises and individuals who use tape simply forgo
long-term storage, and instead recycle the same tapes over and over--- a
practice that largely negates the archival benefits of making backups in the
first place.
Those who do use tape for long-term data storage face another problem: Tapes
do not age gracefully. There can be problems with stretching or embrittlement of
the plastic backing; problems with the adhesive that holds the oxide coating in
place; problems with the oxide itself losing signal strength through
self-demagnetization over time, or from being affected by stray magnetic fields
from external sources; problems with dirt and dust; and even problems with the
rollers and guide pulleys. Without some kind of carefully climate-controlled
storage area and high quality, professional-level caretaking, I wouldn't want to
trust irreplaceable data to tapes for more than a couple years, at best.
Of course, some records and files only need to be kept for a few years; well
within a tape's lifetime. But in the US, the general legal statute of
limitations is still seven years; meaning that any records that could be needed
for legal disputes must be archived for at least that long. Other items---
ranging from patent, copyright and corporate historical records to family photos
and digital videos--- might require a much longer shelf life, reaching decades
or even generations. Tapes just aren't up to these tasks.
CDRs avoid many of the problems with tape. But what's the lifespan of a CDR?
It turns out to be limited mainly by the type of dye used in the "writable"
layer of the CDR. There are four main types of dyes in use, and they each offer
a different likely lifespans.
There are other factors that affect CDR life, too, and I've turned the
current InformationWeek "LangaLetter" column into a crash course on CDRs: After
just 10 minutes or so of reading, you'll be able to identify the dye and backing
used on almost any CDR you see, estimate the likely life of the CDR, and know
how to trade off longevity and price to find which brands and types of CDRs are
just right for your data storage needs.
After all, it's silly to
buy top-of-the-line CDRs if they don't meaningfully add to the CDR's utility.
But on the other hand, it's totally pointless to buy any CDR if the data on it
will go bad before you have a chance to use it.
Come get the scoop, and learn all
you need to know to make the right CDR choices!
When the column is posted
(2001-07-23) it should be available via this direct link:
http://www.informationweek.com/847/langa.htm . If you arrive early,
the link won't work: just try again a little later. <g> Or, you can use the
general "front door" to InformationWeek.Com's "Listening Post:"
http://www.informationweek.com/LP/
See you there!
(P.S. Call off the grammar
police: I know it's more correct to say "Are your data disappearing?" But to me
that sounds funky, like "All your base are belong to us." I think in this case,
I'll embrace the less-correct but more euphonious construction.)
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2)
Hackers vs Crackers
Last issue's item on the Security
Bulletin hoax promulgated by malicious hackers, plus some email I've gotten from
readers who were disturbed to see that some software I've mentioned (such
as TFAK) came from self-described "hackers," suggests that it might be good to
clarify our own language here:
You see, "hacking" is a
misunderstood and misused term. Anyone who pokes around in the guts of things to
see how they work is "hacking." Hacking was originally used in conjunction with
computer hardware, and was later extended to software.
The act of hacking is usually driven
solely by curiosity and is not intentionally malicious. In fact, the primary
definition of "hacker" (as given by the American Heritage Dictionary of
the English Language, Fourth Edition, is simply "One who is proficient at using
or programming a computer; a computer buff." There is no implication of hacking
being associated with malice or illegality. (However, it should be noted that
hacking may result in *accidental* damage.)
But hacking *can* be malicious or
used for intentionally illicit or evil purposes. This subset of hacking is
sometimes called "cracking."
Many readers of this newsletter are
familiar with Steve Gibson, author of Shields Up and many other useful tools.
Steve is a very talented hacker (and I mean that as a high compliment). He is
NOT a cracker; in fact, much of his work is specifically designed to help
protect us from the work of crackers.
Alas, although the words exist to
finely differentiate malicious and benign ways of delving into the innards of
computer hardware and software, the terms have largely become synonymous and
most people--- and even some dictionaries!--- equate hacking with "malicious
hacking" or "cracking." And even the more accurate dictionaries--- like American
Heritage--- fudge the issue: The secondary definition of "hacker" given by the
American Heritage Dictionary is, "One who uses programming skills to gain
illegal access to a computer network or file."
But they're not synonyms. All
crackers are hackers, but not all hackers are crackers. The fact that a person
is described as a hacker does not necessarily mean anything bad; in fact, it
might be high praise for their talents.
Labels are dangerous and invite
superficial judgments. When you hear someone described as a "hacker," make a
mental note to find out more before you assume they're of the malicious variety.
And here, I'll continue to use the
nonambiguous, albeit clumsy, phrase "malicious hacker" to differentiate the bad
guys from the benign ones.
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3)
More Foistware Follies
I'm both amazed and dismayed to see
how many people's systems are getting fouled up by "foistware" (commercial
software that tries to force unasked-for additional third-party software on
you). And without a doubt, "webHancer" is the target of more negative reader
mail than any other app:
It seems fitting that the
latest LangaList mentioned both the value of the Microsoft Knowledge Base and "foistware"
WebHancer. My wife and I (and, I assume, thousands of other users) had WebHancer
thrust upon us by MPlayer, an online gaming site. As John Alvey mentioned, it
did eventually trash one of our winsocks when it was uninstalled. I tried
everything I could think of to get the computer back online. When all else
failed, I finally looked in the Microsoft Knowledge Base and found an article
called "Q241344 - Error Message The Page Cannot Be Displayed." (
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q241/3/44.asp ) This
article gives step by step procedures for removing and reinstalling Winsock,
which fixes the problem.--- Scott Alter
Thanks, Scott. There are actually
many ways Winsock can get trashed, to that Knowledgebase article is worth
remembering. But the volume of mail suggests that something was very poorly done
with webHancer's use of Winsock in particular.
WebHancer offers no discernable
end-user benefit anyway. When you go to the site (
http://www.webhancer.com/
) you'll see the product is aimed thus:
webHancer offers a suite of
web site performance measurement and analysis applications for e-business
marketing and Internet operations management.
In other words, it's a
measuring/monitoring tool that sits on your connection--- on your Winsock--- and
reports its findings back to webHancer, which aggregates information about web
performance for the benefit of its corporate customers. Alarmingly, this data
includes "user demographics by access speed."
Maybe I'm missing something
altogether, but webHancer appears to be foistware that diddles clumsily with
your system, surreptitiously collects data about your internet use, and sends
the collected data off to someone else, for their benefit, not yours.
It's rare to find software with
absolutely zero redeeming value, but this just might be such a beat.
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4)
Unmentioned For A Year
Over the life of this newsletter
(which started in 1997), we've covered many topics. Sometimes, a good product or
service gets mentioned only once, which means that all readers who join the
newsletter after that mention miss out.
On the other hand, it would be
terminally boring to cover exactly the same few things over and over and over.
8-)
So, I rely a lot on you, the
readers, who let me know via your emails what's on your mind, what problems
you're facing, and whether previously mentioned topics might be worth
revisiting. For example:
Hi Fred, Just a thanks for
the regular Langalist emails, I thought it might be time for me to contribute
something. I thought you might want to have a look at this ...
Quite often I want to be
able to get on to a PC/ UNIX box that is over the other side of the building,
run some software remotely or even watch what someone else is up to. VNC,
Virtual Network Computing, is, a remote display system which allows you to view
a computing 'desktop' environment not only on the machine where it is running,
but from anywhere on the Internet and from a wide variety of machine
architectures. I have been running Exceed for quite a while now and find this
easier to use and less resource hungry. There are binaries for Linux (2.x),
Solaris 2.5, win (9x and 2000), Mac, DEC and Java sources. In the contributed
section there are a wide range of other OS support such as SGI IRIX / OS2 etc.
--- Steve Bagley
VNC is indeed cool--- and free---
supported by AT&T Laboratories, Cambridge, England. (
http://www.uk.research.att.com/vnc/ ) We first covered VNC almost exactly a
year ago in "Something Like "PC Anywhere," Except It's Free!" (see
http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2000/2000-07-06.htm#4 )
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5)
Last Week To Enter July's FREE Book Drawing
On July 31, I'll choose another
monthly winner of a no-strings $30 Gift Certificate for any item at Amazon.Com---
books, software, hardware, kitchenware, toys... To have a shot at winning, 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 a $30 shopping spree! (Full details also available via this
link):
http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm
The more times you make a
recommendation, the greater your chances are of winning!
Or, if you'd like to try to win
$10,000(!), try this link (full details also available here):
http://www.recommend-it.com/l.z.e?s=143182
Either way, thank you, and good
luck!
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6)
Versatile Tool Removes PC "Pests"
Reader Jerry Pyle passed along word
of a tool that detects PC "pests," which the company describes as "trojans,
spyware, worms, hacker tool kits, password stealers/crackers and more." The idea
is a good one--- you use a single tool to root out all "pests" of these types.
The tool's called "PestPatrol," and
its from SaferSite. PestPatrol is neither an antivirus tool nor a firewall; in
fact the company explicitly says you should still use those. But by using
PestPatrol, you end up with three tools--- firewall, AV scanner, and PestPatrol---
instead of running a bunch of separate tools to individually target each
category of threat. (For example, separate anti-trojan tools, spyware-catchers,
etc.)
It's trialware--- you can test drive
it for free. If you like it, the personal edition is just $10.
Although I have no way to test
SafeSite's claim that PestPatrol can detect 23,000 "pests," so far I have no
reason to doubt the claim. And in general, I like the concept of this product.
If you'd like to check it out, click
to http://www.safersite.com
.
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7)
They Just Keep Coming And Coming and Coming...
Almost 1500 of your fellow readers
have "Loaded the code." Please click over to
http://www.langa.com/code.htm , and maybe you can join them! (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 )
Speaking of which: Here's another eclectic sample of reader sites--- some
professional, some very personal:
View A Randomly-Chosen Reader Site
http://www.langa.com/randomlink.htm
Manually Browse All
Posted-to-Date Sites Starting At
http://www.langa.com/readersites.htm
DreamWeaver Resources
http://www.dreamweaversites.com/
DellT@lk & Sig Tips
http://www.djdenham.com/
Personal link Page
http://www.geocities.com/wildbery65/links/links.htm
Nelson dela Cruz (Filipino)
http://www.geocities.com/nelscruz/
Mink's Links
http://www.theinternet.cc/mink/
Australian Country Music
http://angelfire.com/country/Kernaghan/
May's Reviews
http://ca.geocities.com/maceyr/
PromoPhot (Belgium;
some artistic nudity)
http://www.promophot.com/
Teresa's Collectables
http://www.teresascollectables.com
Home Appliance Repair
(Glasgow)
http://www.homeappliancerepairs.homestead.com/home.html
Palan.Net
http://www.palan.net/
Seven Stages (website
design, image editing, HTML publishing, etc)
http://www.7stages.com/
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eLinux:
Downloads, Articles, Tutorials plus
3,000 Supported Linux Products!
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8)
New, Free HyperTerminal
More than a year ago, Microsoft warned of a "buffer overflow" security
vulnerability found in the private edition of HyperTerminal communications tool
that ships with Windows. Several weeks ago, a corrected version of the software
finally became available:
We have just released HTPE (HyperTerminal Private Edition) 6.3
to correct potential security vulnerabilities that affect all versions of
HyperTerminal. These vulnerabilities were discovered under laboratory
conditions, and there are no known reports of them affecting users. Microsoft
documents the issues at
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/security/bulletin/MS00-079.asp
You can download HTPE 6.3 free of charge from
http://www.hilgraeve.com
.HTPE is free for personal use and $29.95 for business use. Even if you use HTPE
for business, you can still download version 6.3 and try it free for 15 days.
If you never use HyperTerminal, you don't need to worry about the security
problem, which only is present when HyperTerminal is running. But if you do use
HyperTerminal, or think you might someday, it'd be smart to grab the new,
corrected version.
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9)
Just For Grins
Reader Dave von Minden sends along
these "Great Truths," which he attributes to Howard A. Harris:
GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT LIFE
THAT LITTLE CHILDREN HAVE LEARNED
1) No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats.
2) When your Mom is mad at your Dad, don't let her brush your hair.
3) If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They always catch the second
person.
4) Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato.
5) You can't trust dogs to watch your food.
6) Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair.
7) Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same time.
8) You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.
9) Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.
10) The best place to be when you're sad is Grandma's/Grandpa's lap.
GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT LIFE
THAT ADULTS HAVE LEARNED
1) Raising teenagers is like nailing Jell-O to a tree.
2) Wrinkles don't hurt.
3) Families are like fudge ...mostly sweet, with a few nuts.
4) Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
5) Laughing helps. It's like jogging on the inside.
6) Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the toy.
GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT LIFE
THAT OLDSTERS HAVE LEARNED
1) Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.
2) Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.
3) When you fall down, you wonder what else you can do while you're down there.
4) You're getting old when you get the same sensation from a rocking chair that
you once got from a roller coaster.
5) It's frustrating when you know all the answers, but nobody bothers to ask you
the questions.
6) Time may be a great healer, but it's also a lousy beautician.
7) With age comes wisdom, but sometimes age comes alone.
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10)
Free Self-Install Module For Help File Archives;
Powerful File Information Utility;
Malicious Dialer Utilities
Today's LangaList Plus! Edition contains all items above, plus about 30% more
content including: An extremely cool and free way to auto-install the LangaList
Help Files; a utility that can help you identify almost 600 different file
types; and information on a malicious self-installing dialer utility that can
run up your phone bills at the rate of $7 per minute...
Plus! Edition info:
http://www.langa.com/plus.htm
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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)
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HTML version is available in the "Current Issue" section of
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(The HTML version of each issue normally is available by 9AM EST [UT-5] of the
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