|
Please visit the LangaList Home Page Please note: Older issues may contain information that is now out of date.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.htm 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 2001-08-27 Please visit our sponsors and help keep the LangaList S.E. free!
--- ( Your Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList Free! ) ---
--------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 1) Buried TreasuresEvery retail version of Windows, from Win95 through 2000, has little treasures (and sometimes they're not so little) buried on the installation CD--- stuff that you might not ever know is there if the only thing you use the CD for is to run Setup. For example:
You're right, W.E., and there's much more besides. For example, every retail CD copy of Windows 98 (not necessarily the OEM versions bundled with hardware) ships with a version of the Windows Resource Kit right on the CD-ROM. This colossal ResKit is equivalent to a 1,700-page book, and can answer a huge range of Windows setup, deployment, troubleshooting, operational and tuning questions. Plus, the ResKit comes with more than two dozen powerful software tools and utilities that let you do things with Windows you may not have imagined possible. Its combination of tools and information add up to more than 24MB. Win95 has a similar offering. You can read about these bundled--- but largely hidden--- tools via http://content.techweb.com/winmag/library/1998/1101/fea0068.htm and http://content.techweb.com/winmag/library/1998/1001/fea0045g.htm The retail version of the WinME CD, alas, has much less, but still offers a few goodies. For example, the "Tools" directory on the setup CD contains the old, DOS-level "Microsoft System Diagnostics" which can be useful when tracking down some low-level hardware problems; a CD test program; TCP configuration tools; etc. The retail version of the Windows 2000 CD has Front Page server extensions, some scripting help files, and misc. tools (Windows Management Instrumentation ODBC adapter, Phone Book Administration, Terminal Server Client for the Handheld PC, etc.) mostly under the \VALUEADD\ directory. (However, an online version of the Win2K ResKit can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/reskit/tools/default.asp ) But while the amount and value of these extra files varies, *all* retail Windows CDs (not necessarily the OEM versions bundled with your hardware) contain at least *some* extra goodies. Poke around--- you may be pleasantly surprised at what you find! Click to
email this item to a friend 2) TestCPUReader Chuck Knebel writes:
Thanks, Chuck! TestCPU is a nice, compact program. There are, of course, many many other ways to do CPU benchmarking (see http://www.google.com/search?q=cpu+benchmark ); a few, like http://www.pcpitstop.com , take a whole-system approach and let you test not only the components but also their interactions (which comes closer to representing real life). But it's nice to have a fast, local test to run from time to time just to be sure everything's OK, and TestCPU seems pretty good on that score. Click to
email this item to a friend 3) US Law Makes Spamming *Easier*As the lines between the online and offline world blur (consider online banking, for example), what used to be paper-based snail-mail spamming is surely spilling into the electronic world. And--- unfortunately--- some parts of the US Government are making it easier than ever for businesses to share private information about you. Reader Al Conforti sends along a link and a phone number that may help. But please read this item all the way through to then end before you decide to act:
The change in the law in effect made "opt in" the default for many types of business data sharing. It seems backwards to me, but now, in the US, unless you specifically say "don't release my data" many businesses are free to share a wide range of information about you. But even so, there's a distinction between sharing info on things like "preapproved credit" offers, and the sharing of the specific details of your credit history. The former is generally allowed, but the latter is NOT available to anyone who just asks for it. The barriers to gaining the info aren't very high, unfortunately, but access to the information is at least somewhat restricted. There's also some messy confusion between what can be done at the federal level, and what must be done locally. The phone number above is mainly for opting out of the "preapproved credit" type of offers, and won't help with (say) opting out of any information-sharing your local bank may have in mind. The latter will take a separate phone call or email. The FTC link that Al provides gives you easy access to credit reporting bureaus, your local department of motor vehicles, and various direct marketing agencies. As such, it's probably better than the phone number for actually getting some safeguards in place for your private info. Thanks, Al! And online, check the privacy policy of any sites you do business with: The site should state clearly what--- if anything--- will be done with your private info. If you don't like what you see, of if the site has no privacy policy, take your business elsewhere. (Langa.Com's privacy policy: http://www.langa.com/privacy.htm ) Click to
email this item to a friend --- ( Your Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList Free! ) ---
--------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 4) Safely Inspecting Suspicious EmailA reader (who requested anonymity) writes:
Is this in fact as safe as I assume it to be? The reason I do this is to check messages I did not expect or recognize. Sign me: Extremely Satisfied LangaList Plus Subscriber If you can read a message, you've "opened" it; however, by viewing the source, you probably won't automatically trigger embedded scripts and such. But you can take steps to ensure your safety. Some non-Microsoft email clients protect you from scripts by using simplified HTML viewers (they don't use your browser); others are script-aware, and auto-quarantine suspicious attachments. ZoneAlarm also will automatically rename ALL attached scripts to prevent them from doing anything until and unless you explicitly allow them to run. You also can use John Woram's script toggles to help enable or disable scripts in various security zones ( http://www.langa.com/woram.htm ) or use Jason Levine's Script Sentry ( http://www.jasons-toolbox.com/ ). Quick View (quikview.exe) also lets you display many file types without activating any scripts, macros, or other embedded nasties that may lurk within. A basic version of Quick View is bundled in all standard Windows installations; if it's not in your system, you usually can add it via the "Windows Setup tab in Control Panel "Add/Remove Programs" applet. A more powerful, extra-cost version is available at http://www.jasc.com/product.asp?pf_id=006 . But there's an even simpler solution: Just delete any message/attachments you don't recognize or that you didn't expect, or that are in any way even slightly mysterious. Why fool around with it? When in doubt, toss it out! 8-) Click to
email this item to a friend 5) Gator Gets WorseWe've discussed Gator in the past, and never in a positive way. (See http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-q=gator&sp-a=0008002a-sp00000000 ) But now, Gator has mutated into something even worse. From ZDNet's "AnchorDesk:"
(Thanks to reader Robert Hopgood for being first to send the above link.) Click to
email this item to a friend 6) Last Week To Enter August's FREE DrawingOn Aug 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): Either way, thank you, and good
luck! Click to
email this item to a friend 7) "Surf Safari" FoistwareThe number of foistware apps and utilities is skyrocketing. Reader Ronald Nicolai ran afoul of another one:
I am a LangaList Plus! subscriber and really enjoy it and look forward to reading it. Thanks! Thank *you*, Ronald. Surf Safari is a "service" of NetZero, a "free" ISP. You can read about Surf Safari at http://www.surfsafari.com/ , but the amount of information is tiny and won't tell you much about how it works. My guess is that NetZero is selling inclusion in the SurfSafari database to other companies: Those companies pay NetZero so their links can be dangled as bait in front of SurfSafari users. Man, sometimes it feels like the web has turned into a huge "whack-a-mole" game: As soon as one adware/foistware offering is outed, up pops another... Click to
email this item to a friend 8) They Loaded The CodeThousands 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 ) Manually Browse All
Posted-to-Date Sites Starting At Best Practice in Email
Spam Prevention and Eradication Small Biz Tech Talk The Holiday Page Monroe Secretarial
Service Bob's Useful Web Sites Worcester (MA)
Boy's/Girl's Club Crawfords Canadian
Camping Consulting Academy Philippines' Online
Opinion Headquarters The Writers Forum Bill's Home Page Windows Guide Network Click to
email this item to a friend --- ( Your Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList Free! ) ---
--------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 9) The Return Of SnargA long time ago, in an item
called "Weird, Weird Site," we discussed
http://www.snarg.net , which
is a bizarre, self-mutating, experimental and oddly compelling web site. Some of
the pages are demos; others are the equivalent of web coder doodles; some pages
are static, others interactive; there are poems, photo essays, and lots more,
almost all with, er, unusual navigation methods. Snarg generated enough reader
response we actually discussed it several times. ( Well, it's back, although wildly different from what it was before:
Thanks David! Be warned: You can waste a *lot* of time at this site once you start poking around. 8-) Click to
email this item to a friend 10) Just For GrinsReader Fred Walker was surprised to see an apparently for-real story about a Microsoft-branded ("private label") credit card: "Microsoft Corp. is launching a private-label credit card program for its Microsoft System Builder Program participants. The card was prompted by customer requests, the company said." (See http://www.dmnews.com/cgi-bin/artprevbot.cgi?article_id=16727 ) But then Fred Walker's creative juices started flowing:
Click to
email this item to a friend --- ( Your Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList Free! ) ---
--------------( the above is an advertisement )--------------
11) "Green" Software PhotoPlayer;
|
|
|
Please visit the LangaList Home Page
|