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The LangaList
Standard Edition

2001-09-10

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

Please visit our sponsors and help keep the LangaList S.E. free!

1) Paging George Orwell...

I have to tell you, as a writer and former magazine editor, I've been professionally embarrassed by some of the shallow coverage I've seen of WPA; by how readily many writers have simply parroted the Microsoft line.

It's newspeak. It's doublethink. And some people who should know better are buying into it.

See, for example, http://www.wininformant.com/Articles/Index.cfm?ArticleID=22367 . It says, in part:

....you might be pleased to hear about some of the changes Microsoft is announcing. First, regarding the controversial new Windows Product Activation (WPA) technology, Microsoft told me that for the vast majority of new PCs [that is, on new system where XP comes preinstalled], WPA will be tied solely to the BIOS. This means that users can change every piece of hardware on their systems--including the motherboard, as long as they get new motherboards from the same PC maker--without ever having to activate the product....

"Pleased?" If BIOS-locking sounds like a good thing to you, then you must have missed the original outcry when XP was first in beta: There was a ton of (IMHO, justified) negative commentary on BIOS locking, where XP would be keyed to a particular machine. People were outraged because you could pay full fare for software, and then be more or less restricted to using it only on the machine on which it was originally installed.

Of course, when WPA fledged fully, it appeared to be even worse than that---a 50-digit/multi-element hash that tracked up to 10 system components, and that would force "reactivation" with system upgrades. Public reaction was *extremely* harsh.

So, now Microsoft magnanimously has "softened" WPA so that OEM installations will "only" be BIOS locked, without tracking all the other key hardware in the PC. In other words, they went back to the original idea of BIOS locking on OEM setups.

Some commentators are completely forgetting that BIOS locking was (correctly) seen as a bad thing just a few month ago. Now, they're saying, "Good news--- Microsoft has softened WPA on one type of OEM install! It only tracks the BIOS!" 

We're supposed to be "pleased" with this? What, is this national short-term-memory-loss month or something?

By crude analogy: It's as if a mugger announced he was going to assault you, but instead of taking your entire wallet, he just takes some cash. Commentators might opine "You'll be pleased to note that our criminal has 'softened' the mugging. You'll hardly notice the loss of what he's taking. What a nice mugger!"

Man oh man.

But there's more: Remember in my original column when I suggested that Microsoft encourage registration with a carrot instead of a stick? (I suggested they offer a major discount--- something like 50%.) Well, check this out:

"Another exciting change involves XP home licensing. During the XP beta, I spoke to Microsoft Product Manager Allen Nieman and others at the company about the possibility of a home license that would let users purchase additional copies of XP at a lower cost so they could install the OS on multiple machines. Last week, Microsoft confirmed that it will offer Family License packs to address this need. "We just finalized this [arrangement the week after we shipped XP to manufacturing]," Kristian Gyorkos, an XP product manager, told me. "The packaging isn't yet complete, but we will offer additional Family Licenses." The licenses will offer an 8 to 12 percent discount over the usual XP price and will require that users first purchase at least one retail or OEM copy of XP."

"Exciting?" Let's see: The home versions of XP normally will cost $90-$190 or so, depending on whether you're getting the upgrade or full version. So this stellar discount means you can get additional home licenses at $80-$170 or so, saving you a whole $10-20. Wow. We can all use our discounts to buy Happy Meals.

You know, on second thought, this discount *is* a great deal--- for Microsoft: You pay almost full price, and they don't even have to give you a CD, an instruction book, or anything else, except permission to install XP on another machine. Almost no cost to them, high cost to us. Wow, I'm all tingly with "excitement."

In the original InformationWeek article, I also mentioned that WPA would mainly be a hassle for normal users, and would do almost nothing to stop hard-core malicious crackers and serious copyright infringers. Well, that's coming true, as this clip (  http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/21434.html ) sent along by reader "luben" shows:

At the moment there are a couple of versions of the XP RTM version available in warez [malicious hacker] channels. These are claimed to have circumvented WPA, and there's no real reason to doubt this. There's also a leaked Dell OEM version which is said to install without WPA on Dell machines. In addition to this, WPA has been extensively documented, and a while back tecChannel showed how easily it could be fooled.

And reader "arrondee" was one of several readers who described various experimental hacks and patches used to defeat all or some of WPA:

Disconnect from the internet, install xp, reboot in safe mode, run regedit,  modify

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFTNT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
(change Activation Required value to zero)

then HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion
(change RegDone value to 1)

So, WPA is already broken, easily circumvented, no barrier at all to someone who is serious about using an illegal copy of XP, and mainly just a hassle for legitimate users--- but we should all be "pleased" and "excited" because it's maybe less of a hassle than the early worst-case scenarios seemed? Give me a break.

Is it me? Am I seeing bogeymen in the shadows of WPA where none exist? Am I missing something here?

Please check out the article at
http://www.informationweek.com/853/langa.htm  and then let me know if you think I'm nuts--- or if you think I'm right--- at http://www.informationweek.com/forum/Fred Langa .

See you there!

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2) IE6 Installation Glitches

In "Installing IE6" ( http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2001/2001-09-06.htm#5 ) we discussed ways you can do a full download of IE6 and save the files to your hard drive for later installation. Some readers ran into trouble. For example:

Just a quick note regarding Item 5 (downloading IE6 for later install). On Windows 2000 you don't get the options you mentioned (and probably under XP) so after you download what you call the 'setup/download management tool' you have to create a shortcut to it and edit the properties of the shortcut so that it runs with the following switches:

/c:"ie6wzd.exe /d /s:""#E"""
eg:
C:\ie6setup.exe /c:"ie6wzd.exe /d /s:""#E"""

This will then allow a download (as you mentioned ) Hope this helps! --- Bill Dyehouse

Thanks, Bill. The same tip can be used on NT or any system that tries to dump you straight into the setup without giving you a download option.

The above works best by NOT going to the WindowsUpdate site, but rather by going to the alternate site we gave ( http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downloads/ie6/default.htm ) and using your browser's "save as" or "save to" command (usually via right click) rather than just clicking on the download link. "Save as" lets you download the ie6setup.exe installer to the location of your choice.

Then follow Bill's advice and create/edit a shortcut to the installer, or you also can simply open up a command prompt, change to whatever directory where you saved ie6setup.exe, and type

ie6setup.exe /c:"ie6wzd.exe /d /s:""#E"

Reader Neil Ornstein (and others) had a different suggestion:

Fred, I have used an easier way to save the downloads for future use.

1. Download as usual and choose run from current location.

2. After install is done, simply copy windows update setup files, usually found in c: or c:\windows directory to a storage device for safekeeping.

To reinstall either one, go online and then go to the update files and double click on setup which will say ie6setup or ie5setup in the case of 6.0 or 5.5

Thanks, Neil. This works, but the problem is that you can only reinstall using the exact same setup choices you originally made. If that's what you want, you're all set. But by doing it the other way (as described in the last issue, or via Bill's method, above) you have *all* setup choices, and can even change your mind about what you want to install without having to go and re-download the whole thing all over.

Thanks to all who wrote in!

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3) Ad-Aware Update

Just a quick note to let you know lavasoftusa just released Ad Aware 5.6 and a new reghance as of today.

I really look forward to your column and only wish I had upgraded to Plus! a lot earlier. The small charge for the Plus! is a REAL bargain.---Mike Uhlig

Thanks, Mike.

Ad-Aware is, of course, a well-regarded and free spyware-detector and remover. (See
http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-q=ad%2Daware&sp-a=0008002a-sp00000000 ) Here's what Lavasoft says about the new version:

Ad-aware 5.6 released!  You now can export detected registry keys as a registry-bookmarkfile for further analysis with Reghance. Includes an updated referencefile, covering Transponder detection and removal.

The most current referencefile (3.Sept) is 081-02-09-01

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/index.html

It's worth grabbing the new version, but note that Lavasoft's servers have been rather bogged down with all the downloads; things may be slow for a while.

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4) Alexa Users: Amazon May Owe You Money!

Brian Eargle writes:

Basically, you have until the end of October to submit proof--- in the form of a unique Cookie identifier (the site tells you how to find it)--- that you're a member of the class of litigants covered by this lawsuit.

I'm not one--- I never used Alexa. But if you are/were, the above like may be worth a look.

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5) Bill Martin Got His $30. Want Yours?

Reader Bill Martin just got a no-strings $30 Gift Certificate for any item at Amazon.Com--- books, software, hardware, kitchenware, toys, and more. He got it by using the "Recommend" link at http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm .

If you use that link to recommend the LangaList to a friend, your friend may find a new source of useful information, I may gain a new subscriber; and you just may win a gift certificate in my free monthly drawing, just as Bill did. (Full details are available via that link.) 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 (really!), 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) In Search Of A Software Toolkit

Writing from Maine, reader JBMail asks:

Fellow ex-WinMag columnist John Woram and I wrote an article a while back that tried to cover all the main bases of diagnosing system trouble--- both hardware and software: http://content.techweb.com/winmag/library/1998/1001/fea0045.htm . The article includes step-by-step diagnostic processes, some info on tools (of both the hardware and software variety) and reader replies about their own favorite tools and fixes.

There's also "Cool Tools" at http://content.techweb.com/winmag/columns/explorer/2001/05.htm ; it lists many other free or low-cost tools you can use to resolve a huge range of problems.

But, alas, both articles are little dated now. How about if we pool our knowledge and come up with a better list? Please check out the above (so we won't needlessly reinvent any wheels) and then send along your suggestions for great diagnostic tools, techniques, sites, etc., to: toolkit@langa.com.

I'll collect the results, and present them in a future issue.

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7) More Reader Sites!

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 )

Speaking of which: Here's another eclectic sample of reader sites--- some professional, some very personal:

View A Randomly-Chosen Reader Site From Among All Listed
http://www.langa.com/randomlink.htm

Manually Browse All Posted-to-Date Sites Starting At
http://www.langa.com/readersites.htm

Computers in Classroom Teaching
http://www.cedu.niu.edu/~gustin/

Karen Lajoy Financial Solutions
http://www.klajoy.com/

Gene's Personal Home Page
http://home.dmv.com/~gene/

The Little Shop of Erin
http://www.littleshopoferin.com/about.htm

Trap Creek, Lebam, Washington
http://www.trapcreek.homestead.com/home.html

Serene Moments
http://www.angelfire.com/al3/carinbama2/

Robert Essig's Web Site
http://www2.suite224.net/~ressig/

Gen X
http://www.generationx.isfamous.com/

Life, the Universe, And Everything
http://kevinlomas.homestead.com/index.html

Nutburger
http://www.nutburger.com/

Colette Cheyne Paintings (NZ)
http://www.cheyne.co.nz/

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8) Recovering From A Bad Reformat

In the UK, reader Graham Gwilliam ran into major trouble:

That's a nasty one, but there may be help: Tools like Norton's Utilities can sometimes let you recover an errant format. There are also free and low-cost tools available that can help: See http://www.google.com/search?q=unformat+free

But note that you'll need to leave the formatted disk alone as much as possible. The more you use it after it's been reformatted, the less of the old information you'll likely be able to recover. In fact, if possible, do *nothing* with the reformatted disk at all; download and use the un-format tools from a floppy disk: That gives you the best shot at recovering what you've lost.

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9) Just For Grins

Steve York sends along these instructions for preserving your desktop icons:

Most contemporary icons are produced with great care and attention to detail. However, being subjected to repeated clicking and constant bombardment by cathode rays, they tend to deteriorate over time.

In order to maintain their graphic integrity, it is recommended that the following procedure be followed at least once every six months

1. Remove the icon from the monitor, being careful to handle it only by the edges to avoid pixel damage.

2. Soak in a lukewarm, soapy solution for 5 to 10 minutes. Do not rub or scrub, or pixels may be shifted, resulting in serious disintegration of the image.

3. Remove from bath and stand on edge to dry. Under no circumstance attempt to dry with a rag or lens tissue, and never subject to blow-drying, or permanent damage may result. If more than 5% of the pixels have been lost, replace icon with a new one.

4. Carefully replace cleaned icon in monitor, taking special care not to touch the surface. Allow to set one hour before using.

If icons need to be exchanged from one computer to another, they should be transported only in specially prepared icon cases available at any computer or electronic supply store.

Remember, icons are the heart and soul of the Windows environment, and should be treated accordingly.

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10) Twenty FREE Scripts, Tools, And  Executables;
33-66% More Speed From A TNT2 Video Card;
More PPoE Info

Today's LangaList Plus! Edition contains all items above, plus about 30% more content including: A Plus! reader's personal collection of 20 Free Scripts, Tools, And  Executables; step-by-step information of squeezing lots more speed from a TNT video card; and additional information on using "PPPoE" connections.

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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