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The LangaList
Standard Edition

2002-06-06

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) Mo' Betta Magic

Wow--- this week's column and discussion on "magic" fixes--- nonstandard repair techniques that you won't find in any owner's manual or how-to article--- is drawing a ton of really excellent replies. In just the first day, your fellow readers posted their "magic" fixes for speaker hum, video screen "snaps," monitor colors fading, PCI cards not working, getting rid of "phantom" network connections, and lots more. Here's just one example:

Your recent column asked for some of our favorite tricks to fix weird problems. I've got a couple that have worked time and time again for things that you just can't explain.... [H]ere is a debug routine that you can use to blow away the CMOS settings - make sure that you record the settings first, run the routine, and then reboot - go into setup and restore your settings. I have seen this fix all sorts of weird hardware looking problems - everything from LPT1 not working to incorrect RAM sizes. I have even seen this fix video problems where the colors look like 256 colors even though the video is set to high color.  For the routine see http://www.bioscentral.com/misc/debug.htm  -Rick

You gotta check this stuff out: I've already copied a number of these reader-suggested fixes into a folder I refer to whenever I'm stumped: I'm sure some of these will come in handy one day!

Check out the current InformationWeek.Com column, online now at http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20020530S0002 , and then join in: What fixes, tricks, tips or techniques have you used that aren't found in normal owner's manuals and how-to texts? What strange, nonstandard, or--- if I may use the word--- "magical" fixes do you know of? See you at http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20020530S0002 !

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2) Bad Name, Great Site

Fred, there is a fantastic FREE web site that your readers should know about. It's 2000Trainers.com at http://www.2000trainers.com/ . This site is fantastic if you're studying for certification and also if you are just looking for additional information. They also are offering a quarterly CD with the web site information on it for a very good price. One more good thing about the site is that new information/tutorials go up almost weekly. Ron Blessing, Computer Operations Manager, National Institute for Trial Advocacy, University of Notre Dame

Thanks, Ron. It is a nice site, although the name really is misleading: You might assume it just was about Windows 2000, but it covers a lot more than that--- XP, networking, various programming languages, network security, Linux--- tons of stuff. Excellent!

[Ad note: One of the principal authors on the above site, Jason Zandri, also is involved with this well-regarded site:
http://www.boson.com/products/70198.htm?ID=1083 ]

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3) Networking "Gray Areas"

Hi Fred: I post to a discussion group on http://www.extremetech.com and one of the posters was having problems with setting up gaming server on his lan: he could "see" the shares; some of the group were telling him to use tcp / ip and enable netbios over tcp/ip. When I posted NO NO do not do it, I was hammered with all types of responses from others posters telling me I knew nothing of networking and that it was a myth that sharing with tcp / ip was unsafe, and that sites like GRC were spreading lies and mis-info.

Now if sharing over tcp/ip with netbois is safe then how come I can access any number of PC on the Road Runner or Shaw Cable system? .A quick scan will show you NetBios names logged on accounts and shares (XP shares doc folder by default) and just by using  net view\\xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx I am able to have access to the systems across the inet.

I have been doing networks for a long time and I always remove the bindings to TCP file sharing, and use NetBeui or IPX to share files and printers. I provided a list of links to backup my "facts" but not one of the posters who stated I was wrong could provide a link the backup their "facts". ...Could I be wrong and they be right??? I do not think so as I can backup my "facts" with accessing PC's from across the web because of the tcp / netbois sharing. [See:]
http://www.pchell.com/virus/security.shtml
http://www.nwinternet.com/~pchelp/security/issues/sharing.htm
http://cable-dsl.home.att.net/netbios.htm
http://www.ussrback.com/docs/cifs.txt
http://support.sbcglobal.net/general/features/4589.shtml
http://www.asc.edu/faq/security.shtml
http://rr.sans.org/homeoffice/home_net2.php
http://www.internetnews.com/isp-news/article.php/8_397011
http://netsecurity.about.com/library/weekly/aa051600b.htm
http://www.networkmagazine.com/article/NMG20000517S0105
http://www.xs4all.nl/~l0rd/hack/tcp-ip/tcp_ip.zip
http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/~rakerman/trojan-port-table.html
http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/netbeui.htm
http://www.speedguide.net/Cable_modems/cable_security.shtml
http://comcast.comcastonline.com/onlinesecurity/filefaq.asp
http://asia.cnet.com/itmanager/netadmin/0,39006400,39033105,00.htm
http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/tip/1,289483,sid14_gci811495,00.html
http://www.windowsitlibrary.com/Content/169/02/7.html
-- Ryan

This is one of those "it depends" situations. There's no absolute "always right" answer.

File sharing and NetBIOS-over-TCP *CAN* be ok, if everything else is set up correctly, with good firewalling and port blocking, good desktop security , sensible access rights, passwording and group policies, etc. etc. etc. In fact, it's commonly done in larger installations, where TCP may be the only network protocol in use.

But small LANs (SOHO type, and peer LANs ) usually don't have heavy duty firewalls, good desktop security, etc; and they're usually not set up or managed by full-time professional networking gurus. As a result, they are far more vulnerable.

Simple Win9x-type peer sharing, in particular, is very easy to set up incorrectly, with your LAN wide open to outsiders. This is the kind of problem Steve Gibson talks about; it's also why it's very common for cable network users to be able to access their neighbors' systems. Just as Ryan surmises, many cable-connected systems are set up incorrectly, making it easy for a malicious hacker to view files--- or do much worse--- on the insecure systems. (In fact, this can even happen over dial-up and DSL connections, too; any improperly set-up system is at risk.)

My rule of thumb: When in doubt, default to the safer option. For many small LANs, especially when Win9x-type peer file sharing is involved, that means NOT using TCP for print and file sharing. Instead, use TCP only to connect to the Internet, and use a different and non-routable protocol (like NETBEUI) for local print and file sharing. Using a non-routable protocol means your local net traffic literally cannot "leak" or be diverted out onto the Internet; and it makes it that much harder for hackers to do much of anything across your LAN.

But using two different networking protocols is clumsier, and does increase network complexity. That's why many large nets simply use TCP for everything nowadays. When set up to professional standards, it can be very safe. It's just that few smaller LANs are set up that well.

So this isn't a clear black/white issue. The answer depends on the kind of setup you have, and the skill level with which your LAN was designed, installed and maintained. As with so many things, the "correct" answer isn't absolute, but is instead a judgment call.

Excellent question, Ryan--- and thanks: Your list of links will help many readers in safely setting up their small LANs.

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4) New Letter From Suradon Janno

Remember Suradon? He's a 7 year old boy living in Thailand. (He's in the middle here: http://www.freetune.com/images/suradon2.jpg ) His family is extremely poor (less than US$290 per capita per year) , and ekes out a marginal living doing odd jobs and some farming. When we first heard of him, the local relief agency wrote that "Suradon badly needs food, clothing and medical care."

Since last fall, things have improved for Suradon: He's now one of the children supported every month through LangaList Plus! subscription contributions. These contributions do not increase the cost of a Plus! subscription in any way; the donation is taken "off the top" of any profits.

So far, we've been able to offer sustained, ongoing help to six impoverished kids around the world, aided emergency earthquake relief efforts in India, and helped those hurt in the Sept 11th terrorist attacks on the US. (To see all the donations so far, click to http://www.langa.com/plus2.htm#kids )

Suradon wrote to us for the first time several months ago but we only just now got his note--- a thank-you for an extra contribution we made to him last Christmas. As translated by an aid worker there, here's what he said:

I received the very nice Christmas money gift you sent. Thank you very much. This money was used for:

1) sweater
2) a schoolbag
3) pair of student shoes
4) two pairs of socks
5) two pieces of sportswear

The rest of the money was put in a bank account for future education.

The above things have satisfied me very much. Especially the lovely thick sweater  to protect me from the cool weather at our school. Besides this, being equipped by the school uniform and the school bag given, I've felt encouraged and am certainly determined to pay more attention to studying. May you be blessed. Your sponsored child, Suradon Janno.

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5) Finding a "Lost Gem"

Hi Fred: Love your Plus! edition immensely! Has been regularly helpful, even for an experienced old dog like me... :-) A couple of years ago (well, almost) one of your readers pointed the way to a DOS tool called DELAGE.EXE - loved it... and lost it! Now I want it back, but the links that come up in Google (and all other search engines I've tried) either points to your newsletter from July 2000 or the missing site where it used to be available. Can you, or any of your loyal readers, help me get this gem back? Many thanks Paul Ross

"DelAge" is a handy one indeed: It deletes files based on their age, and so is an easy  way to clean out older files from a directory/folder or system. You can find it--- and 31 other free and useful files--- at
http://home.mnet-online.de/horst.muc/horst.htm .

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6) Want $10,000 To Spend This Season?

The Recommend-It site gives away up to $10,000 as an incentive to use their service to recommend newsletters like this one!

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.recommend-it.com/l.z.e?s=143182

Or, win a no-strings $30 Gift Certificate for any item at Amazon.Com--- books, software, hardware, kitchenware, toys... and more. (Full details also available via this link): http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm

Either way, thank you, and good luck!

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7) "Yet More Exceptional Freeware"

Hi Fred, Here are two freeware programs of extraordinary quality and usefulness that some of your readers may not yet be aware of:

CDCheck, from http://elpros.si/CDCheck/ , has developed into a sophisticated tool that will detect and explain any read errors in CDRs. It might be used occasionally or at random intervals by someone who does a huge amount of CD burning, constantly if one burns CDRs rarely, and is useful for checking long-term archived CDRs from time to time, since deterioration is very possible over time. [Note: CDCheck is indeed free for non-commercial use; and free to try for 30 days for commercial users. But there's a fee for commercial use beyond 30 days; info is available on the site. ---Fred]

HHTrack Website Copier, from http://www.httrack.com , is an exceptional offline browser and mirror utility, provided under the GNU GPL. It at least equals the best shareware/commercial programs of this kind, and is both very easy to use and very sophisticated and powerful should one care to dig into its depths a bit.

A (to me) useful 'kinda freebie' is FlashSwitch, a simple utility that installs in the system tray and allows you to toggle Flash content on or off with just one click. It works like a charm. The 'kinda freebie' part is that the program is "currently provided free of charge as a time-limited fully functional demo. The program will expire in approximately 6 months after downloading from FlashSwitch official site at http://www.flashswitch.com . Another time-limited demo or a commercial version will be available by then." Well, I'll use it gladly for 'approximately' 6 months. Cheers, Bhikkhu Nirodho

Thanks, Bhikkhu!

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8) 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

Marathon Youth Services (WI)
http://www.marathonyouthservices.org/

Bruce Cumming  (portal/blog)
http://www.brucecumming.com/

Dating Disasters (some harsh content)
http://www.datingdisasters.net/

Smok'n Joe's
http://www.geocities.com/nicechiefnice/

Lorne Friesen Home Page
http://www.telusplanet.net/public/lornejf/

Veteran Computer Services (NC)
http://www.vcserv.com/

December Nights
http://www.decembernights.com/

Amateur Radio
http://www.qsl.net/w8eeo/

Paint(ball) Demons
http://www25.brinkster.com/paintdemons/Links.html

Davidware (Palm and Windows software)
http://www.davidware.com/

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9) Free File-Conversion Tools

Fred, since usually all I do is get information from you, I made my mind that during this week I would try to get something FOR you. So after much surfing for once I think I found a link that is interesting.... try "The Converters Paradise" with all sorts of File Conversion Routines. Regards, Miguel A. Renom

The link is http://hem.spray.se/joakim.slettengren/

Nice link--- it's heavy with audio/video conversion tools that let you change a file from one format into another, but there are other types of conversion tools posted there too. Thanks, Miguel!

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10) Just For Grins

Reader "eckertrj" sends along this list of "Children's Books That Didn't Make It." I've had to, er, expurgate the list a bit for publication; you can find longer and more (ahem) colorful versions at many online sites, such as: http://www.google.com/search?q=Grandpa+Gets+a+Casket . If you don't like offbeat or slightly macabre humor, this might be a good place to stop reading... <g>

Children's Books That Didn't Make It:

You Are Different and That's Bad
The Boy Who Died From Eating All His Vegetables
Dad's New Wife Robert
Fun Four-letter Words to Know and Share
Hammers, Screwdrivers and Scissors: An I-Can-Do-It Book
The Kids' Guide to Hitchhiking
Kathy Was So Bad Her Mom Stopped Loving Her
Curious George and the High-Voltage Fence
All Cats Go to Hell
The Little Sissy Who Snitched
Some Kittens Can Fly
That's it, I'm Putting You Up for Adoption
Grandpa Gets a Casket
The Pop-Up Book of Human Anatomy
Strangers Have the Best Candy
Whining, Kicking and Crying to Get Your Way
You Were an Accident
Things Rich Kids Have, But You Never Will
Pop! Goes The Hamster...And Other Great Microwave Games

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11) Plus! Edition Highlights:

• Retrieve Microsoft Bug Announcements By Product/Date
• Compact No-CD Linux Download
• Free Jewel-Case Creator For CDs, And More

Today's LangaList Plus! Edition contains all ten items above, plus about 30% more content including: a simple way to extract bug-announcements from Microsoft for just the product and time frame you're interested in; a downloadable, compact version of Linux ideal for people with dial-up lines and/or no CD burner; and free tools that let you create inserts for CD cases, and many other applications.

As always, the Plus! Edition costs just pennies per issue: http://www.langa.com/plus.htm 

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See you next issue!

Best,

Fred

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

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