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The LangaList
Standard Edition

2002-08-01

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) New Free ZoneAlarm

On Tuesday, Zone Labs released ZoneAlarm 3.1. If you're a ZoneAlarm user, you should soon get an update notice (the notifications are staggered over time to prevent everyone from trying to download the new code at once.) You also can grab the code manually by going to http://www.zonelabs.com .

In addition, ZoneAlarm Pro was recently updated to version 3.0.133. Similarly, you can update automatically via the built-in update/reminder agent, or by visiting the above site and manually grabbing a copy.

The Pro upgrade is only a little different from the previous version, but the free version is a major update, and already is generating some strong--- and so far, mostly negative--- reader comments: stability problems, resource issues, and more.

But the numbers of reports I've gotten so far is too small to serve as a basis for a reliable conclusion. Plus, it's a fact of human nature that far more people take the time to write when they're angry about a product than when they're happy with one. (I guess we all tend to complain more than praise. <g>)

But by the time you read this newsletter, enough people should have used the new version of ZoneAlarm that we can begin to draw meaningful conclusions.

Once you've tried the new version, please drop a short note to ZA@Langa.Com and tell me if your experience was good, bad, or neutral. What did you like or not like about the new version? Will you keep using it?

I'll gather the replies, and present them soon in an upcoming issue.

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2) Updated Cumulative Patch for Windows Media Player

Microsoft says:

Who should read this [item]: Customers using Microsoft Windows Media Player 6.4, 7.1 or Windows Media Player for Windows XP [Home and Professional].

Impact of vulnerability: Three vulnerabilities, first reported on June 26 2002, the most serious of which could be used to run code of attacker's choice.

Maximum Severity Rating: Critical

Recommendation: Customers running affected products should apply the patch immediately. Customers who are still running Windows Media Player 7.0 should upgrade to Windows Media Player 7.1 first and then apply the patch immediately.

Affected Software:

• Microsoft Windows Media Player 6.4
• Microsoft Windows Media Player 7.1
• Microsoft Windows Media Player for Windows XP

For more info and fixes, see either

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;EN-US;q320920&
 or
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/security/bulletin/MS02-032.asp

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3) "CloseIE"

Hi Fred... Here's a useful piece of well-written freeware that functions exactly as advertised "Closes all occurrences of IE with the push of a button on the IE toolbar. Closes all instances of IE except for the one you are viewing. Even catches re-spawning windows from taking over your desktop." Highly recommended and surprisingly useful. See http://www.geocities.com/closeiex/    Best regards, Dave Miller

Thanks, Dave. XP has this function built-in--- its taskbar can group multiple instances of the same program behind one button. Left-clicking the button lets you select which instance you want to switch to; right-clicking the button gives you more choices, including "Close Group," which closes all instances at once.

But for for other/older versions of Windows, the CloseIE freeware may be handy. Thanks!

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4) 65,535 Ports To Keep Track Of

Reader Al Girard  writes:

Fred , I keep getting hits from hackers who are attempting to gain entry to my computer via Port 12345. They usually use Netbus Trojan, but occasionally they use a different trojan. Just what is Port 12345?

This kind of port is used to create logical connections between networked machines; you can think of its number as an arbitrary address, designed simply to tell one port from the next. There are 65,535 such addresses--- port numbers--- in all.

By convention, ports 0 through 1023 are called the "well known ports," and have standardized uses. For example, Port 80 is almost always used for web (HTTP) access; 20 and 21 are used for FTP, and so on.

The ports from 1024 through 49151 are called "Registered Ports." A standards body, the IANA (The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority; http://www.iana.org/ ) arbitrates which port numbers will be used for which service, and then publishes the list of registered ports so net-based services can avoid stepping on each others' toes.

The ports  from 49152 through 65535 are called Dynamic and/or Private Ports; they are unregulated, and anyone can use them for anything on a first-come, first served basis. Port 12345 falls into this category. The crackers creating the Trojans that Al encountered probably chose this arbitrary port number because (1) it's in the unregulated no-man's-land of port addresses and (2) is easy for the cracker to remember, so he or she can set up a corresponding port on his system to capture whatever data the Trojan is sending via that port. It's actually a very popular port for hackers and crackers to use: See http://www.google.com/search?q=Port+12345

Of course, totally legit tools may also use this port--- Trend Micro's antivirus used this port at one time, also simply because it's an easy port number to remember. So: Use of the port, in itself, doesn't meant anything bad is going on. It's what the port is used for that makes all the difference--- and that's where your firewalls, anti-virus, and anti-trojan tools come in.

For lots more info on port numbers, see

http://www.networksorcery.com/enp/protocol/ip/ports00000.htm
http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2001/2001-11-01.htm#2
http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2001/2001-11-05.htm

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5) Restart Without Reboot

Writing from Romania, reader Mihai Constantinescu asked:

Hi Fred. Using WinBoost 2000 (a program for tweaking Win98) I found an option to restart Win98 without rebooting the system (Windows is closed and than it says on a black screen "Windows is restarting" and it takes less time than a full system reboot). WinBoost 2000 can make a shortcut, which in fact has the following command "C:\Windows\Rundll.exe user.exe,exitwindowsexec".

My question is is there a similar option for Windows XP? (the same command doesn't work in XP) Regards, Mihai Constantinescu (from Romania)

The answer is yes, and no. 8-)

Win98 is a two-part system: Part of the OS comprises a graphical environment that's on top of low-level software that traces its roots back to old-style DOS. This two-part nature explains why  Win98 can sometimes lock up to the point where, even though it's still running, it won't accept any input The lower-level system is still there and alive, but the "upper" portion (which includes the graphical interface and the functions for handling user input) may be hung so that you can't do anything!

On the plus side, the two-part nature means you can stop and restart just the "upper" portions of Windows 98 without affecting the lower ones, if you want to. This kind of lightweight reboot is less thorough but much faster than a full-blown restart (i.e. when everything shuts all the way down).

You can force a fast, partial reboot with no extra software at all--- the function is built right into Win98: Click Start/Shutdown, and select Restart. Then press and hold the left shift key when you click OK. Keep pressing the left shift key until the words "Windows is now restarting..." appear on the screen.

WinXP (and 2000 and NT) do things differently: Crashes are fewer in the first place, and almost always not as severe--- an app may crash, but almost never takes down the OS with it, for example. Plus, tasks are much more carefully controlled so they're less likely to step on each other's toes. Software trouble usually is confined to the actual program that's having difficulty, and doesn't spill over to affect other programs (or the system itself).

Thus, a crashed application isn't very likely to (say) cause the user-interface portions of XP to hang. Conversely, restarting just the UI probably won't have much effect on any app that's having trouble.

But if you want to refresh (via stop/start) just XP's graphical interface, it's easy to do so:

Close all apps; save all your work. Hit Ctrl-Alt-Del to bring up the Task Manager. Click on the Processes tab. Find "Explorer." Highlight it, and click "End Process." You'll get a warning message, but if you're sure you've closed all other apps and saved all your data (i.e. that your system is essentially idle, with nothing important going on), you should be OK. Click Yes to shut down Explorer, and your desktop will temporarily vanish. Now, still in Task Manager, select File/New and enter "Explorer" (minus the quotes) in the dialog box. Your desktop will then restart. Close Task Manager, and you're done.

Again, because of the way XP is built, there's usually not much reason to do this. With XP (or Win2k), you won't need to reboot as often as with Win98; and on those infrequent times when you do need to reboot, you probably should reboot all the way, instead of just refreshing the interface.

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6) Is This Information Useful?

If you think the LangaList is a worthwhile read, maybe a friend would find it useful too! Just use the following link to recommend the LangaList---your friend may find a new source of useful information and you just may win $10,000 for your trouble (full details also available via this link): 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) Hibernation File Problem

Hi, Fred .... For many years, I have been using your newsletter to keep my PC lean and mean, but there is one area that you have not mentioned. Sitting right in the middle of my desktop's C drive sits a 400MB+ gorilla (hiberfil.sys} that I'm sure is also taking up space in my Restore and Backup procedures. And since I never hibernate my desktop, I don't need it and don't want it taking up all that space. I've tried going into DOS and removing it, but when I boot to WinXP it comes right back as large as ever. And I'm sure that most desktop users would feel the same way. Is there no way that we can remove the entire Hibernate function from XP...? ---bobhjon

Hibernation is relatively new to desktop systems, although laptops have had this feature for some years. Hibernation is different from a "sleep" or "suspend" mode. In the latter, the system powers down to a very low energy state, but can wake up rapidly because it's not actually turned off: If the power-control drivers are working correctly (a major "if" with many older systems) just jiggling the mouse or tapping a key brings the system awake, just as it was before it went to sleep. But if you lose power while the system is asleep of suspended, you lose any unsaved data, and can even scramble your hard drive.

In Hibernation, the system stops all activity and writes the contents of RAM and some CPU settings to the hard drive (this is the hiberfil.sys file). The system then rapidly shuts all the way off. You can even unplug the system from the wall, and it won't matter: Nothing should be lost because the contents of RAM have been stored safely and inertly on the hard drive.

You usually have to hit the power switch to wake a system out of hibernation. As the system awakens, it sees that it was in hibernation, and skips the normal cold-start sequence. Instead, it loads the contents of the hibersys.fil back into RAM and the CPU, and the system then resumes from exactly whatever state it was in when hibernation started. In theory, you can even leave files open and unsaved when you invoke hibernation and they'll still be there, exactly as you left them, when your system wakes up. (I don't recommend this for anything important, however. It's always safest to save your files before any shutdown, suspend, sleep, or hibernation.)

Hibernation is most useful on laptops (where the fast-restart saves battery life) and on systems that are slow to boot or set up, because recovery from hibernation is almost always much faster than a full restart. But I agree with Bobhjon that there's not a lot of point to it on newer, faster desktops. Like Bobhjon, I don't use hibernation on my desktop systems. Instead, I'll let them go into deep suspend mode when they're inactive for a while. If I intend to leave them inactive for many hours, I'll just turn them all the way off.

I have no hiberfil.sys (or any similar file) on my system. To eliminate it, go to the Power Management applet in Control Panel (in XP, it's Start/Control Panel/Performance and Maintenance/Power Options). Click to the Hibernate tab and uncheck "Enable Hibernation." The Hiberfil.sys file should then either go away, or (if you manually remove it) stay away.

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8) Code Load Success Story

Code-loader Dave Partridge writes:

First, may I thank you for the mention of my site [ Windows XP Mania http://www.xpmania.co.uk ] in your latest newsletter, it is really appreciated. I was so gobsmacked when I checked my counter today as my hits had almost quadrupled. I had [more] emails first thing this morning all praising my site, than I usually see in a whole week. Its amazing that this mention on your newsletter has has generated such a huge response. Your newsletter has an amazing effect on its readers. You have made me a very happy bloke and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. ---Thanks again, Dave Partridge

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 thousands 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
http://www.langa.com/randomlink.htm

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

Practical Technology (excellent, professional-quality site and newsletter)
http://www.practical-tech.com/index.htm

Gural Systems
http://www3.telus.net/gural/

Saw Horse Workshop
http://www.geocities.com/sawhorseworkshop/

Merriam Press
http://www.merriam-press.com/

Gary Jensen's Internet Music Site
http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/192/im_kulardenu.html

Buy A Cottage
http://www.accesswave.ca/~frankscottage/index.html

Shadow Hills, CA
http://www.kronhead.com/

Ottawa Seniors
http://www.ottawaseniors.com/index.php

Capt. Len
http://captainlen.com/

AOL member Site
http://hometown.aol.com/misskathc/myhomepage/profile.html

Alaskan Computer help
http://www.alaska.net/~black/

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9) Networking Woes

Jonlore's original note included tons more information on his specific setup and all the many steps he'd already tried to remedy the problem. But in the end, he said "the network refuses to recognize M1 while allowing M1 to browse to M2!!!!"

The best solution I know for problems like this is to strip out all networking elements from both machines: Either manually remove the networking elements one by one, or use the Hardware/Device manager to remove the listing for the network card. On reboot, Windows will "rediscover" the card, and let you set up your networking from scratch.

Of course, that can be a challenge in itself, but there's help available: The very best site I know for practical advice on networking is  http://www.wown.com/ . This "World Of Windows Networking" site is by Johannes Helmig; the site used to be on a domain with his name in it, but became so popular he moved it to its own domain.

If you have any kind of Windows networking trouble, http://www.wown.com/ probably can help, especially if you give your network a clean start, as suggested above.

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10) Just For Grins

"Jeff" sends along this item, called "More Enron Economics..."

An old country farmer with serious financial problems bought a mule from another old farmer for $100, who agreed to deliver the mule the next day.

However, the next day he drove up and said, "Sorry, but I have some bad news." "The mule died."

"Well, then, just give me my money back."

"Can't do that. I went and spent it already."

"OK, then. Just unload the mule."

"What ya gonna do with a dead mule?"

"I'm going to raffle him off."

"You can't raffle off a dead mule!"

"Sure I can. I just won't tell anybody he's dead."

A month later the two met up and the farmer who sold the mule asked, "Whatever happened with that dead mule?"

"I raffled him off just like I said I would. I sold 500 tickets at $2 each and made a profit of $898."

"Didn't anyone complain?"

"Just the guy who won. So I gave him his two dollars back."

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See you next issue!

Best,

Fred
( editor@langa.com )

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

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