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The LangaList
Standard Edition

2002-08-29

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) Who's Watching Out For You?

The current discussion on the new Microsoft End-User License Agreement is generating some, um, heated responses. For example reader "DeeKay" wrote:

[Quoting Fred:] "I'm not suggesting that you simply trust Microsoft (or anyone else) to have your best interests at heart." - Excuse me, but if you think like that and don't trust them *why* on earth are you using their products AT ALL?

Doesn't this seem as pathetic as saying "i don't trust Chrysler to build reliable cars" while driving around in one and being obviously happy with it, earning your money with it?

The painstakingly obvious point is: As long as you run an OS, no matter which, you are *never* "in control" of your own PC! Never! Not even with Linux, even though the control there runs pretty deep and one *would* theoretically be possible to be in full control - if one had 256 hours a day for scanning sourcecode!

It all boils down to the question if you feel you can trust the maker of your OS! Do i trust Apple? Yes, because they haven't me given reason not to! Would i trust the Opensource-Community? Most certainly! Would i trust MS? Never again, cause they've provided me with loads and loads and loads of reasons that prove that they are untrustworthy! ...

I've kissed MS and their fascist world domination/ultimate control plans & technologies goodbye over a year ago - when will you?

Well, to use your example, I *don't* trust Chrysler (or any car maker) to have my best interests at heart. They have a profit motive at heart, and will give me as little as they can get away with, while taking as much money from me as they can. There's very little altruism in the commercial world.

But that doesn't mean that their cars are undrivable or even bad; it just means I have to cover my own butt, and not assume that a car vendor (or any commercial enterprise) is looking out for me. Instead, I have to be an informed and alert consumer, and need to see if my interests mesh with that of the commercial enterprise's: Where they coincide, doing business can be a win-win. Where they don't, doing business is a bad idea. Pure "trust" has little to do with it:

You trust Apple? What about the "Apple tax" that inflates all Apple hardware prices by $300-$400 per system over what comparable non-Apple systems cost? How is that looking out for your best interests? Apple looks out for itself first, and in that regard thinks no "different" than does Microsoft or any other for-profit commercial enterprise.

Linux? Red Hat and all the other commercial Linux distros make money be selling what's available elsewhere for free. How is that having your best interests at heart?

ALL for-profit commercial ventures are, by definition, in it for the money, not for the welfare of their customers. The phrase "caveat emptor" ("let the buyer beware") is 2,000 years old, and it's as applicable today to Microsoft, Apple, Red Hat, Chrysler and all other for-profit commercial ventures, as it was when it was first uttered. For-profit commercial ventures always have their own interests at heart.

It's true that the free distros of Linux are cleaner because most or all of the purely pecuniary motive goes away: But there are other forms of compensation (personal fame, the admiration of peers, "proof of concept" for future commercial offerings, "proof of competence" as a way to advertise job skills, etc.) that come into play. That's not a bad thing--- I'm not attacking it at all (quite the contrary!). But I think it's naive to think that the pure spirit of kindness and altruism is much of a motivator anywhere in the tech world. I wish it were, but that's another rant....

In any case, good consumerism is an active, rational process, not one of blind trust in any vendor. That's why I don't trust Microsoft, Apple, Red Hat, OR ANY VENDOR automatically to have my best interests at heart.  We have to watch out for ourselves.

And if you are an alert consumer, the world's not a bad place at all. <g> There's lots of good stuff--- from Chrysler, Ford, Chevy (etc.); and Microsoft, Apple, Red Hat (etc. etc. etc.)--- to use, and use well. You just have to be careful in what you choose and how you use it.

But what's your take? Am I too sanguine about this? Do you agree that the steps I outline in the InformationWeek article can provide enough protection against covert phone-home behavior? Do you think the new EULA does indeed grant Microsoft the right to override your update settings or to take control of your PC, flushing out software it doesn't like? Do you see the new EULA as a threat? Join in at http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20020816S0001

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2) IE Patch

Speaking of "being careful" (see #1 above): Microsoft has released a "Cumulative Patch for Internet Explorer" versions 5.01, 5.5 and 6.0.

"Impact: Six new vulnerabilities, the most serious of which could enable an attacker to execute commands on a user's system. Max Risk: Critical"

Full info and download:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS02-047.asp .

Frequent writer R. Dan Park encountered a new variant of a classic security scam. It was in the form of a popup ad that--- while remaining factual enough to be legal--- was still completely misleading. Dan's BS detectors went off loud and clear, and he forwarded the scam message to me.

The scam popup ad says:

Your computer is currently broadcasting the following Internet Address: [your IP address is shown here]. Every time you connect to the Internet, send email or submit a private information to a web site, you are broadcasting this unique address. With this address, someone can immediately begin attacking your computer. Download Internet Alert to protect yourself now!...

The scam is based on three statements. The first--- that your computer is "broadcasting" your IP address--- sounds scary, but it's shouldn't alarm you at all. Here's why:

When you click on any link, the server you're contacting has to be able to respond to *your specific PC* out of all the millions of PCs online so it can send you--- and just you--- the web page, the graphic, the download, (or whatever) that you clicked to see. So, any HTML "transaction"-- a click on a link, for example--- MUST of necessity tell the server your return address, so it can send you the page/file/image/etc. you asked for. It's not a breach of privacy; it's how the web works.

In other words, if you didn't send your IP along with your clicks, your clicks would go out, but nothing would ever come back because there'd be no "return address" for the server to respond to. For you, the web would stop dead!

"Anonymizer" sites can mask your true IP address by acting as a relay station: You connect to the anonymizer site, which in turn contacts whatever site you're actually trying to reach, using the anonymizer's own IP as the return address. The second site sends the requested page/graphic/file/etc. back to the anonymizer, which then sends it to you. This prevents the second site from knowing your IP address, but the first site--- the anonymizer site--- *must* know it. So even here, you're not truly anonymous: You can't be. If you want to do anything online, someone, somewhere, is going to have your true IP address. There's no way around it. (The folks behind the scam know this, of course, but they want to make it sound scary, to frighten people into making a purchase.)

The scam's second statement--- "once anyone has your IP address, they can immediately begin attacking your computer"--- is true. It does happen; there are bad people out there who will hack into systems for fun or profit. That's why we discuss firewalls and other security measures so often here: There *are* real threats online, and you do need protection. But this product? Let's see:

More info:
http://www.informationweek.com/843/langa.htm
http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2001/2001-07-02.htm#1
http://www.informationweek.com/840/langa.htm

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4) More Free IE Tools

Fred: In regards to the IE 5 accessories [see "Free IE5 Tools Still Work In IE6 http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2002/2002-08-22.htm#3 ]...they work fine on IE 6 and Win2K, XP and even .Net Server RC1. Here is a link to all the different toys that Microsoft still has available and that I've tested on the above systems: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/previous/webaccess/default.asp --- George

Hi Fred: Regarding the IE5 extensions item in today's news letter, there is a free download which replaces and extends that package, and it is currently being maintained. Check it out at: http://www.iebooster.com/products/ieb/index.html   Great newsletter - keep it coming as often as possible. --Tom Mighill

Thanks, George and Tom!

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-

5) <Blush> I Was Wrong...

Duh! I completely misspoke in a side comment I made in "Free Firewall Add-On; Free Tests ( http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2002/2002-08-15.htm#1 ). I suffered a brain-freeze when I said that the firewall built into XP did not "stealth" ports. Indeed, it does.

The drawback to the XP firewall is that is has no protection against covert backchannel "phone home" communication. This is why I had the XP firewall filed mentally as "not recommended." Indeed, it's pretty lame, as firewalls go. But at least it does "stealth" a PC's ports properly.

I apologize for my brain-freeze, and I thank the many readers who gently corrected me.

I think I'll go eat some ginko biloba now...

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6) Over 75(!) Great Freeware Tools

Reader "Bryan" writes:

Just sharing.. I have been using this page for a while... nice to have it all on one page. It's all free :-) http://www.djbdesigns.com/wtvzone/downloads.html

Thanks, Bryan. Although we've covered many of the items there, some were totally new to me; and as you say, it's really nice to have them all on one page. Excellent find!

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7) Last Chance To Enter August's FREE Drawing

On August 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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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

Executive Software (including Diskeeper freeware)
http://www.execsoft.com/execsoft.asp

Ford Family PC Independent Technology Consultant
http://www.williamaford.com/

Canadian Tom
http://softkits.com/index.html

LightHater
http://www.lighthater.com/index.htm

DF2 Gaming Site
http://www.talibancafe.com/

Soopasoaps
http://store.yahoo.com/soopasoaps/

Grimm Family's Website
http://grimmfamily.cjb.net/

Michael Streb's Home Page
http://www.strebman.com/

Pro Network
http://pro-networks.org/

DIY Furniture Refinishing
http://www.refinishfurniture.com/index.htm

Swirsky Shareware
http://www.screaminet.com/~tswirsky/

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9) Buckets O' Boot Disks

Everyone needs boot disks, either as an everyday thing, or at least for emergency use if your system won't boot properly from its hard drive.

The boot disks/emergency disks that ship with many new systems, or that can be made automatically by Windows, tend either to be so purpose-built as to be useless for general tasks; or alternately, so generic as to be nearly useless for any but the simplest tasks.

There are many sites that feature info on making custom boot disks that do what *you* what and need them to do, but none quite like this free site:

Fred, Wow, this is really good. I tend to have many, many boot diskettes hanging around, one for every occasion.... Check out the section on modular boot disks. http://www.nu2.nu/bootdisk/ --- Jonathan Ramsdell

It's very nice indeed, Jonathan, offering: "modular" boot disks, where you can add or delete functionality simply copy copying or deleting a file (module) to a folder; DOS disks; network boot disks; CD boot disks; NT4 boot disks; and more--- the permutation are awesome, and all free. Highly recommended!

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10) Just For Grins

Reader Bruce Roorda--- a farmer by profession--- sends along this wonderfully pragmatic view of crop circles:

I found your recent articles about crop circles and proponents of their extra-terrestrial origin very entertaining. (See http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2002/2002-08-22.htm#10 ) I'm a farmer myself and I can't recall any serious discussion of crop circles in serious farm publications. If there really appeared to be anything to the offbeat theories, farmers would talk about it.

The theory that there's a conspiracy to conceal the truth behind the origin of crop circles falls apart on the same ground as most other conspiracy theories. It requires one group of people (conspirators) to be extremely smart and extremely well-disciplined in keeping a secret, one group (the rest of us) to be too stupid and complacent to see through them, and a small group (the elect) who have been gifted with the ability to see the truth.

And one other thing -- the extremely smart people good at keeping secrets are probably also government employees. I'd rather believe in E.T.

I do know some farmers who would find it amusing to create crop circles in their own (or a neighbor's) fields just to stir up the credulous. If a granddaughter happened to be selling tomatoes and sweet corn from a road-side stand that would benefit from increased traffic, so much the better. ---Bruce Roorda, Possum Hill Farm

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11) Plus! Edition Highlights:

• Alternative Download Site For SearchBar

• Slick Patch For Better IE Searches

• Burst Those Help "Balloons"

• Mandrake Linux From The Other Side

Today's LangaList Plus! Edition contains all ten items above, plus about 40% more content including: a known-good alternative download site for the free and excellent "SearchBar," which I discussed as part of the item on "Better Update Your Google Toolbar!" in http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2002/2002-08-22.htm#5 ; a free patch that restores full automatic look-up of Microsoft KnowledgeBase items from IE's built-in address bar; ways to turn off some of those annoying help "balloons" and "tool tips;" and a reader's less than spectacular trials of a popular Linux distribution.

It's just pennies per issue. Check out all the Plus! Edition benefits at: http://www.langa.com/plus.htm 

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Due to the US National Holiday on Sept 2nd,
the next issue will mail on: Sept 5

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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