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The LangaList
Standard Edition

2002-09-12

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) Make Your Laptop (Or Other Gear) Theft-Proof

Traveling with a laptop or other electronic gear can be a real hassle, due to post-9/11 security restrictions and searches. And ironically, some anti-terrorism procedures at airports actually can increase the risk of simple theft.

But there are several steps you can take to speed your way safely through even the most rigorous security searches, and also greatly reduce the chances of loss, theft or damage to your expensive and delicate electronic travel gear.

For example: At most security screenings, you now have to remove your laptop (or other electronic device) from your bag, and send it through the X-ray machine separately. An unmarked laptop is a coveted theft item because it's highly salable. But you can make your laptop (or other electronic device) far less desirable to thieves by marking it in some obvious, permanent way so that resale of the item--- if stolen--- will be hard or impossible. (Any potential buyer will know that the item was stolen.) There are many simple do-it-yourself options for permanently personalizing your gear, but I prefer the professional laptop ID and tracking method available from http://www.stoptheft.com/ . It's a system of permanent high-visibility "tattoos," decals and metal ID plates that you affix to your equipment with glue of such strength that a thief would likely have to damage or even destroy the laptop or other item to remove them. With such obvious, indelible tagging, your gear is less likely to be stolen in the first place; and even if it is stolen and later discarded as unsalable, it can be returned to you: The tracking system includes a unique identifier and a toll-free number anyone can call if they've found a tagged item, so the item can then be returned to the rightful owner.

I've posted nine other tips for post 9-11 air travel with electronics in my new column, live now (and free) at InformationWeek.Com: http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20020905S0002

Please come check out the column and then join in the discussion: What tips can you share for traveling with electronic gear? Have you had notable experiences, good or bad, that you can share with us? Have you ever suffered loss or damage to a laptop of similar device in a security screening? Have you changed how you travel, since 9-11 of last year? Let's pool our experiences and knowledge: Join in at http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20020905S0002

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2) Bootable CD Hassles

Fred, I have seen few articles that really cover the aspect of building bootable CDs for all the different operating systems. Is there a website, articles and/or software that actually does a good job a building such beasts? I have tried Nero and Roxio but have only achieved sporadic results. All the best -Mark

We covered "Bart’s way to create bootable CD-ROMs" ( http://www.nu2.nu/bootcd ) several months ago ( http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2002/2002-06-27.htm#2 ). That site remains the single best resource I know on the subject.

Beyond that, here's the key concept: You need the right burner software to create a bootable CD (not all CD burner software lets you do this); and the right boot files to put on the CD (same as when you make a bootable floppy). The most-popular burner software--- including Nero and Roxio--- can handle the actual formatting of the CD to make it bootable, but neither will automatically gather the correct files for you. You have to do that yourself.

The simplest way I know to start--- it's the way I taught myself about bootable CDs long before I found the "Bart" site above---  is to use your CD burner to make a boot CD based on a known-good boot floppy: You use the boot floppy as the "image" to copy, and experiment until you've found the burner-software settings that let you turn out this simplest form of boot CD. (Remember to "close" or "finalize" the CD when you're done.)

Of course, because this boot CD is based on a boot floppy, it will have just 1.44 MB of stuff on it, and thus will waste most of the space available on the CD. But it gives you a known-good starting point. You can then build on that simplest image and add more files in other folders, up to the physical limit of the CD, if you wish.

Yes, you may end up with several "coasters" or underutilized CDs along the way, but if your buy CDs in bulk (as I do), it's not very costly to experiment a bit as you learn.

You can find lots more info on the subject here:
http://www.google.com/search?q=boot+cd+burn

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3) Are Your Backups (And Other Data) Snoop-Proof?

Dear Fred, I'm in the process of shopping for a new backup device, and will probably go with a CD burner.

I have questions about security, as I need to back up large amounts of confidential financial data. Is it possible to password-protect the contents of a CD or CD-RW from unauthorized viewing? Or is encryption the way to go? And if that's the case, can the data be encrypted AFTER being backed up to CD-RW? Or does it have to be encrypted PRIOR to the backup? I use backup software, but it doesn't encrypt. Is there backup software that does? Thanks so much for your help. The LangaList is an unparalleled resource! Kind regards, Brooks Baldwin

Powerquest's Drive Image and Norton's Ghost both will password-protect your image files, whether on CD, hard drive, or any other medium. This isn't the same as encrypting, where the data is scrambled and unreadable until the correct key is used: Rather it's just a simple way of "locking" the image file. Even so, it's probably adequate in itself for basic security against snoops.

Encryption is more secure, but has to be done before the bits are actually burned to the CD: Once the CD is burned, there's no real way to rearrange them without burning a whole new CD.

One way automatically to encrypt all your sensitive data is to use NTFS (the file system offered by XP and Windows 2000) and enable its built-in encryption for either your entire hard drive or at least your most-private folders. If you then store the already-encrypted data in a password-protected backup or image, your data will be *very* safe. No, nothing's 100% secure, but NTFS's built-in encryption is actually pretty good, and digging anything useful out of a password-protected image of an encrypted disk would be *way* beyond the means of most hackers. See http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/howitworks/security/encrypt.asp
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q223316
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q230520
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q242296

For non-NTFS drives, including Win9x and ME systems, there are third-party encryption add-ons, both free and commercial, that can similarly make the contents of any or all your folders essentially snoop-proof to anyone lacking the correct key. See, for example, http://www.simtel.net/pub/win95/security/
http://www.freewarehome.com/System_Utilities/Security/Encryption_t.html
http://www.softwarevault.com/sortlist.asp?category=encryption__security
http://www.google.com/search?q=encryption+win98

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4) *Extremely* Handy Network Boot Disk

Fred, The boot disk link you had in the 8/28 edition of Langalist is great for making cdrom boot disks (see "Buckets O' Boot Disks" at http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2002/2002-08-29.htm#9 ) . In my ventures to create the ultimate boot disks, I came across this page for the best network boot disk ever. It is fully automated. All you need is the .dos driver file for your nic.
http://www.nick-christou.org.uk/bootdisks.htm Keep up the great work, James Bailey

Very cool, James.

This boot disk basically lets you boot to DOS, but with full networking enabled. This can be a real time-saver if you store software on one system for use/installation by other PCs on the LAN. With this boot disk, you can start your PC from just a floppy, and then connect to any other system, device, or file on the LAN to which you have access rights.

BTW, some jargon: A NIC (pronounced "nick") is a "network interface card," which is the more technical name for a standard network card or adapter. NDIS ("en-diss"), a term you'll see in a moment, is the general "Network Driver Interface Specification" that almost all NICs support.

The site describes the boot disk this way:

The world's fastest, easiest and most reliable network boot disk! EVER! Unlike every other boot disk out there this supports *any* NDIS compatible network card. You just put your driver onto the disk, reboot and hey presto the rest of the work is automatic. If your happier being more in control, every aspect can be customised, right down to having your own INI files in separate configurations for different machines.

...Windows 9x, NT, 2000 and XP workgroup and domain support!
Fully configurable - or let the disk configure itself!

Most NICs that you buy separately come with a floppy that contains drivers for most operating systems; these are drivers you'd need to make this boot disk work. If your PC has a built-in NIC (as many newer systems do) you might have to check your OEM setup disks or visit the vendor's site to see if they offer the appropriate drivers.

One hint that may help: Most NICs have a very generic mode they can run in, often called "NE2000" (the name derives from an old Novell standard). Looking for "NE2000" support or drivers for your NIC might do the trick if there's not a more obvious alternative driver available.

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5) Mike's List, Spam, and SpamCop

Those of you who remember Mike Elgan from the late, lamented Windows Magazine may be glad to note that he's resumed publication of his free newsletter, "Mike's List," available at http://www.mikeslist.com/ .The lead item in a recent issue is "How to Stop Spam," a subject near and dear to all our inboxes. Worth a look!

Relatedly, SpamCop has again "blacklisted" me as a spammer (see "The Crude Hand Of SpamCop" in http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2002/2002-08-22.htm#7 ), so a number of readers haven't been getting their issues again. (Sigh.)

Amazingly, some of my supposed "spam" was nothing more nefarious than administrative messages from the Lyris server that mails out this newsletter: In one case, a reader sent a malformed request to the Lyris server, which wouldn't figure out what the reader was trying to do--- subscribe, unsubscribe, whatever. The server then sent out a polite admin message to help the reader accomplish whatever it was he or she was attempting. But--- who knows why?--- the reader then notified SpamCop that that innocent (and utterly noncommercial) message was spam. It wasn't spam, of course; in fact  the reader's own error had triggered the server's reply! But SpamCop blindly tallied it as spam, and used it as part of the justification for blacklisting me; evil spammer that I am.

Around the same time, I heard from an ISP owner whose list-mailing services also had been steamrollered by SpamCop;  I'll protect her identity so the folks at SpamCop won't take revenge on her, but she said this:

Hi Fred, We identified two (or perhaps three) lists on which the Klez virus [on a subscriber's PC] subscribed a spamcop spamtrap address. Spamcop refuses to confirm which list(s) the spamtraps are on or tell us the spamtrap address so we can remove them, leaving us with little choice other than to tell the list owners involved to re-confirm their entire lists..... I have already disabled their lists to prevent any future mailings until this is done. To put this into perspective, those two lists comprise 2.2 million subscribers and we are looking for about 2 or 3 spamtrap addresses....

FWIW, I agree with block listing and use several block lists for my ISP customers here.... We don't use the spamcop block list because they play fast and loose with reports (as you have noted in your newsletter) and as a result have way too much collateral damage. Few ISPs actually use the spamcop list and many drop it as soon as they realize that it is very flawed. Spamcop does have a lot of individual users that pay for the service and these users have the option to whitelist mailers that are blocked by their own block list. (I have an account there so I can keep an eye on what they are doing). Sincerely, [Name withheld]

This shows why I've come to regard SpamCop as worse than useless: Imagine treating utterly benign and reader-triggered administrative help messages as spam; imagine having to make 2.2 million valid subscribers jump through reconfirmation hoops because SpamCop thinks it found problem emails at two or three mystery addresses... "collateral damage" indeed.

My own list is far smaller than the ones mentioned above, but the effects of being on SpamCop's broad-brush blacklist are the same. So: If you've missed issues recently due to SpamCop's cure-the-mosquito-bite-by-chopping-off-the-leg approach to stopping spam, I apologize, but there's not a thing I can do about it. I suggest you talk to your ISP or IT department to let them know that the SpamCop blacklist is an unfinished beta product; that it's deeply flawed; and that is wide open to both accidental and deliberate misuse.

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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) SearchBar Is Back

It happened again--- it appears we collectively killed a public web site mentioned in the LangaList by blowing through the site's bandwidth limits: Too many readers hit the site at once! In this case, it was the home of 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 .

After that site died, I was able to offer the download to Plus! subscribers (at the private Plus! site: http://www.langalist.com/plus/sb/search_bar.asp ); but I had no good solution for everyone else (software downloads are *extremely* bandwidth intensive for whoever hosts them). Then, I got this note from Patrick Deal, author of SearchBar:

Hi Fred! Just thought I'd let you know that the old website is dead, and won't be coming back. However, I've been working on a website for a possible brand new version of Search Bar. So, I got that website ( http://www.searchbarpro.com ) up and running, and it [has] Search Bar available for download... If you'd like to know what I have in mind for the next version of Search Bar (which is going to be called Search Bar Pro), take a look at the Features page. Thanks, Patrick Deal

Thanks, Patrick. The Pro version will indeed be worth a look when it's out, but for now the previous version is still available for free download via the above link.

Relatedly, reader Lee Holmes offers another option:

Hey Fred. I love your work. I know you're a big fan of Search bar, so I thought you might like to check out a web-version that I wrote for myself. It really makes my day easier. To check it out, visit http://www.leeholmes.com/pers/projects.html  and click on "Search Pad." --- Lee

Thanks, Lee. "SearchPad" is a mini browser window you can have available via a desktop or menu shortcut; when you click the shortcut, the mini window opens, and works much like SearchBar does. Cool!

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

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

Charles Dittmeier: Maryknoll/Deaf Ministry/Cambodia
http://www.parish-without-borders.net/cditt/index.html

Ecological Living
http://www.ecological-living.info/ecoliving/about_us.php

Ed Serame Personal Web Site
http://edserame.tripod.com/

The Junker Site
http://www.geocities.com/junkerjunk/

Happy Dog's Fun  Links
http://www.angelfire.com/my/corbyfanpage/funlinks.htm

1stopshoppe
http://www.1stopshoppe.itctv.com/

VUK.BIZ
http://www.vuk.biz/index.php

Basic Computer Stuff and Verbosity (NZ)
http://dipstick01.hostnz.co.nz/

Visit Belgium
http://www.gilmand.net/

Tweaks & Twicks
http://www.ctechie.com/tips.html

Fred, I am a long time Plus Subscriber and enjoy every issue. I have read the recent articles on hard disk recovery. A friend a work has a floppy disk that... became damaged. He could not read the disk, so I tried using Norton to repair it with no success. Do you know of any tools to help restore a floppy disk? Thanks! ---Don Carr

You need a "Sector Editor" or "Disk Editor," which is a tool that lets you access a disk in a very low-level way, bypassing the stored (or munged!) file information, and instead simply showing you the raw data that's on any given portion (sector) or portions (sectors) of the disk.

The better sector editors let you search the disk, so if you know (say) a key word or phrase in a supposedly unreadable file, you may still be able to find it on the disk, and then copy whatever portion of the file is salvageable to a different, non-damaged disk.

And the best sector editors even have semi-automated tools that can make intelligent guesses about the likely location of various parts of files, to help you stitch together any pieces you find into a more-coherent whole. (Using a sector editor/disk editor in fully manual mode can be very laborious...)

I don't know which part of Norton's you used; but I'm guessing it was "Disk Doctor," which is really just a kind of glorified scandisk. If your version of Norton's offers the DOS-level "Disk Edit" tool, you might try that instead; it's a true (and powerful) disk/sector editor.

There are many other disk/sector editors available too. See: http://www.google.com/search?q=disk+editor or
http://www.google.com/search?q=sector+editor

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Reader Kenneth Dooley sends along this illustration of what we might call "subjective probability:"

Every Friday afternoon, a mathematician goes down to the bar, sits in the second-to-last seat, turns to the last seat, which is empty, and asks a girl who isn't there if he can buy her a drink.

The bartender, who is used to weird university types, always shrugs but keeps quiet. But when Valentine's Day arrives, and the mathematician makes a particularly heart-wrenching plea into empty space, curiosity gets the better of the bartender, and he says,

"I apologize for my stupid questions, but surely you know there is NEVER a woman sitting in that last stool. Why do you persist in asking out empty space?"

The mathematician replies, "Well, according to quantum physics, empty space is never truly empty. Virtual particles come into existence and vanish all the time. You never know when the proper wave function will collapse and a girl might suddenly appear there."

The bartender raises his eyebrows. "Really? Interesting. But couldn't you just ask one of the girls who comes here every Friday if you could buy HER a drink? Never know-she might say yes."

The mathematician laughs. "Yeah, right -- how likely is THAT to happen?"

• XP's Long-Awaited "Service Pack 1"
• Tiny, Fast Chat/IM Client (Free!)
• "Desktop LX" Linux Trumps XP Pro?

Today's LangaList Plus! Edition contains all ten items above, plus about 30% more content including: Fred's experiences and advice regarding the just-released Service Pack for XP; a tiny, fast and free IM client; and a reader rave about a Linux version he says just may beat XP Pro!

Complete Plus! Edition info: http://www.langa.com/plus.htm 

 PLEASE NOTE:
Due to scheduled monthly system maintenance,
the next issue will mail on: Sept 19

See you next issue!

Best,

Fred
( Editor@Langa.Com )

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