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The LangaList
Standard Edition

2003-01-16

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) Easy, Foolproof Small Networks

"Powerline" networking has two enormous advantages over traditional wired networking. First and foremost, like wireless networking, a powerline network requires no new cables or special wiring at all: Any building that has normal electrical service already is fully wired for powerline networking, with no need to snake cables through walls or under floors, and with no need for drilling or other structural work at all.

Second, and again like wireless networking, powerline networking spreads the signal around: Once the network signal is injected at any point into a wiring system, the network can be accessed from almost anywhere else on the same electrical system. This means you can move from room to room or floor to floor in a building, and still be able to access the powerline network from any ordinary wall socket. In fact, because electrical wires carry signals very well, a powerline node actually can have greater range than a wireless access point, and also avoid many of the problems of wireless signal loss caused by thick walls or other obstructions. Anywhere the electrical wires go, the powerline networking signal follows.

But there's a third major advantage of powerline networking, because its signals stay within the wires: Unlike wireless networking, which creates a wide bubble of connectivity in which anyone--- authorized or not--- may be able to detect the network and try to log in, a powerline network's data signal remains confined to the physical wires: It doesn't broadcast out into the surrounding empty space. In this way, powerline networking can be more secure than wireless networking.

But there's a catch, especially if you're in an office complex, apartment building, condo, or other situation where a number of different occupants all may share the same electrical system. To keep your data private, you need to make use of one or more of powerline networking's special security features.

I recently tried two representative types of powerline networking--- a compact "power brick" type device and a stand-alone cable-modem-type device--- and experienced the pros and cons firsthand. I've put all the details of my real-life tests, with links to additional data, in the current InformationWeek.Com column, now online (it's free!) at http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20030108S0003.

Please come check it out, and add your voice to the discussion: Have you tried powerline networking? Have your experiences been positive or negative? Do you feel that powerline networking's better security is worth the inconvenience of being "tethered" to a power outlet, or does the total freedom of mobility of wireless networking make the lower security worthwhile? Join in the discussion!

see you at http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20030108S0003

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2) Free (For Now) Professional Tech Info

Fred, Happy holidays to you and yours. I love the newsletter - keep up the good work!

I wanted to drop you a line and recommend a technical resource I found last week and immediately fell in love with: Tek-Tips ( http://www.tek-tips.com/  )

I'm now an avid participant in their FileMaker Pro section and will be contributing soon to other categories. I highly recommend this site and want to remind people who use it to donate... that's how the Tecumseh Group keeps it alive. Cheers, -Ansel Taft

Thanks, Ansel. There's tons of info there, and it probably makes sense to sign up now, because the site exhorts users to "Register now while it's still free." That pretty clearly implies that a for-a-fee option is in the works. Might as well get on board before they start charging!

3) Here's How To Save $30

I get the same spam mail that many of you do, including the ones that said something like this:

DVD Detective will give You Everything you need to make copies of your DVDs! DVD DETECTIVE comes complete with all of the software and easy to follow step-by-step eGuide that runs right on your computer that visually walks you through the exact process of copying a DVD with your computer CD-R Drive. All you need is a computer with a DVD Player, CD-R or CD-RW drive, minimum 5GB Hard Drive space, and blank CD-Rs. DVD Detective runs on Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000, and Windows XP platforms....

I never, ever reply to spam offers on my own, but a *lot* of readers were intrigued by this claim, or by the many other variants ("DVD-Detective" is just one name for this type of offer). After getting literally dozens of emails asking me to check it out, I broke my own rule and followed the spam link to the sales site.

The pages there were full of breathless prose, but offered no way to tell exactly what they were really selling until you ponied up your credit card. So I took a deep breath and placed an order.

What I got in return was just a URL. It led me to a private page containing links to a collection of freeware tools that I could have assembled on my own. The one thing the site offered that you might not easily find elsewhere is some basic how-to info on the actual steps involved in decoding a DVD into component files on a hard drive, then "ripping" the files into a more generic format, such as DIVX, that can be stored either on a hard drive or on a standard CD.

In short, this DVD copying software offer was mostly a ripoff repackaging of otherwise free info and software.

If you want the same capabilities, for free, check out any of hundreds of sites that offer the exact same info--- and software--- without charge. One such free site is  http://www.dvddecrypter.com/download.asp , but a Google search can turn up many others.

Given the high level of interest in this kind of software, it bears mention that there are unresolved copyright issues in cloning DVDs. I personally believe that it's completely ethical to make a private backup of a prized DVD that you legitimately own, or to make a copy of a legitimately-owned DVD for your own private use, say, on a PC that has no DVD player. As long as your use of DVD-copying software doesn't cost the DVD copyright holder a sale of a DVD disk, I see nothing wrong with it. Hollywood feels differently, of course; they feel that there is no legitimate use for DVD copying software, ever. And they have deep pockets to help them make their case in court.

On the other hand, if you or your buddies use DVD copying software to make pirate discs for each other or otherwise to cheat the copyright owner out of sales of new DVDs, that's clearly wrong--- a form of theft. In that regard, I am in total agreement with the anti-copying lobby.

So, if you want DVD copying software, forget the spam offers and use any of the freely-available tools on the web. But no matter what, please don't pirate DVDs--- or CDs, or software or any other copyrighted material. It's just plain wrong to make copies for others, or to accept copies from others.

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4) Expensive "LMAnnounce" Problems

Reader Ian Upton dug up info on another networking issue--- LMAnnounce ("LAN Manager announce.") It's another very old networking component that lingers on in even some brand-new systems--- sometimes mucking up the works.

Hi Fred, Just read your last edition and was particularly interested in the "Browse Master" article. ( http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2002/2002-11-25.htm#5 )

I would like to add that the associated "LM Announce" service in the file and print sharing service is also troublesome in that companies using an ISDN line integrated on a network through an ISDN Router can find themselves loaded with large telephone bills (Especially in the UK) because of the chatter to the router.

Calls will be recorded approximately every 6 Minutes and at 5p per call it can become very expensive for smaller companies where they have chosen to utilise ISDN for their needs rather than DSL. Ian Upton

Indeed, Ian, that specific issue even has made it into the Microsoft Knowledgebase in "Browsing & Other Traffic Incur High Costs over ISDN Routers" ( http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;134985 )

A related issue--- "LMHosts"--- sometimes causes a different kind of problem on XP and Win2K systems: Certain apps may take forever to open, and for no obvious reason.

It turns out that XP and Win2K may enable "LMHosts lookup" on your TCP/IP connections. If there's no LAN Manager Host on your network (and there won't be on most small networks), XP and Win2K may spin their wheels each time you launch an app as they look in vain for the Host that isn't there. Simply disabling the LMHosts Lookup solves the problem completely and allows apps to open at normal speed.

Here's how to disable LMHosts Lookup: Right-click to network connections/properties, then right click on your "local area connection"/properties. Find the "Internet Protocol" entry and select Properties/Advanced/WINS. Once there, UNcheck the "Enable LMHosts lookup." You may also wish to click to "disable NetBIOS over TCP" to improve local security.

Related general networking info:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;102878

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5) Digital Cameras Can Transfer *Any* File

Get a digital camera for the holidays? Check this out:

Hi Fred: Maybe I am the last person in the world to stumble on the fact that digital cameras can be used to transfer files from one computer to another....

Many of us don't have any removable storage medium other than a floppy, so for files greater than 1.44Mb we either have to burn the file onto a CD to transfer it or send it as an e-mail attachment, which can be time consuming without broadband.

My camera shows up via the USB port as a removable drive. For a long time I just used this to copy images from camera to hard drive, but recently I clicked on save after working on an image in Photoshop. Perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised to find it was saved to the camera, but I was.

So I tried a non-image file, and of course that got saved to the camera too. I suppose it is obvious really, but it just hadn't occurred to me that to the computer the camera was just another drive.

Obviously the maximum file size is limited by the camera's storage, but apart from the simplest cameras this is likely to be much more than a floppy.

There could be many other camera owners who may not realise they have a removable drive that can store files and be taken anywhere to upload them to another computer's hard drive. ---Peter Brown

Thanks, Peter. In fact, most memory-stick-based digital cameras function internally a form of "RAM disk;" a solid-state version of an ordinary small hard drive. As such, the memory stick doesn't care what kind of data it holds--- it's all just ones and zeros anyway.

What's more, some normal hard drive maintenance tools can also work on memory stick- based RAM disks, so you can even use things like "undelete" functions to recover digital photos you may have accidentally erased. See, for example, http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2002/2002-07-29.htm#2 and http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2002/2002-07-22.htm#8 .

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6) Want $10,000 To Clear Your Holiday Bills?

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) Cleaning Out Old "Service Pack" Folders

Reader Leonard Hicks wrote with a question that many XP and Win2K users have--- but then swiftly found his own answer, which he shared with us:

His initial question:

Fred: I updated my new WinXP Home and all the service packs and updates work just fine. Can I delete folders such as "$NtServicePackUninstall$" and the other backup, like "$NtUninstallQ329048$" in explorer, or is there another procedure to follow? Thanks, Leonard Hicks

His answer, in a following email:

Sorry I troubled you, Fred. I found the answer. Love your newsletter ! Consistently just about the best read of the week!

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;290402

Thanks, Leonard. Some people  report recovering "huge" amounts of disk space through this technique, though they rarely quantify the amount.  In the systems I've looked at, the uninstall folders add up to a few tens of megabytes, which--- while not trivial--- isn't really "huge." Depending on how much disk space you have, you may or may not find it worth doing. In any case, it's good to know how!

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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

Security Realm
http://securityrealm.netfirms.com/

TVi Dish /Network Security
http://www.tvidish.com/home_networking.htm

Bed and Breakfast in Costa Rica
http://www.elcolibri47.com/

Brandon's ATA Black Belt Academy
http://www.brandonsata.com/

Stay at a cattle station in the Outback, South Australia
http://www.users.on.net/clockclarke/index.html

Sailcat Graphics
http://www.sailcat.com/

If wishes were horses
http://www.ifwisheswerehorses.ca/hobbit/index.htm

SMARTTO
http://www.smarttochapter.homestead.com/SMARTTO.html

Hiking Las Vegas Links
http://www.hikinglasvegas.com/links.html

Aussiebox
http://www.aussiebox.com.au/

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9) A "Wow" Tool

Hi Fred, Did you also always want to create a monster (multi)boot CD with all your tools on it, but never got to it? If yes, check out http://www.nu2.nu/corpmodboot/

It's new, just has been put out for the "public"... Regards, Bart Lagerweij

Thanks, Bart.

Bart is actually the author of the referenced page, which is a huge, detailed (and free!) how-to that shows you all the steps involved in creating a master boot tool--- on CD--- you can use to start and maintain just about any PC. Very impressive!

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10) Just For Grins

Here's a harmless prank a reader's coworkers pulled on a "snooty" peer. Ah, payback <g>...

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11) Plus! Edition Highlights:

• Reader Loves This Spam Tool

• Is An Active Chat Agent A Security Threat?

• Win vs OEM vs Vendor Drivers

Today's LangaList Plus! Edition contains all ten items above, plus about 30% more content including: A reader rave about a FREE anti-spam tool that doesn't rely on crude blacklists, but instead intelligently parses the actual content of inbound emails; a discussion of the security problems (and solutions) caused by chat/instant-messaging tools; and how to choose the right driver when your peripheral or card maker, system vendor, and Windows Update agent all suggest different versions. 

Come see what you're missing! Plus! Edition info: http://www.langa.com/plus.htm 

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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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This newsletter is a service of Langa Consulting LLC and is Copyright © 2003 Fred Langa / Langa Consulting LLC. All worldwide rights reserved. LangaList: ISSN 1533-1156

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