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The LangaList
Standard Edition

2003-02-20

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) Ad-Aware Feedback

In "Ad-Aware's Back" ( http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-02-06.htm#4 ) we discussed how this popular anti-spyware tool had finally emerged from a long slumber. I wrote:

I'll take a look at the new version of Ad-Aware, but I don't plan to rely on it any time soon. LavaSoft left their customers exposed to malware for some 5 months before the new version came out--- an eternity when it comes to online security threats.... An out-of-date security tool is almost as bad as no tool. Even if the new version is perfect (and it cannot be--- no software ever is), it'll be a while before Ad-Aware regains my trust.

Many readers responded. Some thought I was being too harsh on LavaSoft (the makers of Ad-Aware), but I disagree strongly: If you're going to produce a security tool--- especially a commercial tool--- I think you have to commit to providing regular updates.

But the proof, as they say, is in the pudding. Here are some representative letters (pro and con) sent in by readers who have tried the new Ad-Aware in free and paid versions:

Are you getting feedback from people about Ad-Aware 6 Plus? I had to uninstall my copy because the cure was worse than the disease. According to Lavasoft's message boards, they are aware of the problems and are working to correct them. And this is after a 5 month hiatus in which nothing was done about version 5.83! I've gone to SpyBot, and I think that I'll stay there. Thanks, by the way, for mentioning SpyBot. :-) Tom Duda

Fred, absolutely love your newsletter but felt compelled to tell that the new AdAware not only works well, it found 6 things that SpyBot didn't. The updater is also now included in it so one doesn't have to run the update as a separate program. Give it a try and see what you think. I'm not shilling for them but since it really works it's more than worth a try. Thanks again for the continuously great work... ThudZ3ro

Fred, just love the newsletter...  Having installed AdAware's new offering, v6, I too accept that *no* software is perfect (I am also in the "software business"). Lavasoft's AdWatch real-time monitoring utility has two (new) annoyances - in w2k, it interrupts a normal shutdown meaning you have to repeat the shutdown routine for it to actually happen. And, on start-up the \program files\lavasoft folder is *always* displayed. Numerous attempts to get support has failed (well, I haven't gotten a response so in my book that's a failure). But, I still get their ads to upgrade from the Plus! to the Pro version... which is not highly unlikely given recent/current performance. Mark Curtis, UK

Fred, I understand your disappointment with AdAware's position about not providing updates while working on the new version. I have run comparisons of the prior free version (5.83) and the free version 6. What I did was run AdAware 5.83 and have it clean what it found (5 cookies) (I try to be careful about where I go and what gets on my machine). I then ran SpyBot with the latest updates. It found 60 items all related to Backweb (which was installed by the Logitech Webcam software I just got). I didn't remove them because I wanted to see if the new version of AdAware would find them. I uninstalled AdAware 5 and then installed AdAware 6. One thing I had been reading was how much faster 6 is then 5 was. So I also timed the runs. I ran AdAware 6. It found 7 items (cookies again) that were not found by either AdAware 5 or SpyBot, but did not find any of the Backweb items. I had it remove the items. I then ran SpyBot again. It found the same items as before, this time I removed them. As for the new AdAware being significantly faster - not in my limited tests. I have a Duron 1300, Win2000, 256MB RAM machine. AdAware 5 took 8 minutes 23 seconds and AdAware 6 took 7 minutes 43 seconds.... I think that a combination of AdAware and SpyBot is almost a necessity in helping to stay safe. Ken Weybright

Fred, Just read your article about Ad-Aware 6 and had to download it. Ran it the first time, and it found no spyware. Then I ran SpyBot Search and Destroy, and that program found eight tracking cookies (from Fastclick, Doubleclick and the like). So I uninstalled Ad-Aware 6 and reinstalled Ad-Aware 5.83 (since I'm a curious type of guy). 5.83 identified five of the eight tracking cookies that Spybot found. So I guess you're right in withholding your trust for Lavasoft. And it's such a shame, since they were the first to really identify and deal with spyware as a significant issue. ---Dave Pfeffer

FYI, I thought I'd let you know of a problem that I had with Ad-Aware 6.0 so if others have a similar problem information can be compiled. I use AOL 8.0, use Windows XP Professional and a Gateway 700XL., IE 6.0, and Netscape 7.0. After downloading, installing and using Ad-Aware 6.0 I found that I was unable to use any browser to surf the web, including AOL. I could get onto AOL but could not get to any websites. To correct the problem, I uninstalled Ad-Aware and did a system restore to the previous day and was able to surf again. Don't know if this was a problem specific to me but thought I'd let you know so you can be aware of the problem I ran into. ---Steve0155

Fred, after receiving the Langalist Standard Edition of Feb. 6, 03, I downloaded the latest edition of Ad-Aware. I had Spy-Bot search and destroy on my computer and before loading and running Ad-Aware, I ran Spy-Bot. Spy-Bot told me there was no spyware on my computer. I then loaded and ran Ad-Aware 6.0 and it told me that there was Alexa Dataminer in the reg keys, in HKey-Local-machine Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Extensions\---. It seems that Spy-Bot is not all it is supposed to be, and Microsoft is now into using the Alexa spyware to track Internet Explorer users. Don Crawford

[BTW: Alexa provides the "related links" feature in IE's default searches. If you don't use that feature then Alexa isn't involved. See http://www.imilly.com/alexa.htm for a fuller explanation.]

I use Win 98SE on 19" monitors at 1280 x 1024 with 260% fonts. After running AdAware 6, a window popped up advising that 3 files were found with instructions to click OK to delete. However, I couldn't see the OK button and couldn't delete the files.  This is a serious flaw that should be corrected immediately. In the US, an ever increasing percentage of users have large monitors and are typically running setups similar to mine. [This] software is unusable on this kind of high resolution / large font setup. A friend with Win XP running on a 21" monitor with high dot pitch advised me that he encountered the same problem when he tried to use AdAware 6. [LavaSoft] risks losing people like myself who stuck with AdAware through the horrible 5.83 fiasco with this clunk version.--- J... W...

Fred, As a test I downloaded Ad-Aware 6.0 Plus, shut down my browsers, then used the most up to date version of Spybot Search & Destroy to clean my hard drive. Then I installed and updated Ad-Aware 6.0 Plus and then let it run on the same PC. Ad-Aware found 3 more tracking cookies that Spybot S&D missed. One of the missed cookies was a Gator cookie. I don't know how Spybot could have missed that one. If it's a new variation on the Gator theme I'm sure Spybot will have it in the next update.  Spybot deletes much more than spyware files but Ad-Aware now has active protection and it locks the "run" sections of the registry, prevents browser hijacking, prevents some file associations from being changed and more. I'm not sure which one I'll depend on, they're both good programs. I guess I'll just use both until I find a compelling reason not to use one. ---Ken Rosen

The above letters are anecdotal--- this wasn't a scientifically reliable survey. But it's still worth noting that I got far more negative comments than positives. You can call the shot for yourself, but for me, Lavasoft has a long way to go before I'll consider then reliable enough for routine use again.

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2) Migrating To XP?

With the coming end of support for Win98, a lot of readers are facing this, so we'll have detailed coverage in the next few months. But for now, check out:

http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20011115S0014 and http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20011204S0009

and search the archives--- tons of XP stuff there:

Standard Edition search:
http://www.langa.com/search.htm

Plus! edition archives:
http://www.langalist.com/Plus/archives/archives.asp

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3) Another Free Password-Revealer, And More

Fred, One of your readers asked for a good program to help his ISP customers recover lost passwords (See http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-02-03.htm#7 )

I use Caption-it. I swear by this little tool. I use it for everything when ever I lost a password. I was an ISP Support Tech and believe me it came in handy :-) ) I cannot find it on the web now (just searched, find everything but Caption-it.... It is less than 318kb and the program description below

"Caption-it! is an easy and simple to use password recovery program. Move the mouse over the text box, label or window, and Caption-it! will reveal the text even if it's encrypted. Copyright 1998 Yoto Yotov Caption-it! - Version 1.0 Freeware" --- Joanie

Thanks, Joanie. I found it--- and a bunch of other interesting tools by Yoto Yotov--- at http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Grid/5841/ . The specific URL for Caption-It is http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Grid/5841/caption_it.zip  But PLEASE NOTE that Geocities sites, like the one above, have low bandwidth limits. It's all but certain that the site will become unavailable soon after this issue goes out, when too many of your fellow readers try to access and download the file at once.

If this happens to you, please just try again a day or two later, when the crush has subsided and the site resurrects.

While you're waiting for the site to come back, please also note that we've covered many other password tools in the past, and they may be more easily accessible. See http://tinyurl.com/60u7 .

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4) Speaking Of Passwords...

... here's some bad news about XP's master account--- the "Administrator" account--- password.

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5) Recommend It!

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 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. 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 Gift Certificate! (Full details also available via this link): http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm

Either way, thank you again, and good luck!

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6) Installing RAM

Hi Fred! Over the past several years I have seen a couple of references to installing RAM. The advice has essentially been the same as in the February 2003 Smart Computing magazine (see pg. 79), and from that I quote:

"You must install 30-pin SIMMs in groups of four and 72-pin SIMMs in pairs on Pentium systems; although with some older systems, you can install a single 72-pin SIMM."

I cannot find a reader feedback or general questions email address to send my question to Smart Computing, so I am asking if you can come up with the answer. The question is - WHY, or WHAT will happen if one doesn't follow that protocol of pairing exact chip cards? Case in point in my own naivete: I placed two 64 MB RAM chips and one 128 MB RAM chip ( for a total of three RAM chip cards in my COMPAQ Presario). What should I be looking for that isn't readily apparent? It works; it boots and reboots fine; and all my programs seem to function "normally". Only thing that I seem to notice at all is that many times it 'seems' that Windows isn't releasing RAM, or its virtual RAM very readily when I move along in a program... especially if it has any graphics. But, I've been assuming that maybe it's caused by some of the little quirks of Windows ME, which is my OS. Anyway, once again, I've read this caution several times now but none of the techies or gurus have explained what will happen, or what should happen if one doesn't follow that protocol of paired RAM cards. --a reader

I'm not sure what SmartComputing is talking about. There is no universal rule. The only real authority of what RAM your system can and cannot accept, and in what combination, is either the motherboard maker or the system vendor.

But here's a general rule-of-thumb that I've found to work pretty well: It's usually smart to use the same size and speed of RAM sticks; but if you can't, and again generally (only your MB or system maker can say for sure), place the slower/smaller RAM stick in Slot 1 and the faster/larger one in Slot 2, etc. (This is the way you did it, and indeed it worked, despite what SmartComputing said.)

This part will sound like a commercial message, so take it with a grain of salt if you wish, but LangaList advertiser Crucial ( http://www.langa.com/sponsors/crucial.htm ) has excellent tools that let you look up exactly what kinds of RAM most systems can accept. They have the specs for literally hundreds--- maybe thousands--- of systems online: You just click on some fields to indicate what brand and model PC you have, and the online tool responds with suggested RAM types that will work in your system. It's actually very easy to use; I've used it many times myself for desktop and laptop systems, and it's never led me astray. Besides, their prices are good--- much less than buying RAM from a system vendor--- plus they have a compatibility guarantee, and they offer step-by-step help.

Again, take it with a grain of salt if you wish, but I think they're awfully good: http://www.langa.com/sponsors/crucial.htm

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7) They Just Keep Coming And Coming...

Over 2,500 of your fellow readers have "Loaded the Code." Please click over to http://www.langa.com/code.htm , and maybe you can join them! (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

Techzonez
http://www.techzonez.com/

Net Hosting "4You"
http://nethosting4you.com/

BobSchaefer.com
http://www.bobschaefer.com/

Persch Web Site Portal Page
http://persch.freeyellow.com/

PETELKA'S REFUGE
http://www3.sympatico.ca/wpetelka/index.htm

Health,Diet, Nutrition and Business Opportunity
http://home.earthlink.net/~jameshandy/index.html

dmercer.net
http://www.dmercer.net/

DUH VOODOO MAN
http://duhvoodooman.com/

Nuclear Dawn
http://www.angelfire.com/electronic/nucleardawn/index.html

Pipe-organ letters
http://www.pipe-organ-letters.com/

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8) More "Print Screen" Stuff

In "Dusting Off An Old Tip" we discussed making use of the PrintScreen key--- and man, what a flood of email that triggered! A quick Google search shows why: Looking for "print+screen+free" returns over 2.5 MILLION web pages! <g>

So, there's no way I possibly can list all the relevant commands, utilities, and free software available. But here's ONE sample letter, to get you started:

Hi Fred, Here's an excellent PrintScreen freeware 'Gadwin Printscreen' available at http://www.gadwin.com/printscreen/ . Use the same button on the keyboard, but customize the capture. Call it PrtScreen on steroids 8-) Regards, Chyetanya Kunte

And here's a preconfigured Google search you can use to find as many others as you wish: http://tinyurl.com/6185

Thanks to all who wrote in!

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9) Resources Still Leaking Away

Good morning; When online, I run multiple chatrooms and forums as well as stock trading software. As the day progresses I receive LOW RESOURCE warnings and eventually my system locks up which leads to a reboot. Is this a symptom of my ram leaking memory as the day goes on? I am running ME with 512M RAM.

Can you recommend any software that could alleviate this problem? (possibly a freeware download). Thanks, Steven

Resource "leaks" are caused by bad programming--- software that reserves system resources (portions of RAM, etc) for itself, but doesn't properly give the resource back later: Over time, more and more system resources are marked as "in use" even if they really aren't; and the system can get confused when it needs more available resources than it has--- or thinks it has.

The problem is usually minor in WinNT/2K/XP because system resources are basically the same as all the RAM (real and virtual) on your system. But Win98 and ME have severely limited amounts of "system resources" that have nothing whatsoever to do with how much RAM you have. On Win98 and ME, you could even have infinite RAM, and still run out of "system resources." It's an architectural limitation.

For full info, and workarounds, see http://content.techweb.com/winmag/columns/explorer/2000/14.htm and http://tinyurl.com/6196

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10) Just For Grins

Dennis Blakeslee sends this gem:

It's the French Revolution and three men have been brought to the guillotine, the royal priest, the royal surgeon, and the royal engineer.

First up is The priest, and when granted a final request before execution, asks to die while looking upward to Lord In Heaven. This wish is granted and they lie him on his back. But, when the blade falls it stops just inches from his throat.

The executioners and the crowd are amazed, and conclude that not only had God saved the priest but had prevented them from committing a terrible sin. So they let him go.

The surgeon, next in line, figuring he has nothing to lose, professes his strong belief in God and makes the same request. And, once again, the blade stops just short. They let him go too.

All this while, the engineer has been watching the proceedings carefully. He knows that the malfunction means he will not die, and that if he makes the same request as the others he might even be set free. Accordingly, they stretch him out on his back and position his neck across the block. Then, as he looks up at the apparatus above, he says "Oh. Now I see the problem."

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11) Plus! Edition Highlights:

• An Easier, Slicker IPconfig
   (bring graphical ease to Win2k/XP's IP configuration tool)
   

• Making the Most Of A Low-Cost PC
  (excellent resources and step-by-step guides)
   

• Sneaking WinME and Win2K Drivers Into XP
  (ways that may let older hardware work even without the right drivers)

Come see what you're missing. It's just a dollar a month! 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)

An easier-to read formatted HTML version is available in the "Current Issue" section of http://www.langa.com.  (The HTML version of each issue normally is available by 9AM EST [UT-5] of the issue date.) All past LangaList issues are also available at the Langa.Com site.

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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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