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The
LangaList
Standard Edition
2003-04-03
A Free Email Newsletter from
Fred Langa
That Helps You Get More From Your Hardware,
Software, and Time Online
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1) Another "Ultimate
Spam Weapon" Fizzles
Fred, This is from the Datamation IT Management
Update that I get. Most interesting! Thanks for all your efforts with the
LangaPlus List. ---Rob Morrison
"`Ultimate' Spam Weapon Coming to the Enterprise A
brandnew company has made a pretty gutsy promise -- to wipe out spam. And what
promises to be consumers' ultimate weapon against spam could be ready for the
enterprise as early as this year."
http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/secu/article.php/2172331
Thanks, Bob. I don't know what's up with Datamation,
but this kind of tool isn't new at all: It's called "challenge/response"
technology, and it's yet another deeply flawed approach to spam filtering.
The theory of challenge/response filters is that all
inbound email gets held while the software generates an automatic form letter
(the "challenge") that asks the sender to send a second email (the "response")
to verify the validity of the first email. Sometimes, the challenge is a simple
"reply to this email," but more often, it involves a mini-Turing test to see if
the sender is a live human. For example, the challenge email may include a small
photo of (say) cats, and ask "please reply to this email and indicate the number
of kittens in the photo." If the response comes back with the right number, the
original email is let in.
As the Datamation article says, "Machine-generated
email cannot reply to the challenge email so the original email is never put
into the consumer's Inbox"
But the huge flaw with this approach--- aside from
being very annoying to your legitimate correspondents--- is that that *all*
machine generated email will get blocked. That includes things like this newsletter,
virus bulletins, news alerts, online auction or sales payment confirmations, company newsletters and HR bulletins, etc.
Anything sent en masse, by machine--- even totally legitimate emails you've
asked for or need--- will never be authenticated, and thus will be blocked.
"Matador/Mailfrontier" and "ChoiceMail" are perhaps the most widely
used anti-spam tools currently employing challenge/response technology. Every
week when I send out this newsletter, I get dozens of new challenge emails asking me to reply with the number of
kittens in a photo; or to go to a web site, find a hidden password, and enter
that password in order for the newsletter to be delivered; or--- one of my
favorites, used by "ChoiceMail"--- to go to a special web site, "...fill
in your name and a short reason for wishing to send e-mail to me." Great!
Essay questions!
At first, I tried to keep up, but then I did the
math:
For every 1,000 readers who use challenge/response,
and assuming it takes an optimistic 20 seconds to gather, open, read, reply, and
send back an email, I'd spend 6 hours doing nothing--- no other work at
all--- but answering the challenge emails. If all my subscribers used
challenge/response, I have to set aside 4 full work months doing nothing else at
all but answering challenge emails, full time, all day, every day. Four months!
Alas, challenge/response is another one of those
technologies that sounds good at first, but actually is really a very bad idea.
I still think Bayesian tools hold the most promise.
See
http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20021115S0018
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2) Mobile Racks
Dear Fred, Here's my two cents concerning Dual-boot machines without a boot loader.
I've been using a rig called Mobile Rack from ViPower --
http://www.vipower.com
The mobile rack is a tray that fits a CD-ROM bay and allows a user to simply
pull out the hard drive and later plug it back in. I use it to switch between
OS's, but it could very well be used as a security device. Just unplug the hard
drive and put it in a safe place. The tray unplugs the data and power cables,
comes with a lock to keep a user from unplugging while the drive is in use,
contains a small fan to cool the drive (it is cramped in there) and lights to
show power on and drive in use. I've had them so long I don't remember how much
the cost me. I got them from a local computer store. Seems a person could keep
all their data files on a permanent drive and only switch the OS or even better,
put the data files on the removable drive. Hmmmm...
Thanks again for the read.---Kevan Judah
Mobile racks can be a good solution. And some readers
like them a lot for backups, too.
While I agree they can be good for multi-booting, I don't
think they're a good choice for backups: Even the largest hard drives are finite---
the drive will eventually fill up, forcing you to throw out the oldest backups.
With something like CD backups, you just buy another spindle of blank CDs, and
can keep your old backups even for decades, if you need or want to.
But for a purposes like testing various OSes, mobile
racks can be a very good solution. Thanks, Kevan!
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3) More Tips/Tweaks
For "Fast User-Switching"
Fred, I have an additional comment about Login security under XP. I am using XP Pro
(Tablet PC edition) configured as part of an Active Directory domain, but I
think the results will be the same. We set this policy at the domain level sort
is possible that I only see it because the domain imposes it. You can tighten your security even more by having XP not display the last
login name. Open the Control Panel and select Administrative Tools, then Local
Security Policy. Under Local Policies -> Security Options look for Interactive
logon Do not display last user name . Double-click it to set the property.
Enabling this setting hides the name of the last user logged in. Keep up the great work.---Mark Payton
Fred, Did you know you can intermingle your use of Fast User Switching and the
classic Windows logon prompt? I like the Fast User Switching feature and the
Welcome Screen, but I've specified that my administrative login (which I'll just
call Administrator) doesn't show up on the Welcome Screen (I think this is the
default behavior for the Administrator account, and we'll call this a hidden
account for lack of better terminology). To login as Administrator, from the
Welcome Screen, I press Del twice while holding Ctrl-Alt, which brings up the
classic logon prompt. Then I can type Administrator and the password and log in. There's a slight catch, though the classic logon is, in a way, incompatible
with Fast User Switching. They don't work at the same time. For example, if I
log in as a non-hidden user and do a Fast User Switch, taking me back to the
Welcome Screen, typing Ctrl-Alt-Del-Del does not bring up the classic logon. So
I can't log in as a hidden user without first logging out of all logged in
accounts. This is not a problem. I believe this behavior is by design. In fact,
Microsoft implies this behavior when you set up the logon and logoff options unchecking
"Use the Welcome Screen" will disable and uncheck the "Use Fast User Switching"
option. That suggests that you can't use Fast User Switching without using the
Welcome Screen. (P.S. FWIW, I'm using XP Pro. Some of the behavior above may differ in XP
Home.) A problem arises, though, if I do a Fast User Switch (rather than logging
off) while I'm logged into a hidden account. The Welcome Screen comes up and
does not allow me to bring up the classic logon. There's no way back to the
hidden account without rebooting. Maybe no one else is strange enough to get into this situation, but if you
think it could be helpful, pass it on. ---Lance Starr
No, I've encountered the same thing, Lance--- tying
in vain to get to the Admin account by beating on the ctrl-alt-del keys at the
Welcome screen and wondering why it wouldn't always work. <g> The
"Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, depending on the order in which you
access accounts" nature of it can be very frustrating.
Just a few little tidbits about the Welcome Screen
in XP:
To keep a particular user from appearing on the
Welcome Screen:
1. Open the registry Click on Start->Run and type
'regedit' (without quotes) and click "Ok"
2. Go to [line may wrap] HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows
NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\SpecialAccounts\UserList\
3. Right-click in the empty space of the right pane
4. Click New > DWORD Value
5. Name it exactly the same as the username you want to hide.
6. The Value data of this key should be '0'
Also, when you're at the Welcome Screen, you can
hit "CTRL+ALT+DELETE" twice in succession (I usually hold "CTRL" and
"ALT" & just hit the "DEL" key twice) to bring up the classic login. Hit the
"ESC" key to return to the welcome screen.
Change the XP Welcome Screen entirely!
- Manually
http://www.tweakxp.com/tweakxp/display.asp?id=1426
- Using a utility called "Changer"
http://www.tweakxp.com/tweakxp/display.asp?id=1485
Just a few of the more interesting things I've
learned about the Welcome Screen. Keep up the great articles! -John
Collins
Thanks, Lance, Mark and John!
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4) Fine Line Between
Joke and Scam
Fred, A few years ago for a special occasion I thought it would be nice to
buy
my girlfriend something unique. I originally was going for the "Name a
Star" gift idea, but as I was looking for it online I ran across "Adopt
a Color - Color Registry". I was very excited, I bought her a shade of
purple and named it "Jen's Love" (take one guess at what her name is).
Name: "Jen's Love"
Color Values: Red 209, Green 9, Blue 229
Hex Value: #CA09E5
In any case it is a few years later and she has decided to start writing
websites. I suggested that she make her background color "HER" color.
The color (according the Color Registry) was to be incorporated as a web
standard "Named" color, similar to how you can write "Blue, Orange, or
Silver" as colors while typing HTML, rather than writing their
hexadecimal counterparts. Now when you go to the URL it is an adult web
site. I checked back at the Internet Archive and found:
http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.adoptacolor.com
The website changed ownership in early 2001. My question is: what
happens to the present I bought my girlfriend? Is the site gone, but
the registry passed on to another company? Is it just gone? Does my
girlfriend have any right to still call her color her own? Thank you, Bryan
Kazdan
I regard this sort of thing as basically a good-humored joke.
In this and all similar activities, including the 'adopt a star' or 'adopt a crater' programs run by some museums that let you pick a star or lunar crater and name
it whatever you want, what you're really buying is the certificate,
and a way to show someone you were thinking of them. The "ownership" and naming
rights are both make-believe, and just for fun. (Like "selling the Brooklyn
Bridge," you can't sell something you don't own. No one owns stars, or craters,
or colors.) The database or book or registry or other medium that records you
purchase is honorary and without legal standing.
So, even when the company was in business, you or Jen never really "owned"
naming right to that color. Since no real ownership ever changed hands, the presence or absence of
that company or its database is legally irrelevant. You didn't really own the
naming rights even when their database was active; and you don't own them now.
If the company actually stated that you would really
own the naming rights to the color; or if they promised that their database
would somehow be adopted as an official world wide web standard (not "offered"
as a standard, or "made available" as a standard) then it was a scam, and the
good humor part goes away. Even claiming that their database would be "offered"
as a standard would have skated close to fraud, because the company had to know
that their database would never be accepted by any of the official standards
bodies.
In any case, Jen has the knowledge that you thought of her, and got her a unique gift. But
it was only the thought--- not the actual naming rights to the color--- that was the gift.
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5) Another X-Ray
Vision Tool
In "X-Ray Vision Into Your PC" (
http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-03-31.htm#7 ) , I mentioned
Belarc Advisor
http://www.google.com/search?as_q=belarc&as_sitesearch=langa.com
and SiSoft Sandra
http://www.google.com/search?as_q=sandra&as_sitesearch=langa.com
Many readers wrote to remind us all of a third great
tool in that category:
Fred, I use Belarc Advisor as it's great for finding installed software. SiSoft Sandra (free edition) used to be my choice for hardware analysis. Now my choice is Aida32 from Hungary. It gives you great information about installed memory as well as very extensive data about the rest of your system. I find it much more convenient to use than Sandra and more informative about hardware than Belarc Advisor. It's a 1.5MB Zip file free at
http://www.aida32.hu/aida-download.php?bit=32
--- Laury Moore
Thanks, Laury, and all who wrote in!
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6) New Month, Fresh
Start!
It's a new month, and right now your chances are the
best they'll ever be!
To have a shot at winning a no-strings $30 Gift
Certificate for any item at Amazon.Com--- books, software, hardware,
kitchenware, toys, and more--- 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
mini-shopping spree! (Full details also available via this link):
http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm#2
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(really!), 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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7) More Cooling
Software
Hey, Fred! I just read the
discussion on software CPU cooling in "Let It Rain" (
http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-03-24.htm#1 ) and felt that I
had to remind you about CPUCool (
http://www.podien.onlinehome.de/default.htm ).
I've been using the 7.0.x version for
several weeks, and had used an earlier version before that. It does just about
everything (cools the CPU, o-clock the FSB, monitor temperature, etc.) and is
only $13 to register...and well worth it. (You can use it unregistered for as
long as you want to try it out...no reduction in functionality, only some
reminders to click away. IMHO the System Idle Process in XP Pro (which is
supposed to perform some CPU cooling functions) just doesn't cut it. I obtain
an extra 5-10 degrees C over system Idle when using CPUCool. Podien has added
new features (HD cooling, etc.) and expanded his list of main boards to
include most of the newest out there. I highly recommend his product! It is
what Mainboard Monitor 5 could be if it included cooling.--- Chuck in Taiwan
Thanks, Chuck!
Lots more related info:
http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2001/2001-03-19.htm#2
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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
Sky Tonight
http://www.skytonight.org/ieplanets.html
Bowland Central
http://www.bowlandcentral.com/forums
Rick's Internet World
http://www.wideopenwest.com/~rmallen/
Alternative Poetry
http://www.literary-websites.org/freewebspace/spentangel/index2.html
Roger's Ruminations
http://www.geocities.com/chessher/
SpanishWorks
http://www.spanishworksinc.com/
WeirdGamers
http://www.weirdgamers.com/
My Propeller Hat
http://www.mypropellerhat.com/
Scrabble Bonus Word Techniques
http://free.hostdepartment.com/s/scrabblehead/index.htm
FrontStack
http://www.frontstack.com/
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9) Free Support Site
Dear Mr. Langa: I am the owner of a free
computer support site called 5 Star Support. We supply free computer technical
support to a global audience. I have a volunteer staff of over 100 computer
experts that are eager to help with nearly any computer issue.
I am writing you to see if I can help your
readers with their computer ailments.
Our services include:
* Free E-mail Advice
* Free Live Assistance
* Free Discussion Forum
* Free Monthly Newsletter
* Tips & Tricks
* Tutorials
* Frequently Asked Questions
* Categorized Resources
* Free 5 Star Messenger
Kind regards, Vince Underwood
Thanks, Vince.
The site is at
http://www.5starsupport.com , and it's
free to use, funded by donations and purchases made through their online
store. It seems to be fairly new; there were 9 general forums running when I
visited, with about 600 members and 1700 total posts. Worth a look!
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10) Just For Grins
Fred, Here's something that is in parallel
with your recent anti-spam comments. Cordially, Ken Thomson
I suppose some degree of commerce would
grind to a halt if telephone solicitors weren't able to call people at home
during dinner hour, but that doesn't make it any more pleasant. Now Steve
Rubenstein, a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, has proposed Three
Little Words, based on his brief experience in a telemarketing operation that
would stop the nuisance for all time. The three little words are Hold On,
Please...
Saying this while putting down your phone
and walking off instead of hanging up immediately would make each
telemarketing call so time-consuming that boiler rooms would grind to a halt.
When you eventually hear the phone company's beep-beep-beep tone, you know
it's time to go back and hang up your handset, which has efficiently completed
its task.... Three little words that eliminate telephone soliciting!
Do you ever get those annoying phone calls
with no one on the other end? This is a telemarketing technique where a
machine makes phone calls and records the time of day when a person answers
the phone. This technique is used to determine the best time of day for a real
salesperson to call back and get someone at home. What you can do after
answering, if you notice there is no one there, immediately start hitting your
# button on the phone, 6 or 7 times, as quickly as possible. This confuses the
machine-dialed call and it kicks your number out of their system. Since doing
this, our phone calls have decreased dramatically.
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-
11) Plus! Edition Highlights:
-
Fractal-Based Image
Enlarger
(enlarge small images without loss of quality!)
-
Powerful Tool For
Cataloging CD/Floppy Files...
(tool can catalog even thousands of files!)
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Trick
(do-it-yourself right-click menu options!)
DID YOU KNOW--- that Plus! subscribers have access to
additional special features, extra
content and links on a private web site? All that, plus 30% more content in
every issue, for just a dollar a month. Full
Plus! Edition info:
http://www.langa.com/plus.htm
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See you next issue!
Best,
Fred
( Editor@Langa.Com )
Please
recommend
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