Please visit the LangaList Home Page

Please note: Older issues may contain information that is now out of date

How To Subscribe and Unsubscribe is at the end of this note. Mailing List Trouble? See http://www.langa.com/help.htm
Questions about the advertisers? See the end of this note. Please also see legal notices at the end of this note. LangaList: ISSN 1533-1156

Please recommend the LangaList to a friend! (And maybe win a prize!)

An easier-to read formatted HTML version of this newsletter is available
<a href=" http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-10-20.htm ">here</a>

The LangaList
Standard Edition

2003-10-20

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!

Contents:

1) More On "Throttling Shared Connections"
2) Expert Advice On Passwords
3) Fred's Easy Way To Good Passwords
4) Free High-End Graphics Gallery (And More!)
5) Deleting "Internet Logs"
6) Don't Make Me Beg! :-)
7) Spam Study
8) They Just Keep Coming And Coming...
9) Putting Registry Searches To The Test
10) Just For Grins
11) Plus! Edition Highlights:

 

--- ( Your Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList Free! ) ---

--------------( the above is an advertisement )--------------

 

1) More On "Throttling Shared Connections"

If you have only one internet connection (dial up, cable, dsl, whatever) and want to share it among several machines, there are a number of options, as we've previously discussed. (e.g. http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-q=ics&sp-a=0008002a-sp00000000 ). But what happens if one of the PCs is a bandwidth hog, eating up most of the connection capacity for itself? We touched on several solutions in http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-10-09.htm#3 and http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-10-16.htm#3 and http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-10-16.htm#4 , but this reader has still another suggestion:

Following your reader's request in the above issue for software to control the bandwidth available to applications sharing his internet connection, I thought I'd tell you about a program which may be able to help, Netlimiter. http://www.netlimiter.com

"NetLimiter is an ultimate internet traffic control tool designed for Win98/Win98 SE, WinME, Win2000 and WinXP. It is suited to monitor applications which access the internet and actively control their internet traffic. You can use NetLimiter to set (download/upload) speed limits for applications or even single connection. Simply, NetLimiter allows you to share your internet connection bandwidth among all applications running on your PC....With this unique and "never seen before" feature Netlimiter offers comprehensive set of internet statistical tools which includes real-time traffic measurement and long-term per-application internet traffic statistics. With NetLimiter you finally become the master of your internet connection."

Because the software restricts bandwidth on a per application basis, it needs to be installed on the PC actually running the application. I've used Netlimiter for a while now and find it does it's intended job admirably. I particularly like the fact it can remember the bandwidth settings for individual applications and apply them automatically the next time they run. I hope some of this is useful. All the best, Mark Hardy

P.S. Great Plus! Newsletter... worth every penny and then some!

Per-application control is nice, but note that NetLimiter isn't a connection sharing option: It's a "throttle-only" solution that must be used with some other means of connection sharing, and which (alas) comes at a fairly steep price: $30 for one user, and up (a 5-user license is $125, 10 users cost $221). NetLimiter does have a free trial version, so you'd definitely want to try that first; and also look at the simpler, less-expensive options that may combine both functions--- bandwidth limiting plus connection sharing--- in a single package. If they don't work, or if you need per-application bandwidth limits, then NetLimiter could be just the ticket.

Click to email this item to a friend
http://www.langa.com/sendit.htm

return to top of page

--- ( Your Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList Free! ) ---

--------------( the above is an advertisement )--------------

2) Expert Advice On Passwords

Here's a note on passwords from someone who knows what he's talking about--- he's in the password-recovery business!

Fred, In August, when you featured the subject of regaining access to your own PC when the password has been lost ( http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=13100343 ), there was one resource you didn't mention in your discussions - me.

I run a password recovery service for all Windows operating systems running on all types of hardware.... The top reasons for people using the service are not what you'd expect and serve as cautionary advice.

Fourth place is registry file corruption often due to an unexpected power loss.

Third place is forgetfulness.

Second place is where a computer has just been removed from a Windows domain without first checking that the local administrator password was known. A Domain Administrator account would have been used to authorise the computer leaving the domain but, after a reboot, only local accounts are valid.

The single most popular reason why people lose access to their computer is because the computer, usually a home one, was set to auto-logon, and something has happened to disturb the auto-logon process .The user is seeing a password prompt for the first time and has no idea what to enter.

My advice is that no matter how much you hate a password on your home computer it's safer to have a simple one that, by typing it in every day, you won't forget.

It's interesting to note that in the last 3 years the average home computer has changed from having a trivial, usually non-existent, password requirement (95/98) to a serious unforgiving password-based security system (2000/XP).

The Linux boot disk you mentioned is certainly a powerful tool but I find that no single method works 100% of the time and so it's best to use a collection of techniques then, if "Plan A" fails there's always Plans B and C to fall back on. It's very rare for all methods to fail.

Sometimes when off-line access to a computer's hard drive is proving difficult the simplest way can be to extract the lost password from a recent backup of the registry.

One last tip there are a surprising number of computers around where the administrator password is blank so give that a try if you get stuck.

Here's the page to access my service- http://www.rhebus.com/passrec.htm where there's also a FAQ you may find interesting.---Richard

Thanks, Richard! Passwords can be a pain, but there are ways to make managing them easier. See the next item.

Click to email this item to a friend
http://www.langa.com/sendit.htm

return to top of page

3) Fred's Easy Way To Good Passwords

I have many--- literally dozens--- of passwords for various sites, software, and purposes, but I only actually have to remember two of them in routine daily use. (What a relief!)

The two that I have to remember are based on modifications I make to an obscure name, word or phrase that won't show up in standard dictionary lookups, and that no one is likely to associate with me (nothing simple like a pet's name, for example); but that is easy for me to remember without having to write it down or store it where it could be hacked or stolen.

It's easy, and even fun, in a kind of geeky way. <g> There are many permutations, but here's an easy example you can try right now: Let your mind roam and come up with an easy-to-remember but totally random or even bizarre statement about a fictional character with a made-up name--- the longer the better, up to the limits of your password system. Include punctuation and a mix of capital and lower case letters when you type out your phrase.

OK, I just did that, and came up with a phrase that makes an unlikely connection between Star Trek villains and a tennis star from some years ago: "Borg Aren't Swedes!"

Now take out the spaces in your phrase and devise simple substitution rules that will be easy to remember. For example, a capital "S" might become a "2" an "o" becomes a "0" (zero), an "E" becomes a "3," and so on.

Process your phrase accordingly, Mine turns into "B0rgAr3n't2w3d32!"  Of course, starting with a an even more obscure/less grammatical phrase, or using more elaborate substitutions, word reversals, etc., would make the password better. But even as-is, it's far, far better than the anemic passwords most people use--- and yet it's easy to remember and recreate. (I'll bet you'll remember the phrase "Borg Are Not Swedes!" for some time, without even trying! <g>) And if you type the new password a few times, it becomes second nature.

One of the passwords I construct using the methods above is my logon password. The other is a password for RoboForm ( http://www.roboform.com/ ), a secure password-protected utility for storing and generating all my other passwords; it's also a form-filler that can intelligently auto-fill many web-based forms, going far beyond mere passwords. It's like having a trustworthy assistant who remembers all your passwords and logons for you, and also can fill in all the little boxes when you make a purchase or sign up for something online.

In normal, daily use of my PC, the logon and RoboForm passwords are the only ones I have to remember and recreate: One gets me into my PC. the other gets me into Roboform, which then remembers all the other passwords I ever use. This way, I can have as many passwords as I need, but still only have to remember two for routine use.

Well, OK: To be precise, sometimes there's a third: An Administrator's password for the PCs that require it. But I make that easier to remember by associating it with my main, daily-use passwords. For example, if my main password is a statement, I might make the Admin password a related question. Using the above simple example, the Admin password could be based on something like "Are Borg Swedes?"  which turns into "Ar3B0rg2w3d32?" Because it's associated with, but different from, the password I use all the time, it's not hard to remember, and yet it provides reasonable security.

Of course, if you're protecting nuclear secrets or the formula for an eternal youth elixir or something equally important, you'll need better password protection than this simple method provides. But for normal use, the above, or some variation thereon, will do just fine.

This may help, too:

Lots more detail on passwords, Roboform, and other, similar tools:
http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-03-03.htm#1
http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-03-03.htm#2

(Note: No offense to my Swedish readers or to Bjorn Borg! The above was just a silly, random example! <g>)

Click to email this item to a friend
http://www.langa.com/sendit.htm

return to top of page

4) Free High-End Graphics Gallery (And More!)

Fred, your story about OpenOffice in your http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-10-09.htm#2 issue prompts me to share an extremely valuable open source product I recently found Gallery. I have many digital photos that I wanted to put on my website. I created an album with FrontPage, but it was crude and very tedious to add to and maintain. Somehow, I stumbled on an open source product called Gallery at http://gallery.menalto.com  In order to use it, you need a web host with php support (mine does and I suspect most do). To install it you have to upload (ftp) the Gallery files to your website, be sure certain permissions are set properly, and then run a configuration script. I had never done any of this before, so I was a little apprehensive. It worked out fine, however, and the results are SPECTACULAR! It is unbelievable that a product this good is FREE! It allows you to easily create professional photo albums with user-level access permission. You can even allow others to create their own albums! This was exactly what I was looking for I thought IF I could ever find what I wanted, it would cost hundreds of dollars. I was wrong!

After a little more searching, I realized that Gallery is just the tip of an enormous iceberg. My web host is running on open source products (Linux, Apache, php, MySQL, etc.), which explains its low cost. There are many, many open source products available free to download. In the web area, a trip to http://www.hotscripts.com/  or http://php.resourceindex.com/Complete_Scripts/  will yield hundreds of free web applications.

I have been reading your newsletter all six years and have truly enjoyed each and every issue. Thank you! ---Paul Norrod

Thanks, Paul. Indeed, server software is where the Open Source movement really made its name, at first: The Apache server software may be the most successful Open Source application of all time, with huge numbers of web sites using it, often with Linux as the foundation. In fact, Langa.Com is one such site!

Click to email this item to a friend
http://www.langa.com/sendit.htm

return to top of page

--- ( Your Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList Free! ) ---

--------------( the above is an advertisement )--------------

5) Deleting "Internet Logs"

Hi Fred, Just subscribed to Plus and have first issue - and am now downloading the archives to see all that extra content I've missed.

I use your clean9x.bat but slightly modified to find Temporary Internet Files in other locations. For example:

C:\WINDOWS\Temporary Internet Files
C:\WINDOWS\Profiles\Paul\Temporary Internet Files (Paul is a User name in win 98)
C:\WINDOWS\Profiles\Paul\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files
C:\WINDOWS\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files

While looking space I could free up today I came across a folder which had 152 megs of files

C:\WINDOWS\Internet Logs

It contained files with names like ZALog2003.07.02.txt and xDBE335.TMP but the big one was tvDebug.log (24 megs).

Using Google I found an explanation at

http://forums.techguy.org/t128272/s4752770a473af3b76974a60050857fd8.html

"The folder Internet Logs is created by ZoneAlarm..."

BTW From Explorer, go to Tools > Folder Options > View tab and ensure that you have "Show All Files" selected, and UNselect "Hide File Extensions for Known File Types".

Now, under that folder you will normally find a LDB file, named after your computer name, and a lamdb.rdb file. These are the ZA main files.

You may also find a Backup.rdb file, tvdebug.log and ZAlog.txt file.

The latter is logging all ZA alerts, if you have this selected and can be removed it not needed.

TvDebug.log file can be deleted. If you don't do this periodically, this file will continually grow larger.

I have also found that over time, the RDB and LDB files also grow over time. So, periodically I restart to DOS/Safe mode, rename the files and reboot. ZA then rebuilds these files. After a couple of days, ensuring that all is well, I delete the 2 renamed files."

It struck me that the .tmp would lend themselves to being deleted periodically by using a modified clean9x.bat.

Any thoughts on this... Cheers, Paul

One of the nice things about the free CleanXX files ( http://www.langa.com/cleanup_bat.htm ) is that you can make them do *anything* you want, cleaning any folder you designate--- including the "Internet Logs" folder.

The information in the folder actually could be useful in the event of a hack attack; the data there might help you trace an attack to the source. But as you found, the files can get quite large. (Although ZAP does allow you to set max sizes.)

I try for a good compromise between having lots of data so I can trace an attack if I need to, but not so much as to bog down my hard drive. To do this, I added 2 lines to my CleanupXP.Bat file:

cd "C:\WINDOWS\Internet Logs"
del ZALog*.*

The above wipes out the main logs when I run the CleanupXP file, typically every day. Until I run the cleanup, I have full logs available, if I need 'em. But once I run cleanup, they're totally gone, for good, and the folder starts over clean.

If you wanted to clean all logs from that folder, you could use

del *.log

or, if you wanted to totally clean out the folder of all files, you could  use

del *.*

The permutations are endless, but the core idea is simple. Once you've found something that requires periodic attention on your PC, look for a way to automate the process. That's not being lazy--- it's being smart! <g>  (See also #1 in this issue for more on this topic.)

Click to email this item to a friend
http://www.langa.com/sendit.htm

return to top of page

6) Don't Make Me Beg! :-)

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 one of three FREE ONE YEAR SUBSCRIPTIONS to the LangaList Plus! edition given each month. (If your name is drawn and you're already a Plus! subscriber, your current subscription will be extended by a full year.)

Check out the details at http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm . Thanks for recommending the LangaList--- and good luck!

Click to email this item to a friend
http://www.langa.com/sendit.htm

return to top of page

7) Spam Study

This report is a few months old, but still 100% germane:

Fred, Found this in the Business Section of the Washington Post... a study of spam & why we're receiving it by the Center for Democracy & Technology. Thought some of your readers might find it interesting also. Thanks for the great newsletter!

http://www.cdt.org/speech/spam/030319spamreport.shtml

Susan Siebken

Susan also pointed out the link in footnote #3 of the above--- to an email encoder that can help hide your address from spammers.

Thanks, Susan!

Click to email this item to a friend
http://www.langa.com/sendit.htm

return to top of page

8) They Just Keep Coming And Coming...

Well over 3,000 of your fellow readers have "loaded the code." Have you? Check out http://www.langa.com/code.htm for the details.

Here's another eclectic sample of reader sites--- some professional, some very personal:

Metro Reunion Registry
 http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Flats/3666/

"Zilean" Information
 http://members.optushome.com.au/cfpexplorer/

Frank Walen Software Services
http://www.fw2s.com/

Pre-Paid Legal Services
 http://www.bodieagency.com/

Tiger Squadron
 http://rcaf.com/439squadron/Toocon_e.htm

Michael Thompson
 http://www.thompsonmike.co.uk/

CST Apparel
 http://www.cstapparel.com/index.php

Comedy Book
 http://thatscomedy.com/tc-jokebook.htm

InspiraSeed
 http://www.bizunlim.com/

Shades of Green
 http://www.shades-of-green.ca/index.html

Nanyana
http://www.nanyana.com/

Click to email this item to a friend
http://www.langa.com/sendit.htm

return to top of page

--- ( Your Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList S.E. Free! ) ---

"Dear Fred, first let me say that originally a friend introduced me to the Langa List. At that time I was a Standard Edition subscriber, I thought I was being thrifty by not spending any money. Eventually my friend went to the Plus and he kept telling me about all the great stuff he was finding there. So I went for it. If I had known how much extra information, downloads and other tidbits I was missing out on I would have subscribed to the Plus a long, long time ago! The money was well worth it. Keep up the good work!" ---Mike Styczinski

Just $1 per month!

The LangaList Plus! Edition is ad-free, spam-proof,
and contains even more content--- tips, tricks, advice, downloads....---
than the Standard Edition you're now reading.

Get all the details:

<a href=" http://www.langa.com/plus.htm ">Click!</a>

--------------( the above is an advertisement )--------------

9) Putting Registry Searches To The Test

Man, you folks are good! We routinely touch on topics that prompt many readers to share their own experiences and "finds" with us; that prompt experts in the field to share their specialized knowledge with us; or that prompt still other readers to perform real-life testing to share with us. Incredible!

Here's an example of the last--- some real-life testing done by a reader, and shared with us:

Hi Fred: In http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-09-22.htm#5 , a reader mentioned a fast registry search routine called [Resplendent] Registrar. For those who really need it, there is a significantly faster search program (shareware) with the unlikely name of Registry Crawler ( http://www.4dev.com/regc/index.htm ).

I ran some tests:

- My system Dell XPS D300 (MHz), 196MB mem, 8GB 5400 rpm HD, Win98SE+
- My registry 7.3 MB with about 49000 entries
I searched for a non-existent string in all keys, values and data.
- Microsoft RegEdit: 1 min, 45 sec
- Resplendent Registrar: 24 sec
- Registry Crawler: 11 sec

I also searched for strings that I knew existed, and Registry Crawler found them all. I have no connection to the program or author. I just pass this on for what it's worth. --Tom Mighill

What an amazing time difference, Tom. Not only is Registry Crawler a speed demon, but your tests also show that Windows built-in RegEdit is a real slug. <g>! Thanks!

Click to email this item to a friend
http://www.langa.com/sendit.htm

return to top of page

10) Just For Grins

In the past, I've said that all software contains bugs--- but I was wrong! This software seems to be perfect: Complete, bug-free, amazingly compact, and it does *exactly* what its designers say it will. And it's free!

Fred, Thought this might make a cute "Just For Grins" entry. Hope it works as well for you and your other readers as it does for me...<grin>

http://www.bernardbelanger.com/computing/NaDa/index.html

Gullette in Bartonville, IL

Thanks, Gullette!

Click to email this item to a friend
http://www.langa.com/sendit.htm

return to top of page

--- ( Your Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList Free! ) ---

--------------( the above is an advertisement )--------------

-

11) Plus! Edition Highlights:

  • Free, Automatic Win98 Registry Backups
       (easily recover from hijacks and other problems)

  • Safe Message Preview For Outlook (Free!)
       (see what's in an unknown message without risk)

  • Head-To-Head URL-Shorteners
       (10 URL tools compared)

The Plus! edition is only pennies per issue, and comes with a MONEY BACK
GUARANTEE from Fred. How can you lose? Check out the details:
http://www.langa.com/plus.htm

Click to email this item to a friend
http://www.langa.com/sendit.htm

return to top of page

(Want to give a gift subscription to the LangaList Plus edition?
Click <a href= " http://www.langa.com/plus_gift.htm ">here</a>)

See you next issue!

Best,

Fred
( Editor@Langa.Com )

Please recommend the LangaList to a friend! (And maybe win a prize!)

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.

return to top of page

Administrivia:

UNSUBSCRIBE: From the same email account you used to sign up with), send an email to
unsubscribe-langalist@lyris.dundee.net

SUBSCRIBE (it's free!): Create and send a new email to
subscribe-langalist@lyris.dundee.net

CHANGE ADDRESS? LIST TROUBLE? HAVE QUESTIONS? OTHER PROBLEM? NEED HELP? See http://www.langa.com/help.htm

This newsletter is SPAM PROOF and requires two levels of subscriber confirmation before delivery begins: See http://www.langa.com/info.htm

About the advertisers: http://www.langa.com/privacy.htm#ads

Disclaimer: http://www.langa.com/legal.htm  In brief: All information herein is offered as-is and without warranty of any kind. Neither Langa Consulting LLC, nor its employees nor contributors are responsible for any loss, injury, or damage, direct or consequential, resulting from your choosing to use any information presented here.

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

return to top of page

Please visit the LangaList Home Page