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The LangaList
Standard Edition

2004-01-22

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) Password Length?

Dear Fred: I'm dithering over passwords.  I try to use upper case, lower case, numbers, and punctuation as recommended by a number of sources. That gives me a choice of about 72 symbols for each character of each password. What I'm dithering over is a sensible length for a password with 72 symbol choices.  Even with my rudimentary math skills, I can calculate about 3,743,906,242,624,490,000 possible combinations for a 10-character password.  I don't know how to say the number, but it's a lot.  I have a program that will allow 63-character passwords.  Clearly, I won't be using the full capability, but what are your thoughts on what is a reasonable password length? Thanks, Tony St. Amant

Generally, the longer the better, but it really depends on how much protection you need. You don't want the password to be easily guessed, but you also don't want it so long as to be cumbersome, because then you'll be disinclined to use it.

For personal use, assuming your password indeed is a mix of upper- and lower-case letters, numbers and punctuation; and not simply a word you'd find in a dictionary; or something obvious like a pet's name; then a password length of 6 is usually considered the rock-bottom minimum for reasonable safety; 8 is OK; 10 is good; and anything north of 10 is excellent. A 63 character password would be silly in most personal-use situations! Your 10 character passwords are probably fine for most normal uses.

Thus, something like "cat" is a lousy password; "CaT+4i2" is better; and something like "i!"^45&kq#JT.a" is better still--- almost impossible to guess. A tool like Roboform can automatically generate high-strength passwords for you, and also remember them and even enter them for you so you don't have to go nuts trying to remember long combinations of random characters. <g> See http://langa.com/u/3f.htm and http://langa.com/u/3g.htm .

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2) More Splash/Logon Tools

Last issue's item on "Changing the Splash Screen" ( http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2004/2004-01-19.htm#4 ) brought several interesting follow-on emails, including these:

Hey Fred, Just wanted to recommend some utilities to your readers that can do this sort of customization without the hassle of using a resource editor or replacing OS protected files. I use several programs from Stardock ( http://www.stardock.com ) to completely customize my XP environment. I personally have a subscription to Object Desktop which gives me access to all of the programs that Stardock makes but all of the apps are also available on an individual basis. Here's a list of apps that your readers may be interested in:  1) LogonStudio - (http://www.stardock.com/products/logonstudio/) Changes your logon using a simple GUI interface. 2) Bootskin - (http://www.stardock.com/products/bootskin/) Changes the 2000/XP bootscreen without touching any system files. There are several more apps but these are the ones that cover the examples in the newsletter. There are numerous replacement logons and bootscreens that can be downloaded from (http://www.wincustomize.com). Regards, Kevin C

In regards to changing XP's boot screen there is a program named BootXP and can be found at  http://www.bootxp.net/ as for your welcome or logon screen you can use Logon Studio found at http://www.stardock.com/products/logonstudio/ They both work fantastically. I've been using them both for a couple of years now.---Pollo

Thanks to all who wrote in. Happy customizing!

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and contains even more content--- tips, tricks, advice, downloads....---
than the Standard Edition you're now reading, and for just 14 cents an issue!

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3) Defragging Pointless?

Dear Fred- The current issue (Feb.) of PC World says defraggers do almost nothing to increase performance.
1. Do you agree?
2. Is there any other reason to use a defragger?
3. If above is true, doesn't it also follow that there is no good reason to partition your drive?
Best wishes...thanks for a winning newsletter. ---Mike Beckman

No, I don't agree. Defragging reduces the need for the drive heads to move all around the disk surface to pick up scattered bits and pieces of various files. If each "head seek" takes, say, 5ms, every 200 seeks you avoid will save you a full second--- an easily noticeable amount. (You could save 200 seeks loading just one large file.) Over the course of a day--- with tens or hundreds of thousands of head seeks--- it will add up. No, the saved time won't be enough to let you go home early, but it definitely will make your PC feel faster and more responsive!

And there's more: Defragging makes data recovery easier because contiguous file fragments are easier to recover than scattered fragments. Low-level data recovery is never fun, but recovering from a badly fragmented disk can be a time-consuming and expensive nightmare.

So there are a couple good reasons to defrag. But even if there weren't, partitioning still makes sense because it makes backups easier. For example, I have a new 120GB hard drive, but my main XP partition is still just 8GB, because that's a convenient size for me to back up. I can save or restore just that 8GB, and not have to worry about the rest of the drive, if I don't want to.

Plus, splitting a hard drive into sections lets you do more with it--- such as installing Linux onto another partition, side-by-side with Windows.

So, there are multiple benefits. I respect the folks at PC World, but I think they got this one dead wrong.

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4) White Box Systems, Redux

Fred: I figure it's about time to replace my 4 year old computer.  It's pretty much loaded to the max and computer prices seem low. I know you had an article not too long ago on reasonably priced computers... or would you think I'd be better off to buy one through Dell since I'm a teacher and can utilize the educator's discount program. ---Marsha Ratzel

Dell PCs are usually pretty good--- I used to use Dells as my main PCs. But I personally prefer whitebox/small brand PCs now.

For example, I just bought a new "Systemax" PC from TigerDirect: a 3.2GHz Hyperthreaded Pentium that came with 512MB of RAM, a 120GB hard drive, good video card, NIC, modem, floppy, DVD player, a DVD burner that handles -R, -RW, CD-R, and CD-RW formats, and more. It cost $1200, which is $700 less than a comparably equipped Dell Dimension 8300.

You can see the system here: http://langa.com/u/3e.htm . It's very nice--- I'm using it to write this issue. Both the clock speed increase and the "Hyperthreading" ( http://www.intel.com/technology/hyperthread/ ) make a noticeable improvement in speed over the system I was previously using; the Hyperthreading technology even fools some system utilities into thinking that the one-CPU system is actually equipped with dual processors!

Full disclosure: TigerDirect is a LangaList advertiser. But I bought the Systemax solely for its price and configuration after comparing it to systems from Dell, Micron and Gateway. Dell currently offers free shipping and an extra 512MB of RAM, which reduces the Systemax price savings from $700 down to around $550 or so after you pay for the shipping and upgrade the Systemax's RAM to a full 1GB (which I did). But a $550 savings is still a fair chunk of change in favor of the Systemax.

I don't know what the Dell Educator's Discount is, but unless it's huge (over $550, in the above example), you may do better to forgo the discount and buy a whitebox/small-brand system on your own.

If you're suspicious about my discussing an advertiser's product, by all means check out other whitebox/small-brand vendors for yourself. We've covered a number of them in the past:  http://langa.com/u/3d.htm and http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20030206S0014 ; a general Froogle search will turn up still more. 

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5) Free Downloads From Microsoft's Research Division

Dear Fred, As happens so often, many good sites and downloads are found by luck, or perhaps serendipity.

http://research.microsoft.com/  has some nice free downloads. Many are very difficult technically and I won't even pretend to understand what they are about..  But one stands out as useful to many of your readers.This is quote from site:

"We have a simple travelogue-authoring tool that you can download. It will allow you to create your own online travelogue out of photos, text, and optional GPS tracks. You just add the items -- the tool puts together a web page with a map (with or without your travel path) and photos linked to their locations on the map. Go to the Download page and go straight to Steps 3 and 4!

http://wwmx.org/  contains both download and a demo.

Thank you so much for all I have learned and enjoyed from your website. Sincerely, Larry K.

Thanks, Larry. Sometimes, technologies that eventually end up in Microsoft's operating systems and applications make their first appearance, for free, on the research site. Microsoft's text-to-speech technology traveled that route, for example: First, it was a research tool, and now it's a feature built into XP. The site doesn't change very often, but it's worth checking every couple months. You never know what you might find!

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6) Recommend This Newsletter And Win!

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!

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7) Free: Multipurpose Graphics Tool

Fred, I have multiple tools installed on my PC to measure, magnify, and capture anything I see on my screen. The new version 2 of "Meazure" puts these functions and lots more in one tool, and all but replaces the other programs I have. It's available from http://www.cthing.com/Downloads.asp as freeware, but a donation is accepted. Its Help is well written and should be reviewed to appreciate the program. ---Leo Feret

Thanks, Leo. The software actually performs over a dozen separate functions. Great find!

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8) Code-Load Success Story

Code-loader Adrian State writes:

Hi Fred: Just a quick message to say a big thank you for my sites ( http://www.introduced-species.co.uk ) huge increase in traffic. Within 2 1/2 hours of the current LangaList being published which listed me in "they loaded the code" I received over 10000 hits...! Luckily I have a reseller account and was able to immediately allocate more bandwidth to my site. Many thanks from a long time LangaList reader. Adrian

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 thousands 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

Motorcycle Travel
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/

WorldwideAssociates (PRC)
http://www.worldwideassociates.org.cn/

MortgageDirectory
http://www.themortgagedirectory.co.uk/

DisInfotainment
http://www.disinfotainmenttoday.com/

Eastern Oklahoma
http://www.easternoklahomacounty.com/

Kate's Soap and Sundries
http://www.kates-soap.com/main.html

Purple Unicorn
http://purpleunicorn.org/index1.html

Computers Old and New
http://www.onlink.net/user/curlew/index.html

Satrakshita
http://www.satrakshita.be/English.htm

De even uitblazen diashow
http://users.pandora.be/lucien/FOW_Diashow/__START.htm

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9) Odd Upgrade Issue

This issue will only affect a small percentage of upgraders--- those wishing to use certain network services after upgrading from Win2K to XP--- but for those, the problem is a real show-stopper, and this fix may save a lot of hair-pulling:

Fred - I connect from home to my office PC using RDC through a SonicWall Tele3 TZX, a sweet tho expensive piece of gear. This worked like a charm on my Windows XP, so I upgraded my wife's (I work for her - long story) PC from Win2K to XP to get the same benefits. Wrong. I consistently got the error "The local policy of this system does not permit you to log on interactively." The procedures in http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;289289 , http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;315328 and http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;310629 did not fix the problem. I finally found the answer in a post by an Ohio State engineer on an MS users newsgroup.

If you upgrade to WinXP, as opposed to a clean install, you also need to start - run - gpedit.msc - computer configuration - windows settings - security settings - local policies - user rights assignments - allow logon through terminal services; and add the user names that you want to access the PC. Not a very intuitive process. I did not find any reference of this in the MS knowledgebase.

Keep up the good work. Langalist Plus is a lifesaver for me as I try to play system administrator for our small business. ---Terry Smith

Excellent detective work, Terry. Thanks!

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10) Just For Grins

This is a grin only if you're not one of these two unfortunate souls:

A teenaged Canadian named "Michael Rowe" has a wry sense of humor, and also wanted to start a software site. His friends know him as "Mike," so he named his site "Mike Rowe Soft." Guess what? Microsoft's lawyers went after the http://www.mikerowesoft.com/ site, claiming copyright infringement.

They also went after http://www.mikerosoft.ca/ ; a personal/hobby site run by another Canadian, Mike Morris.

I understand the need to protect a company name, but geez, doesn't this seem just a trifle extreme...? <g>

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11) Plus! Edition Highlights:

• HelpFile Help
     (tips on using the Windows Help Engine--- and the Langalist Archives!)

• Reader Info Re: Xandros
     (hands on test of promising new distribution)

• More On Sorting Out DVD Jargon
     (...plus user votes on the best DVD burners!)

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

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(Give a gift subscription to the LangaList Plus edition!
Click <a href= " http://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!)

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