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The LangaList
Standard Edition

2005-04-04

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) Autoexec.NT Problems Growing?

Fred, For the past few weeks on our forum we've been getting complaints about XP throwing off the following message when a user tries to run a 16 bit program:
 
16 bit Windows Subsystem: C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\AUTOEXEC.NT. The system file is not suitable for running MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows applications. Choose "Close" to terminate the application.
 
It turns out that there is some malware going around that's deleting the autoexec.nt file from the \windows\system32 folder. The fix, for now, is to copy the backup autoexec.nt from \windows\repair to \windows\system32 and then to run av and spyware checks with Spybot, AdAware and whatever AV program the user has (all with the latest definitions, of course). I'm not sure if the specific malware has been identified yet, but the above process does seem to solve the problem. Hope your readers can benefit from this.

Allan, tweakxp forum administrator, http://www.tweakxp.com/

Thanks, Allan. we covered this problem---and fix--- back in January in the Plus! Edition (#11 in http://www.langalist.com/plus/newsletters/2005/2005-01-24plus.asp ), but as Allan suggests, the problem seems to be getting more widespread; hence this additional coverage.

For an indication of how widespread this is getting, see:
http://www.google.com/search?q=%2216+bit+Windows+Subsystem%22+xp

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2) Network Activity Display

Fred: Love your newsletter! My wife's new computer is running XP pro and we have taken your advice and her account is not an admin account. When she uses our dialup, there is no icon in the system tray to use to disconnect and if you right click on the appropriate dialup connection, status (where the disconnect button is) is grayed out.

Thus far I have found no work around without admin privileges. As a matter of fact, my current work around is to unplug the telephone wire when we are done :) Any suggestions?  ---Dave Cunningham

Hmmm. I've played around with this a bit, and it appears the system tray notification icon must be turned on in the Admin account first (this setting seems to override the lesser-privileged user accounts). But once the icon is set in the in the admin account, it then can be activated and controlled from within the other accounts, at least on my test system here.

Try this: Right click "My Network Places," select Properties, right click the connection you wish to monitor in the system tray, and on the General tab, click the "show icon in notification area when connected" box.

Once the icon appears down by the clock, you can right click on it and use the context menu to enable, disable, and otherwise work with the connection.

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3) Preventing Email Forwarding

Fred: The situation is this: Frequently I need to send an e-mail that must not be forwarded to anyone, that is, the label Forward must be useless. The main reason is that the information contained in the e-mail must be considered personal, and although I know that it's easy to copy/paste the information, my boss wants that the destination user can't forward the e-mail by a simple click on the Forward label.

In the site of Microsoft there's an article about this matter, but it seems the first part of something more and it doesn't explain how it works with detail. The link is http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA011384191033.aspx

Thanks for your help. Regards, Valdes Mata Francisco Javier

The Microsoft article is about encryption; you can send someone an encrypted message, but there's still nothing that would prevent them from forwarding a copy of  the unencrypted text, or from sharing the password, so I don't think that will really help you.

The only systems I've seen that even marginally work to impede simple email forwarding involve posting the actual message on a private, secure web site, and sending the recipient a private URL to that one page. They then log in and can read and reply to the message via a form on the website (and not through actual email); the message never physically resides on the recipient's PC, and nothing except the private URL travels as email. With some suitable coding of the private web page (eg "right click disable" and HTML obfuscation) you can make it a little harder for the recipient to manipulate a message. But it's not much of an impediment: All the recipient has to do is take a screen capture, or even copy the text longhand or with a digital camera, and then they can do whatever they want with the copy of the supposedly private message.

This is a case where technology probably isn't the answer. Rather, some kind of private agreement, or even a legally-binding nondisclosure agreement drawn up by a lawyer, might be better to protect your interests.

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"Mr. Langa, your 'Plus' edition is the ONLY newsletter
that I have found to be worth more than the subscription fee.
I have signed up a friend as a gift to him,
and he is also extremely impressed. ---Michael Ludlum"

Thanks, Michael!

The LangaList Plus! Edition only costs around $1/month, and
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:
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4) PNGs, Lost and Found

Fred, I use 98se  and several months ago a Microsoft update took away the ability to view png files on web pages or with Internet Explorer.  If I wanted to see a png picture, I had to download the whole page and open the picture with IrfanView.  All I was getting for png pictures was a white box with a red x.  Before the updates there had never been a problem viewing them in Internet Explorer.

Finally, a couple of days ago, I found this on a png questions page.  I used them both and now can view png's in Explorer and on web pages.  (When I went into the registry to accepted documents png was not listed-the update from Microsoft had deleted it) :

Q: Internet Explorer doesn't display PNG images.

          For Windows, by far the simplest approach is to use regsvr32 to re-register
          IE's internal PNG support.

          Start -> Run... -> regsvr32 c:\windows\system\pngfilt.dll (and click
          OK) This re-registers the primary png viewer for IE.
          ...........................
          Yet another possibility for IE5 (for W98):. 

          Start regedit ( Start -> Run -> regedit <OK> ) Go to the key:
             HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Accepted Documents

          Click the "New" menu, choose "String", type as
          name of the new string the next free number (in my case it was 4). Double-
          click on the newly created value and type in "image/png" (without the
          quotes) Close regedit, restart IE5 (no reboot needed)

I hope this will help someone else. ---Nina Bilik

Thanks, Nina!

(FYI: PNG--- the "portable network graphic," is the nonproprietary filetype developed to replace the GIF ("graphics interchange format") file type, after AOL/Compuserve asserted ownership of the latter and threatened to start charging a license fee to people who distributed graphics as GIFs. Because of this, GIF use is on the wane; PNGs and other nonproprietary formats are now preferred. )

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5) Another Free HTML Tool

Reader Ken Laninga letter about nVU, a free HTML editor ( http://www.nvu.com/index.html ), prompted this response:

If Ken Laninga hasn't tried the freebie HTML Builder XP 6.0 (or its Pro version, which isn't free) he might find this  http://www.code-builders.com/hbxp.shtml useful.  I use XP 6.0 all the time -- see http://www.bjha.net for an example. ---Billie J. H. Abraham

Thanks, Billie!

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6) It's A New Month...

...and right now your chances are the best they'll ever be! To have a shot at winning one of three FREE ONE YEAR SUBSCRIPTIONS to the LangaList Plus! edition I give away each month, just use the following link to recommend the LangaList. (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://langa.com/recommend.htm . Thanks for recommending the LangaList--- and good luck!

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7) LCD BackLight Burn-Out?

Fred, Thanks for your helpful newsletter. I have gleaned much information from your publication and have also subscribed to your Plus! edition and recommend your list to everyone I can.
 
I recently bought a TFT LCD monitor and have come across a conundrum if you will.  I know that these are powered by a back light of sorts to illuminate the lcd.  I want to maximize the lifespan of this unit and would like to get your opinion if I were to keep the brightness/contrast levels down to a comfortable level, I believe this would prevent the rapid deterioration of the lights in back.  Also, if I were to tell the pc to shut the screen off after a few minutes of inactivity, would you think that this would help reduce the wear and tear?  Albeit, I am taking into consideration the "little power surges" caused by sudden turn on/off.
 
Your opinion in this would be greatly appreciated. Sincerely, Keith Nelson

Older LCDs (and maybe some current ones; I'm not certain) were illuminated with fluorescent tubes. While these are far more long lasting and energy-efficient than incandescent lights, they still employ small resistance heating elements which do wear out over time. That's why household fluorescents (and incandescents, for that matter) develop a dark coating on the inside of the glass as time goes on: That dark coating is actually metal that's boiled off the heating element and condensed on the relatively cool glass. As metal boils off, the heating element thins and can break; and the light dies. There are other common failure modes for fluorescents, too, involving the electronic circuitry--- but I'm getting too far afield here....

Many newer LCDs use solid-state electroluminescent panels or LEDs for back- or edge-lighting; both types of light are incredibly rugged and highly efficient. LEDs in particular should outlast just about any other part of the PC, except maybe the steel case. <g> You're not likely to wear out an LED in normal operation, no matter what you do.

That said, there's more to a screen than its light source. Adjusting your monitor to comfortable viewing levels, and allowing the PC's energy-savings circuitry to do its thing still is very smart: At the least, you'll be saving some energy and avoiding unnecessary pollution from the power plant because your entire system, including the screen, will throttle down when it's not needed; and in some instances, you may also extend the life of your hardware. (I have *all* my systems set up that way--- laptops, PCs with standard monitors, PCs with desktop LCDs... all of 'em!)

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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://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://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://langa.com/randomlink.htm

Manually Browse All Posted-to-Date Sites Starting At
http://langa.com/readersites.htm

Minitutorials
http://www.minitutorials.com/

One Canadian Anglican
http://henderrob.blogspot.com/

Amsterdam lodgings
http://www.amsterdamchoice.com/

turpish group
http://www.turpish.com/

Stenglein Technologies
http://www.stengleintechnologies.com/

IntelliTech, Custom Power Pc's
http://intellitech.csnnow.com/troubleshooting.html

Rozsa Family Website
http://www.rozsa.org/default.asp

Magical Entertainment
http://www.magicandmirth.com/pages/370695/index.htm

MP3 Music Service Review
http://www.mp3musicservicereview.com/

Laserpods
http://laserpod.com.au/

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9) US Post Office Web Site Inaccessible To Many

Dear Fred, I have a situation that has been irking me for some time and I can't find a solution anywhere online.  I am running Windows XP Pro through a Linksys router and can access 99.9% of websites that I try to visit.  The only one I absolutely can't access is http://usps.com .  I currently use Stamps.com to purchase postage which works quite well except that it costs $10.99 a month to use the service.  This is okay if I were a business but as a personal user I'm spending that much even if I'm only purchasing $5 worth of postage in a month.  I see ads on TV for the USPS selling postage online and, if it doesn't have a monthly charge would like to go that way.  Have you heard of a solution to the usps.com access problem? Thanks, Dale Bryant

10) Just For Grins

I am a Plus subscriber and love your newsletter. Here a few links as my contribution for your "Just For Grins" section:

TheDumbNetwork
http://www.dumbwarnings.com/warnings.php?site=warnings&cid=4

I hate computers!
http://extlab1.entnem.ufl.edu/IH8PCs/index.html

http://www.ishouldbeworking.com/

http://www.nowedonthaveawebsite.com/noweb.html

http://www.engrish.com/category_index.php?category=Computer

http://www.do-not-sleep.com/

---Adri Hogewoning

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11) Plus! Edition Highlights:

• Dirty PC Horror Story
     (... from a coal-mining district)
• Desktop Searchbar Compendium
     (compare, contrast... download!) 
• More On Thawing Frozen PCs
     (Alaskans and others offer good advice!)

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 only about $1 a month!

Plus! Edition info: http://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, 2005-04-07!

Best,

Fred
( Editor@Langa.Com )

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