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The LangaList
Standard Edition

2005-06-06

A Free Email Newsletter from Fred Langa
That Helps You Get More From Your Hardware, 
Software, and Time Online

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1) Remote Control Security

XP's built-in "Remote Desktop," "Remote Desktop Web Connection," and "Remote Assistance" are great tools, but only if you carefully manage their security implications.

We first discussed XP's "Remote Control" tool in http://informationweek.com/story/IWK20030221S0012 , and called it one of that operating system's "hidden gems: A built-in, simple way to control your PC from afar. It lets you do everything from basic file and data access up to fully taking over the keyboard and mouse of a distant PC, just as if you were sitting in front of it. What's more, XP Pro extends this remote-control ability to any and all versions of Windows--- all the way back to Win95, including Windows CE palmtop systems and XP Home--- via a FREE client software tool."

That first article runs through the similarities and differences among the tool's three major faces ("Remote Desktop," "Remote Desktop Web Connection," and "Remote Assistance"). It then shows you the pros and cons of each, shows you where to get the free client software, and most important, shows you how to use these remote control options safely. If you're not familiar with these Remote Control services, that article http://informationweek.com/story/IWK20030221S0012 would be a great place to start.

A more recent discussion in this newsletter ( http://langa.com/newsletters/2005/2005-05-26.htm#4 ) delved further into some of the security implications of these services, and also prompted some excellent reader mail, such as this:

Fred, You mentioned that when connecting via Remote Desktop (Remote Control), the remote connector needs a valid account and a password on your system, and the connection is automatically encrypted. How secure is the connection? I tried (in vain) to setup a VPN to a client's office using a LinkSys Router on their end and SSH Sentinel client software on mine. Couldn't get it to work. But I can easily use Remote Desktop to connect to the machine I use at their office, it works fine. As this client is a CPA with thousands of tax clients, I'm particularly worried about the security of the connection. And, to take the concept one step further? I can also use Remote Desktop to connect to the server at the office (i.e., I Remote to my workstation, then Remote again from that workstation to the Server). That also works fine--- but how secure is the connection? I use very strong passwords for both my account and the server admin account.---Sal Sorice

How secure is it? How secure can it be made? How much can you trust it? When I finished answering those questions, I had an article that was too long for this newsletter, so I made it a new (free) standalone column posted now at InformationWeek.Com:
http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=164300008

There, we'll discuss beefing up local security, controlling LAN access, and more, so you can take the proper steps to ensure that only authorized users can access the remotely controllable PCs. Once you've set things up properly, you should be able to use XP's remote control services with some peace of mind--- as I do: I find them so useful, I use them literally every day!

Full info:
http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=164300008

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2) BHOdemon

Hi Fred, About a week or so ago my wife left the room for "just a few minutes" while my 5-year- old was playing games on a kid Web site, and I spent the rest of the week trying to get rid of the spyware he accidentally installed! I would run Spybot S&D and let it delete what it found, then I would run Ad-Aware and let it delete what it found, but still I got unscheduled MSIE popups. Then I got more serious... I would open the task list and kill any processes I didn't recognize, hoping to prevent something from hiding, and THEN run the antispyware tools. That helped a little more, but eventually during my Windows sessions I would still wind up getting the popups. Eventually I realized that I didn't get any popus if I just ran Firefox... which is my normal browser of choice... but only when I ran IE! After I would open IE, it was all over... popups everywhere.

I realized that the problem was probably renegade software that was installed into the browser itself, which was then staying in memory even when IE was closed. Point is, I found a nifty little free tool called Browser Helper Object Demon ( http://www.definitivesolutions.com/bhodemon.htm ). This program can list all of your BHOs and give you its take on whether they are to be considered dangerous or not, and you can disable any that you do not need. The software's creators say using this program is better than using the facility in IE because some malware will circumvent IE's interface and re-enable itself when you try to disable it that way. So I installed and ran BHO Demon, disabled all of the BHOs that it deemed dangerous or questionable, and THEN I ran Spybot S&D and Ad-Aware. The problem has cleared up, even though BHO Demon still shows a few pieces of malware that neither of the antispyware programs has yet detected. Plus, BHO Demon sits in the system tray and warns you if you are installing a new BHO... sort of like Startup Monitor, which I believe you have covered before.

Even for people without five-year-olds (!), software like this can help you make yourself aware of all the garbage that might be running in your browser. I'm all for lean, clean setups! ---Michael Jones

Quick refresh: A Browser Helper Object, or BHO, is a small program that runs automatically when you start your Internet browser, and is designed to add to, extend or enhance your browser's functions and features. Sometimes, those functions and features are truly helpful. For example, my system currently has four benign BHOs installed: one each from Adobe, Spybot, Roboform, and Symantec. The one from Adobe lets Acrobat work with my browser when I click on a PDF link; the other three are protective objects that help guard against various malware attacks.

But BHOs can be malicious; lots of malware and adware gets installed that way.

My first impression of BHOdemon is that it's probably mostly going to duplicate protections already provided by other tools on our recommended list (eg see the list of recommended anti-malware tools in http://langa.com/newsletters/2005/2005-05-30.htm#3 ). But I have it running anyway, for now, just to see if it catches anything on its own. It's certainly worth a look!

Thanks, Michael!

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3) Painful Experience

Hi Fred! Thanks for a great newsletter--I've just renewed my Plus! subscription for another year.

I've recently run into a problem that brings home the necessity of registering software one has purchased.

Last month I finally bought the latest update to my aged Nero program. I installed it but never registered it, thinking I would get around to it later when I actually would "use" the program.  Shortly after that I had a series of hard drive failures, probably due to a bad power supply. I lost three old 40 gig drives in 10 days, losing, among other things my brand new, untouched by human hands, Nero serial number.  Nero states on their website that if you haven't registered they can't help you with a new number and they are not answering my emails _at_all_.

This taught me a couple of things:

Register any software.  Now!!  Not later.

Backup your stuff.  Now!!  Not later.  Backing up to a second hard drive ain't good enough.  If it's important, i.e:  You paid money for it, back it up in a couple of different places using a couple of different methods.

Fred, feel free to insert your boilerplate about backing up here: ___ I read it often enough, too bad I didn't actually DO it!

Lee H. (sitting here NOT listening to the 6500 mp3s he doesn't have anymore!)

Sorry you got bit the lost-data bug, Lee. Sooner or later, it happens to nearly everyone.

Your comments on saving downloaded software, along with the registration or license codes, is well taken, especially as more and more software shifts to delivery by download. I have a whole partition filled with software and updates I've purchased and downloaded, along with the necessary reg and license codes; and all my favorite freeware, too. It used to be a huge hassle to back all that up, but the advent of cheap DVD drives and cheap blank DVD disks has made it much less of a problem. (DVD data storage now costs substantially less than CDR storage, as long as you have enough data to fill the blank DVD, or nearly so.)  I don't back up my software partition very often--- it doesn't change all that much in the short term. But a couple times a year, I'll burn the whole thing to a new set of DVDs, and store them offsite, away from my PC. That way, I not only have an at-hand copy of my software and reg codes right on my PC, but I also have a copy stored far away, so I can reconstruct my software collection from scratch, if I ever need to.

And that "standard boilerplate about backing up" that Lee refers to <g> is here:
http://www.langa.com/backups/backups.htm

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4) iPod, youPod, weallPod

Bronson C. Elliott--- frequent contributor, and the guy who packages the LangaList Archives into helpfile format for us--- is an avid iPod user, and shares these tips:

Fred: I've had my iPod for over a year now and I can't live without it!  I have every CD I own on it plus all of my wife's CDs and I have a lot of free space left.  Truly extraordinary!

I have also been using a few iPod utilities which have really saved me hours of time.  There is a website which offers an array of very useful iPod utilities for free or very inexpensive.  It's called iPodSoft ( http://www.ipodsoft.com/ ).

There are utilities to backup the music from your iPod to your computer (iPod Agent) as well as find art work for all of the albums on your iPod (iArt).  But one of the most useful utilities I personally use is Pod Player.  This program allows you to listen to the music on your iPod from any computer you plug it into.  This program actually resides on your iPod so it's always with you.  Simply plug in your iPod and open the drive letter of the iPod and run the program.  It lists the music on your iPod and you choose the songs you want to hear and it plays through your computer's speakers.  It's a lot lighter than running iTunes.

A new version of this program has been released that allows you to play all music files the iPod supports.  AAC, Protected AAC (from iTunes Music Store), MP3, Apple Lossless, WAV, AIFF.  Although you do not need iTunes to play most music files, in order to play protected iTunes Music Store files, you must have Quicktime installed and your computer must be authorized to play the protected songs.  No way around that at this time.

If you have an iPod, you're sure to find something useful there.  Enjoy. ---Bronson C. Elliott.

Thanks, Bronson!

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5) OS Swaps; 64-bit CPUs

Fred is there an easy way to load XP Home version on a computer that has XP Professional on the drive?  I want to load XP Pro on a 64 bit AMD HP computer that currently has the Home version.  I can then load the Home version on the computer that has the Pro version. I then want to get the 64 bit XP Pro Windows version for my HP. Have you had any experience with the AMD 64 bit processor? ---Bob Romancheck

Ethically, I don't think there's a problem swapping OSes; you'll still have one copy of the OS for each PC, so Microsoft isn't losing anything in the deal (as they do when an OS is pirated). But ethics aside, legalities and technicalities still may be in the way, depending on how you got your copies of the OS.

First, there's product activation: If either copy of XP is an OEM-version of the operating system, then either the setup software itself or the Product Activation subsystem may cry foul when you try to install the OS on a new PC. With OEM software, the OS may be licensed and/or keyed to a particular system, too; and you may have driver and support issues as well.

If the OSes are full retail versions, then the swap should be easier, especially if both systems were Product Activated more than six months ago. Odds are then that the OSes will install just fine on both systems, and you'll have no complaints from Windows Product Activation when it wakes up; you'll most likely be able to activate the new setups and run just fine. (WPA is meant to prevent mass piracy; as long as you don't move too much around too fast or too frequently, WPA is just a minor annoyance, instead of a major hassle.)

Best bet is--- as always, make a full backup or disk image of each system before you proceed, so you can put things back the way they were if you need to.

As for 64 bit CPUs: It's still a little early for 64-bit software on the desktop; it's mostly still a 32 bit (and even 16 bit!) world. Most of the performance gains from a move to 64 bit CPUs will come in the future, as mass market software slowly converts. The next version of Windows--- code named "Longhorn"--- will come in 64- and 32-bit versions, for example. But Longhorn is some 18 months out, at least, so it's a little early to be able to make concrete plans around it.

There's no real downside to buying a 64-bit CPU today, especially if you plan to keep the PC for a long time. But there's no huge immediate benefit either, as 32-bit hardware and software will continue to dominate the PC world for a long time to come.

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6) Three Winners!

"Philiptuck," "arernst" and "artbook" each won a FREE full one-year subscription to the LangaList Plus! edition by using the "Recommend To A Friend" form at http://langa.com/recommend.htm .

You see, each month I choose three winners of a FREE ONE YEAR SUBSCRIPTION to the LangaList Plus! edition. 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! (Full details also available via this link): http://langa.com/recommend.htm

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7) One Site, Eight Drive Vendors

Our discussion of "Reusing An Old Drive In A New PC" ( http://langa.com/newsletters/2005/2005-05-30.htm#1 ) brought this nice find:

Hi Fred, As a long-time PLUS! subscriber who gets much from each newsletter, I feel it only fair to contribute when I can. Regarding HDD jumper settings, here is a page I have bookmarked for quick reference: http://www.ontrack.com/jumperviewer/index.asp
 
Perhaps others will find it useful as well. ---Brent Swartzentruber

Excellent, Brent--- a single, bookmarkable page that acts as a front end to eight different drive vendors. Handy!

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 8) They Loaded The Code

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

PC Doctors
http://www.pcdoctorsgroup.com/

rob eckert
http://www.robeckert.com/index.html

Living with disabilities
http://danditoo.tripod.com/livingwithdisabilities/

Military Plaques
http://www.militaryplaques.com/

Paul Stoner
http://home.cogeco.ca/~paulstoner/

White Lily Dreams
http://home.earthlink.net/~slynn41202/whitelily.html

thai syndicate
http://www.thaisyndicate.com/

russell racing
http://russellracing.info/

Kodger's Korner
http://www.kodgerskorner.com/blog/weblog.php

CompuDocs
http://www.compu-docs.com/W2KDfrag.htm

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9) USB Thumb Drive Causes Hang

I have one of those USB thumb drives - great for taking files to my various computer locations.  However, when I leave it plugged into the port on my home computer the computer will not boot up - it seems to hang.  Removing the USB storage device takes care of the problem. Same on a warm reboot. None of my other computers have this problem. Any ideas? Thanks for the good newsletter. ---Dave Hair

As a guess, I'd check the BIOS settings: If the PC is set to try to boot from a USB device, but the USB drive isn't set up with boot files, that could cause a hang.

Or: Other USB- and Boot- related settings maybe at play. For example, some PCs require special BIOS settings to work with USB 2.0 devices, or with older "legacy" USB devices.

It's also possible (but probably not likely) that it's a hardware issue, such as a power-supply problem. But my guess is a simple change of a BIOS setting will get you going--- or at least avoid the hang-on-boot.

How to access the BIOS settings:
http://www.google.com/search?q=enter+bios+setup

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10) Just For Grins

Here's an idea whose time has come (and probably gone, as well).
http://www.flypower.com/index.html
---Vince Brennan (plus subscriber)

Thanks, Vince, I think. <g>

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11-13) Plus! Edition Highlights:

Today's Plus! edition contains the following additional content:

• Do It Yourself Google RSS Feeds
     (free tool creates unique feeds from your custom searches)
• "Websearch Toolbar" Won't Die
     (...unless you remove it this way)
• Two Reader Questions
     (failed CD burns; Spybot problems)

The Plus! edition is only pennies per issue, and comes with a MONEY BACK GUARANTEE from Fred. You can't lose!

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>)

The LangaList is published around 72 times a year, or about 6 times a month. See you next issue, 2005-06-09!

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://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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