How To Subscribe and Unsubscribe is at the end of this note. Mailing List Trouble? See http://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://langa.com/newsletters/2005/2005-06-20.htm ">here</a>

The LangaList
Standard Edition

2005-06-20

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!

1) Building Better Passwords

Good passwords are essential for PC security. Even the world's strongest encryption algorithms or logon procedures won't protect you if you use the wrong kind of password.

And even if your passwords once were safe, they may not be today: Passwords that were fine even just a few years ago may now be vulnerable to attack because of huge advances in hardware and software. Malicious hackers now have tools that can make hundreds to thousands of guesses in seconds. Passwords that might once have taken months or years to crack can now be cracked in minutes or hours.

And it takes very little skill to mount a password attack. The simplest form of attack is based on dictionary lists: The cracking software simply tries every possible word in a dictionary. Any password found in the dictionary will thus soon be discovered. This type of software is extremely simple to create because no deep analysis or cryptographic skill is needed. It's high-school level stuff, and yet it can defeat many passwords!

Similarly, passwords based on common phrases are very weak. A malicious hacker can use a dictionary of famous quotations in much the same way as using a dictionary of individual words: thus, any password based on familiar quotes is likewise easily discovered.

It's only a little more complicated for a malicious hacker also to cover the most common permutations and variants of words and phrases. For example, some people choose a password or phrase, and then touch-type that word or phrase, but shift their hands one character to the right, left, up, or down from the normal typing position. The resulting output looks like gibberish, but really isn't: It retains a regular pattern that a computer easily can sniff out.

So-called "elite" or "l33t" speak http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/children/kidtalk.mspx was once a useful way of increasing a password's complexity, but the rules of "l33t" substitution are now well known. Similarly, taking a common word or phrase and trying to make it more complex through random capitalization or by appending or prepending numbers does little to add real security: For example, in one demonstration, a lowly 500MHz P3 PC running a widely-available cracking tool was able to guess the password "ChEcK12" in only 26 seconds; and today's top-of-the-line PCs could perform the same crack almost instantly.

Strong passwords don't have to be hard to create or use. I've pulled together a collection of free tools and tips that can help; it's posted now (also free) at http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=164303537 .

Click on over, and make sure *your* passwords are up to snuff!

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

return to top of page

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

"Fred: Thank you for providing this service for a reasonable price. Your
information saves me hours, days and probably years of my life having to
do all of the research and trial and error myself!" ---Lorna McCafferty

Thanks, Lorna! I've actually kept the Plus! Edition price the same for
the last four years, but I'm going to have to increase the price a bit
next year to cover my rising expenses.

Only around $1/Month--- pennies an issue!
http://langa.com/plus.htm

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

2) Monitor Woes

Hi Fred, Long time follower of your newsletter and web postings. Have used many of your ideas to fix and maintain my PC and software, especially good backups! But, I'm stuck on how to correct a monitor annoyance that will not go away. I'm not sure how to describe the problem in sufficient technical jargon, but here goes.

The monitor's display of the desktop background is rotated slightly to the left and down a few degrees so that the upper left corner and lower right corner of Window's desktop appear clipped. No matter how I attempt to correct this with my graphic card's display settings or the monitor's hardware position control buttons, the graphic appearance stays the same. An attempt to use the 'tilt' control simply makes the graphical display of the Window's content's appear tilted downward to the right. Simply reducing the overall size of the displayed window allows the window to be fully displayed but with the window's contents tilted to the left. This is evident when reading text documents.

This problem persists despite several changes to the system: (in chronological order)
OS from W98 SE to XP Pro SP2, hardware monitor, 2 new video cards, and lastly, a BIOS update. (I managed to update the BIOS successfully without a glitch, a task I dreaded, but desperation had set in!) The only system constant is that the motherboard is the same. I suspect some problem with the BIOS settings in a Dual BIOS on a Gygabyte MB, Athlon Tbird 1300 MHz processor. It's a custom built box and I've done bare metal installations several times. All hardware and software are fully updated. But this one's got me. Help! Sincerely, Don

You mention your system started with Win98, so your monitor itself probably has quite a few years on it. I'm typing this on a Trinitron-style monitor with a build date (stamped on the back) of July 1999, and it's starting to show its age. The pixels in the lower left corner show some red fringing; the upper right pixels show a complementary blue fringe; and no amount of degaussing or tweaking the "convergence" will realign things. Some images also produce an unpleasant whine from the monitor, even though it's not running at an especially high refresh rate. In short: It's simply getting to be time for a new monitor. It happens.

There's only so much you can do with a monitor's controls, and it sounds like you've done most of it. Normally, for picture geometry, there's height, width, vertical position, horizontal position, rotation (where the whole screen may appear twisted clockwise or counterclockwise), skewing (where the screen looks like a parallelogram, with the top leaning left or right in relation to the base), pincushioning (where the sides of the image area may appear convex or concave, giving the image a bulging-out or pushed-in look); keystoning (where the top or bottom of the screen is wider than the opposite edge, giving a trapezoidal look), bowing (where one side of the image will be convex with the other is concave, giving the screen a curved look); and so on. The better monitors and video cards will let you tweak all these display parameters, up to a point.

You might also look at the color depth and resolution, just to touch all the possible bases (see "What's the 'Best' Monitor Refresh Rate?" http://langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-03-10.htm#5 ), although that's a long shot for the symptoms you report.

If you've tried adjusting all the controls available to you, and the picture's geometry (or any other attribute, such as color, brightness, moire, focus, etc.) just won't display right,  it's probably time to start thinking about a replacement. I don't say that lightly--- I never suggest tossing good equipment in the trash; rather, I believe that things should be used for as long as is reasonable and practical. But all hardware does eventually wear out, and when a component drifts so far out of adjustment that none of the controls can bring it back, it's time!

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

return to top of page

3) Recycling Hard Drive Guts

Fred, Being somewhat of a geek and an engineer, I disassemble any failed hard drives I replace. This provides me with some wicked strong magnets and also some really neat coasters, in the form of the platters. At the same time, it prevents anyone from recovering data off a discarded HD, not that I'm paranoid about that or anything. The experience gained in doing this has also saved my bacon when a HD circuit board fried, literally, and I was able to swap it out with one from an identical drive so that I could recover the data.--- Martin

Indeed, it's an interesting and easy project for anyone handy with a screwdriver. I've taken dead drives apart just to see what's inside; and in some cases, to score the platter surfaces with a screwdriver to prevent a dumpster-diving data thief from easily accessing any residual information that might be on the drives. I hadn't thought of using the platters as coasters, though....

[And, BTW, in describing magnets as "wicked strong," I'm guessing you're from the Boston, Massachusetts area (as am I, originally). Using "wicked" as a general verbal intensifier is pretty much a northern New England thing. Here in New Hampshire, for example, there's even a local brand of potato chips whose seemingly oxymoronic slogan--- "Wicked good!"---  perplexes non-natives. But we New Englanders know exactly what they mean. <g> ( http://www.google.com/search?q=wicked+new+england+slang )]

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

return to top of page

4) Setting Up Wireless

Do you think you could devote some time to the issue of setting up a wireless network in the home for desktops and laptops?  Between college kids and visiting relatives, it seems I always have several computers at a time here that need internet access.
 
We have DSL, and use all D-Link products (router, repeater, bridge, adapter, internal card) for the various computer configurations that live here at the moment. But it seems to be a fussy system -- a power loss can cause the entire patchwork to fail, as can other random events undetermined.  I am frustrated by how much time I spend getting everybody back up and running, and, nice as they are, I am sure D-Link tech folks are tired of hearing from me!  I have given up completely on using WEP (and that makes me nervous) because then things really got hinky. 
 
Any thoughts on how to set up a fool-proof system, that does not necessitate the hoops I seem to jump through on a weekly basis?
 
As always, thanks for Plus! and all you do, Bo Ward

Foolproof? Nope--- sorry. Wireless still has way too many pitfalls for that. But easier (relative term)  WiFi is one of XP's strengths: the "Automatic Wireless Network Configuration" in SP2 actually works pretty well; it will even walk you through much of the process of sharing encryption keys and such. If you're using an up-to-date copy of XP, the simplest approach is usually to start your wireless network fresh and to build outward from the center. Remove/delete all previous wireless settings from all affected machines, and set up only the base station--- the one controlling the Wireless Access Point (WAP)--- using XP if you can, and/or using an up to date copy of the vendor's own WAP configuration software.

On each of the other machines, click Start/Control Panel/Network and Internet Connections/Network Connections. In XP SP2, the "Use Windows to configure my wireless network settings" check box should be selected by default. But if the Wireless Networks tab does not appear, then automatic wireless network configuration is not available. This may be due to using older hardware or wireless software, for example, that doesn't support the automatic wireless configuration service. (But note: I have an older, early-generation Belkin WAP here that works just fine with XP SP2's automatic setup, though. In fact, like Bo, I previously had a horrible time trying to get all the available security working on the wireless connection, but with SP2, getting the whole thing working with 128-bit encryption, a unique SSID, and MAC-address filtering was amazingly simple. (For more info on wireless security, see "Wireless Poachers, Wireless Guests" http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20021031S0004 ) With XP SP2, it all worked the first time on every machine, which had never happened before for me! <g>

If you're using XP SP2, open the Help system and search for the phrase "Wireless networking overview" to access all the built-in help and support; it's actually quite complete.

For all versions of Windows, the articles at http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/Wireless_Networking/ will almost surely help. For some solid baseline info, see also http://www.wown.com/j_helmig/wlan.htm . And an extra tip that may help: As you try to bring each new machine onto your wireless net, temporarily turn off that PC's firewall for a minute to so, until the wireless connection's made. Then re-enable the firewall, which should then recognize the new connection and offer or allow you to recognize it automatically in the future.

A final note on security: "Secure" is a relative thing in the wireless world. Although better wireless security is coming, you still should approach any and all current wireless connections as suspect and dangerous, even with all available security protocols and techniques in use. It's simply not a very secure medium, period.

[BTW, and as a total aside: Bo's "hinky" is another linguistic regionalism, meaning strange, weird, or suspect. I believe the term is originally from the midwest; but it's since become much more widespread in its use.]

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

return to top of page

5) Feedback On 64-bit Hard/Software

Fred, I am a long time reader and a Plus member to boot. This is in reference to the question concerning the OS swapping and 64 bit CPUs ( http://langa.com/newsletters/2005/2005-06-06.htm#5 ). I agree with all that you said concerning the actual swapping around of the OSs and the problems that might occur. My point is the 64 bit CPU and OS. Yes, Longhorn is 18 months (maybe longer) from seeing daylight but XP x64 is already available and RTMd about a month ago. I am currently using it on the system that I am typing this email. Previous to the RTM, I went through 3 beta releases of XP x64. Even with the betas, drivers were not that hard to find and now that the OS is finalized, the drivers are becoming more available. I have an AMD 64 3200 coupled with XP x64 and it runs both 32 bit and 64 bit software without any problems. However, you are correct in that it will not run 16 bit software. This becomes apparent more so when an application still has a 16 bit installer yet the program is 32 bit when running. Also to agree with you, there are few programs that are true 64 bit but the 32 bit programs run on the system without any difficulties. The only catch is that XP x64 is only OEM software, there is no retail version, so it must be purchased with some piece of hardware and that requirement from Microsoft is pretty lenient. XP x64 OEM is being offered for around the same price and XP 32 bit. The 64 bit CPUs and motherboards are in the same ballpark as the 32 bit hardware. If someone is going to buy a new system, even if they are not ready for 64 bit computing, there is no real argument not to opt for the 64 bit system. And with XP x64 available, they can take the full plunge for around the same cost as the same system in 32 bit in both hardware and OS.

Just thought I would send this and give you, perhaps, another view of 64 bit systems. I enjoy the newsletter and have gleaned many things over the years. Thanks for the newsletter and all the work that you do to get it out. Sincerely, Bill Bomar

Thanks, Bill. AMD really is in the lead with affordable 64-bit hardware; and they were smart to make the hardware as backward-compatible as possible. It's getting a little easier to buy the software, too: Even Tigerdirect (full disclosure--- a Langalist advertiser: http://langa.com/sponsors/tigerdirect.htm ) is now selling XP x64. But it ships with this significant footnote:

Important: Windows XP Professional x64 Edition cannot be successfully installed on x86 (32-bit) systems or 64-bit Intel Itanium–based systems. 32-bit device drivers are not supported on Windows XP Professional x64 Edition.

See also this reader email:

Fred I feel I should caution against updating to the 64bit OS, even for the HP system, none of the hardware will work, because they have not created 64bit drivers for yet. It is a caution to check each piece of hardware, at the MFG.s site and if available download the 64bit drivers to a special folder. Once all Drivers are downloaded burn to a cd so that you may install them after the 64bit OS is installed. Modems, Network Adaptors, Sound Cards, Video cards, Digital card readers, etc. AND DO NOT FORGET TO CHECK FOR AND UPDATE THE BIOS at the HP web site for your system. If 64 bit drivers are available, they can be found at the HP driver updates and download site, free of charge. The Asus mother board most HP's use needs the bios update, to run the 64 bit OS. ---George C. Tullius

So, it's still a little early in the 64-bit game, and you have to be careful. I still believe that only a relatively small percentage of ordinary end-users will see any particular benefit from buying 64-bit products today. But some may, especially, if the hardware will be in use for a long time. As with most things, the choice is yours.

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

return to top of page

6) Is This Newsletter Interesting? Useful?

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://langa.com/recommend.htm . Thanks for recommending the LangaList--- and good luck!

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

return to top of page

7) Spontaneous Reboots and Bad Motherboards

Hi Fred, I'm catching up on my Plus! reading.  The reader who complained about spontaneous reboots (Two Problems, One Likely Solution" http://langa.com/newsletters/2005/2005-06-09.htm#7 ) doesn't tell us about his machine but he might be the victim of the dreaded "bulging capacitor" problem.

http://www.geek.com/news/geeknews/2003Feb/bch20030207018535.htm
http://www.overclockers.com/tips00140/

This happened to me twice in a system I had built using a top of the line Abit RAID board.  The first time it started rebooting was before there was info out on this. I went nuts trying to solve the problem and finally, after checking fans and cleaning the case, changing out the power supply and cpu, re-installing Windows and eliminating every other possible cause I could think of, I replaced the mobo.  Unfortunately, I used another Abit RAID board and started having the same problem a year later. This time I found info about the caps online and checked both Abit boards. Sure enough, many of the caps were bulged. This time I changed nothing except the mobo.  I used an Intel board and the problem appears to be fixed.

BTW, for me the symptom was reboots but the online info indicates that for others it causes lockups so this could be the cause for both of your "Two Problems."

Keep up the good work.---Jeff

Thanks, Jeff. Yes, there was a whole boatload of bad capacitors in circulation for a while that affected many PCs. Fortunately, most of the machines that are going to fail from those bad caps probably already have--- at least, I hope so! <g>

The good news in this is that motherboards are highly standardized and have become an incredibly cheap, commodity product. If you have a motherboard go bad--- from capacitors or whatnot--- you can unplug the cables, add-in cards, RAM, and CPU; pop in a new motherboard, and chances are everything will plug back in and work fine. You probably won't need any tool besides an ordinary screwdriver! What's more, you may be able to buy a replacement motherboard for literally a few tens of dollars. For example, Tigerdirect (mentioned earlier) is currently selling a Pentium 4 motherboard with built-in 3D audio, AGP video, and 10/100 networking for $29.99!

A dead motherboard used to be a huge deal. Now, it need only be a mere inconvenience.

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

return to top of page

8) Still *Another* Code Load Success Story

After his site was listed in the last "Load The Code" section, this reader wrote:

Fred: My recent stats:
May 7:       22 Unique Visitors
May 8-9: 2218 Unique Visitors

Anyone can guess when my site ( http://gocalipso.com/ ) was in the
newsletter.  As a longtime subscriber, short time Plus subscriber,
thank you. ---Curtis

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

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

Still Photography (UK)
http://www.tobyjacobs.com/

4 Aces Poker
http://4aces-poker.com/page7.html

Hawaii Portal Site
http://www.hawaiiislandviews.com/

e-maintenance
http://emaintenance.topcities.com/

Lyra Web Hosting
http://lyraweb.com/index.html

Martyn Barnwell Photography
http://www.hvweb.co.uk/barnwell/barnwell/

Artik Breeze BBS
http://artikbre.synchro.net/

Save The Cleveland Cultural Gardens
http://ccgf.kliot.net

Dunbar Home Inspections (NH)
http://www.dunbardesign.com/homeInsp.htm

Dino Tassigiannis Art and Design
http://www.devillisin.2ya.com

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

return to top of page

9) Checking Your Infra-Red Emitters

Hi Fred, As a long time reader, I was very interested in the unusual uses for Digital cameras that were discussed. (e.g. http://langa.com/newsletters/2005/2005-03-14.htm#9 )
 
I'll bet you haven't thought of this one: Dig cams can see Infrared and so can be used to troubleshoot IR devices. Works best in dimly lit rooms.
 
Your TV remote doesn't work' View the IR sender through the dig cam viewer and you will be able to see if the remote is transmitting IR. Your Palm won't sync?, you can see if it is sending IR by viewing it with the camera.
 
It can also be used to check the IR output of 'absolute darkness' security cams that light the scene with IR emitters.
 
Cool, eh. ---Richard Smith

It doesn't work with all digital cams, but for those it does (and that includes many with LCD-based viewfinders/previewers), yes indeed: cool.

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

return to top of page

10) Just For Grins

A useful tool, and a game, both made using Google:

http://grant.robinson.name/projects/guess-the-google/

After creating Montage-a-google, several people wrote to me suggesting I make a game based on the same technology. Montage-a-google is a simple web app that uses Google's image search to generate a large gridded montage of images based on keywords (search terms) entered by the user. Guess-the-google reverses this process by picking the keywords for you, the player must then guess what keyword made up the image - it's surprisingly addictive.

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

return to top of page

11) Plus! Edition Highlights:

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

• Testing A New Plus! Service
    (another benefit of being a Plus! subscriber)
• Key Sequence Saves Reboots
    (you can even navigate "in the blind")
• DMA Redux
    (get maximum speed from your drives)
• SP2 Shutdown Hangs
    (free diagnostic tools and fixes)

Plus! edition subscribers not only get much more content in every issue (like the above), but also have access to a private web site with over 100,000 words of special content and features not found in *any* issue of the newsletter; along with dozens of private downloads and much more--- all for just $1 per month!

Plus! Edition info: http://langa.com/plus.htm 

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

return to top of page

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

The LangaList is published about 72 times a year, or about 6 times a month. See you next issue, 2005-06-23!

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.

return to top of page

Administrivia:

UNSUBSCRIBE (instant removal!): http://langa.com/leave_langalist.htm

SUBSCRIBE (it's free!): http://langa.com/join_langalist.htm

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

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

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

Disclaimer: http://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 © 2005 Fred Langa / Langa Consulting LLC. All worldwide rights reserved. LangaList: ISSN 1533-1156

return to top of page