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The LangaList
Standard Edition

2006-02-06

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

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1) FireFox Issues

Fred, let me weigh in on the browser standards issue. Not only can it be tough to view websites that do not use acceptable standards, but the code on the pages can actually have an impact on your hardware.

I began using Firefox recently and poorly or abhorrently coded pages actually shut off my monitor. The screen first freezes, actually the system does, as I have nothing working except a moving mouse cursor. Then the screen turns black. When that happens, the computer continues to run in the background. I can push the power button and Windows will shut down.

I have an ATI Radeon 9600 family video card and with the catalyst control center loaded, the video card can recover and the display turns on from being all black after about 10 seconds. Without the catalyst control center, my monitor screen turns black and I have to do a cold boot to "turn it back on" again. (The catalyst control center is ATI's version of their comprehensive settings controller for the video card)

I never have run into the problem with IE, any flavor. In trying to determine whether this was Firefox specific I also tried Opera, and had the same thing happen once.

Ebay has consistently "bad" pages, and other websites will occasionally have pages that contain code that shuts off my monitor. At least I assume that this is what is causing the problem.

I have a custom built AMD 1.1gig system with an Abit Kt7 motherboard, which I don't think would directly play into the equation.

Any thoughts?

Thanks again for the extremely helpful, informative job you do on the newsletter. ---Harald Gruber

Wow, that's a bad one, Harald. But it's not the pages that are doing that--- it's the browser. I know, I know--- if you listen to some of the browser fanatics, their favorite browser is rarely the problem; all problems stem from poor page design. <g>

But good software design will trap errors and degrade gracefully when something bad happens--- as it inevitably will.

You see, bad--- or more usually, *old*--- page design is a fact of life on the web. The web will *never* be populated with nearly-perfect pages, all coded to the newest, best standards. Any browser that wants to play in the real world has to be able to deal with that fact.

To put it another way, when a page works just fine in some major browsers but is unreadably garbled in others, or actually causes software failures and crashes (like Harald's) it's not the page's fault. It's the browser's fault. If *some* major browsers can handle a page, *all* major browsers should be able to handle the page; even if the page is flawed or less than perfect.

Now, before the FireFox villagers light their torches <g> let me say that some maliciously-coded pages can cause hangs and crashes. In fact, this used to be a destructive sport among some coders, years ago, when simple tricks like an infinitely-recursive piece of code or creating an infinite array in Javascript (and so on) could bring a browser to its knees. And there are some pages with Flash, ActiveX or other proprietary plugins and add-ons that only work if the browser detects, supports, and has the necessary software. Harald didn't include a URL, so I can't say exactly what's going on in his example.

But again, bad pages are a fact of life, and good software design allows for that, letting the software gracefully back out of an untenable situation without crashing itself or your system. We're 25 years into the game with PCs; by now, applications crashes should be rare, and system crashes should be very, *very* rare. When they're not, it's a sign that something's very wrong with the software.

For your specific problems, Harald, you might want to try the free Dr. Watson utility to see if you can trap the faults and maybe see which subsystem is failing; that might provide a clue to buttressing whatever's breaking on you.

Dr Watson Info:
http://langa.com/u/ah.htm
http://langa.com/newsletters/2005/2005-09-05.htm#1
http://langa.com/newsletters/2005/2005-06-09.htm#7
http://www.google.com/search?q=%22dr%2E+watson%22

But if many of the sites you frequent cause trouble with your browser, the real answer is to use a different browser--- one that can handle the pages you want to view, even if they're old, poorly-coded, or otherwise suffering from the thousand real-world shortcomings the web is heir to.

To click, perchance to crash; ay, there's the rub.

(Somebody stop me!)

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2) Maxthon Browser

Hi Fred, You never fail to provide timely and informative topics. I can't imagine running my little LAN without all the advice and tips I've gotten over the years and continue to get from you. You the man!

I searched the archives and see that the Maxthon browser hasn't been mentioned in over a year. http://www.maxthon.com/

I have switched from Firefox several months ago and have never looked back. It is jam packed with features that make Firefox look anorexic by comparison. Tab management is so much better and includes 'group' controls for, well, groups of webpages that I use all the time. It has RSS capability with the ability to create pages of feeds into groups as well. There are tons of plug-ins, including any and all of the ones for IE. I especially like the mobility of the toolbars, something Firefox is woefully missing. Mouse gestures are supported as well, like right-click and move to the left and the page 'goes back;' to the right and it goes forward; right-left-right closes a page; and many, many more. Oh, they are all user programmable if you don't like the defaults. (You can also close a tab by double clicking the tab itself.)

I could go on and on, there are so many features. In fact, if there is any fault with it, it is that there are so many controls and it is so flexible that it can be a tad daunting to start with. There are buttons on the status bar to quickly turn on/off filters; opening links in new/same tab; grabbing RSS feeds; go off/on line' Almost too many features. It is a geeks delight but the defaults will get a novice going just fine and there is plenty of help for the rest.

I have no affiliation with them, but everyone that I turned on to it has simply made it their default browser and hasn't missed what they were using previously. (Yes, it supports Roboform directly. That is, it doesn't require a separate install as Firefox does.)

Simply put, Fred, Maxthon is like a combination of IE and Firefox with a huge dose of steroids! I'd be very interested in your take on this up and coming browser, if you would, please. IMHO it is the best browser out there, and by a wide margin. Best regards, Aime Watts

Indeed, if you want features like tabbed browsing in IE, and don't want to wait for IE7, Maxthon can be a good choice.

But note that Maxthon isn't really a browser. It's a "shell" for Internet Explorer. You can think of a software shell as a kind of "skin" that goes deeper than just changing appearance; but that still does not replace the innermost components of the thing being shelled.

As an example of how much Maxthon depends on IE, consider that it used to be called "MyIE" before it changed its name; and it requires that you have IE installed on your system--- Maxthon provides the interface, but IE is doing the actual browsing.

There's nothing wrong with shells; they exist for browsers, for other applications and utilities, and even for operating system. (Some would say the early versions of Windows were little more than a DOS shell... <g>) But a shell inherits whatever strengths and weaknesses its base components have; and may even add to them. Maxthon, for example, has had a little security buglet all its own: http://secunia.com/advisories/12731/ . You still have to be careful when you're using a shell, and you have to apply all the necessary patches, upgrades, and bugfixes not only to the shell, but also to the core components. In Maxthon's case, for example, you still have to keep your copy of IE completely up to date.

That said, shells can extend and enhance the functions of whatever core components they're building on, and can do a great job of it--- as Aime's enthusiasm shows! You can see a roundup of a whole boatload of IE shells here: http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,118794,pg,3,00.asp

Thanks, Aime!

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3) EM? Hmmmmm.

Hi, Fred. I have the impression that you spend a lot of time in front of computers. I wonder what you do to protect yourself from the electromagnetic radiation. Peace, Kuma Bhikkhu

Other than the tinfoil beanie and lead apron, you mean? <g> ( http://zapatopi.net/afdb/ ; http://tinyurl.com/bn7rn ).

Actually, I don't do anything special. I do limit my use of wireless devices just as a matter of course. (I hate the telephone anyway, so it's not a major hardship to avoid that. <g>) I don't activate my wireless network unless I really need it. I use a wired mouse and keyboard. My chair and desk are set up for decent ergonomics, and my monitor is more than an arm's length away; the back of the CRT (where the strongest magnets are) is even further; and when this aging monitor dies, I'll probably replace it with an LCD, which intrinsically has lower emissions.

I'm certain that the surrounding environment presents greater overall electromagnetic risks than what's going on in my office. Even though I live in a semi-rural area, from my office window I can see two cell phone towers and--- on the horizon--- several broadcast antennae. The main transmitter for our local PBS station is a mile or two (a few thousand meters) from my house. Also, New Hampshire is "The Granite State," so the local soils leak radon from the decay of naturally occurring radionuclides such as thorium. And we all, everywhere, are constantly basted in EM radiation--- every radio, TV, radar, satellite, CB, police, taxi, aircraft, marine and other manmade radio emission in your area passes through you, *all the time*.  The universe at large even joins the fun with the high-energy cosmic rays it sends sleeting through us all at frequent intervals. There's no escape--- it's an intrinsic part of the world we live in.

So, while I think it makes sense not to live with a cellular or portable phone permanently glued to your ear, or to seek out needless exposure to any kind of EM, I don't think that using a PC or other ordinary office gear is, by itself, an EM health risk of worrisome proportions. Unless you live in a Faraday cage ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faraday_cage ), I think the world at large poses a far greater EM risk. For that matter, I think our water, food, air, and overall lifestyle are far more immediate health issues than EM from PCs.

But I may be wrong. It's one of those things you have to decide for yourself.

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"Hi Fred, I was receiving your free newsletter for a while and
subscribed to the plus edition with a few reservations. After a few
weeks however, I think it would be cheap at twice the price. The Plus!
newsletter is great! I have recommended it to a few of my less computer
literate friends and they have told me that they are learning things at
a prodigious rate. I find your hints and links invaluable and await each
issue. Please keep up the good work.--- Tom Sobieski"

It's not expensive--- only around $1/month, or pennies an issue!

Get all the details:
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4) Firewall Testing Site

Fred, I stumbled across a site which tests many of the firewalls available today: http://www.firewallleaktester.com/
 
The owner is quite open about this being home-based testing; that is, he doesn't have the budget for a computer lab and lots of staff. Still, it looks pretty thorough.

- And scary! His results show that no firewall stops all threats (test results page: http://www.firewallleaktester.com/tests.htm )

- And intimidating! His solution is to invoke anti-trojan, process protection, and process to port mapping programs -- all of which are applications I've never encountered before, even in your newsletter (recommended software page: http://www.firewallleaktester.com/software.htm). That may be because they go by different names, or they may be already included in some of the better firewall programs (for example, another item on that software page, separate from a firewall, was "application monitoring" -- which I think most firewalls include as a fundamental part of their toolkit).... Your comments are most welcome.--- Bruce Fraser

Thanks, Bruce. There's some very helpful info there.

It's true that no firewall can guard against all kinds of threats. Further, I don't think a firewall should even try, because going down that route produces the bloated "one tool does it all" suites we've seen emerge in recent years. Those tools rarely do as well as specialized, targeted tools in any given area; and they can exact a huge toll in system performance. (On the plus side--- it's really the only positive--- they're easier for novices and the "I don't care about what's inside my PC" crowd to get going than setting up a series of defensive layers.)

But if you *do* care about what's going on inside your PC, then choosing and setting up multiple layers of defense is the best way to balance power (you can pick the best-of-class tool in each separate category) and performance (running only some tools all the time, and others only as needed).

As for "what layers?" the author of that site and I actually are in agreement. He says:

Main security software categories for home user :
* Anti-Virus
* Anti-Trojan
* Anti-Spyware/Malware
* Firewall
* SandBox/application monitoring
* Process related (process protection, process to port mapping)

And that list very closely matches what we've talked about here. For example, we've discussed the first four items many times, often together. The other two have come up separately, but also as part of our security discussions. For example, a Virtual PC makes for an outstanding "sandbox." Even using a custom logon with limited privileges is a form of sandboxing. We've also discussed many forms of process monitoring and control.

http://www.google.com/search?as_q=vpc&as_sitesearch=langa.com
http://www.google.com/search?as_q=sandbox&as_sitesearch=langa.com
http://www.google.com/search?as_q=non%2Dadmin&as_sitesearch=langa.com

Your exact choice of tools may differ from mine or the ones listed on the site, and that's perfectly fine. The thing that matters is to close off all the most common avenues of attack using tools that fit *your* needs and preferences. See "The Right Tool For *You*" at http://langa.com/newsletters/2005/2005-08-11.htm#5 .

Thanks again, Bruce. That site's a nice find.

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5) "Rebuttal"

That was the subject of this note from a reader in response to the item "The WMF Security Flap" in http://langa.com/newsletters/2006/2006-01-19.htm#4 .

Hi Fred. In your last issue you mentioned Steve Gibson and his take on the Wndows WMF vulnerabitlity. Please see: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/01/21/wmf_fud_from_grc/
I would be interested in your response to this article about Mr. Gibson. Thanks. Kerry Lafferty

Steve can be a polarizing figure. We've discussed this before, including here http://langa.com/newsletters/2002/2002-03-18.htm#9 , which I urge you to read. And like any human being, Steve can sometimes be wrong.

But remember that The Register is a tech tabloid--- it's the National Enquirer of the tech world. It's sometimes right, often wrong, and usually sensationalistic in the way it presents things. They've published some genuinely great stuff, but for every top-notch item, there are many where the whole idea seems to be to create a cute headline or to engage in the sport of tearing something or someone down, usually in a tone of smug superiority. Often--- like the checkout stand tabloids at the grocery store--- The Register will wrap a small grain of truth in a large amount of snarky sarcasm, playing for effect. Theirs is a deeply cynical approach to tech journalism.

That said, The Register can be fun to read--- like the National Enquirer--- and there *is* some good stuff in there. But a lot of it barely rises above the tech equivalent of "Proof that Elvis was an alien!" By all means, read the Register--- I do!--- but be suspicious of any "facts" it presents; and of its reasons for presenting them.

Again, I urge you to read this:
http://langa.com/newsletters/2002/2002-03-18.htm#9

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6) New Month, New Chances

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) Question re: CDRW

Have you had any success with the CD RW's (re-usable cd's)? Regards, John

Sure; they can work fine. But they're slower to use than a standard CDR: You have to erase the old data, and then burn the new, usually at a much slower speed than for normal CDRs because the CDRW dye is less responsive. They're also more expensive than standard CDRs.

As a result, I hardly ever use CDRWs any more. With the cost of new, blank CDRs so low (around 20-25 cents each, in bulk; sometimes less, or even free), the hassles and slower speeds of CDRW just don't seem worthwhile to me.

But if you do want to use them, and if you're having trouble burning them successfully, slow down the burn process: CDRWs almost never can keep up with CDRs, and you may have to reduce your burning speed a *lot* to get reliable results. 

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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
http://langa.com/randomlink.htm

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

ski bags
http://www.freewebs.com/skishield/index.htm

domdedomdom
http://domdedomdom.com/

harvest fellowship
http://www.harvestpa.com/missions/kenya.php

ti77
http://ti77.com/

Mission Critical Encryption
http://www.mce.co.im/

everything free
http://everythingfree.atspace.com/

diditmyway
http://diditmyway.net/

everything kentucky
http://users.mis.net/~sphere/ky.html

astrolos
http://www.astolos.com/

"up your computer"
http://www.jimmybell.net/upyourcomputer.html

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9) "Missing DLL"

Dear Fred, hi this is the first time i have wrote to you i don't know if you can help. i am getting a lot of probs with my PC it only connects to some sites every time i try to install something i get errors saying i have dll missing my Internet supplier doesn't seem interested and costs me a pound per min to phone them as i am a single mum i cant afford this i have already been conned with my PC i bought win xp only to find it is a copy and now the shop has gone so cant return it as my PC is my life line to the outside world is there anything you can suggest to me that i might be able to do i am a novice to the ins and outs of a computer but will try everything to get back on line properly. thank you, Frances Brown, UK

That's not a lot to go on, but I can suggest several things:

First, if the error message tells you what software is breaking, you can try a repair or reinstall. For example, if it's Internet Explorer that's generating the error message, try the steps listed here: "How to reinstall or repair Internet Explorer and Outlook Express in Windows XP" http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=318378

More:
http://www.google.com/search?q=repair+internet+explorer

If it's some other component generating the error message, use a Google search modeled on the above to try to find repair steps you can follow.

If that doesn't work, then you can try searching for the specific DLL that's missing. For example, if the error message says "Widget.DLL missing or corrupt" or something like that, you can Google for "widget.dll download" to try to find a site that will let you download a fresh copy of the DLL. There are a number of sites that offer downloads of common DLLs, including these:
http://www.google.com/search?q=dll+download  See also
http://www.google.com/search?as_q=%22Missing+DLL%22&as_sitesearch=langa.com

You might also try System Restore ( http://langa.com/u/aj.htm ) to see if that can help; if you have a Restore Point that predates the appearance of your problem, you might be able to roll back the system to the untroubled state. (Of course, if you had a backup or image, you could also use that, but I assume you have neither, or you wouldn't be writing!)

If none of the above works, then you may be able to find a local User's Group whose members may be able to help. Again, a Google search for the term "users group," along with your town or region, or the nearest larger town or city, probably will turn up several options.

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10-14) Plus! Edition Highlights:

Today's LangaList Plus! Edition contains about 40% more content including:

Hard Drive *Physical* Security
     (reader wants to literally put it in a safe each night!)
"Burn On" CD Labels OK?
     (are "Lightscribe" and similar technologies safe?)
Deep Scan Crashes PC
     (different software, same bad results every time; why?)
How Wikipedia Works (or Sometimes Doesn't)
     (fascinating real-life example)
Advance Notice Of Private Offer For Plus! Subscribers
   (Plus! edition subscribers get early notice of money-saving deals)

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:

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

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15) Just For Grins

Hiya Fred, With all the "heaviness" in the world these days, I thought that this
website might be just the ticket for almost everyone.

http://www.panexa.com/

Thanks for all your good advice and stories over the years. Even though I don't have the need for much of the software or equipment which you talk about, it is always interesting to think about. And, I feel a lot better about computer "security" after reading and taking your advice. Happy New Year. Peter H.

Thanks, Peter. BTW, I get my Panexa from Canada. <g>

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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, 2006-02-09!

Best,

Fred
( Editor@Langa.Com )

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