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The LangaList
Standard Edition

2006-02-27

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) Another Hidden Gem: The Windows Disk Management Tool

Before we get into the details, let me tell you why we're covering this now: Several weeks ago, I was challenged by a reader who disbelieved me when I said in print that it was possible to put together a terabyte (1,000 GB) file server for around $500. Well, you can--- the example system I put together is humming happily on the other side of my office with far more storage than I currently know what to do with. A thousand gigabytes is a *lot* of disk space! <g>

In assembling that system and its collection of disk drives I realized that, because large single hard drives are more or less standard in many new PCs, most users have never had to deal with the details of drive installation, initialization, and configuration either for adding multiple drives to a system; or for swapping drives into and out of an already set up system. Both these processes raise questions as to the safest, best ways to set things up; and to avoid data loss, especially if you're moving a current PC's setup and files to a new drive, and don't want the hassle of having to tear everything down and rebuild the operating system from scratch.

Today, we'll look at the part of the process that almost all of us will be able to use from time to time--- even if you're not trying to built a terabyte server! <g> The key is Windows' little-known, built-in Disk Management tool for creating, formatting or deleting partitions or drives; for changing drive letter assignments and paths; setting up disk mirroring and RAID; and so on. This free tool lets you do most of the basic tasks that many people buy third-party tools for--- software like Partition magic, BootitNG, and Acronis Disk Director. The Windows Disk Management tool even gives you one-click access to defrag and chkdsk for all the drives or partitions on your system, without having to use Windows Explorer to open each one in sequence.

Next, I'll show you a slightly nonstandard way of adding a drive to an existing, in-use system--- a way that I find easier and safer for data than the methods recommended by some drive manufacturers. And finally, we'll take a close look at that from-scratch, roughly-$500 terabyte server, including complete lists of where I got the parts, and for how much.

Whether you're looking to add new, inexpensive, massive file storage capacity; or want to add or swap a drive in an existing system; or just want to learn more about a powerful tool built into Windows that most users have never even heard of; the next few columns should have something very interesting for you. Let's get started with a look at the built-in--- free--- Windows Disk Management Tool:
http://www.informationweek.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=180207718

Click on over and learn about a powerful tool that's on your hard drive right now, but that you may never have even heard of!http://www.informationweek.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=180207718

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Thank *you,* Jay. <g>

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2) RATs In Her PC

Dear Fred: My sister discovered RATS (Remote Access Trojans) in her computer last nite. She's currently re-installing Windows after thoroughly sanitizing the HDD. If it wasn't for CounterSpy she never would have known her computer had been compromised. The only information about the two (NeoControlRed-4.1.4 & Tro.Dropper.Microjoin.A) that I could find via Google was from Sunbelt. My question is: Are/how effective are Anti-Virus, Firewall and Anti-Spyware programs against RATS? She was running the free Zone Alarm firewall and free EZ Anti-Virus along with Spy Sweeper and Counterspy. Randy N.

Well, an alarm sounded by any security tool has to be taken seriously; but an alarm given by one tool--- and only one tool--- may or may not turn out to be valid: It takes an extra step or two to see whether the problem is real, or a false alarm.

Let's back up for a minute: Different types of anti-malware tools look for different kinds of hostile software. Antivirus tools, by definition, mainly look for viruses. Firewalls block hostile or uninvited communication over a network. Anti-adware thwarts advertising-supported software. Anti-spyware seeks to prevent software from intercepting your keystrokes or taking full or partial control of your PC without your informed consent.... and so on.

So, malware comes in many forms, and they're all a little different. Just to add to the confusion, a single piece of malicious software can fall into several categories at the same time.

Many protective security tools started with a tight, clear focus on just one type of malware. For example, the popular Ad Aware tool was originally designed to focus specifically on hostile adware that installed itself into your PC without your informed consent. Spybot Search and Destroy was originally designed as an anti-spyware tool. Etc.

But the tools' functions eventually began to overlap somewhat, in part from the vendors' legitimate response to the fuzzy classification of some malware; and in part from their desire to produce a more impressive list of product features (it slices! it dices! it juliennes!...). As a result, we now have firewalls that block cookies, antispyware tools that lock Hosts files, anti-adware tools that clear History files, and so on. None of these secondary functions is really why the tool was created in the first place; in fact, these functions may have nothing whatsoever to do with the tool's main purpose. Further, the tools may not be all that great at their secondary functions. ZoneAlarm, for example, is best at being a firewall, not as a general antimalware tool.

This is sometimes in opposition to what the vendors want you to think: "You can buy our tool and have it do everything you need! One tool does it all!" Except: No tool really does it all; and the ones that attempt it usually fall well short of tools that specialize and focus in particular areas.

Plus, vendors' desires to convince you of how essential their product is may also lead to over-reporting and false positives. This is one of the reasons why cookies--- normally either totally benign or even actively helpful--- are now often called "tracking cookies," to convince you that they're evil, and that the tools that find them are protecting you, and thus earning their keep.

So, where does all this lead us? Randy's sister was doing the right thing in having several layers of defense for her PC. And she's right to pay attention when any tool sounds an alarm--- tools that specialize in one class of malware may indeed find things that more generic tools do not. But on the other hand, when one and only one tool in a given category reports a problem, it may be a false positive of some sort.

In Randy's sister's case, it's no surprise that a firewall and an antivirus tool didn't complain about a remote-access trojan; that's not what they focus on. But anti-spyware tools do focus on that, and she used two. If both had reported the problem, I'd tend to believe it. But of the two she was using, only one reported a problem.

Rather than take the one report of malware at face value, if it had been my PC, I would have done a little more digging before opting for a reformat.

For example, using the time/date stamp, it might have been instructive to search for other files that were created or modified at about the same time: There's a reasonable chance that she could have tracked down the source of the problem that way, if indeed the problem were real. Or, by searching the drive and/or the Registry, she might have found what files have links to, or call or are called by the suspect files. And so on.

This kind of investigation might have provided enough information for her to determine that the alarm was false; and that she was still OK; saving her the hassle of a reinstall. Or it might have confirmed the alarm, but also let her know where the trouble came from, so she can avoid it in the future.

My recommendation is definitely, by all means, use multiple defenses (eg http://www.informationweek.com/showArticle.jhtml;?articleID=177100010 ). And when a tool sounds the alarm, you gotta pay attention and take remedial action such as removing or quarantining the file.

If the problem's broader, such that simple deletion of an infected file isn't sufficient, you might try to confirm the infection by running a second tool in the same category: If two or more tools *of the same kind* report the same problem, you know it's almost surely real.

But if one and only one tool reports a problem, it's a judgment call. If you trust the tool and believe it to be best-of-class, then you might well assume it's correct. If it's a secondary tool, or a secondary function in a different category of tool, then you might assume the alarm is a false positive unless there's some additional corroborating evidence you can find.

The uncertainty in the above may be disquieting, but take heart: With an active, multi-layered defense ( http://www.informationweek.com/showArticle.jhtml;?articleID=177100010 ), the odds are against anything really bad making it past all the layers; or of escaping periodic full-disk scans. Situations like that of Randy's sister will normally be very, very rare; and the need for security-oriented reformats even more so.

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3) Battery Care And Feeding

Fred, I have been a subscriber for some time. Have an older laptop that I use only in-frequently. It remains plugged into the charger/AC adapter most of the time. The battery in the laptop is a Li-ion type. The batteries seem to last about a year or less and then die. Is there a proper way to care for the battery or should I take it out and only put it in when I am planning to use it? Thanks for the tips, I do use and enjoy the list info. ---Victor Johnson

Your best bet is to start with the laptop vendor's site to see what the official recommendations are: Check their web site for detailed care-and-feeding info. But then cross-reference that info with an objective, third-party source who's not trying to sell you anything. A general resource like http://www.batteryuniversity.com/ , or the more-in-depth sites it can link you to, may be useful.

In general, Li-Ion batteries do OK if left on the charger. They don't have "memory effects" and don't have significant self-discharge rates. But some charging circuits are more intelligent than others. Some circuits may work best delivering charges to cool, discharged batteries; others perform best in "trickle charging" mode. That's why it's best to see what the laptop maker says, as they'll know what charge/discharge regime they planned for when they designed the system.

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4) "File Not Suitable?"

Hi Fred: I enjoy your email and use a lot of your tips. I have a problem that I hope you can help me with. When I upgraded to Window XP I tried to reinstall several software applications for high school math and geometry from PRO ONE Softsource. When I put the cd in the reader I get the error message that talks about the system file not be suitable  and the application will not install. I am left dead in the water. Anything I can do to install the program. I couldn't find anything on the Microsoft web site. Thanks for your help. Bill Smith

I don't know the specifics of that software, and didn't have enough info for a Google search, but you usually can get any older software to work in XP *except* software that tries to take over the hardware for itself. Most software hasn't done that in well over a decade; it's usually really, really old stuff that tries to bypass the OS; and XP doesn't allow anything to bypass it.

Your software is on CD, so it's probably at least 1990's vintage (CDs weren't common until the early 90's), so I'm guessing that you can get your software to run using XP's compatibility modes, which are intended for exactly that purpose:

More info:
http://langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-06-30.htm#1
http://langa.com/newsletters/2006/2006-01-09.htm#7
http://tinyurl.com/kx5pe

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5) "High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection"

HDCP is a hot-button issue for many; a form of Digital Rights Management. If you're unfamiliar with the term, this Wikipedia entry will get you up to speed: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDCP

It ties into an item we recently covered:

Fred You had one reader asking about Video cards for video editing.  i agree with most of the info you provided.  I an not a PC-Gamer (been know to be unbeatable at the old arcade).  But I though you might be interested in knowing about a looming problem with video cards compatibility with Vista and HD-DVD (or blu-ray) playback, and the required support of HDCP [High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection] for high resolution playback.

Apparently a lot of Video cards that are out on the market have chipsets that can support HDCP and in some cases that feature is listed for the actual video card made with them.  But due to the way HDCP is supposed to work, it must be integrated with a security chip on the motherboard before it will support the mode of HDCP that the HD_DVD formats will require in order to keep high resolution content encrypted all the way to the monitor.

See: The Great HDCP Fiasco
http://firingsquad.com/hardware/ati_nvidia_hdcp_support

See: Only big companies' PCs will play high-def DVDs
http://www.boingboing.net/2006/02/12/only_big_companies_p.html

IMHO: DRM is a net negative, Cost money that could be better spent developing quality content, causes consumers to jump through compatibility hoops, while doing nothing to address the real physical piracy problem. ---Leslie Coke

I agree with your assessment of Digital Rights Management. It punishes the innocent, and does almost nothing to large-scale pirates.

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6) Is This Information 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!

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7) Handy Wattage Estimator

Hi Fred, This is inspired by "Confused Salesman?" ( http://langa.com/newsletters/2006/2006-02-16.htm#7)  In taking that article a step further; I came across this site http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/ while searching for information on how much wattage a new video card would use in my old HP Pavilion that would only allow up to 149 watts. This site calculated and showed the wattage of each piece of hardware that was in my system. It allowed me to determine what size video card upgrade I could get that my power unit could handle. It uses a format easy enough to navigate through to get to the results. I am not affiliated this site, but I thought your readers might find it as useful as I did.  Thank you for a grand newsletter especially the Plus edition. Gale Hausenbuiller

Thanks, Gale; that could be handy. It does require that you have at least an idea of what's inside your PC case; but if that's a problem, you can use any of several "sniffer" tools to identify exactly what's what. For example, although the publisher has discontinued support for it, the free "Everest Home Edition" system information tool is still available for download on many sites http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=everest+home+edition . The free Belarc Advisor PC audit tool also can help: http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html .

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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

Bicycle Ohio
http://www.wall2walltraffic.com/bike/

Fran's Weather Site
http://mysite.verizon.net/franbarb/index.htm

Corporate Skills Improvement
http://www.corporateskillsimprovement.com/index.php

Marie's Home Page
http://onj.andrelouis.com/marrie/

MB Mack
http://mbmack.tk/

Cool Geek
http://cool-geek.co.uk/

Inventek
http://inventekcleaners.com/

Blue Mountain Computer
http://www.bluemtncomputers.com/links.html

Richard McNair
http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/rmmcnair/

Agape Computers
http://www.agapecomputers.net/

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9) Perfect AntiSpam Storm

Dear Fred: Here's a problem I haven't seen addressed in your news letter and I wonder if maybe it's a phenomenon related to my particular ISP or region of the planet. For about the past six weeks or so, I have been experiencing strange e-mail glitches. My e-mail, particularly news letters, have been held up or stopped entirely. Or, maybe one day I won't get any e-mail and then get it all at once the next day.
 
A client of mine is having the same troubles, both of us are on dial up using the same ISP. I've tried re-subscribing using different e-mail addresses with experience the same results and messages to the support people have gone unanswered. I have had the same problem with your news letter, although I am receiving it regularly now.
 
I was just wondering if anyone else had written you with this problem. At any rate, keep up the good work. Your news letter has been an invaluable aid to me on more than one occasion. ---Mel in Kansas City

Yup. Email has been particularly bad of late. Several major ISPs (eg Optonline) have instituted new, crude spam filters; and the block list bozos have also been busy. (One personal example: My recent negative comments about AOL resulted in my newsletter immediately appearing on several major blacklists for a while--- but I'm sure that was just a coincidence. Ahem.)

There can be a ripple effect, too: When an ISP starts a new spam filter that's untuned and raw, it can generate a ton of bogus bounce-backs and refusals; which "tarpit" tools ( http://langa.com/newsletters/2006/2006-02-16.htm#9 ) at other sites may take as a sign of spamming; which they then report to blocklist sites; which then cause other spam tools to prevent even more valid deliveries--- on and on, spiraling into a perfect storm of totally bogus antispam actions.

But it's all "to serve the customers," right? Sigh. These tools are horrible, but I'm in the minority in thinking that. I know, I know: "Vir prudens non contra ventum mingit." Well, I guess my shoes are gonna stay wet for a while. <g>

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10) Plus! Edition Highlights:

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

• A Hex On Fred
    (more info on hexadecimal notation)
• More Hexes On Fred
    (from Germany, even *more* hex info)
• Installer Errors--- And Repairs!
    ("MSI" errors, repairs, and rollback tools)
• An Overzealous Spring Cleaning
    (recovery options--- and a cool new Linux!)

And DID YOU KNOW that Plus! subscribers have access to over 100,000 additional
words in special features, extra content and private links, all on a private web site? All that, plus 40% more content in every issue, for around a dollar 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>)

The LangaList is published about 72 times a year, or about 6 times a month. See you next issue, 2006-03-02!

Best,

Fred
( Editor@Langa.Com )

Please recommend the LangaList to a friend! (And maybe win a prize!)

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