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The LangaList
Standard Edition

Another Expanded Issue!

2006-09-25

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

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1) More Cool Free Tools

In last issue's "Very Nice Free Software" ( http://langa.com/newsletters/2006/2006-09-21.htm#2 ) we discussed some software available from Microsoft Research. In that issue, I said "Microsoft Research explores new technologies and applications. Some of them don't pan out and thus never see the light of day. Others get built into working demos or lightweight tools for further experimentation." I mentioned "Continuous Flash," and some of you who took a look were disappointed that it wasn't a full-blown application. My description could have been clearer; I apologize. Continuous Flash is one of those working demos; not a ready-to use tool. That's the thing with an R&D site: you never know quite what you'll find, or how useful it will be. But as we said, it's at least interesting, and worth a look.

Moving forward, let me now tell you about a new tool that's full blown; not a technology demo; and not experimental. Rather, it's immediately useful, and free!

It's "ewido," a free anti-spyware tool from Grisoft, the folks who make the popular AVG antivirus tool.

I've been running ewido (yes, it's spelled all in lower case) on a couple of machines here, and it seems quite good so far. Grisoft says it's "easy to use, has daily database updates, uses heuristics to detect unknown threats, and has an automatic Cleaning Engine."

Like the AVG antivirus tool, the home-use free version of ewido offers solid, basic functionality; and a $30 Pro version offers more: "Automatic online-updates, real-time monitoring of the entire system, self-protection at kernel layer guaranteeing gapless monitoring, and consent for commercial use."

Ewido is new enough that there's not a lot of information about it yet. One third-party review ( http://tinyurl.com/7sk6y ) says ewido is in "a small elite group of technically advanced anti-trojans. For a new product it is an impressive effort." It looks good to me, too.

If you're comfortable trying a relatively new product, you can download ewido from the same site that offers the free version of AVG: http://tinyurl.com/qrcox . Or, you can visit the ewido networks site: http://www.ewido.net/ . The latter site also offers a free tool to scan your PC for spyware, live and online.

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2) Got Your Vista RC1 Yet?

One major item that happened while I was offline was Microsoft's public release of Vista RC1--- "release candidate 1." You may already know this, and may have grabbed a copy; but it's a significant enough thing to warrant a "just in case" mention here.

A "release candidate" is a very late beta. It's usually feature-complete--- only in rare cases are new features added or existing features dropped from software that's made it to RC1. Rather, it's mainly there for bug-hunting purposes; to get the software installed on a wide variety of hardware to see what breaks. "Showstopper" bugs--- bugs that render the product unusable for potentially large numbers of users---are the main focus of further programming efforts. If showstopper bugs are found in an RC1 version, there's usually an RC2 to verify that the fixes worked.

And here's something that might surprise you: Normally, many less serious bugs that turn up in an RC1 version are not fixed right away. Rather, software managers do a kind of triage: They identify the bugs that must be fixed before the product ships; the bugs that would be nice to fix by ship date, if there's time and if no major re-testing will be needed; and the bugs they won't even try to fix by ship date.

That's right--- virtually every major software company knowingly ships unfixed bugs in the Version 1.0 of their software. It's not a Microsoft foible; it's common practice. And it's because there's no practical way to fix every bug prior to release: The software development time on a complex product such as an operating system would stretch to infinity.

If the software managers have done their job right, the bugs that remain at the ship date will be relatively minor; and none should be showstoppers. After V 1.0 is out, the managers then work down the bug triage list and release fixes in the form of patches, updates, and service packs.

Vista has had an unusually long development cycle, so I'm betting that the public RC1 is actually pretty far along and unlikely to be a wild and wooly bugfest. If you have a spare PC and/or are religious about your backups or disk imaging (because Vista is still beta, and it's possible it could crash and eat your hard drive...), then you may want to download a free copy of RC1 at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/preview.mspx ; or order it on a data DVD.

Given the long development cycle of today's operating systems, Vista will be with us for many years to come. So even if you have no immediate plans to change OSes, odds are that Vista is in your future, in some form or fashion. And now you have an easy way to test drive the new software, free!

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3) "Super-Hidden" Folders Are Super Annoying

HI Fred. In Windows XP Pro (and probably most other flavors of Windows) when I’m using Outlook 2003, I receive messages with attachments (e.g., a Word doc). When I save this attachment, the default folder is something like “OLK1C” (without the quotes. If I accidentally save to this folder, I can never find the document or the folder again. It is apparently a “super-hidden” folder that cannot be seen in Windows Explorer. I think over time I’ve accumulated lots of stuff in this folder (and maybe more similar folders). There must be a way to “unhide” this folder so I can see it and work with it like a normal folder. Your thoughts?

On a separate but related subject, is there a way to make sure that Outlook (in particular) defaults to a normal folder and *never* resorts to using these folders with funny names that are invisible? Thanks so much. Keep up the great (and most enjoyable) work with your newsletters and columns. ---John R. Youngman

Outlook is designed to open attachments only after copying the file to disk (for security, stability and recovery). Opening attachments prompts Outlook to create a "super hidden" folder (which Microsoft calls an "Outlook Secure Temporary File folder") with a filename that begins with OLK (apparently an abbreviation for "Outlook") and ends with a randomly generated string of characters. This is where the copy will be made and stored temporarily. At least that's the design--- these files are not deleted by Outlook right away if the attachment file is still open when you close Outlook.

As you point out, Outlook can offer these folders as the default location when you want to save the attachment to disk. When your end-user copy of an attachment is saved to an OLK** folder, it cannot be viewed with Windows Explorer or found with any search utility.

So can you see this folder and work with it normally? The answer is yes and no: Yes you can see it, no you can't work with it normally.

To see your OLK folders and their contents, you're going to have to use the Command Prompt (Start/Run/cmd) and some simple DOS commands. Use the CD command to navigate to C:\documents and settings\(USERNAME)\local settings\temporary internet files (where (USERNAME) is replaced by the actual user name), then use the DIR /A command and parameter to see those OLK** folders. (If you don't find such folders, try a different user name, starting with "All Users" or "Default User"). CD your way into each folder present to see what lost attachments remain.

Here's how to recover the files from the most recently created folder. Find a message with an attachment, then open the attached file by double-clicking on it. Save it, then choose Save As. Chances are, you'll default to the OLK** folder. Leave the Save As dialog box open, then open another folder (wherever you really want the file to live). Now you can drag and drop the files from the Save As dialog box to the regular folder.

A registry hack changes the path of OLK** folders for Outlook 2002, but this feature was "fixed" in Outlook 2003.

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4) Making the Remote Desktop Connection

Hi Fred: Enjoy your plus column very much, to the point where I've bought and given out gift subscriptions. It's the one column that I read religiously as soon as it comes in. Thank you.

I wonder if you could go into some detail about Remote Desktop Accessing between Windows XP Pro machines where there are routers and home networks involved? The example that I have is my own situation, where my machine has an internal IP address of 192.168.1.101 and is trying to access (through the Remote Desktop) another machine belonging to my daughter behind her router, and with an internal IP address of 192.168.1.100 on her machine. Of course, I know what the external IP addresses are.

I've tried to connect using the external IP address on her system, but I keep getting an "Unable to connect" error message. All the information that I've been able to find seems to assume that the connection is from machine to machine without routers and networks involved. What do I need to do to connect, in order to repair some of her system? ---Basil Barnes

There are three main blocks of IP addresses that are intended only for private, local networking:  192.168.0.0 - 192.168.255.255, 172.16.0.0 - 172.31.255.255, and 10.0.0.0 - 10.255.255.255. Routers (and similar tools) are designed NOT to pass these local, private addresses out to the external internet; so communication in a LAN stays within the LAN. To allow contact with the outside world, the router (or similar tool) translates the local "non-routable" IP address into one that is routable. This is called NAT, or "network address translation," and it provides a layer of insulation between your PC and the external world.

That's almost always a good thing--- except when you're trying to connect two distant machines so that they can work as if they were on a LAN. Then, the layer of insulation becomes an obstacle to making easy connections.

Fortunately, there's a technology that lets PCs function over the internet in virtually the same manner they would if they were on a private, local network. It's called "virtual private networking" (VPN).

Medium and large companies use VPN solutions to enable secure connections over the Internet for remote or mobile users. But increasingly, small businesses and even home users are using VPN solutions to establish secure peer-to-peer connections across routers and firewalls, and a few companies are stepping up to provide these solutions.

One such offering is LogMeIn's Hamachi VPN, a free software/service combination that enables you to establish a peer-to-peer connection between two PCs over the Internet. Such a connection lets you access shared folders, print remotely and, yes, use Remote Desktop. (The Hamachi site even has a dedicated Remote Desktop over Hamachi VPN discussion forum ( http://forums.hamachi.cc/viewtopic.php?t=4078 ).

The software is available in two full Windows versions (a "shipping" older version and a "beta" newer version), and console versions for Linux and Mac OS X. You can connect one version to any other version. Download Hamachi here: http://www.hamachi.cc/download/

Installation is straightforward. Some users report that a Windows XP error message during installation says that the Hamachi virtual network adaptor isn't supported. Clicking the "Continue Anyway" button gets you past that message. Installing the newer beta for Windows on Windows XP Pro SP2, I didn't get that message.

After the very simple setup, you're prompted to name your network, and are given a unique IP address. Other users establish a VPN peer-to-peer connection with your system by installing the Hamachi software and joining your network. Once connected, the peer-to-peer connection functions as if the PCs were both connected to the same LAN.

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5) Comodo Firewall: Friend or Foe?

Fred, When I downloaded the Comodo firewall, I was surprised to see the company offering several other free security programs: Verification Engine (anti-phishing), AntiSpam (which uses the "challenge-response" method you detest), BackUp, iVault, Email Certificate, Anti-Virus.

Whoa! Comodo Anti-Virus??? I've never heard of this product. It doesn't appear anywhere on any of the major anti-virus testing organizations' lists -- whether products that passed or failed.

AV-Test.org:
http://www.av-test.org/sites/links.php3?lang=en&extra=viren&sort=1

Checkvir.com:
http://www.checkvir.com/index.php?CN=30.3.49&CIE=0

WestCoast Labs:
http://www.westcoastlabs.org/cm-av-list.asp?Cat_ID=1

Virus Bulletin:
http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/archive/results?display=summary

ICSA Labs:
https://www.icsalabs.com/icsa/topic.php?tid=2a81$b6842a01-34de0d0d$b893-e1463ae4

I suppose there may be a perfectly reasonable explanation: the anti-virus program is version 1.1 beta. It's so new that no one has had the chance yet to test it. The Firewall product is a newly released version 2.0; thus the chance for word to have got around.

Then I found something else a bit troubling. Alan Leghart wrote this about Comodo's anti-virus program (and it presumably applies to all of Comodo's freeware products): http://tinyurl.com/jhqru

See a report on the controversy at: http://www.emailbattles.com/archive/battles/security_aadgdfdddh_ah/

Leghart's critique has aroused quite a backlash from appreciative users of Comodo products: http://forums.comodo.com/index.php/topic,173.0.html

I'm going to dive in the deep end and see what's down there! If it creates havoc on my system, no problem: I'll just restore my partition image and be back to perfect in 30 minutes (thank to you!). ---Bruce Fraser

Critics charge that Comodo's Firewall product is a bait-and-switch scam, offering a free-forever firewall product, but sneaking samples of the company's other offerings without informing, or getting permission from, users. Detractors also claim the free firewall is nearly impossible to uninstall.

Supporters say that the company, which makes its money by selling Digital Certificates to online businesses, is an innovator that offers very high-quality, full-featured security and privacy products free of charge, and that its Launch Pad marketing is a creative way to build mindshare.

On the company Web site, Comodo confusingly over-emphasizes its firewall. It's not secretive about the additional utilities, but they're de-emphasized enough to raise suspicion. The Launch Pad utilities aren't an effort to upsell or trick users into buying something. They're totally free, full-featured utilities that happen to come with Comodo Firewall.

Regarding the charge that Comodo Firewall is very hard to uninstall, it appears that may have been a concern with a previous version, but has been rectified with the current product. The company seems to listen to complaints and work hard to address them, which is impressive support for a fully featured, totally free utility.

Some users have other complaints, such as that the utility's UI is obtrusive, and that the company blatantly hawks for-pay offerings in the software.

What's impressive is that few users complain about the performance or effectiveness of Comodo Firewall itself.

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6) Even *More* Ghostbusting

Our accidental series on spooky "ghost-in-the-machine" noises and behaviors inside the apparently haunted PCs of some users continues below. Previously:

http://langa.com/newsletters/2006/2006-04-20.htm#3
http://langa.com/newsletters/2006/2006-04-13.htm#3

This note addresses a mystery "bing bong" sound coming from the PC of a reader named Erich.

Fred, If Erich runs a backup power supply and there is any electrical disturbance that causes his Backup Power supply to switch from line to battery and back this could be giving him the Bing Bong that he is describing.

I have a APC Back-ups XS 1000 unit on my computer and I use the supplied APC PowerChutes Personal Edition software to interface with Windows XP-Pro sr2. PowerChutes does open a pop-up window that tells you that your computer is either on battery or Line power, but it is displayed for a very short time, and you almost have to be there to see it, plus if your monitor is in sleep mode, all that you hear is the bing-bong! It will not wake the monitor. Normally this does not bother me, and I prefer to leave it the way it is so that I have a good idea what is going on with the commercial power in my area. The PowerChutes software does keep a log of the date and time of most of the switches. I say most because the log sheet warns you that "Power Problems of a very short nature are not recorded", so you may get the Bing-Bong audio because the backups actually intervened, but it was for such a short time that it did not go to the trouble of making a log entry of it.

I have two computers, Two APC XS 1000 Backup power supplies, in the same room. A recent area Thunderstorm though had me about ready to shut off both of them. It was stereo Bing-Bong every time the lights so much as flickered!

You have a great publication and I have been a reader since you started. Keep up the good work! ---Steve Miller

Thanks, Steve! That sounds like a real possibility in Erich's case, and something to look into for others haunted by mystery "bing bongs."

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7) Recommend This Newsletter And Win!

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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8) Netmeeting As Remote Control Software

Hi, Fred. In the 2005-11-07 Plus Newsletter, Mark asked about Remote Control software. An often overlooked piece of software that has remote control capabilities, and that many people already have on their computers is Microsoft's Netmeeting. Windows XP doesn't install the Netmeeting short cut under Accessories, Communications like previous versions, but the program is still there, nevertheless. To start Netmeeting, run "conf.exe". If Netmeeting hasn't been run before, a wizard will step the user through setting it up. Once Netmeeting is set up, another wizard can be run to set up Remote Desktop Sharing (look under Tools).

I have been using Netmeeting to remotely control my work PC from home for about 3 years, sporadically, and for the last 4 months I have been using it every week day, 9 hours a day. I have tried using realVNC a few times, but I like Netmeeting better. The mouse movements always seemed smoother. Another plus is that Pest Patrol and other anti-spyware programs don't include Netmeeting as spyware like they do VNC. Microsoft has a Knowledgebase article about how to configure the XP firewall to allow Netmeeting Remote Desktop Sharing to work:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;878451

Thanks for the great newsletter! ---Cliff Linton

Nice tip, Cliff. Thanks!

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9) Code-Load Success Story

Code-loaders Bob and Sherry write:

Would like to say thanks, Fred, to you and Langalist Not only do I pick up some great tips and programs from your newsletter, my site, T Bar T Miniature Horses, had triple the highest one day total of hits in the 3 year history of the site when you published that we had loaded the code. Keep up the good work! Bob and Sherry, http://www.tbart.net/

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

Computer Security
http://www.softwaresecuritysolutions.com/index.html

Bored and Blogging
http://www.boredandblogging.com/

ABBA Homeschool Academy
http://www.abbahomeschool.com/links.html

Propeller Hat
http://propellerhat.us/

Slate Hill (NY) Fire District
http://www.slatehillfd.com/

Economy Body Parts & Autoglass (Cal.)
http://www.economybodyparts.com/

Engineering & Marine (South Africa)
http://www.engmarine.com/

PD Family (Mass.)
http://www.pdfamily.com/

TexDan's Domain
http://www.texdan.com/

Jelly Wrestling Formula
http://jellywrestlingformula.com/

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10) Web Sites Lacking In Password Quality

Hi Fred, I just got around to reading the June 20, 2005, Langa List article ( http://langalist.com/plus/newsletters/2005/2005-06-20plus.asp#1 ) (and its counterpart in Information Week http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=164303537 ) on password security. I've long been a proponent of really good passwords (much to my wife's annoyance, since I refuse to let her use our kids' names, etc.) and I have also used Roboform for a number of years both to generate and save my passwords (I have something like a six or seven hundred accounts, services, etc, that require passwords, so a good tool is essential, and Roboform is well worth the price many times over IMHO). I'm writing to vent about a password related pet peeve, to wit, almost none of those companies, services and so on who require you to set up password protected accounts tell you what their allowed password characteristics are at the point where you have to choose a password. The forms say, "enter a password" but they don't say which characters they allow: upper or lower case only (and do they respect case sensitivity)? do they allow numbers? symbols? punctuation? They also don't tell you how many characters they allow: 6 characters, or 8 or 12 or 36 or what? You can't tell. So then when you enter a good, random password of, say, 24 characters using upper case, lower case, numbers, symbols and punctuation, the form comes back with a really useless error, usually something like "invalid password - enter a valid password to continue". So, you are left to guess what rules they used to define "valid" passwords. And nobody has the time or patience to work their way slowly down to the strongest combination of number and type(s) of characters allowed in each particular instance by trial and error, so you're essentially forced use the lowest common denominator, ie, a relatively short password including only one or both cases of letters, or maybe letters and numbers. And this, of course, makes the whole point of your article moot and whatever it is you are password-protecting many times more vulnerable that it should be.

The truly irritating part is that it would be so easy for developers to inform users of the rules that define valid passwords on their site, and yet very few of them ever do. All of which makes it very frustrating for those of us who try to implement your advice and use truly good passwords.

Thanks for listening and for a great newsletter! ---Brad Terry

As you point out, too many companies maintain Web sites that actually prevent you from using strong passwords and/or don't communicate the password restrictions, parameter and requirements they've built in. When the password-protected resources are trivial--- say, your subscription to The New York Times online--- it's no big deal. But many sites hold extremely important customer private information and really should be more responsible with password policies.

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11) Forum Lurking Reveals Product Pitfalls:

Hi Fred. Thanks for your bible of knowledge. I should have followed your advice and waited to install the latest Zone Alarm Pro. I did successfully install the new version on a newer P4 2.4ghz machine and all went pretty well. It was quirky in that it didn't seem to remember some of the permissions for which it constantly prompted. After a few weeks it seems to be ok.

My problem started when I decided to update the older version on an older P3 450mhz machine. I should have taken a cue when the download page suggested doing a clean install. I followed the advice given and the program just wouldn't install. It could not find the True Vector service and stopped every try thereafter. I gave up. I then tried to reinstall version 5.5 and I didn't even get a splash screen. After several attempts I had a "duh" moment and checked out the ZA pro forum. Hindsight being 20/20, I found that there were many folks who encountered many of the same problems I had experienced. In fact the heading of the forum page apologizes for the problems and assures that they are working to resolve the bugs in the program. One poster gave some guidance on getting the remnants of the failed ZA 6.0 installation out of the system32 folder so that Ver. 5.5 could be reinstalled. I followed the advice and again tried to reinstall the older version. All seemed to go well until the program restarted after a reboot. It could not find the True Vector service and while task manager indicated that the program was running there was no other indication that it was. Ending the task and trying to reopen the program did not work. I wrote to ZA and am awaiting a reply. I've since reverted to the Windows XP firewall in the meantime.

I fully agree with your advice to wait to install. And I would also recommend that whatever software one is trying to install or upgrade that they go to the vendor's forum for that program to see what issues there may be. An ounce of prevention really is worth a pound (or more) of cure.

Again, thanks for all you do. Your newsletter and your columns are invaluable tools. ---John Cody.

Thanks, John. Your advice--- spend some quality time in the vendor's forum--- is a great, albeit underappreciated, way to dip your toe in the water before diving into a major software application or utility. Professional product reviews can be helpful, but despite the expertise of the reviewer, it's still one user's experience. Fora can reveal trends, giving you a gut-feel about whether or not new software may cause unwelcome problems.

In a similar vein, using Google's "Groups" search (accessible via the "More >>" link above the Google default text-entry box) lets you mine user experiences posted in "newsgroups" on Usenet; another treasure trove of real-life data.

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12, 13, 14, 15, 16) Plus! Edition Highlights:

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

• The Key(board) to Faster Startup
     (a very unexpected speed up!)
• When Plug & Play Plugs but Doesn't Play
     (timing can be everything)
• Cheap and Easy Backup?
     (reader recommends new online service)
• Software Makes Backup Bootable
     (another reader-recommended backup option)
• Optional Links
     (just for Plus! subscribers)

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

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17) Just For Grins

Cans of a sparkling beverage called "Windows Vista" reportedly pack refrigerators throughout Microsoft's Redmond, Wash., corporate campus. According to a report on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper Web site ( http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/279428_theinsider31.html ), the company has arranged for the cans of lemon-lime Talking Rain sparkling water to sport Windows Vista branding, complete with a URL to a Vista intranet site. The idea is to "internally market" Vista to company employees and get them to download, install and use the product well before it ships.

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

Most months, the LangaList is is published about 6 times. See you next issue, 2006-09-28!

Best,

Fred and Mike
( FredPlus@Langa.Com ) ( Mike@Elgan.Com )
( 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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