From The Helpdesk
Monday, July 4, 2011
Malware scanner
This work by Bill Barnes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://zaitech.com/satellite/contacts.htm. ¶ 3:29 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
Worms and trojans and viruses – Oh my! But beware the insidious rootkit, my child, because it is 
. If you get a rootkit, it burrows deep into your system and disappears. Only a program specially designed to look for it will find it.
Microsoft has recently introduced the Microsoft Standalone System Sweeper (MSSS) that will, among other things, find and kill those pesky rootkits. Get the program at http://connect.microsoft.com/systemsweeper.
MSSS is used a little differently than other one-time scans you’re familiar with such as MalwareBytes. It creates it’s own bootable CD or USB drive and you run it outside of Windows. It does this so it can find rootkits which, by definition, are hidden when Windows is running. If you actually bought your antivirus program on CD, it probably can do this; except MSSS is a little different (at least since I last had an AV CD). It doesn’t offer, but requires, that you update your definitions before running a scan.
Go to the download page and choose whether you want 32-bit or 64-bit. This button runs a downloader that gives you the option to create a bootable CD, bootable USB thumb drive, or download an ISO (Fig. 1). I’ll tell you what to do with an ISO next month; but until then, save yourself a lot of trouble and choose one of the other options.
Fig. 1. The MSSS downloader menu.
I decided to try MSSS out on my file server. When it runs a full scan – the default your first time – it alerts you the scan could take hours. Sure enough, after 4:52:42, it reported the number of “resources scanned” was 3,520,572!
Admittedly, my single C: drive runs about 350 GB (there’s a lot of client files I really should throw away). The program looked inside compressed files, naturally. It also looked inside downloaded .ISO CD images. To my surprise, it looked inside some Outlook .PST files to find a virus in the attachment of a piece of spam.
This work by Bill Barnes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://zaitech.com/satellite/contacts.htm. ¶ 3:29 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Book Review
Review - Zero Day
Sex. Murder. Corrupt, bumbling bureaucrats. The Russian Mafia. The fate of the Western world. Hunky nerds and beautiful geeks.
Zero Day by Mark Russinovich has them all. It also has worms and viruses and rootkits – but you don’t have to know any more about them than that if your computer has them, it’s going to be a pain. This book is a can’t-put-it-down thriller until you start thinking about it. Then it will give you nightmares.
Zero Day starts with a company that is having computer problems. They call in a specialist who discovers that their servers have been infected with a particularly pernicious piece of malware. While he’s trying to get the company back in business a call from a colleague at the Department of Homeland Security lets them realize they both are vexed by someone known as “Super Phreak.” Could this be the harbinger of cyberwar? And one with an auspicious starting date.
Mark Russinovich is a Microsoft Technical Fellow. That is a position for a person who is so accomplished that he has no assignment beyond thinking up new ideas. Computer professionals will recognize him as the creator of the Sysinternals utilities. With names like LDMDump and PsGetSid, these programs allow you to learn things about your computer that you didn’t know existed; including that you have an infection down where your antivirus can’t get it.
Here, in Russinovich’s first novel, he uses his knowledge of what is and what could be to weave a story of what we hope never happens. Without referencing any specific real-life situations (see “Stuxnet”[1]), this is a story one could imagine was pieced together from page 4 of the daily newspaper. An airliner has a rough ride over the Atlantic. A ship runs aground in Japan. A hospital has a medication mixup. A worker dies in an industrial accident. Are these unconnected stories? Only our heroes have the insight to know that they are linked by Super Phreak’s zero day rootkit (you only need to know that’s a computer nasty no one has ever seen before). Since a political appointee is too inept, corrupt, or both to sound the alarm; our heroes have to chase, against the clock, across two continents on their own to save the world.
The first edition I had was marred by some editing errors. (The first chapter opens “Saturday, August 11” and on the next page in bold it refers to “Friday, August 11.” [This was corrected in the online excerpt.] In a faux pas as bad as calling your spouse with your lover’s name; another place refers to the heroine with a villain’s name.)
That said, the story maintains its credulity: travel takes real time, coincidences are fortuitous but not magical, heroes are strong and clever but not supermen. Worst of all, the technology is very real and is installed in any business or is available to any teenage hacker anywhere in the world where the internet is available. The story implies a single set of malware could damage a multitude of systems which, in fact, would have to be programmed individually. However, any of the attacks mentioned could happen any time in the near future – or be happening now.
If you like international political thrillers or if you like technology; you’ll like Zero Day. A pair of PhDs become unexpected agents sufficiently focused on what needs to be done to brush off an assassin’s bullets and to convince an uninvolved Russian to assist them in the course of a taxi ride. Russinovich has set himself up to have created the next Jack Ryan. Let’s hope we can look forward to more cybercrises to befall us. [Zero Day the book has no familial or topical relation to the 2003 or 2007 movies with a similar title.]
-------
REFERENCES:
The book's homepage
http://www.zerodaythebook.com/
Mark Russinovich
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Russinovich
Stuxnet
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/16/world/middleeast/16stuxnet.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuxnet
Thanks to my source: Steve Gibson
http://twitter.com/sggrc
http://www.grc.com/securitynow.htm
. This work by Bill Barnes is licensed under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 US License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://zaitech.com/satellite/contacts.htm.
(c) 2011 Bill Barnes - Disclaimer - Home Page - Blogs Home
Sex. Murder. Corrupt, bumbling bureaucrats. The Russian Mafia. The fate of the Western world. Hunky nerds and beautiful geeks.
Zero Day by Mark Russinovich has them all. It also has worms and viruses and rootkits – but you don’t have to know any more about them than that if your computer has them, it’s going to be a pain. This book is a can’t-put-it-down thriller until you start thinking about it. Then it will give you nightmares.
Zero Day starts with a company that is having computer problems. They call in a specialist who discovers that their servers have been infected with a particularly pernicious piece of malware. While he’s trying to get the company back in business a call from a colleague at the Department of Homeland Security lets them realize they both are vexed by someone known as “Super Phreak.” Could this be the harbinger of cyberwar? And one with an auspicious starting date.
Mark Russinovich is a Microsoft Technical Fellow. That is a position for a person who is so accomplished that he has no assignment beyond thinking up new ideas. Computer professionals will recognize him as the creator of the Sysinternals utilities. With names like LDMDump and PsGetSid, these programs allow you to learn things about your computer that you didn’t know existed; including that you have an infection down where your antivirus can’t get it.
Here, in Russinovich’s first novel, he uses his knowledge of what is and what could be to weave a story of what we hope never happens. Without referencing any specific real-life situations (see “Stuxnet”[1]), this is a story one could imagine was pieced together from page 4 of the daily newspaper. An airliner has a rough ride over the Atlantic. A ship runs aground in Japan. A hospital has a medication mixup. A worker dies in an industrial accident. Are these unconnected stories? Only our heroes have the insight to know that they are linked by Super Phreak’s zero day rootkit (you only need to know that’s a computer nasty no one has ever seen before). Since a political appointee is too inept, corrupt, or both to sound the alarm; our heroes have to chase, against the clock, across two continents on their own to save the world.
The first edition I had was marred by some editing errors. (The first chapter opens “Saturday, August 11” and on the next page in bold it refers to “Friday, August 11.” [This was corrected in the online excerpt.] In a faux pas as bad as calling your spouse with your lover’s name; another place refers to the heroine with a villain’s name.)
That said, the story maintains its credulity: travel takes real time, coincidences are fortuitous but not magical, heroes are strong and clever but not supermen. Worst of all, the technology is very real and is installed in any business or is available to any teenage hacker anywhere in the world where the internet is available. The story implies a single set of malware could damage a multitude of systems which, in fact, would have to be programmed individually. However, any of the attacks mentioned could happen any time in the near future – or be happening now.
If you like international political thrillers or if you like technology; you’ll like Zero Day. A pair of PhDs become unexpected agents sufficiently focused on what needs to be done to brush off an assassin’s bullets and to convince an uninvolved Russian to assist them in the course of a taxi ride. Russinovich has set himself up to have created the next Jack Ryan. Let’s hope we can look forward to more cybercrises to befall us. [Zero Day the book has no familial or topical relation to the 2003 or 2007 movies with a similar title.]
-------
REFERENCES:
The book's homepage
http://www.zerodaythebook.com/
Mark Russinovich
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Russinovich
Stuxnet
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/16/world/middleeast/16stuxnet.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuxnet
Thanks to my source: Steve Gibson
http://twitter.com/sggrc
http://www.grc.com/securitynow.htm
. (c) 2011 Bill Barnes - Disclaimer - Home Page - Blogs Home
Labels: book review, internet, thriller, virus
¶ 9:29 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
Monday, January 3, 2011
Malware Alert !
. This work by Bill Barnes is licensed under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 US License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://zaitech.com/satellite/contacts.htm.
(c) 2011 Bill Barnes - Disclaimer - Home Page - Blogs Home
Ransomware. It’s not a new form of malware (ie: viruses, trojans, worms, phishing, spyware, even spam), but neither has it faded into the background over time. Many of my clients needed my assistance after encountering it sometime during 2010. It first came to my attention 3-4 years ago in the form of “AntiVirus 2008.”
The vector is that, after visiting an infected website, a notice pops up on your screen that there is “a problem with your computer.” The “problem” it refers to may be a virus infection, update due, or disc defrag needed. The popup could vary from a poor imitation of a Windows information box to a dead ringer for the Windows Update shield and dialog or a Microsoft Security Essentials notice. Typically it uses spyware tricks to reload even after you’ve left the website or rebooted the computer. Usual Windows close window buttons in or on the window are often ineffective and you can only get it off your screen by right-clicking its icon on the taskbar. The window advises “click here” to resolve the problem – but beware! – clicking anywhere in the window could run the program. Then you’re in trouble!
You asked the website to install a program. It doesn’t need a rootkit or worm to run the malware. You asked it to install. Check out a full discussion of the process at http://windowssecrets.com/top-story/lizamoon-infection-a-blow-by-blow-account/.
Once the ransomware is installed, it locks up your computer only allowing you to go to their website to undo the damage. Of course, the “repair program” costs $20-$150. If you don’t shell out, it may have already encrypted your hard drive or it may corrupt your data before you can stop it.
Luckily, most of my clients contacted me and did not actually install the program. While they couldn’t get rid of the popup, I could log on as an unaffected administrator and squash it with a System Restore and multiple malware scans from different sources such as antivirus vendors, Malwarebytes, and Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool. Between alert refusal to install the program, antivirus scans, storing data on a server – not an active client computer – and backups; only one home user lost significant data. Everyone lost significant time and incurred the expense of my services.
. (c) 2011 Bill Barnes - Disclaimer - Home Page - Blogs Home
Labels: backup, internet, security, Windows
¶ 2:56 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Telephones over the internet
I get requests for suggestions on technical topics. A client was wanting to dump her home phoneline from the old-time provider. Here are some ideas of what she can do. The premise is that she has reliable and cost-effective cell service.
As you know, there are dozens of options to connect broadband internet and phones. If you want to ditch the phone company, here are some services I use and recommend.
Google Voice (http://voice.google.com/).
They give you a number and you can direct that number to ring one or more of your registered phones. You can apply rules including time-of-day filtering such as family goes to Sis, business to Mom, friends can be screened before picking up, unknown callers go to voicemail, etc. Receive voicemail as an email attachment or transcribed to txt. Documentation is Google-sparse.
Basic service free but lots of penny and nickel features available. No computer needed.
Skype (http://skype.com/)
Primarily a computer-to-computer service but you can buy connections in and/or out of the classical phone system. They sell tons of accessories including handsets so you’re not tethered to the computer. With decent broadband, excellent quality service – radio stations use them. Some are stant-alone and, presumably, give you a Skype connection anywhere you can get open WiFi.
Basic service free but lots of penny and nickel features available.
Vonage (http://vonage.com/)
This is the service I’ve used for 7 years, but am currently a little down on. I can’t document whether my service issues are related to Vonage or my ISP. They try to be a full function phone company replacement that you plug directly into your current house phone wiring and use all your classical equipment. They have some call management features similar to Google.
Our “$17.99” plan bills out about $25. No computer needed.
Here are some other services that I know about, but have never used.
Your ISP
All the internet providers (include the phone companies) are trying to sell you phone services. They offer the reliability you’re used to from a single source for prices you’re used to paying.
Magic Jack (http://magicjack.com/)
This is sort of a hybrid of Skype and Vonage. Plug an adapter into your computer and plug your house wiring into the adapter. Last I looked at it, they seemed a little sleazy in terms of pushing ads at you, etc.
Always-on computer required.
Packet 8 (http://www.8x8.com/)
I’ve never looked at them, but a (cheap) associate dumped his Skype dial-in/out for them. At first glance, they seem to sell full-featured phone systems to home or small businesses.
Being based in 21st century technology rather than 19th, all these services provide for free the upgrades the phone company has been making their profits off of for 30 years. Things like voicemail, voicemail notification, caller ID, conference calling, free long distance, ultra-cheap international calls, and more. Except for Vonage, most of them don’t add all the extra charges at the bottom of your classic phone bill.
Most of the services can transfer your current phone number. I always recommend letting them assign you a number until you’ve tried them for a couple months. Then you can transfer the number you’ve had for 25 years.
The downside is that, except for your ISP, they’re all separate services that you have to buy, install, and configure yourself. As far as I know, only Vonage and your ISP support 911. Support and reliability may be iffy and they are dependent on getting power out of the wall.
. This work by Bill Barnes is licensed under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 US License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://zaitech.com/satellite/contacts.htm.
(c) 2010 Bill Barnes - Disclaimer - Home Page - Blogs Home
As you know, there are dozens of options to connect broadband internet and phones. If you want to ditch the phone company, here are some services I use and recommend.
Google Voice (http://voice.google.com/).
They give you a number and you can direct that number to ring one or more of your registered phones. You can apply rules including time-of-day filtering such as family goes to Sis, business to Mom, friends can be screened before picking up, unknown callers go to voicemail, etc. Receive voicemail as an email attachment or transcribed to txt. Documentation is Google-sparse.
Basic service free but lots of penny and nickel features available. No computer needed.
Skype (http://skype.com/)
Primarily a computer-to-computer service but you can buy connections in and/or out of the classical phone system. They sell tons of accessories including handsets so you’re not tethered to the computer. With decent broadband, excellent quality service – radio stations use them. Some are stant-alone and, presumably, give you a Skype connection anywhere you can get open WiFi.
Basic service free but lots of penny and nickel features available.
Vonage (http://vonage.com/)
This is the service I’ve used for 7 years, but am currently a little down on. I can’t document whether my service issues are related to Vonage or my ISP. They try to be a full function phone company replacement that you plug directly into your current house phone wiring and use all your classical equipment. They have some call management features similar to Google.
Our “$17.99” plan bills out about $25. No computer needed.
Here are some other services that I know about, but have never used.
Your ISP
All the internet providers (include the phone companies) are trying to sell you phone services. They offer the reliability you’re used to from a single source for prices you’re used to paying.
Magic Jack (http://magicjack.com/)
This is sort of a hybrid of Skype and Vonage. Plug an adapter into your computer and plug your house wiring into the adapter. Last I looked at it, they seemed a little sleazy in terms of pushing ads at you, etc.
Always-on computer required.
Packet 8 (http://www.8x8.com/)
I’ve never looked at them, but a (cheap) associate dumped his Skype dial-in/out for them. At first glance, they seem to sell full-featured phone systems to home or small businesses.
Being based in 21st century technology rather than 19th, all these services provide for free the upgrades the phone company has been making their profits off of for 30 years. Things like voicemail, voicemail notification, caller ID, conference calling, free long distance, ultra-cheap international calls, and more. Except for Vonage, most of them don’t add all the extra charges at the bottom of your classic phone bill.
Most of the services can transfer your current phone number. I always recommend letting them assign you a number until you’ve tried them for a couple months. Then you can transfer the number you’ve had for 25 years.
The downside is that, except for your ISP, they’re all separate services that you have to buy, install, and configure yourself. As far as I know, only Vonage and your ISP support 911. Support and reliability may be iffy and they are dependent on getting power out of the wall.
. (c) 2010 Bill Barnes - Disclaimer - Home Page - Blogs Home
Labels: electronic equipment, internet
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Sunday, January 31, 2010
eBooks
Forever (that is, 16 months) I have scraped articles off the web and downloaded them as text to my smartphone to read while I waited for carryout - or anywhere else I had minutes to kill. These are handy and comfortable to read on the 2.3" screen except the system doesn't hold my place and I have to scroll down to continue every time I get interrupted.
I recently took a trip and was anticipating 30 hours in transit and 6 plane changes. Naturally, I wanted to travel very light and not lug the stack of magazines that is my usual diversion. On my trip, since I carried a different phone (because of coverage), I downloaded a couple books to my old PDA so I could have entire novels on a 3.5" screen at 10 oz (including charger). This worked perfectly as I read one book on the way out and finished the other on the way home. I had the books I wanted, not whatever was in the airport newstand, and still have them when I got home. Incidentally, in the same pocket; I carried my contacts list, schedule, ticket and event confirmations, MP3 player, backup memory for my photos, notepad, and calculator.
Digital journalism was a natural fit for the personal computer as soon as the web was a widespread distribution medium. Music became virtual in a big hurry, followed by movies and television. Books without paper will be the next traditional medium to fall.
Actually, Project Gutenberg started to digitize books in 1971 with a goal of distributing and preserving out-of-copyright books. In 2004, Google announced it would partner with prominent libraries to digitize entire collections. Other, less prominent, projects are also working to turn literature into bits.
The market problem has never been content. Whether Gutenberg's 30,000 titles or Google's 7,000,000; the real question is who wants to drag their computer into bed with them and read off a screen. Whether the morning newspaper, or War and Peace, a computer does not have the familiarity and versatility of dead trees. Often there are also issues with the presentation be they intrusive advertising; fixed size and length of text that may not be comfortable on your screen; or scanned images that aren't text, and may not be sharp either.
For content that is expected to be read offline, resourceful people have always been able to move it to a PDA such as a Palm or Windows handheld. More recently with the introduction of E Ink ; Sony, Amazon, and now, a host of other companies offer a reader that is, not an exact replica, but competitive in feel to a paperback book. And Apple, this week, promise to up the market with their iPad which features a full-color touch screen instead of the gray-on-gray of the current generation of E Ink. (Disclaimer: I have not actually seen or held dedicated readers. My comments are hearsay.) At least as significantly, most of the device vendors include a store to buy the books. Not only can a non-geek now get a device to read books and periodicals but they can also load it up with content as easily as they load their MP3 player with music.
When Amazon introduced the Kindle in 2007, it included a revolutionary flat-rate price of $9.95 for best sellers. Naturally publishers were not happy with this 50%-60% or more discount off the usual cover price for books on paper. But consider that mass-market books rarely sell for list. Also, there is no marginal cost for each additional copy of the book sold. If a $25 book wholesales for $10 and costs $6 to produce and distribute; plus another, maybe, $2.50 for the author; the publisher will get $1.50-$4.00 clear profit per copy. They can make the same profit by sending the electronic manuscript furnished by the author or editor to Amazon or any other distributor for $5-$7 for each copy sold. Even if the sales are totally cannibalistic, the publisher has nothing to lose. (Here, Apple threatens to break the model by allowing the publishers to set their own price - which is the opposite of what the iTunes store did in 2000.)
Although each device is linked to its own bookstore, they are also multipurpose. They can display content in other, generic, formats and play MP3s. Some may have software to read a book out loud. Some may have a wireless connection for content and web browsing while others have to be linked to a computer to upload books. And using a PDA, smartphone, or netbook as a reader may offer other computer features such as a calendar, contact list, or writing and calculating tools.
Most book formats, especially paid ones, can be resized and automatically reflow according to your visual needs. For example, what might be a 325 page paperback was 411 "pages" on my PC and 1934 "pages" on my PDA. You also may want to consider features that enhance the readability. These might include placemarkers, search capability, ability to add notes, and the ability to move books to another device or share them with friends. Even the quality of how the table of contents or index links into the book can affect your experience.
If you want to dip your toe into ebooks, a web search will turn up a plethora of sources for books in a variety of formats that you can read on a laptop or smartphone you already own. Then you can decide whether you want to buy a dedicated device or go back to paper. If you read 2 books a month, you might be able to recover the cost of a Kindle within a year; plus you won't have to build another bookshelf or run to the consignment store.
One site I've gone to experience ebooks is SciFi-AZ.com where the author self-publishes his books in a variety of formats. Try it out for yourself!
. This work by Bill Barnes is licensed under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 US License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://zaitech.com/satellite/contacts.htm.
(c) 2010 Bill Barnes - Disclaimer - Home Page - Blogs Home
I recently took a trip and was anticipating 30 hours in transit and 6 plane changes. Naturally, I wanted to travel very light and not lug the stack of magazines that is my usual diversion. On my trip, since I carried a different phone (because of coverage), I downloaded a couple books to my old PDA so I could have entire novels on a 3.5" screen at 10 oz (including charger). This worked perfectly as I read one book on the way out and finished the other on the way home. I had the books I wanted, not whatever was in the airport newstand, and still have them when I got home. Incidentally, in the same pocket; I carried my contacts list, schedule, ticket and event confirmations, MP3 player, backup memory for my photos, notepad, and calculator.
Digital journalism was a natural fit for the personal computer as soon as the web was a widespread distribution medium. Music became virtual in a big hurry, followed by movies and television. Books without paper will be the next traditional medium to fall.
Actually, Project Gutenberg started to digitize books in 1971 with a goal of distributing and preserving out-of-copyright books. In 2004, Google announced it would partner with prominent libraries to digitize entire collections. Other, less prominent, projects are also working to turn literature into bits.
The market problem has never been content. Whether Gutenberg's 30,000 titles or Google's 7,000,000; the real question is who wants to drag their computer into bed with them and read off a screen. Whether the morning newspaper, or War and Peace, a computer does not have the familiarity and versatility of dead trees. Often there are also issues with the presentation be they intrusive advertising; fixed size and length of text that may not be comfortable on your screen; or scanned images that aren't text, and may not be sharp either.
For content that is expected to be read offline, resourceful people have always been able to move it to a PDA such as a Palm or Windows handheld. More recently with the introduction of E Ink ; Sony, Amazon, and now, a host of other companies offer a reader that is, not an exact replica, but competitive in feel to a paperback book. And Apple, this week, promise to up the market with their iPad which features a full-color touch screen instead of the gray-on-gray of the current generation of E Ink. (Disclaimer: I have not actually seen or held dedicated readers. My comments are hearsay.) At least as significantly, most of the device vendors include a store to buy the books. Not only can a non-geek now get a device to read books and periodicals but they can also load it up with content as easily as they load their MP3 player with music.
When Amazon introduced the Kindle in 2007, it included a revolutionary flat-rate price of $9.95 for best sellers. Naturally publishers were not happy with this 50%-60% or more discount off the usual cover price for books on paper. But consider that mass-market books rarely sell for list. Also, there is no marginal cost for each additional copy of the book sold. If a $25 book wholesales for $10 and costs $6 to produce and distribute; plus another, maybe, $2.50 for the author; the publisher will get $1.50-$4.00 clear profit per copy. They can make the same profit by sending the electronic manuscript furnished by the author or editor to Amazon or any other distributor for $5-$7 for each copy sold. Even if the sales are totally cannibalistic, the publisher has nothing to lose. (Here, Apple threatens to break the model by allowing the publishers to set their own price - which is the opposite of what the iTunes store did in 2000.)
Although each device is linked to its own bookstore, they are also multipurpose. They can display content in other, generic, formats and play MP3s. Some may have software to read a book out loud. Some may have a wireless connection for content and web browsing while others have to be linked to a computer to upload books. And using a PDA, smartphone, or netbook as a reader may offer other computer features such as a calendar, contact list, or writing and calculating tools.
Most book formats, especially paid ones, can be resized and automatically reflow according to your visual needs. For example, what might be a 325 page paperback was 411 "pages" on my PC and 1934 "pages" on my PDA. You also may want to consider features that enhance the readability. These might include placemarkers, search capability, ability to add notes, and the ability to move books to another device or share them with friends. Even the quality of how the table of contents or index links into the book can affect your experience.
If you want to dip your toe into ebooks, a web search will turn up a plethora of sources for books in a variety of formats that you can read on a laptop or smartphone you already own. Then you can decide whether you want to buy a dedicated device or go back to paper. If you read 2 books a month, you might be able to recover the cost of a Kindle within a year; plus you won't have to build another bookshelf or run to the consignment store.
One site I've gone to experience ebooks is SciFi-AZ.com where the author self-publishes his books in a variety of formats. Try it out for yourself!
. (c) 2010 Bill Barnes - Disclaimer - Home Page - Blogs Home
Labels: ebook, electronic equipment, internet
¶ 11:30 AM 0 Comments Links to this post
Lost
Problems come in bunches – or maybe they’re always there in the pantheon of problems and I recognize a “bunch” when it’s time to write this letter. This week I’ve gotten a number of calls where a user has “lost” some information on or in their computer.
One user printed a valuable coupon off a website while he was offline. He knew from experience that he would get ink on paper when he reconnected to the printer later. Unfortunately, he printed to a non-existent printer installed on his computer. We can see the job sitting in the queue, but have to figure out how to redirect a document from one printer to another.
A user in a 2-person office called to say she had lost the shortcut to a shared folder off her desktop. I set this up several months ago and could not, off the top of my head, tell her exactly where that folder is. My best suggestion was to try and figure out the path from the shortcut still on the boss’ computer. Failing that, it would require a service call – tomorrow.
Another manager called (when I wasn’t at their office, natch) to say someone, sometime, had deleted a record from a database. Could I please recover that record from the backup – oh, and he needs it today. The company has a good backup system, but it’s managed by the corporate helpdesk. Restore requests will be processed in 3-5 days. Because at one time they were doing extensive, sloppy, maintenance on this database; I also create a daily backup on my local desktop. Except I can’t easily locate the record they need remotely.
The moral is Think before you do something permanent. If you don’t get immediate feedback from printing a document, be sure you save it so you can reprint later. If you’re going to delete something, go ahead and send it to the Recycle Bin. Storage is, generally, cheap and there’s no harm in waiting a couple months before actually deleting it. You can go to the Recycle Bin (or your mail client’s trash) and wholesale permanently delete older items some day while you’re waiting on hold. And if you're changing a database (or a complex document that functions as a database), template, or configuration; save a copy before you make extensive changes.
. This work by Bill Barnes is licensed under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 US License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://zaitech.com/satellite/contacts.htm.
(c) 2009 Bill Barnes - Disclaimer - Home Page - Blogs Home ¶ 11:21 AM 0 Comments Links to this post
One user printed a valuable coupon off a website while he was offline. He knew from experience that he would get ink on paper when he reconnected to the printer later. Unfortunately, he printed to a non-existent printer installed on his computer. We can see the job sitting in the queue, but have to figure out how to redirect a document from one printer to another.
A user in a 2-person office called to say she had lost the shortcut to a shared folder off her desktop. I set this up several months ago and could not, off the top of my head, tell her exactly where that folder is. My best suggestion was to try and figure out the path from the shortcut still on the boss’ computer. Failing that, it would require a service call – tomorrow.
Another manager called (when I wasn’t at their office, natch) to say someone, sometime, had deleted a record from a database. Could I please recover that record from the backup – oh, and he needs it today. The company has a good backup system, but it’s managed by the corporate helpdesk. Restore requests will be processed in 3-5 days. Because at one time they were doing extensive, sloppy, maintenance on this database; I also create a daily backup on my local desktop. Except I can’t easily locate the record they need remotely.
The moral is Think before you do something permanent. If you don’t get immediate feedback from printing a document, be sure you save it so you can reprint later. If you’re going to delete something, go ahead and send it to the Recycle Bin. Storage is, generally, cheap and there’s no harm in waiting a couple months before actually deleting it. You can go to the Recycle Bin (or your mail client’s trash) and wholesale permanently delete older items some day while you’re waiting on hold. And if you're changing a database (or a complex document that functions as a database), template, or configuration; save a copy before you make extensive changes.
. (c) 2009 Bill Barnes - Disclaimer - Home Page - Blogs Home ¶ 11:21 AM 0 Comments Links to this post
Saturday, August 8, 2009
I hate getting a new computer
Mea culpa.
My computer died. About a third of my important data was on that computer, without a recent backup.
Yes, that does happen; even to professionals who should know better.
I spent five days trying to ressurect it before I gave up and decided to start over from scratch. I promoted my test bed to be my primary computer and set this one aside to be rebuilt and used in situations where I’ll never trust it again.
Now I have to go about making “a” computer “my” computer again. Two weeks later, I’m finding significant programs I forgot to reinstall and nothing works exactly like I’m comfortable with. Oh, I did have a backup that was about 6 weeks old. Most of what I will weep over losing was a month-and-a-half worth of emails.
. This work by Bill Barnes is licensed under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 US License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://zaitech.com/satellite/contacts.htm.
(c) 2008 Bill Barnes - Disclaimer - Home Page - Blogs Home
My computer died. About a third of my important data was on that computer, without a recent backup.
Yes, that does happen; even to professionals who should know better.
I spent five days trying to ressurect it before I gave up and decided to start over from scratch. I promoted my test bed to be my primary computer and set this one aside to be rebuilt and used in situations where I’ll never trust it again.
Now I have to go about making “a” computer “my” computer again. Two weeks later, I’m finding significant programs I forgot to reinstall and nothing works exactly like I’m comfortable with. Oh, I did have a backup that was about 6 weeks old. Most of what I will weep over losing was a month-and-a-half worth of emails.
What's missing when you get a new computer?
PROGRAMS
The computer comes with Windows which includes Internet Explorer and Windows Mail for your primary online needs. It probably also included a 30- or 90-day subscription to a security suite. Maybe you bought it with an office program and even a personal finance program. What else could I want for my computer?
The first thing I do is uninstall the bloated security suite and install a cleaner updated antivirus only utility. Then I connect to the internet and run Windows Update.
Now I need a few utilities to work with the computer the way I want. These include Firefox, a compression program such as the free 7zip, a media player such as iTunes, a .pdf reader, and some administrative utilities appropriate to my business. Then come drivers for accessories such as my webcam, scanner, smartphone, and printer. Now I remake my network connections to file storage and printers.
Whew! I haven't even started on the application programs. In addition to an office suite and money manager, I use a graphics suite and a number of tools for web authoring. I'm sure I'll find more programs I need as I use the computer. Fortunately I'm mostly organized and can usually put my hands on the original CDs or downloads and activation keys of my programs.
Now, I've got a functioning computer, but it's not my computer. I keep most of my data on a network drive, so usually I won't have to restore that 100 GB. But some programs such as Outlook Express insist on keeping their data on the local drive, typically in some obscure location you wouldn't think about backing up. Even though I have my Outlook 2007 old mail and contacts data on a network drive, all of its connection settings are integral to the local computer so I have to look up user names, passwords and account settings for a half-dozen email accounts. And don't ask me how much I've personalized Word and Excel. Generally, the more complex the program, the more likely that it saves it's settings and preferences irretrievably in Windows.
Microsoft does offer a couple utilities that purport to help you save and transfer your settings between computers. The Files and Settings Transfer wizard (FAST) collects some important and some trivial Windows settings from your logon password to your desktop color. It also will copy your cookies and favorites from Internet Explorer and the contents of your My Documents folder. The last can take a long time and a lot of disc space if you keep music and pictures, as well as documents, in that folder. I recommend that you point it to a USB hard drive with lots of space. It will not get any data such as I mentioned above that is not in My Documents.
For Microsoft Office, you can also use the Microsoft Office Save My Settings Wizard which is usually in the Microsoft Office Tools folder. It will, with one operation, collect a lot of the more obscure personalizations in Word, Excel, Outlook, and other Office programs.
Both of these wizards apply only to the current user. That means your spouse and kids will have to run it individually. You'll also have to manually move data in Shared Documents. And, of course, they only pick up the customizations in Microsoft programs.
Now that I'm up and running, I can start worrying about hardware productivity features. My new computer did not come with an upgraded video, so I will have to move that from my old computer (if it's compatible) to use dual monitors. Also the keyboard has a slightly different layout that causes me problems. Unfortunately, my old keyboard uses a different connection and I will have to deal with that.
My situation was made more difficult because the old computer completely failed. If you are merely upgrading, you can always go back to the old machine to look at settings or get that template for your letterhead. I was saved, however, by the fact that most of my data is not actually on my computer. Even with a six-week-old backup, there was very little critical data that I lost.
PROGRAMS
The computer comes with Windows which includes Internet Explorer and Windows Mail for your primary online needs. It probably also included a 30- or 90-day subscription to a security suite. Maybe you bought it with an office program and even a personal finance program. What else could I want for my computer?
The first thing I do is uninstall the bloated security suite and install a cleaner updated antivirus only utility. Then I connect to the internet and run Windows Update.
Now I need a few utilities to work with the computer the way I want. These include Firefox, a compression program such as the free 7zip, a media player such as iTunes, a .pdf reader, and some administrative utilities appropriate to my business. Then come drivers for accessories such as my webcam, scanner, smartphone, and printer. Now I remake my network connections to file storage and printers.
Whew! I haven't even started on the application programs. In addition to an office suite and money manager, I use a graphics suite and a number of tools for web authoring. I'm sure I'll find more programs I need as I use the computer. Fortunately I'm mostly organized and can usually put my hands on the original CDs or downloads and activation keys of my programs.
Now, I've got a functioning computer, but it's not my computer. I keep most of my data on a network drive, so usually I won't have to restore that 100 GB. But some programs such as Outlook Express insist on keeping their data on the local drive, typically in some obscure location you wouldn't think about backing up. Even though I have my Outlook 2007 old mail and contacts data on a network drive, all of its connection settings are integral to the local computer so I have to look up user names, passwords and account settings for a half-dozen email accounts. And don't ask me how much I've personalized Word and Excel. Generally, the more complex the program, the more likely that it saves it's settings and preferences irretrievably in Windows.
Microsoft does offer a couple utilities that purport to help you save and transfer your settings between computers. The Files and Settings Transfer wizard (FAST) collects some important and some trivial Windows settings from your logon password to your desktop color. It also will copy your cookies and favorites from Internet Explorer and the contents of your My Documents folder. The last can take a long time and a lot of disc space if you keep music and pictures, as well as documents, in that folder. I recommend that you point it to a USB hard drive with lots of space. It will not get any data such as I mentioned above that is not in My Documents.
For Microsoft Office, you can also use the Microsoft Office Save My Settings Wizard which is usually in the Microsoft Office Tools folder. It will, with one operation, collect a lot of the more obscure personalizations in Word, Excel, Outlook, and other Office programs.
Both of these wizards apply only to the current user. That means your spouse and kids will have to run it individually. You'll also have to manually move data in Shared Documents. And, of course, they only pick up the customizations in Microsoft programs.
Now that I'm up and running, I can start worrying about hardware productivity features. My new computer did not come with an upgraded video, so I will have to move that from my old computer (if it's compatible) to use dual monitors. Also the keyboard has a slightly different layout that causes me problems. Unfortunately, my old keyboard uses a different connection and I will have to deal with that.
My situation was made more difficult because the old computer completely failed. If you are merely upgrading, you can always go back to the old machine to look at settings or get that template for your letterhead. I was saved, however, by the fact that most of my data is not actually on my computer. Even with a six-week-old backup, there was very little critical data that I lost.
. (c) 2008 Bill Barnes - Disclaimer - Home Page - Blogs Home
Labels: backup, hardware, security, Windows
¶ 3:49 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
Friday, April 24, 2009
Spring cleaning
Now (even if you're reading this in November) is always a good time to do your computer housekeeping.
The two biggest enemies of electronics are bad power and heat. I covered the concerns of power surges in Storm Season. Where does heat come from and what can you do about it?
Everything you put into the computer generates heat. Every chip, spinning drive, and the power supply all add heat to the environment. And our quest for more and faster just means more heat. A faster CPU, fancier graphics adapter, bigger hard drive, more powerful sound card, even more memory each add their own increment to the heat load.
You can assume that every watt of power you put into the computer eventually ends up as heat after it is finished pushing the bits around. That means if you have a 200 watt power supply, it's the equivalent of sticking a large (incandescent) light bulb inside a metal box. In my childhood, that is how a toy stove could actually bake cookies.
Sometimes that metal box also exacerbates the issue. Open a full-size tower and you'll probably see at least 3 or 4 fans blowing on the various components. But most consumers and many businesses would rather have a compact size and quiet computer. Both of those criteria mean fewer fans and less space for air to circulate around the components. In a laptop, those issues are even compounded, although the components are somewhat more efficient with their use of electricity.
Speaking of quiet, most computers have thermostatic fans. When things inside start getting hot, the fan runs faster. If, all of a sudden, your computer starts making more noise and then quiets again; it was probably your fan putting on a burst of speed. If it always runs at high speed there may be something causing your computer to overheat. By the way, your CPU and hard drive also have thermometers in them and will shut themselves down before they dangerously overheat. There are numerous monitors of your internal temperatures available from any search engine. One that looked promising is available at http://www.almico.com/. (I have not tried it and don't vouch for it's legitimacy - always get your downloads from reputable sources and check them for malware)
Oh, that's right. The title up there is "Spring cleaning." The first thing to do to keep your computer cool is to get rid of the dust inside. Open the case and blow it out. Don't use a standard vacuum cleaner as they generate static electricity. You can buy high-quality "canned air." If you have access to a compressor, you can use that, too, at a moderate pressure. (I manage 150 devices in an industrial plant and blow them out with the building air. I have never had problems related to water or oil that may contaminate this unfiltered air.)
Be sure you have disconnected all the cables (especially the power) before you open the case. Then blow it out and the dust will go flying. I blow in both directions through all the vents and fans and even into the disc drive openings. Lift the shroud over the CPU and blow out all the heat sinks that look like vertical grids of metal.
When you reconnect the computer, check around that it has good airflow in and out of the vents. Keeping it in a closed cabinet will kill it quickly. Some serious power hobbyists have floor fans blowing at their computers to circulate even more air. Making the computer work harder also makes it use more power, so you might consider this tactic if you are into high-end gaming or video rendering that make heavy demands on the graphics system.
And don't feel guilty at all the dust you found. Even in very clean houses I find the computers full of dust. Just be sure there are no snakes or mice wrapped around the chips. (Just kidding, but you can find some scary stories on YouTube.)
The two biggest enemies of electronics are bad power and heat. I covered the concerns of power surges in Storm Season. Where does heat come from and what can you do about it?
Everything you put into the computer generates heat. Every chip, spinning drive, and the power supply all add heat to the environment. And our quest for more and faster just means more heat. A faster CPU, fancier graphics adapter, bigger hard drive, more powerful sound card, even more memory each add their own increment to the heat load.
You can assume that every watt of power you put into the computer eventually ends up as heat after it is finished pushing the bits around. That means if you have a 200 watt power supply, it's the equivalent of sticking a large (incandescent) light bulb inside a metal box. In my childhood, that is how a toy stove could actually bake cookies.
Sometimes that metal box also exacerbates the issue. Open a full-size tower and you'll probably see at least 3 or 4 fans blowing on the various components. But most consumers and many businesses would rather have a compact size and quiet computer. Both of those criteria mean fewer fans and less space for air to circulate around the components. In a laptop, those issues are even compounded, although the components are somewhat more efficient with their use of electricity.
Speaking of quiet, most computers have thermostatic fans. When things inside start getting hot, the fan runs faster. If, all of a sudden, your computer starts making more noise and then quiets again; it was probably your fan putting on a burst of speed. If it always runs at high speed there may be something causing your computer to overheat. By the way, your CPU and hard drive also have thermometers in them and will shut themselves down before they dangerously overheat. There are numerous monitors of your internal temperatures available from any search engine. One that looked promising is available at http://www.almico.com/. (I have not tried it and don't vouch for it's legitimacy - always get your downloads from reputable sources and check them for malware)
Oh, that's right. The title up there is "Spring cleaning." The first thing to do to keep your computer cool is to get rid of the dust inside. Open the case and blow it out. Don't use a standard vacuum cleaner as they generate static electricity. You can buy high-quality "canned air." If you have access to a compressor, you can use that, too, at a moderate pressure. (I manage 150 devices in an industrial plant and blow them out with the building air. I have never had problems related to water or oil that may contaminate this unfiltered air.)
Be sure you have disconnected all the cables (especially the power) before you open the case. Then blow it out and the dust will go flying. I blow in both directions through all the vents and fans and even into the disc drive openings. Lift the shroud over the CPU and blow out all the heat sinks that look like vertical grids of metal.
When you reconnect the computer, check around that it has good airflow in and out of the vents. Keeping it in a closed cabinet will kill it quickly. Some serious power hobbyists have floor fans blowing at their computers to circulate even more air. Making the computer work harder also makes it use more power, so you might consider this tactic if you are into high-end gaming or video rendering that make heavy demands on the graphics system.
And don't feel guilty at all the dust you found. Even in very clean houses I find the computers full of dust. Just be sure there are no snakes or mice wrapped around the chips. (Just kidding, but you can find some scary stories on YouTube.)
Labels: electronic equipment, hardware
¶ 8:21 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Did I get that update?
Patch Tuesday.
Every month Microsoft distributes critical security updates for Windows computers. If you have Windows Update configured to automatically install these updates, it will do so. Unless something goes wrong. Your computer may have been offline. Something may have interrupted the process. You may already have a virus that prevents updates.
Here's how to check that a specific update is installed:
Everything Microsoft does is affiliated with a Knowledge Base article. When the techie community writes about a bug in Windows, they say "this is related to the flaw in KB123456." If an article says "you're toast without update KB123456," you need to check your updates. You can find out more by browsing to support.microsoft.com and searching on the KB number. Maybe you'll find it only applies to some esoteric program you never use anyway, so you don't have to worry.
(c) 2008 Bill Barnes
Disclaimer - Home Page - Blogs Home ¶ 10:41 AM 0 Comments Links to this post
Patch Tuesday.
Every month Microsoft distributes critical security updates for Windows computers. If you have Windows Update configured to automatically install these updates, it will do so. Unless something goes wrong. Your computer may have been offline. Something may have interrupted the process. You may already have a virus that prevents updates.
Here's how to check that a specific update is installed:
- Go to Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs.
- Check the box Show Updates.
- Scroll down to find the update you want to verify.
Everything Microsoft does is affiliated with a Knowledge Base article. When the techie community writes about a bug in Windows, they say "this is related to the flaw in KB123456." If an article says "you're toast without update KB123456," you need to check your updates. You can find out more by browsing to support.microsoft.com and searching on the KB number. Maybe you'll find it only applies to some esoteric program you never use anyway, so you don't have to worry.
(c) 2008 Bill Barnes
Disclaimer - Home Page - Blogs Home ¶ 10:41 AM 0 Comments Links to this post
Sunday, August 24, 2008
My hard drive won't boot!
We have a 4 year old Dell laptop running XP. It died last night while we were using it. From what I have been able to figure out online, it looks like her hard drive might be dead, but maybe you can give me your opinion:
The first thing that happened is that we got a blue screen with a message at the bottom -- something like "physical memory dump successful" Then, we ran some sort of diagnostic and got: ...
It sounds like you have a “Type 2” failure below. Sorry.
There are two types of “fatal” problems with disc drives. Sometimes they spontaneously recover from either of them – at least for a short time. Take that opportunity to immediately back up your data. 1) Windows won’t load, but the drive is physically mostly OK. 2) The drive has some sort of mechanical failure. I lost 2 drives in my older Dell laptop; probably due to overheating.
1) Your data are probably in fine condition, although it may be awkward to retrieve it, especially with a laptop.
2) Cross your fingers and pay homage to any angel of fortune you use. Generally the computer doesn’t even recognize that it has a drive attached when you look at the status page at power-on Setup (for most post-2002 Dells, press F2 at the Dell splash screen). Suggested steps to attempt include: repeatedly powering it up until it comes on, lightly tapping the case while it is turned off, or chilling the drive before it’s turned on. If you hear a “clicka-clicka” when you power it up, you’re probably toast.
Once the alternate computer recognizes the disc drive, you should immediately copy critical data off it before proceeding with any other recovery attempts. If you encounter missing password file access problems, you can try logging on to the alternate computer as an administrator. If necessary, create an account on that computer with the same name and password as the administrator on the failed computer. In an extreme case, you can break the user rights with a Bart’s PE boot CD. Start here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BartPE.
Now that you have your data, what do you do with the old drive. If it is showing hardware issues, physically decomission it and throw it away. If the only problem is that Windows wouldn’t boot:
a) Run the SpinRite (http://spinrite.com) disc recovery utility.
b) Run Windows recovery from a Windows installation disc.
c) Reinstall Windows from your manufacturer’s distribution discs. You will also have to reinstall all your programs, drivers, and accessories; but your data will probably still be where it was. There is also a chance you will trash everything in the process.
d) Install Windows on a new drive and install this one as a secondary drive (not applicable to laptops). Same comments as c) apply.
e) Install Windows on a new drive and copy all your data back to it. Same comments as c) apply.
The mechanics of moving a hard drive around.
Drives come in 2 flavors, SATA and IDE/ATA/PATA, that use a different cable to connect to the computer. SATA is the newer standard although most aftermarket drives are still available in either format. Very few computers support both versions natively on their motherboards although you can get add-in cards for either version. Furthermore, older IDE laptop drives (2.5”) use a different cable and power adapter than IDE desktop (3.5”) drives, but otherwise are interchangeable. Most USB adapters (such as http://www.cyberguys.com/templates/SearchDetail.asp?productID=13779) support all versions although there may be some old IDE-only adapters still on the market.
Always disperse any static electricity by touching a grounded metal object before working with electronics. Never handle a disc drive that is powered on (ie spinning). Always disconnect the power supply from the wall before connecting or disconnecting cables. Don't forget the main battery(ies) in a laptop.
On most laptops the disc drive can be removed with one or two screws without disassembling the case. If you remove a screw that opens a panel into the electronics, that’s probably the wrong one.
When temporarily installing a drive in an alternate computer, you will probably have the least problems if you use the cables for that computer’s CD drive. Using a USB adapter may require that you change jumper settings on an IDE drive.
. This work by Bill Barnes is licensed under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 US License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://zaitech.com/satellite/contacts.htm.
(c) 2008 Bill Barnes - Disclaimer - Home Page - Blogs Home
The first thing that happened is that we got a blue screen with a message at the bottom -- something like "physical memory dump successful" Then, we ran some sort of diagnostic and got: ...
It sounds like you have a “Type 2” failure below. Sorry.
There are two types of “fatal” problems with disc drives. Sometimes they spontaneously recover from either of them – at least for a short time. Take that opportunity to immediately back up your data. 1) Windows won’t load, but the drive is physically mostly OK. 2) The drive has some sort of mechanical failure. I lost 2 drives in my older Dell laptop; probably due to overheating.
1) Your data are probably in fine condition, although it may be awkward to retrieve it, especially with a laptop.
2) Cross your fingers and pay homage to any angel of fortune you use. Generally the computer doesn’t even recognize that it has a drive attached when you look at the status page at power-on Setup (for most post-2002 Dells, press F2 at the Dell splash screen). Suggested steps to attempt include: repeatedly powering it up until it comes on, lightly tapping the case while it is turned off, or chilling the drive before it’s turned on. If you hear a “clicka-clicka” when you power it up, you’re probably toast.
--------
In either case, my first response is to minimize the chance of further corruption until I preserve the data. I do this by removing the drive from it’s current computer and installing it as a secondary drive in another computer. (See mechanical handling notes below.) You can connect it directly to the motherboard’s interface in the alternate computer or use a USB adapter.Once the alternate computer recognizes the disc drive, you should immediately copy critical data off it before proceeding with any other recovery attempts. If you encounter missing password file access problems, you can try logging on to the alternate computer as an administrator. If necessary, create an account on that computer with the same name and password as the administrator on the failed computer. In an extreme case, you can break the user rights with a Bart’s PE boot CD. Start here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BartPE.
Now that you have your data, what do you do with the old drive. If it is showing hardware issues, physically decomission it and throw it away. If the only problem is that Windows wouldn’t boot:
a) Run the SpinRite (http://spinrite.com) disc recovery utility.
b) Run Windows recovery from a Windows installation disc.
c) Reinstall Windows from your manufacturer’s distribution discs. You will also have to reinstall all your programs, drivers, and accessories; but your data will probably still be where it was. There is also a chance you will trash everything in the process.
d) Install Windows on a new drive and install this one as a secondary drive (not applicable to laptops). Same comments as c) apply.
e) Install Windows on a new drive and copy all your data back to it. Same comments as c) apply.
The mechanics of moving a hard drive around.
Drives come in 2 flavors, SATA and IDE/ATA/PATA, that use a different cable to connect to the computer. SATA is the newer standard although most aftermarket drives are still available in either format. Very few computers support both versions natively on their motherboards although you can get add-in cards for either version. Furthermore, older IDE laptop drives (2.5”) use a different cable and power adapter than IDE desktop (3.5”) drives, but otherwise are interchangeable. Most USB adapters (such as http://www.cyberguys.com/templates/SearchDetail.asp?productID=13779) support all versions although there may be some old IDE-only adapters still on the market.
Always disperse any static electricity by touching a grounded metal object before working with electronics. Never handle a disc drive that is powered on (ie spinning). Always disconnect the power supply from the wall before connecting or disconnecting cables. Don't forget the main battery(ies) in a laptop.
On most laptops the disc drive can be removed with one or two screws without disassembling the case. If you remove a screw that opens a panel into the electronics, that’s probably the wrong one.
When temporarily installing a drive in an alternate computer, you will probably have the least problems if you use the cables for that computer’s CD drive. Using a USB adapter may require that you change jumper settings on an IDE drive.
. (c) 2008 Bill Barnes - Disclaimer - Home Page - Blogs Home
Labels: hardware
¶ 3:21 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Open your browser faster
Do you open your browser to go somewhere specific and end up waiting for it to load a home page you’re not going to look at anyway? I always set my browser to open a blank page so there’s no delay before I can enter my destination address. If you really often go to the same home page, you can use the browser tabs feature in Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox. Set the first tab as a blank page and your home page as the second tab. That way it can be loading while you’re entering an address in the, already open, blank tab.
In Internet Explorer 7:
• Open tabs with all your favorite sites. Make sure the first tab is a blank page.
• Click Tools > Internet Options.
• Under Home Page, choose “Use current.”
In Firefox:
• Open tabs with all your favorite sites.
• Click Tools > Options.
• Under Home Page, choose “Use current pages.”
• Optional: Reopen the Options window. Under When Firefox starts, choose “Show a blank page.” Firefox will now open with a single blank tab. You can open your home page(s) at any time by clicking the Home icon on the toolbar.
(c) 2008 Bill Barnes
Disclaimer - Home Page - Blogs Home ¶ 10:28 AM 0 Comments Links to this post
In Internet Explorer 7:
• Open tabs with all your favorite sites. Make sure the first tab is a blank page.
• Click Tools > Internet Options.
• Under Home Page, choose “Use current.”
In Firefox:
• Open tabs with all your favorite sites.
• Click Tools > Options.
• Under Home Page, choose “Use current pages.”
• Optional: Reopen the Options window. Under When Firefox starts, choose “Show a blank page.” Firefox will now open with a single blank tab. You can open your home page(s) at any time by clicking the Home icon on the toolbar.
(c) 2008 Bill Barnes
Disclaimer - Home Page - Blogs Home ¶ 10:28 AM 0 Comments Links to this post
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Configuring your router
You plug your router into the broadband modem, plug your computer into the router, and you’re on the internet. Ah ha! Everything must be set up correctly, right? Wrong!
The security your router provides you is only starting when you take it out of the box. As soon as you install it or after you have to do a reset (not just a reboot) of the router, you should check to ensure that your settings are still valid. Everything we recommend for your router will help with your security.
Every router’s configuration screens are different so these tips are necessarily generic. If the router has a setup wizard, it may not cover all of these features so we recommend after you run the wizard that you go back and check all of the settings.
• Open your browser and connect to your router. Find the IP address of your router with these instructions . The router is (typically) the default gateway. Or, you may be able to connect to the router using other instructions in its documentation. The documentation will give you the user name and default password you need to get in.
• Follow the wizard, if available, or instructions to ensure you are connected to the internet.
• After the wizard is completed, click on every button or tab to be sure you have completed the following tasks.
• Change the logon password. You probably cannot change the user name, but choose a non-trivial password of 6-10 characters.
• Disable remote access. Some routers allow you to configure them from the internet. This is a no-no.
• Set the wireless security. You will have a choice of WEP or WPA. “No security” is not acceptable and WEP is no better. WPA may have several options. Any of them is acceptable although you may have to experiment to find a schema that is compatible with your wireless devices. Some non-computers may not support WPA in which case you will need to make some hard choices. Without security, the information on your network is vulnerable to anyone within 300-1000 feet.
• Choose the wireless password. Use a password of 13-63 characters. There may be some limitations on your router such as it only accepts exactly 13 or 26 characters. Don’t worry that this is an ugly password. You’ll keep it on a flashdrive and only need to enter it in your portable computer once.
• If you do not need any wireless computers, turn the wireless off.
• Disable UP&P. This feature was created so some online games or other peer-to-peer programs could automatically give others on the internet access to your computer. Unfortunately, it can also allow malware to give bad guys access to your computer. You may wander through all your configuration screens and still not see it; but if you do, turn it off. If you find that a program or non-computer device on your network like TV adapters or video game consoles are missing features, you will need to make some hard choices. Insist that the manufacturer give you instructions to give their devices adequate access without UP&P. It is an idea as out-of-date as a car without airbags.
• That’s most of the security features you need to configure on your router. There are other settings you can change, but they belong in another article.
• Document what you’ve done. At the very least, write down the instructions to access the router, reset it to factory defaults, the default user name and password, the current user name and password, and the wireless password. Tape this information to the top of the router. This is not like sticking your password on the monitor of your office computer. If someone has physical access to the router, they can reset it themselves.
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The security your router provides you is only starting when you take it out of the box. As soon as you install it or after you have to do a reset (not just a reboot) of the router, you should check to ensure that your settings are still valid. Everything we recommend for your router will help with your security.
Every router’s configuration screens are different so these tips are necessarily generic. If the router has a setup wizard, it may not cover all of these features so we recommend after you run the wizard that you go back and check all of the settings.• Open your browser and connect to your router. Find the IP address of your router with these instructions . The router is (typically) the default gateway. Or, you may be able to connect to the router using other instructions in its documentation. The documentation will give you the user name and default password you need to get in.
• Follow the wizard, if available, or instructions to ensure you are connected to the internet.
• After the wizard is completed, click on every button or tab to be sure you have completed the following tasks.• Change the logon password. You probably cannot change the user name, but choose a non-trivial password of 6-10 characters.
• Disable remote access. Some routers allow you to configure them from the internet. This is a no-no.
• Set the wireless security. You will have a choice of WEP or WPA. “No security” is not acceptable and WEP is no better. WPA may have several options. Any of them is acceptable although you may have to experiment to find a schema that is compatible with your wireless devices. Some non-computers may not support WPA in which case you will need to make some hard choices. Without security, the information on your network is vulnerable to anyone within 300-1000 feet.
• Choose the wireless password. Use a password of 13-63 characters. There may be some limitations on your router such as it only accepts exactly 13 or 26 characters. Don’t worry that this is an ugly password. You’ll keep it on a flashdrive and only need to enter it in your portable computer once.• If you do not need any wireless computers, turn the wireless off.
• Disable UP&P. This feature was created so some online games or other peer-to-peer programs could automatically give others on the internet access to your computer. Unfortunately, it can also allow malware to give bad guys access to your computer. You may wander through all your configuration screens and still not see it; but if you do, turn it off. If you find that a program or non-computer device on your network like TV adapters or video game consoles are missing features, you will need to make some hard choices. Insist that the manufacturer give you instructions to give their devices adequate access without UP&P. It is an idea as out-of-date as a car without airbags.
• That’s most of the security features you need to configure on your router. There are other settings you can change, but they belong in another article.
• Document what you’ve done. At the very least, write down the instructions to access the router, reset it to factory defaults, the default user name and password, the current user name and password, and the wireless password. Tape this information to the top of the router. This is not like sticking your password on the monitor of your office computer. If someone has physical access to the router, they can reset it themselves.
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Labels: hardware, security, Windows
¶ 3:37 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
Thursday, July 10, 2008
To sleep, perchance to lose my thoughts ...
What do you do when you walk away from your computer?
What happens when you choose “Turn Off Computer” from the Start button is pretty well explained in this article from 2004: http://zaitech.com/articles/wintips/goodbye-hello.htm. A recent reader asked for elaboration, specifically about background tasks.
But first … In Windows Vista, everything is the same – only different. There is no Start button, but when you click the Windows logo; there are “power” and “lock” icons. Except, by default, the “power” icon puts you in a fast hibernate where the screen goes blank immediately, but Windows is still doing something for a while.
To really shut down, you have to click the arrow at the right of the menus for another sub-menu of options. It is a good idea to fully shut down Windows occasionally to force it to finish all its tasks.
Now, for the body of our story …
Dear Bill Barnes,
I just came across an excellent article of your from 2004 (!) but there is still one unanswered issue for me.
When using a laptop (XP) and want to allow nighttime updates, on what power mode should the computer be set at?
For any unattended action to occur, the computer cannot be in sleep or hibernate. This includes automatic updates (Windows or antivirus; most other programs such as browsers, Adobe products – ie Flash and Reader – or applications check for updates when you use them and delay you then), scans, networked file or printer access, remote access, or idle-time programs such as SetiAtHome. As a rule of thumb, if you have to do more than wiggle the mouse to wake up the computer, background activities are not available either.
Most computers are able to wake themselves up – even from a full power-off – at a pre-scheduled time. This setting is deep in the BIOS settings and not part of Windows. I have never had occasion to even experiment with how it works.
What I generally do with my laptop is set it to never sleep or hibernate when plugged in. Then when I’m at home and was using it before bedtime, it will get updates and everything else. Otherwise I generally use low power settings. When I’m on battery, I set it for aggressive power management. I always set monitor off at the minimum I can stand and use a blank with password required (“Show Welcome screen”) screensaver setting (these times can be different and mon off can actually be less than screensaver).
Powering down the hard drive will not inhibit background activities; although they may inhibit it going into idle. Whether to power off the hard drive is an open discussion. On the one hand, it is most likely to fail at and because of startups, not while running. However, on laptops there are other considerations:
• Heat is the greatest killer of all electronics after electrical surges. A running hard drive puts out most of the heat in an idle computer and most laptops have inadequate cooling capability anyway.
• Vibration while running is another threat to hard drives (they are very rugged when not running). If you even carry your computer from desk-to-desk, you risk damage.
• The hard drive is the greatest drain on the battery in an idle laptop.
Of course, I violate all of these considerations, especially the second one, and have only lost 3 laptop drives (out of over 10 years of running use in a couple dozen laptops); 2 of them to heat in the same computer. If you have a failing hard drive, I strongly recommend using SpinRite for maintenance and, hopefully, recovery.
Disclaimer - Home Page - Blogs Home ¶ 2:49 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
What happens when you choose “Turn Off Computer” from the Start button is pretty well explained in this article from 2004: http://zaitech.com/articles/wintips/goodbye-hello.htm. A recent reader asked for elaboration, specifically about background tasks.
But first … In Windows Vista, everything is the same – only different. There is no Start button, but when you click the Windows logo; there are “power” and “lock” icons. Except, by default, the “power” icon puts you in a fast hibernate where the screen goes blank immediately, but Windows is still doing something for a while.
To really shut down, you have to click the arrow at the right of the menus for another sub-menu of options. It is a good idea to fully shut down Windows occasionally to force it to finish all its tasks.
Now, for the body of our story …
Dear Bill Barnes,
I just came across an excellent article of your from 2004 (!) but there is still one unanswered issue for me.
When using a laptop (XP) and want to allow nighttime updates, on what power mode should the computer be set at?
For any unattended action to occur, the computer cannot be in sleep or hibernate. This includes automatic updates (Windows or antivirus; most other programs such as browsers, Adobe products – ie Flash and Reader – or applications check for updates when you use them and delay you then), scans, networked file or printer access, remote access, or idle-time programs such as SetiAtHome. As a rule of thumb, if you have to do more than wiggle the mouse to wake up the computer, background activities are not available either.
Most computers are able to wake themselves up – even from a full power-off – at a pre-scheduled time. This setting is deep in the BIOS settings and not part of Windows. I have never had occasion to even experiment with how it works.
What I generally do with my laptop is set it to never sleep or hibernate when plugged in. Then when I’m at home and was using it before bedtime, it will get updates and everything else. Otherwise I generally use low power settings. When I’m on battery, I set it for aggressive power management. I always set monitor off at the minimum I can stand and use a blank with password required (“Show Welcome screen”) screensaver setting (these times can be different and mon off can actually be less than screensaver).
Powering down the hard drive will not inhibit background activities; although they may inhibit it going into idle. Whether to power off the hard drive is an open discussion. On the one hand, it is most likely to fail at and because of startups, not while running. However, on laptops there are other considerations:
• Heat is the greatest killer of all electronics after electrical surges. A running hard drive puts out most of the heat in an idle computer and most laptops have inadequate cooling capability anyway.
• Vibration while running is another threat to hard drives (they are very rugged when not running). If you even carry your computer from desk-to-desk, you risk damage.
• The hard drive is the greatest drain on the battery in an idle laptop.
Of course, I violate all of these considerations, especially the second one, and have only lost 3 laptop drives (out of over 10 years of running use in a couple dozen laptops); 2 of them to heat in the same computer. If you have a failing hard drive, I strongly recommend using SpinRite for maintenance and, hopefully, recovery.
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Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Storm Season!
Here in the south, summer brings with it the almost daily threat of sudden thunderstorms. Best Buy, Circuit City, and the Asian electronics manufacturers make millions of dollars a year off equipment that is damaged or destroyed by outside electrical surges.
You should ensure that all your valuable electronics are protected by surge protectors when they are connected to outside wiring. Of course, you won't forget your entertainment system, but remember that a surge can enter one device and travel through any wire connecting it to others. This means you should protect printers, telephones, and networking devices - including the cable or phone connection that brings the internet - even if those devices themselves are not valuable.
Purchase good quality multi-mode surge protectors. A starting rule of thumb is that if it costs less than $20, you should save it for the kids' TV or other isolated low-value equipment. I prefer to use battery backups as my surge protector. Along with excellent surge protection, they'll save you from losing your current letter or having to reprogram the TV if the power is out for up to a few minutes. In addition, they protect against low or high voltage conditions (such as running a vacuum cleaner) that technically don't constitute a surge. The downside is that most UPSs will beep as long as the power is out unless you have connected them to a computer and used their management software to turn it off.
Most single-mode surge protectors will protect you once. That means, if it's saved your bacon once, it won't do so the next storm. It will still function as a plug strip and your equipment is still powered, just not protected. If it has an indicator that it's bad, believe it!
Of course, the best surge protector is 10 inches of dry air - that is, pull the plug in extreme storms.
Disclaimer - Home Page
You should ensure that all your valuable electronics are protected by surge protectors when they are connected to outside wiring. Of course, you won't forget your entertainment system, but remember that a surge can enter one device and travel through any wire connecting it to others. This means you should protect printers, telephones, and networking devices - including the cable or phone connection that brings the internet - even if those devices themselves are not valuable.
Purchase good quality multi-mode surge protectors. A starting rule of thumb is that if it costs less than $20, you should save it for the kids' TV or other isolated low-value equipment. I prefer to use battery backups as my surge protector. Along with excellent surge protection, they'll save you from losing your current letter or having to reprogram the TV if the power is out for up to a few minutes. In addition, they protect against low or high voltage conditions (such as running a vacuum cleaner) that technically don't constitute a surge. The downside is that most UPSs will beep as long as the power is out unless you have connected them to a computer and used their management software to turn it off.
Most single-mode surge protectors will protect you once. That means, if it's saved your bacon once, it won't do so the next storm. It will still function as a plug strip and your equipment is still powered, just not protected. If it has an indicator that it's bad, believe it!
Of course, the best surge protector is 10 inches of dry air - that is, pull the plug in extreme storms.
Disclaimer - Home Page
Labels: electronic equipment, hardware
¶ 8:01 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
Protect your data!
Here's a cautionary tale that I heard on the net.
Of course, that won't be a big deal since you all have good and current backups of your current data. A couple hours and it's all back where it belongs.
Even so, organizational and administrative practices - even for home users - will help minimize the likelihood of this happening to you and reduce the total lost time when it does.
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We had an incident that, not to get into much HR related stuff, appears to be a fired employee(s) initiating a mass deletion of files off the shared folder on the file server (over 100 GB). I happened to be looking at the file system at the time I started seeing all the files disappearing. Shortly after, I got calls from users that files were gone.
Anyone who has files shared by more than a couple very trusted users needs to read this type of article every couple months. It can happen to anyone either through malice, ignorance (that's a polite way to say "incompetence"), or accident. Poof - and years of work are gone.Of course, that won't be a big deal since you all have good and current backups of your current data. A couple hours and it's all back where it belongs.
Even so, organizational and administrative practices - even for home users - will help minimize the likelihood of this happening to you and reduce the total lost time when it does.
- Organization - Know what and where your data are. Did you let your bookkeeping program put it's data somewhere deep in a hidden folder? Do you have momentary notes and personal letters mixed in with archival documents? Where do you keep data that should be available to all users?
- Permissions - Since we quit using Windows 98, we've been able to restrict who may view or change data on a file or folder basis. Are you using this capability to protect sensitive HR or financial files (or your paystub) from users who shouldn't be reading this information (your kids)?
- Backup - Now that you've got everything straightened out administratively, you need to protect it against physical disaster.
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Saturday, April 5, 2008
Welcome to the Helpdesk
I've worked in Windows support for over 10 years and am the person many people come to with all sorts of random questions. When I complete a particularly comprehensive correspondence on a particularly common issue, I'll clean it up and post it here.
I know there are hundreds of other blogs and sites that do the same thing, but another opinion doesn't hurt. I know that many of my offerings may contain extensive content I've learned from others. If I have used primarily one resource, I'll make an effort to reference it. If you think I've misappropriated your work, please let me know.
Bill
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I know there are hundreds of other blogs and sites that do the same thing, but another opinion doesn't hurt. I know that many of my offerings may contain extensive content I've learned from others. If I have used primarily one resource, I'll make an effort to reference it. If you think I've misappropriated your work, please let me know.
Bill
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Labels: Welcome
¶ 3:21 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
