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LangaList 2003-05-15 Please visit our sponsors and help keep the LangaList S.E. free!
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Self-Sufficient About Win98? --------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 1) Link Hijacking
You hit it on the head, Dave; it's a form of "link hijacking" done by various browser add-ins: The add-in reads over your shoulder (so to speak) and when it sees a word that vaguely relates to the add-in's sponsor, it turns that word into a pseudo-hyperlink that will lead to another site of the add-in sponsor's choosing. The actual site you're on has nothing to do with the link, and yet, to casual users, it will seem as if the site (and not the add-in) has provided the link. Imagine if the inserted links are bogus, or lead the user to sites that are time-wasters, off-topic, or are offensive: The user is likely to blame the (innocent) site owner for the problem, without realizing that a third-party add-in generated those links. Or--- as your friend discovered--- it's really bad for site owners because they lose control over what's linked off their sites. There are some valid uses for this technology, but most of the real-life cases I know of are bogus--- usually caused by a sneaky browser add-in trying to insert fake links into every web site you visit. More info: http://www.unwantedlinks.com/examples.htm Click to email this item to a
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--------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 2) Alternate Networking ConfigurationsConnectivity problems know no boundaries, as this note from a Norwegian reader shows:
There are several different things at play here--- applications-level settings (email and browsers) and system-level changes (basic networking). Because these are separate things, I don't know of a way to instantly change them all. But even separately, I don't think this has to be a huge deal. For example, most email clients let you set up multiple personae. We've talked about Eudora in recent issues, for instance. It allows you to specify different names, ISPs, passwords, etc, for any number of different personae (Eudora calls them "personalities"). But unlike some other email clients I've seen, all the incoming mail can be dumped into your main inbox, and be handled by your standard email filters. Eudora also remembers which persona got which mail, so it will use the correct mail settings for replies, depending on which personality was active. This setting can also be overridden if you get mail via one personality but want to reply using another. Browsers may offer similar features: IE6, for example, allows for multiple dial-up settings to be configured and stored; and can use "automatic detect" for LAN and proxy settings, which usually lets your browser work even if the LAN settings change. (You may have to restart the browser, but usually no reboot is required.) See Tools/Internet Options/Connections. A decent firewall, like ZoneAlarm, can let you set any given network to "Trusted" or not; file sharing will be blocked on the non-trusted nets. And XP makes changing the system network settings fairly easy--- it actually takes longer to navigate to the "alternate configuration" tab in TCP properties than to actually work on the tab: There are several ways to get there. For example, click on My Computer, then right click on My Network Places and select Properties; "Network Connections" will open. Right click on the connection you want--- it'll usually be something like "Local Area Connection." Select Properties, and you'll see the various clients and protocols used by that connection. Because we're talking about Internet connections, select the TCP item, and then click on the Properties button: You'll see the "Alternate Configuration" tab in the next dialog window. It can take a while to get things set up the first time this way, but once it's done, switching from location to location becomes a speed bump instead of a major headache. More info on Alternate Configurations: Search the XP help file, or see http://www.google.com/search?q=alternate+tcp%2Fip+configuration+xp Click to email this item to a
friend 3) Huge Library Of Drivers/BIOS Updates/Etc.
Thanks, Eran! the site is quite comprehensive and very active: On just the day I visited, 24 new files (video card drivers, CD drivers, etc.) and BIOS "flash" updates were posted. This wasn't an aberration--- nineteen had been posted the day before. Nice! Click to email this item to a
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--------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 4) Partitioning Problems (Win98 through XP)
XP's partitioning tool isn't anything special, although you can do a little more from inside Windows than you could in (say) Win98. In XP Pro, it's in Start/Control Panel/Performance and Maintenance/Administrative Tools/Computer Management/Disk Management. There's also a command-line option, but it's primitive and hard to use, requiring arcane commands like: So, in XP--- same as I did in Win95, 98, ME and Win2000--- I do still use a third-party partitioning tool, such as Partition Magic. Special-purpose tools like that are both easier and faster than Windows' built-in tools. As for System Restore and "recovery partitions," we've covered those separately, but never in one place. So let me remedy that now with this collection of links: Partitioning: Taming System Restore (WinME and XP): Dealing with "Recovery Partitions" General: Click to email this item to a
friend 5) Anti-Virus Tools?
I actually use three different tools, and like them all: Norton, NOD32, and AVG. Norton and NOD32 are excellent; I use them on my business machines. Norton integrates with my email more easily than NOD32, so I use that on my main PC. But NOD32 is just as good at catching nasty stuff, and is a more compact install, so I use that on my laptop. AVG is a little less capable than the other two, but is free for personal use; I use that on my noncommercial, family-use PCs. Norton: http://www.symantec.com/purchase/ NOD32: http://www.nod32.com AVG: http://www.grisoft.com/ Click to email this item to a
friend 6) Want $10,000 To Spend This Season?The Recommend-It site gives away up to $10,000 as an incentive to use their service to recommend newsletters like this one! If you think the LangaList is a worthwhile read, just use the following link
to recommend the LangaList to a friend. Your friend just may find a new source
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$10,000 or other prizes from the folks at "Recommend-It:" Or, win a no-strings $30 Gift Certificate for any item at Amazon.Com--- books, software, hardware, kitchenware, toys... and more. (Full details also available via this link): http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm Either way, thank you, and good luck! Click to email this item to a
friend 7) "Ganging" Modems
It can work, sort of, but is a major kludge.... It's called "modem bonding," "modem ganging," or "shotgunnng:" You use two modems simultaneously, and make two separate calls (on two separate phone lines) to an ISP that's set up to accept "bonded" calls. Your ISP then splits your download data streams in two and sends each half to you over one of the dual phone lines. Your PC reassembles the two data streams into one; and does the reverse for your uploads, spreading them across the two lines up to your ISP. The delivered speed will be roughly the sum of the speeds of the two separate modems/lines: Two 56K modem connections will yield up to 112K. Two 28K connections will yield up to 56K; etc. So, if you have the two lines, and the dual modems, and your ISP explicitly supports
this kind of service, it can work--- but it ain't exactly elegant! <g> Click to email this item to a
friend 8) More Reader Sites!Do you have a home page or website? (It doesn't matter what size.) Please
click over to
http://www.langa.com/code.htm , and maybe you can join the hundreds and
hundreds of LangaList readers who have "Loaded the Code!" (If you've already
"Loaded The Code" and are wondering if your site will appear here or on the Langa.Com web site, please see
http://www.langa.com/link.txt ) Manually Browse All Posted-to-Date Sites Starting At Grizz's Den Computers Moving-Mountains Technology Dens Resource Center Wizcrafts Computer Services Metro Reunion Registry My Gynae (Singapore GYN) Simon PC Frost (guitarist) "Aimless Rambling" KA3JWE's Amateur Radio Page Woodard Family Online "Gates Of Heaven" Anthill Acres baking my noodle (blog) Click to email this item to a
friend --- ( Your Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList S.E. Free! ) --- "When I placed my order for the Langa List Plus version, I didn't see anything about whether I am subscribed for one year or if you automatically re-bill until I cancel. I don't like automatic rebilling.--- Bill" Neither do I! That's why I never auto-rebill Plus! subscribers; each $12 subscription is for one year, and then you're given the option to sign up again, or not. If you do nothing, your subscription stops, and that's that. But the overwhelming majority of Plus! subscribers do choose to renew--- which is why this newsletter is still going strong! The LangaList Plus!
Edition offers many benefits--- it's ad-free, spam-proof, --------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 9) Women Twice As Likely As Men To Report SpamThat's just one of the odd-but interesting factoids in a new study (by Bigfoot Interactive) about consumers' behavior regarding spam:
The report's here in TinyURL form (the full URL is ridiculously long): http://tinyurl.com/bolr Click to email this item to a
friend 10) Just For GrinsHere's a little regional humor from reader Ken Thomson. It's aimed at Canadians, but can be adapted to almost any region. (And, before anyone lights the torches, let me gently point out that my wife's family is French-Canadian; I'd be nuts to include this, if it were anything but a not-to-be-taken-seriously joke... <g>)
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