How To Subscribe and Unsubscribe is at the end of this note. Mailing List Trouble? See http://www.langa.com/help.htm
Questions about the advertisers? See the end of this note. Please also see legal notices at the end of this note. LangaList: ISSN 1533-1156

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

An easier-to read formatted HTML version of this newsletter is available
<a href=" http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2004/2004-03-29.htm ">here</a>

The LangaList
Standard Edition

2004-03-29

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

Please visit our sponsors and help keep the LangaList S.E. free!

--- ( Your Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList S.E. Free! ) ---

 "Mr. Langa, your 'Plus' edition is the ONLY newsletter
that I have found to be worth more than the subscription fee.
I have signed up a friend as a gift to him,
and he is also extremely impressed. ---Michael Ludlum"

Thanks, Michael! The LangaList Plus! Edition costs just $1/month, and
is ad-free, spam-proof, and contains even more content---
tips, tricks, advice, downloads---
than the Standard Edition you're now reading.

Get all the details:
http://www.langa.com/plus.htm

------------( the above is an advertisement )--------------

1) Hack Attack Worries

Fred thanks soooo much for your continued effort in helping so many of us overcome even minor problems and open our eyes to so many other areas. I am a relatively new subscriber to your Plus edition....
 
I thought I had my Internet browsing pretty well hidden from prying eyes, however, my "Norton 2004" set up is continually telling me of recent intrusion attempts or attacks. Should I have a professional check my settings?
 
Is there any legal recourse in their continued attempt to gain entry or should one dismiss their attempts and ensure the system is kept regularly windows updated etc? I sometimes use the visual tracking ability within Norton just to see their locality, although I suppose if they are using a modem, their address will be constantly changing every time they dial up. Cheers, David

If the hack attempts are from the same person, over and over or in a concentrated manner, then you'd have potential legal recourse, but most hacks are by automated hacker tools that repeatedly probes tens of thousands of addresses. It's not personal at all--- everyone online gets these more or less constantly, and they're not actionable from a practical standpoint.

Think of these probes as analogous to someone going down the street, gently jiggling the door handles on parked cars, one after another, to see if they're locked--- a deeply suspicious and unfriendly act, but not really illegal in itself. As long as the doors are locked and the would-be thief moves on, no harm is done. Same with most hack probes.

Being "stealthed" by a good firewall makes you harder to find, but you'll still get probed. Being stealthed is something like having an unlisted phone: If a telemarketer dials every number in a telephone exchange in sequence, they'll eventually get the unlisted phones too, because they're dialing *all possible numbers,* not just known numbers. Likewise, if a hacker probes every address in a network segment, he'll eventually probe even stealthed addresses too.

But with stealthing, the hackers won't get a reply from your system, and that's what you want. The probe comes in, but nothing goes back to the hacker to indicate there's a system deserving of more attention. Your firewall may alert you to the probe, but that's not the same as saying that the probe did any harm or that your defenses were breached. Usually, it's more like someone telling you "I saw a man jiggling your car's door handle to see if it was locked. It was, and he moved on without doing any harm." 

I use Zone Alarm Pro; it offers the option of turning off such routine notifications, unless you're under direct and concerted attack. I use that option so I won't be interrupted all day by mostly-useless messages about routine, failed probes.

What can you do about all this? For most office and home PCs, if you (1) keep your PC current with security patches, (2) use multi-layered defenses ( http://www.informationweek.com/840/langa.htm ), (3) test your online security regularly ( http://www.informationweek.com/841/langa.htm ), and (4) use common sense (eg not opening unexpected attachments; not replying to phishing emails, etc), then you've done about all you really need to.

But if you want some additional simple security steps, you can do as I do, and periodically change your IP address, if your internet connection allows this. (See  http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2002/2002-12-12.htm#3 and http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2002/2002-12-16.htm#3 ). You also can encrypt the sensitive information on your PC, so that even if someone does hack in, it won't do them much good: http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2001/2001-05-07.htm#3
http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2001/2001-05-21.htm#2
http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2004/2004-03-01.htm#4
http://www.google.com/search?q=encrypt+file

Yes, if you're a bank, defense agency, online payroll department for a major corporation, etc, then you'd want even more security than the above, and hiring a pro would be wise. But the four main steps above will give most users all the protection they need; and the two extra steps will be fully adequate for most of the rest.

Click to email this item to a friend
http://www.langa.com/sendit.htm

return to top of page

2) What About Too-Hot Laptops?

Our discussion of how to quietly cool a standard PC ( http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=18400732 ) is still generating some excellent emails (thanks!). For example:

Hi Fred, I have a problem with cooling my IBM ThinkPad (T40). Some days I have to work at home, where I have no air conditioning like at the office, therefore especially on summer days this can pose quite a problem. Trouble is, what -exactly- can you do to a laptop? These beasts do get very hot very fast! My solution: I have a large flat ice-pack, about the size of the laptop, which I keep under the unit and this gives me about 4 hours of cool time. I guess a pack of frozen pastry sheets would work as well but would not last as long, and would have to be disposed eventually. But, honestly, laptops definitely need some looking into... Hana

Indeed, laptop/notebooks can get hot enough to cook your thighs. I have a ThinkPad R30, and it's baked the crease out of my pants on more than one occasion. <g>

You really can't change the fans in a laptop, so my solution is a simple $10 plastic lapdesk that provides a small space below the laptop through which air can circulate freely. If you wish, there are even fan-cooled lapdesks available, though I think it'd make sense to try the simplest, least-expensive solution first. (I've never needed anything more than the passive $10 unit.) You can see both kinds here: http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-03-10.htm#7

A lapdesk also has the advantage of working anywhere (no refrigeration needed <g>); and it  helps prevent flexing of the laptop case when you pick it up one-handed, by a corner.

Click to email this item to a friend
http://www.langa.com/sendit.htm

return to top of page

3) A Little Extra Privacy: Clear the Swapfile

Our recent discussions of the swapfile/pagefile ( http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2004/2004-03-15.htm#1) mostly focused on performance and ease of maintenance. But there's another tweak you can do that can enhance your privacy or security, especially if your PC is in a shared or nonprivate location: Clean out the swapfile contents when you exit Windows.

Normally, the swapfile is like a large scratchpad whose contents can get overwritten again and again. The swapfile ends up containing bits and pieces of the programs and data you work with; anything that got paged or swapped out of RAM and written to the hard drive for temporary storage.

If someone has access to your PC and its swapfile, it's possible to snoop inside the swapfile and recover at least some of the data there, In a worst case, the snoop might be able to recover things like passwords, parts of sensitive emails, etc.

Similarly, on systems that use hibernation (and that includes most laptops) the hibernation file may also contain sensitive data that's theoretically snoop-able.

Is this a grave risk? Normally, no, not at all. It's definitely not something to lie awake nights worrying about. <g> But XP and Win2K make it easy to clear the swapfile and hibernation files automatically at exit, so it can be a kind of "why not?" thing:

The simplest way to ensure that your system clears the pagefile/swapfile (and hibernation file, if it exists) is by using the Administrative Tools' "Local Security Policy" applet in Control Panel, if it's available to you: Open the applet, click to Local Policies/Security Options and scroll to the item called "Shutdown: Clear virtual memory pagefile." Click on it, and select "enable."

If that's not available, or doesn't work, try these direct registry edits:

XP: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;314834
Win2K: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;182086

The main downside to the above is that it takes time to overwrite the swap and hibernation files; the larger they are, the longer it takes. This can increase the amount of time it takes for your system to complete a shutdown. You have to consider the tradeoffs: In some cases, a slower shutdown is irrelevant and offset by the enhanced security. In cases where the extra security isn't needed or where fast shutdowns are important, this tweak may not be worthwhile.

BTW, I know of no similar fast fix for earlier versions of Windows, although you could potentially kludge something with scripts or batch files....

Click to email this item to a friend
http://www.langa.com/sendit.htm

return to top of page

4) Miraculous Hard Drive Expansion?

Fred, Found an article on The Register which detailed how to get access to hidden partitions on your hard drive. They claim that many HD manufacturers include these partitions by default, and that they have increased an 80 gb drive to 120 gb! Haven't tried this myself, though I do have an extra (as-yet) unused 40 gig drive laying around waiting... DAV
 
PS - Thanks for the Plus! edition! Never have I found so much good info in so little space.

The Register is fun to read, but is sensationalistic; it's often more entertaining than informative. In this case, I think there's one of two very prosaic things going on:

First, any partition can be marked as "hidden." It's a standard function, just like the "hidden" attribute that can be used for system files and folders. Many PC vendors use hidden partitions to store System Recovery software, and we discussed how to access and remove such hidden partitions in http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-02-06.htm#1

Any decent partition manager (and that includes most imaging tools) will let you work with hidden partitions. With Bootit, Partition Magic, etc etc, you can hide/unhide any partition you want. There's really nothing special about hidden partitions, even if the Register hasn't seen them before. <g>

There's another possibility, too, which reader Howard Plumley, Jr. wrote about after he saw the same item in The Register:

I have been working with Hard Drives for 30 plus years.
 
My best analysis of the magic expansion described in the article - it's a case of virtual versus real.
 
Physically the hard drive did not change size, but they have created a second view of the physical space. This is a recipe for disaster. One view saves data to a physical location and the other view thinks the location is still empty.
 
Years ago, when physical latency required interleaving sectors, there was a program that doubled the drive by putting odd sectors in one partition and even in another. Then if you 'fixed' the interleave with Steve Gibson's Spin-Rite - one or both drives vanished. Another program split the drive by starting at 0-0-0 and counted sectors up, with the second drive starting at the end and counting down. When the two drives met - crash!!
 
Windows penchant to 'virtualize' everything can create marvelous capabilities, at the cost of isolation from hardware. BUT reality will not be denied. Data writing to the same sector from two different 'views' - CRASH!

Thanks, Howard. Whatever's going on with the PCs the Register saw, it's NOT a case of system vendors trying to hide or reduce the true capacity of the drives. That makes no sense at all!

Click to email this item to a friend
http://www.langa.com/sendit.htm

return to top of page

Click to email this item to a friend
http://www.langa.com/sendit.htm

return to top of page

6) Last Days To Enter March's FREE Drawing

On March 31st, I'll randomly choose three more winners of the FREE ONE YEAR SUBSCRIPTIONS to the LangaList Plus! edition given each month. (If your name is drawn and you're already a Plus! subscriber, your current subscription will be extended by a full year.)

To have a shot at winning, just use the following link to recommend the LangaList to a friend. Your friend just may find a new source of useful information; I just may gain a new subscriber; and you just may win a FREE ONE YEAR SUBSCRIPTION! (Full details also available via this link): http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm

Click to email this item to a friend
http://www.langa.com/sendit.htm

return to top of page

7) Local Search Frustrations

Hi Fred: Try as I might, I can't find a way to stop WinXP's search function from searching inside ZIP files. It's a useful function, I admit, but often not what I need, and the files inside my ZIPs just clog up my search results with useless rubbish.

I've tried deregistering the dll with the "regsvr32 /u zipfldr.dll" command, all to no avail.

Any ideas on hacking WinXP, or do I need a third party application? --- Gabriel Seah

Well, you can try to beat XP's Search into submission, but it's a very limited tool. I've given up on it, and instead use some of the other tools we've discussed, which are faster and/or more powerful than XP's built-in tool. (And note that they're NOT specific to XP--- you can use these on other Windows versions, too:

A "Wow" Utility: Boolean Searches Of Your Hard Drive
http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2001/2001-10-22.htm#4

More Boolean Searches (Some FREE)!
http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2001/2001-10-25.htm#4

Tool Indexes Your Hard Drive For Free:
item #11 http://www.langalist.com/plus/newsletters/2001/2001-11-05plus.asp

Click to email this item to a friend
http://www.langa.com/sendit.htm

return to top of page

8) Code Load Success Story

After his site was listed in the last "Load The Code" section, code-loader "Cy" wrote:

Thank you for the boost! I just noticed my hit count last night.. It's doubled since then! You rock! --- Cy

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 thousands of LangaList readers who have "Loaded the Code!" (If you've already "Loaded The Code" and are wondering if your site will appear here or on the Langa.Com web site, please see http://www.langa.com/link.txt )

Speaking of which: Here's another eclectic sample of reader sites--- some professional, some very personal:

View A Randomly-Chosen Reader Site
http://www.langa.com/randomlink.htm

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

Linxplus (AU)
http://www.linxplus.com/

Postal Employee Network
http://www.postalemployeenetwork.com/resource-gateway.htm

"Visit Our Sales"
http://www.visitoursales.com/

Sweet Home Press
http://www.sweethomepress.com/

"Junk Bin"
http://mysite.verizon.net/mweeby/

Paper Mache
http://www.ephilippians.net/

Old Timer News
http://www.oldtimernews.com/

Old Mission Mausoleum
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~dgstuart/eternity.htm

Movies, Money and More
http://www.moviesmoneyandmore.com/

Happydog's Fun Links
http://my.core.com/~oldgrendel/funlinks.htm

Click to email this item to a friend
http://www.langa.com/sendit.htm

return to top of page

9) Where Are They Now?

Fred: Glad to see you referring to Karen Kenworthy's letter.  Since it's been a couple years, it'd be nice to have a recap as to where all the old Winmag folks have gone and what are they producing now in terms of material or newsletters (Scot Finnie, Mike Elgan, John Woram, etc.).  Just a thought for a LangaList topic sometime.  I still miss Winmag myself...Dan Lah

I don't have them all, Dan, but here's a partial list:

Mike Elgan: http://www.mikeslist.com/join.htm
Dave Methvin: http://www.methvin.com/
Karen Kenworthy: http://www.karenware.com
Scot Finnie: http://www.scotfinnie.com/
Serdar Yegulalp: http://www.win2kpowerusers.com
Jim Powell: http://www.officeletter.com/
Jason Levine: http://www.jasons-toolbox.com/
John Woram: http://www.woram.com/
Digs Majumder: http://www.the-tip.com
Joseph Panettieri: http://www.jcpmedia.net
Paul E. Schindler Jr.: http://www.schindler.org/psacot/index.shtml

Click to email this item to a friend
http://www.langa.com/sendit.htm

return to top of page

10) Just For Grins

Hi Fred,  In today's (3/25/04) newsletter you state in first article ".....very ordinary cables ending in keyed plugs that usually can't be plugged into the wrong place or in the wrong way."   That reminds me of the very first time I "upgraded" my computer, at that time a 486 SX.  I added a 4X CD-ROM drive, and everything went well until I went to plug the power cable into it.  It just didn't want to go in, so I pushed harder till it connected.  I didn't realize anything was wrong until I smelled smoke coming out of my machine.  I had somehow forced the plug in upside-down, so the 5v connector got 9 volts and vice versa.  I had to get another CD-ROM, but I was more careful the next time. ---Frank Tirado  :-)

Ouch! Indeed, today's PC's usually have all the important connectors keyed, requiring only low force to attach or detach. Usually, if something's just not going together or coming apart--- ie, you need a *lot* of force--- it's a sign that something's wrong: The part's inserted incorrectly, a hidden latch or fastener is still attached, etc.

It wasn't always so: In the bad old days, some parts needed an almost scary amount of force to insert or remove, and a common mantra during assembly or disassembly was "Please don't break, please don't break, please don't break...."

And not everything was keyed, either. For example, years ago, there were types of RAM banks that were perfectly symmetrical and unkeyed, with no clear front or back. I bought a RAM upgrade and plugged it in the same way as the other banks were, with the chips facing towards the back of the case. What I didn't know was that the new RAM stick was manufactured with the chips on the other side of the board from the original chips. Everything looked fine, but in reality the new RAM bank was plugged in backwards.

When I flipped the power switch, the memory chips actually smoked for a few terrifying seconds before I yanked the power cord. A horrid hot-plastic smell filled the room, but amazingly, everything worked fine after I let things cool off, and reversed the RAM bank. (I had to try--- this was in the days when RAM was phenomenally expensive...)

Things are much safer and easier now!

Click to email this item to a friend
http://www.langa.com/sendit.htm

return to top of page

11) Plus! Edition Highlights:

• Free Auxiliary Tool For MBM
      (fully automate your PC's thermal protection)
• More Acrobat Speed-Ups
      (no need to suffer delays-on-launch)
• A Good Tool Dies (but...)
      (one goes away, but others step in to take over)

Plus! edition subscribers not only get much more content in every issue (like the above), but also have access to a private web site with over 100,000 words of special content and features not found in *any* issue of the newsletter; along with dozens of private downloads and much more--- all for just $1 per month!

Check out: http://www.langa.com/plus.htm

Click to email this item to a friend
http://www.langa.com/sendit.htm

return to top of page

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

See you next issue!

Best,

Fred
( Editor@Langa.Com )

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

An easier-to read formatted HTML version is available in the "Current Issue" section of http://www.langa.com.  (The HTML version of each issue normally is available by 9AM EST [UT-5] of the issue date.) All past LangaList issues are also available at the Langa.Com site.

return to top of page

Administrivia:

UNSUBSCRIBE (instant removal!): http://www.langa.com/leave_langalist.htm

SUBSCRIBE (it's free!): http://www.langa.com/join_langalist.htm

CHANGE ADDRESS? LIST TROUBLE? HAVE QUESTIONS? OTHER PROBLEM? NEED HELP? See http://www.langa.com/help.htm

This newsletter is SPAM PROOF and requires two levels of subscriber confirmation before delivery begins: See http://www.langa.com/info.htm

About the advertisers: http://www.langa.com/privacy.htm#ads

Disclaimer: http://www.langa.com/legal.htm  In brief: All information herein is offered as-is and without warranty of any kind. Neither Langa Consulting LLC, nor its employees nor contributors are responsible for any loss, injury, or damage, direct or consequential, resulting from your choosing to use any information presented here.

This newsletter is a service of Langa Consulting LLC and is Copyright © 2004 Fred Langa / Langa Consulting LLC. All worldwide rights reserved. LangaList: ISSN 1533-1156

return to top of page