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The LangaList
Standard Edition

2005-01-13

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

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

1) Happy New Year!

It's good to be back in your mailbox. <g> We had good holidays here, and hope you did as well.

The one unhappy note over the last few weeks was the tsunami tragedy in the Indian Ocean; a hideous event for the people there. As we've done with several previous disasters (a huge earthquake in India in 2001; the 9-11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York...), I've made an extra donation from the LangaList Plus! Subscribers fund to international aid organizations helping the tsunami victims. For details on this kind of giving, please see http://langa.com/plus2.htm#kids .

And now, to the matters at hand:

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2) Microsoft's Free AntiSpyware Beta

A while back, Microsoft bought out the oddly-named "Giant" software company, Microsoft-ized Giant's shipping product--- an antispyware tool--- and re-released it as a beta (not quite finished) version of "Microsoft AntiSpyware," which is now available for free download. It runs on XP, Win2K, and Server2003, and actually seems pretty good.

The beta expires in July, and there's no word yet on whether or not MS will then start charging for the software. I suspect not: Even now, when you install the beta, a sniffer app checks to see if you have a legit copy of your OS, and refuses to install on pirated copies. My guess is that the Antispyware software will be offered as a "carrot" to entice users of pirated copies into getting a legit version of their OS; and secondarily as a reward to those who have legit copies.

Most of us in the LangaList community are using legit software anyway, so for us, at least for now, we simply get a shot at a pretty good antispyware package, for free.

It's impressively comprehensive. For example, the free Microsoft AntiSpyware does a lot of what the paid version of Ad-Aware-does, including continuous auto-protection and self-updating. It also does most of what SpyBot does, including blocking of some potentially dangerous Registry changes. And it does most of what several other tools do, including scheduling automatic scans of your entire system for malware, blocking scripts, flagging attempts to diddle with your Trusted Zone and other security settings, and more. As I said: pretty good!

It also lets you optionally participate in "the voluntary, worldwide SpyNet community." This is an optional component that reports back to a central server when you override AntiSpyware's reaction to a given piece of software; such as when you correct a false positive. The intent is benign: If enough users reject AntiSpyware's response to a given program, the Antispyware developers can then adjust their software to permanently eliminate that false positive reading.

I've tried Antispyware on several systems and like it enough to leave it installed and running. In each case so far, it's found a few pieces of potential malware that other tools hadn't. But conversely, other antispyware utilities also found a few things that the MS tool missed.

My guess is that, when it's done, MS Antispyware will end up being worth using; but, just as with the current crop of good antispyware software, probably will work best when used in conjunction with other tools, so each can catch what the others may miss.

But even as a beta, MS Antispyware coupled with Spybot ( http://www.safer-networking.org ), SpywareBlaster ( http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html ) and maybe the free Ad-Aware will leave you very well protected indeed against spyware. (Of course, you still need a firewall and an antivirus tool: These are complementary technologies, and do not duplicate each other's functions.)

In sum, MS Antispyware appears to be a very promising tool, especially if Microsoft does distribute it for free. But it is a beta (albeit a very stable-seeming one), so use caution: Make a backup or image of your system before trying this or any beta.

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx

(P.S. Many thanks to the dozen or so readers who gave me a heads-up on the beta!)

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

"Dear Fred, I want to thank you for your data base of all your past
issues. I finally decided to upgrade to Windows XP. Being completely
unfamiliar with XP, I downloaded your Archives, then going through each
issue (after searching for XP) and created my own separate file with all
of the tips and solutions that apply to XP. Great, substantially better
than many of the books I have looked over to find out about XP. I only
wish that more creators of data bases would set them up the way you did,
very easy to find whatever I may need and could be available somewhere
within your files." ---Charles, Italy

Glad you found it useful, Charles. The Plus! Archives are indeed offered
FREE to Plus! subscribers; the archives place the full content of every
LangaList ever published--- Standard and Plus! editions--- right on your
local hard drive. It gives nearly instant answers to any question we've
ever covered in the last seven years!

Get all the details on The LangaList Plus! Edition
(and your own copy of the Archives!):

http://langa.com/plus.htm

(see also item #11, today!)

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

3) Hungry, Like The Fox

Hello Fred, Thanks for all the great tips, applications, and fixes. As a plus subscriber I look forward to reading your missive and saving bits and pieces to use with various operations. Good information from good people certainly makes my day.
 
I use a FoxPro for DOS application in my workplace. It ran just fine on Win XP Home and then when I upgraded to Pro but now that I have applied the latest SP #2, I seem to have lost control of the CPU. And yes I have it on other machines that are Win XP Pro (no SP2 loaded) and it runs just fine.
 
Two files which enable the DOS Virtual Machine which appears to allow the DOS program to run on 32 bit, ntvdm.exe and wowexec.exe, use up to about 99% of my CPU while running the DOS program. Multi-tasking comes to a halt since it is now edged out by those two files that are hogging all the memory.
 
Soooo, should I get more memory...I have 256 currently? Or is there someway to limited these two files from using up the 99%. Google search does not provide me with much insight other than others are having the same problem. Microsoft and TechNet likewise did not shed much light on this as well. 
 
HELP! ---Walter McGhee

I don't have a copy of FoxPro to play with, but here's info that can help you control *any* hungry app, especially older ones:

First, try adjusting the EXE's properties: Right click on the software's main EXE files, and select "Properties." Explore the tabs, and make whatever adjustments seem appropriate (you can always change them back if need be).

For example, in your specific case, I'd suggest clicking to the "Memory" tab and setting the memory to whatever FoxPro recommends for the version you're using. (Giving an older app way more or way less than the recommended amounts can cause trouble.)

Under "Compatibility," select whichever mode best fits the software you're running. In the case of ancient DOS software, try the "Windows 95" mode.

Under "Misc," try setting the "Idle Sensitivity" to High.

And so on. There are other settings too; and the XP Help system explains them all.

If that doesn't help, there's also a brute-force method that can rein in a too-hungry app--- or conversely, can let you give any app you wish the lion's share of your PC's power: Bring up Taskmgr either directly of via Ctrl-Alt-Del, and click to the Processes tab. Find the process you want to control (DOS apps may only show up via their virtual DOS machine process: "NTVDM"), right click on the process, and then use the "set priority" menu to give that process more or less CPU time.

As for RAM, although 256MB isn't a huge amount of RAM these days, I doubt that that's the direct cause of your trouble. However, almost any machine running a modern OS--- Win2K, XP, Linux...) can benefit from more RAM, so it surely wouldn't hurt performance to add a bit more. For tips on making RAM buying simple, see http://langa.com/newsletters/2004/2004-12-23.htm#2

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4) Outlook & OE Cleanup

Fred- Love the "list", Plus! subscriber from day one--- I read it as soon as it hits my inbox.  Thought I might have a small contribution regarding cleaning up your pc.

I was going through my cleanup process a couple days ago and noticed the option to compact my Outlook pst file.  I was amazed at the results.  Initially, Windows was reporting an outlook.pst file size over 300mb.  I ran through all my folder's auto archive settings first and made a few changes as to how long items stay in the main pst file before being moved to the archive.pst file.  After making those changes, the outlook.pst file was being reported at about 280mb.  I then compacted the file.  The result was a pst file at about 190mb.  I have noticed a slight improvement in how quickly Outlook opens and gained over 90mb of storage space.  I run Outlook on an older laptop with limited storage space and processor power in order to keep my email with me at work, home and on the road.  The additional space and speed was very helpful.  Hope this helps someone else on the "list".

Thanks again, Tom Franz

Thanks, Tom. Outlook's smaller (and more commonly used) sibling, Outlook Express, has a similar "compress" function for its files: First, manually clean up your mailboxes, deleting/moving what you want to, then click to Tools/Options/Maintenance/Clean Up Now/Compact. If you haven't compacted the mailfile in a while, you may be amazed at just how much space you'll regain!

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5) More Sync Tools

Hi, Re: your article on syncing folders in http://langa.com/newsletters/2004/2004-12-16.htm#7 , I've not found a better or easier to use syncer than the one built in to Total Commander, along with the host of other file manager tools it has. Hands down the best file manager on the planet! I've been using it for years and it's the first program I install on any machine I use. Think Norton Commander for Windows on steroids ;-) Highly recommended for all your readers. Shareware but fully functional without registration for unlimited trial. Available at http://www.ghisler.com  Don't compute without it! ;-) ---Mick

Hi Fred, Just thought I'd share a folder sync tool that I use:  http://www.heatsoft.com/index.html  It's great for interactive sync tasks. For automated stuff we use Microsoft's robocopy http://www.google.com/search?q=robocopy . ---Richard Payne

Thanks, guys!

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6) New Year, New Month, New Chances

It's a new month, and right now your chances are the best they'll ever be!

To have a shot at winning one of three FREE ONE YEAR SUBSCRIPTIONS to the LangaList Plus! edition I give away each month, just use the following link to recommend the LangaList. (If your name is drawn and you're already a Plus! subscriber, your current subscription will be extended by a full year.)

Check out the details at http://langa.com/recommend.htm . Thanks for recommending the LangaList--- and good luck!

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7) Linux Backups

Hi Fred: In your letter, you've mentioned a number of useful links to Linux stuff. One thing I would like to know however, having installed SuSE about 6 weeks ago as my first venture in Linux, is HOW DO YOU MAKE A SYSTEM BACKUP IN LINUX? None of the standards like Drive Image and Ghost can even see the ReiserFS partition or contents.  I believe one of them in their latest addition has support for Ext3, but I am not sure. Any enlightenment in this area would be greatly appreciated.  A google search has produced nothing useful.

I have been using Drive Image for 3 years now in Windows, after you told me that was what you were using, and I feel extremely vulnerable without any ability to back up the Linux partition. Thanks, Karl Tipple

I used to recommend Drive Image, Karl, but that was some time ago. My current recommendation, BootIt, is perfectly happy imaging FAT, FAT32, NTFS, Ext2, Ext3 and ReiserFS file systems; and can directly write images to hard drives or to CD-R/RW or DVD+R+RW-R-RW drives. It's also a partition manager, letting you create/delete/copy/move/resize partitions at will; and it's a boot manager, too! Thus, this one $35 tool can replace a separate boot manager, imaging tool, and partitioning tool; typically costing over $100, combined. And it's vastly more flexible than any of the Windows-based backup/imaging/partitioning tools, because it's OS independent. See this special issue for more info, including BootIt's drawbacks: http://langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-07-03.htm

OS-independent imaging (as above) is the gold standard of backups: Nothing beats it. But if you want a traditional backup solution for Linux, there are many offerings available, both free and commercial. For example, Linspire (formerly "Lindows") has this step-by-step guide that can be adapted to almost any version of Linux: http://langa.com/u/7f.htm

Plus, there are classic guides like this "Linux Complete Backup and Recovery HOWTO" ( http://www.linuxforum.com/linux-backup-recovery.php ); or animated guides like this IBM tutorial on "How to back up your Linux machines" ( http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/edu/l-dw-linuxbu-i.html ; registration required); and lots more general info:
http://www.google.com/search?q=linux+backup
http://groups-beta.google.com/groups?q=linux+backup

But again, a tool like BootIt works on *any* operating system, so it can back up whatever you're running, including dual-boot or other setups.

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8) More Reader Sites!

Do you have a home page or website? (It doesn't matter what size.) Please click over to http://langa.com/code.htm , and maybe you can join the hundreds and hundreds of LangaList readers who have "Loaded the Code!" (If you've already "Loaded The Code" and are wondering if your site will appear here or on the Langa.Com web site, please see http://langa.com/link.txt )

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

View A Randomly-Chosen Reader Site From Among All Listed
http://langa.com/randomlink.htm

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

4,000 mile bike ride for cancer research
https://jshare.johnshopkins.edu/atusher1/public_html/

eclectic/esoteric portal
http://glenavalon.com/

Logical Computing
http://www.logicalcomputing.com/index.html?lmd=38357.551921

ShoeString Genealogy
http://hometown.aol.com/daepowell/myhomepage/ssg1.htm

Vevers Home Pages
http://www.vevers.com/

Hypnosis and Self-Hypnosis
http://www.tranceformation.com/index.html

Advanced Idea Mechanics
http://www.ai-mechanics.com/index.htm

Home Page of bob3160
http://home.comcast.net/~bob03160/

Technical Concepts
http://www.technicalconcepts.co.nz/

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9) New Viewers For MS Office (Free!)

"Viewers" are utilities that let you see a correctly-formatted document or file even if you don't have a copy of the software that created the file. They're very handy when sharing data among people with different OSes, software versions, and so on. For example, the Word viewer, from Microsoft, does the following:

Word Viewer 2003 lets you open Word 2003 documents and documents created with all previous versions of Microsoft Word for Windows and Microsoft Word for Macintosh. In addition to Word document files (.doc), you can also open files saved in the following formats:

Rich Text Format (.rtf)
Text (.txt)
Web Page formats (.htm, .html, .mht, .mhtml)
WordPerfect 5.x (.wpd)
WordPerfect 6.x (.doc, .wpd)
Works 6.0 (.wps)
Works 7.0 (.wps)
XML (.xml)

With Word Viewer 2003, you can view, print, and copy document contents to another program. However, you cannot edit an open document, save a document, or create a new document. This download is a replacement for Word 97 Viewer and all previous Word Viewer versions.

Viewers for other Office apps work similarly. But where do you get them?

Fred, While searching for the Excel 2003 viewer for a friend, I came across the new Word 2003 viewer released on 12-15-2004. Below are the links to all the Microsoft Office 2003 viewers for your readers.

Word 2003 Viewer: http://langa.com/u/7b.htm
Excel 2003 Viewer: http://langa.com/u/7c.htm
PowerPoint 2003 Viewer: http://langa.com/u/7d.htm
Visio 2003 Viewer: http://langa.com/u/7e.htm

Regards, Plus Subscriber JMD

Thanks, JMD!

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10) Just For Grins

Fred, This started out as a blond joke, but, in the interest of political correctness, let's just say that it's pretty funny all on its own. ---Chris Drew

http://dvdrewinder.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=1

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11) Plus! Edition Highlights:

• LangaList Complete Archives Updated!
• How To Update Your Current Copy Of The Archives...
• Or Get A Full, Fresh Copy Of The Archives...
• Alternate Way To Get A Full Copy Of The Archives

All the LangaLists ever published (from 1997 through December 2004) are now available for you right at your fingertips, packaged as a space-saving highly-compressed Windows Help File that can be self-searched using the Windows Help Engine's standard (and familiar) interface. No more going online for partial searches of the LangaList's past content: Instead, with the Archives right on your hard drive, it'll take only seconds to find whatever you're looking for, no matter how long ago it was published in any version of the LangaList!

And again, unlike the online search tools at Langa.Com, the Helpfile Archives contains both the standard and Plus content--- everything--- all in one place!

These archives are available FREE to Plus! edition subscribers, and are updated every 90 days or so--- just one of the many benefits of subscribing.

It's not too late to get your own copy of the archives. And it costs only pennies per issue to join! Sign up today!

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

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

See you next issue, 2005-01-17!

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://langa.com.  (The HTML version of each issue normally is available by 9AM EST [UT-5] of the issue date.) All past LangaList issues are also available at the Langa.Com site.

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